The Design-to-Robotic-Production and -Assembly (D2RP&A) process developed at Delft University of Technology (DUT) has been scaled up to building size by prototyping of-site a 3.30 m high fragment of a larger spaceframe structure The fragment consists of wooden linear elements connected to a polymer node printed at 3D Robot Printing and panels robotically milled at Amsterdam University of Applied Science (AUAS). It has been evaluated for suitability for assembly on-site without temporary support while relying on human-robot collaboration. The constructed architectural hybrid structure is proof of concept for an on- and off-site D2RP&A approach that is envisioned to be implemented using a range of robots able to possibly address all phases of construction in the future.
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Growing volumes of wood are being used in construction, interior architecture, and product design, resulting in increasing amounts of wood waste. Using this waste is challenging, because it is too labor-intensive to process large volumes of uneven wood pieces that vary in geometry, quality, and origin. The project “Circular Wood for the Neighborhood” researches how advanced computational design and robotic production approaches can be used to create meaningful applications from waste wood. shifting the perception of circular wood as a simply harvested stream, towards a material with unique aesthetics of its own right. The complexity of the material is suggested to be tackled by switching from the object-oriented design towards designing soft systems. The system developed uses a bottom-up approach where each piece of wood aggregates according to certain parameters and the designed medium is mainly rule-sets and connections. The system is able to produce many options and bring the end-user for a meaningful co-design instead of choosing from the pre-designed options. Material-driven design algorithms were developed, which can be used by designers and end-users to design bespoke products from waste wood. In the first of three case studies, a small furniture item (“coffee table”) was designed from an old door, harvested from a renovation project. For its production, two principle approaches were developed: with or without preprocessing the wood. The principles were tested with an industrial robotic arm and available waste wood. A first prototype was made using the generated aggregation from the system, parametric production processes and robotic fabrication.
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At the Robot Lab we tested an autonomous system of robotically producing a stool designed by Piet Hein Eek from waste wood.
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Students of the Minor 'Robotic Production and Circular Materials' designed and created a modular outdoor structure suitable for the Green Mile Initiative. The structure fills in one parking lot, along the streetside of the Stadhouderskade.In 2022, this street is one of the most polluted and dangerous street in Amsterdam. It is mainly a lot of asphalt, not beautiful, with little space for nature and mainly focused on moving traffic. We think this can be done differently.The ambition is to turn Stadhouderskade into 'The Green Mile'; a green, sustainable, safe, vital and future-proof street for people, animals and nature. A meaningful public space that invites you to walk, meet, play sports and experience nature.InitiatorsBecause users of the Stadhouderskade can only realize this 'ambition' by joining forces, a movement is being established. The Municipality of Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Heineken, De Nederlandsche Bank, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Blendingbricks and UNStudio are taking the initiative for this movement.As part of the Minor 'Robotic Production and Circular Materials, a team of students and teachers designed and built a piece of street furniture, the size of one parking space, a conversation piece towards the greening of the Green Mile.
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This study investigates what pupils aged 10-12 can learn from working with robots, assuming that understanding robotics is a sign of technological literacy. We conducted cognitive and conceptual analysis to develop a frame of reference for determining pupils' understanding of robotics. Four perspectives were distinguished with increasing sophistication; psychological, technological, function, and controlled system. Using Lego Mindstorms NXT robots, as an example of a Direct Manipulation Environment, we developed and conducted a lesson plan to investigate pupils' reasoning patterns. There is ample evidence that pupils have little difficulty in understanding that robots are man-made technological and functional artifacts. Pupils' understanding of the controlled system concept, more specifically the complex sense-reason-act loop that is characteristic of robotics, can be fostered by means of problem solving tasks. The results are discussed with respect to pupils' developing technological literacy and the possibilities for teaching and learning in primary education.
