The digitalisation of manufacturing processes in the construction sector has the potential to fundamentally transform the entire industry. Robot-assisted, collaborative and automated manufacturing, together with the resulting reorientation of planning philosophy, offers numerous advantages. These can make a significant contribution to improving the efficiency, quality, safety and sustainability of construction projects. The project makes a significant contribution to the necessary ‘Twin Transition’ (‘Green & Digital’) in the construction industry and offers ideal conditions for the cross-institutional, synergistic use of the planned laboratory infrastructure.

The Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) aims to further develop digital manufacturing methods – particularly robotics – within the construction industry and to demonstrate their transformative potential for the design of load-bearing structures and functional systems of the future. The project’s unique selling point lies in its integrated approach to ‘Digital Design and Manufacturing’. Robotics is used to implement new construction methods and processes. Specific areas of application include the automated production of innovative load-bearing structures and the robot-assisted assembly and dismantling of façade and building structures. In this context, both traditional and newly developed, innovative building materials and technologies are researched and tested for their suitability for use in the construction industry.

The planned multi-robot system comprises four large-scale 6-axis robots mounted on three linear axes, as well as two small-scale collaborative robots. It is being designed on an inter-institutional basis and will enable versatile use in research, teaching and by industry. The focus is on the following aspects:
•    Cross-material: concrete, timber, timber hybrids, masonry, glass, steel, natural insulation materials, fibre-reinforced plastics, clay, biopolymers.
•    Holistic: from materials science to the application of innovative system solutions on a 1:1 scale for the construction industry.
•    Digital: comprehensive digitalisation in the areas of planning, programming and production.
•    Sustainable: Material optimisation, resource efficiency, life cycle optimisation and circular construction processes.
The integration of the laboratory facility into the existing laboratory cluster of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at TU Wien at the Science Center enables further investigation of components and structures in terms of functionality (building physics, load-bearing capacity, material behaviour, etc.).

The new laboratory infrastructure will strengthen the competitiveness of Austria as a centre for research and business and create synergies through its use by pioneering companies in the field of digitalisation within the construction industry (LOI). The planned activities at the CEE Laboratory for Digital Structures and Systems support several of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular:
•    SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – resource-efficient production processes and recycling.
•    SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – promoting sustainable industries.
•    SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – technological modernisation and diversification.

Dr. Tobias Huber

• TU Wien – Institut für Tragkonstruktionen, Forschungsbereich Stahlbeton- und Massivbau (Konsortialführung)
• TU Wien – Institut für Hoch- und Industriebau, Forschungsbereich Hochbau und Gebäudeerhaltung
• TU Wien – Institut für Mechanik der Werkstoffe und Strukturen, Forschungsbereich Struktursimulation und Ingenieurholzbau
• TU Wien – Institut für Werkstofftechnologie, Bauphysik und Bauökologie, Forschungsbereich Baustofflehre und Werkstofftechnologie

Dr. Tobias Huber
Karlsplatz 13/E212-2, 1040 Wien
+43 1 58801 21242
tobi.huber@tuwien.ac.at

www.tuwien.at/cee/tragkonstruktionen/beton