ACORN Showcased at ISARC 2020

Robin presented ACORN's work on 'Automated framework for the optimisation of spatial layouts for concrete structures reinforced with robotic filament winding' at the International Symposium of Automation and Robotics in Construction 2020 this morning, organised online by the University of Kitakyushu, Japan.

Stay tuned for a more detailed publication including physical prototypes! 

The Abstract of his paper is:

Concrete is a major contributor to the environmental impact of the construction industry, due to its cement content but also its reinforcement. Reinforcement has a significant contribution because of construction rationalisation, resorting to regular mats or cages of steel bars, despite layout-optimisation algorithms and additive-manufacturing technologies. This paper presents an automated framework, connecting design and fabrication requirements for the optimisation of spatial layouts as of reinforcement of concrete structures, by the means of robotic filament winding.

You can download the paper in full for free from the Sympoisum Website:

https://doi.org/10.22260/ISARC2020/0214

ACORN at Digital Concrete 2020

ACORN was present at Digital Concrete 2020 last week, to present our paper titled “Automating Concrete Construction: Digital Design of Non-Prismatic Reinforced Concrete Beams“. You’ll find more on our publication in the Outputs section.

This year’s edition of Digital Concrete was held online from TU Eindhoven, with a fantastic host of participants both from academia and industry, presenting their work on the application of digital technologies to concrete construction.

Presented research was split into seven tracks: Structural Engineering & Reinforcement; Applications & Case studies; Digital design, Technologies and Industrialization; Sustainability and Life-cycle analysis; Mechanical performance; Rheology; and Mixture design. The majority of the presented papers addressed concrete 3D-printing, and in this edition with a particular focus on how to add reinforcement to it. Interesting projects making use of formwork - exclusively or in articulation with 3D-printing - were also present and spawned interesting discussions on the topic.