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Greenhouses are in need of new monitoring tools, as they size grow bigger and bigger but still using old labour intensive methods ways of caring for the crop. HiPerGreen is set out to create a new tool, which can drive onto the pre-existing heating pipes to provide a birds eye perspective for image analysis purposes. However, clear images are necessary for consistent usable data. This presentation resumes the steps taken during the reporting: the optimisation of a rail based system towards clear images. This is done through analysis of resulting images, understanding vibrations and oscillations, and finally presents results based on prototyping. Moreover, a re-design of the electronics and hardware was also introduce to facilitate prototyping. The results are promising, laying within the requirements.
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From the pubisher's website: This paper aims to chart the (moral) values from a robotic industry's perspective regarding the introduction of robots in education. To our knowledge, no studies thus far have addressed this perspective in considering the moral values within this robotic domain. However, their values could conflict with the values upheld by other relevant stakeholders, such as the values of teachers, parents or children. Hence, it is crucial to take the various perspectives of relevant stakeholder's moral values into account. For this study, multiple focus group sessions (n=3) were conducted in The Netherlands with representatives (n=13) of robotic companies on their views of robots in primary education. Their perceptions in terms of opportunities and concerns, were then linked to business values reported in the extant literature. Results show that out of 26 business values, mainly six business values appeared relevant for robot tutors: 1) profitability, 2) productivity, 3 & 4) innovation and creativity, 5) competitiveness, and 6) risk orientation organization. https://doi.org/10.1109/DEVLRN.2019.8850726
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BACKGROUND: Rapid technological development has been opening new possibilities for children with disabilities. In particular, robots can enable and create new opportunities in therapy, rehabilitation, education, or leisure. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to share experiences, challenges and learned lessons by the authors, all of them with experience conducting research in the field of robotics for children with disabilities, and to propose future directions for research and development. METHODS: The article is the result of several consensus meetings to establish future research priorities in this field. CONCLUSIONS: This article outlines a research agenda for the future of robotics in childcare and supports the establishment of R4C – Robots for Children, a network of experts aimed at sharing ideas, promoting innovative research, and developing good practices on the use of robots for children with disabilities. RESULTS: Robots have a huge potential to support children with disabilities: they can play the role of a play buddy, of a mediator when interacting with other children or adults, they can promote social interaction, and transfer children from the role of a spectator of the surrounding world to the role of an active participant. To fulfill their potential, robots have to be “smart”, stable and reliable, easy to use and program, and give the just-right amount of support adapted to the needs of the child. Interdisciplinary collaboration combined with user centered design is necessary to make robotic applications successful. Furthermore, real-life contexts to test and implement robotic interventions are essential to refine them according to real needs.
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The skillsets of production workers are crucial for the effective adoption of smart technologies which are largely shaped by work design. However, current literature lacks comprehensive insights into the skills and work designs of production workers, hindering the adoption of Industry 5.0. Grounded in work design and skills literature this study explores the required skills of employees and perceived work design characteristics for adoption of AI, AR/VR, and Robotics in Dutch Manufacturing SMEs. This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with experts, managers and production workers. Results reveal a need to reassess traditional job profiles, as two distinct production workers roles emerge from AI, AR/VR and robotics adoption. Machine operators face potential deskilling through low feedback from the job, low task variety and low job complexity. Foremanproduction workers require additional skills due to job enlargement and enrichment. However, they seem to be put in this job role due to the lack of various professional and transversal skills to fully utilize smart technologies, and to accommodate a viable return on the technology investment. This highlights the importance of balancing job resources and requirements in work design, training programs for I5.0 skill development, and understanding contextual design elements of manufacturing systems contributing to viable I5.0 adoption in SMEs. Finally, sustainability, self-awareness, and self-reflection skills are not considered by professionals, displaying unawareness of its importance for I5.0 implementation practices.
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The video was a compilation of the RAAK-publiek research project 'Circular Wood for the Neighborhood', carried out by the Digital Production Research Group with partners in 2020-2022.
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