TUM: Robot builds climate-optimized walls
Building climate-optimized walls from bricks alone requires a high degree of precision that human bricklayers cannot achieve. A robot can help.
The TUM robot in front of the climate-optimized brick wall.
(Image: TUM)
A research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a robot that can place bricks on a house wall in such a way that the wall it creates is optimized for the climate. The best position for the bricks is calculated in advance using a design configurator to achieve the ideal angle for the bricks, depending on how sunny or shaded a house wall is. The technology has now been tested in practice together with apprentices from the Munich-Ebersberg building guild.
Climate-optimized house walls can be built by combining different materials, for example. However, this is complex and expensive. In principle, such walls can only be built with bricks in several layers, one behind the other. However, the bricks must then be positioned differently depending on the solar radiation to achieve a certain degree of heat control. For example, the bricks sit twisted and at different angles in the wall. However, a human bricklayer cannot position the bricks precisely enough. This is where the robot comes in.
Precise positioning of the bricks by the robot
The robot consists of a mobile base that can move sideways to the left and right along the wall line. Mounted on it is a robot arm with a gripper that places the bricks according to a predetermined plan. However, the cement still has to be applied by a human. Some bricks also have to be cut to shape in advance by human bricklayers.
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TUM has therefore enlisted professional help in the form of three apprentices from the Munich-Ebersbach building guild, who are helping with the bricklaying work on the wall, which measures around 4 m Ă— 2.5 m in size. It is constructed from around 1,700 bricks, 200 of which are built into the wall at different angles and therefore do not lie exactly on top of each other.
The wall is 55 cm thick. Conventionally, the wall is only 30 to 35 cm thick. Insulating bricks are used on the inside, which are indicated by perforated bricks in the test structure. Weather-resistant clinker bricks or impregnated bricks are used on the outside. The exclusive use of bricks is simpler and more sustainable than combining different building materials. In the event of demolition, there is no need to dispose of different materials, and some bricks can be reused.
The bricks are placed according to a scheme calculated in advance using a design configurator. The software considers the solar radiation on the house wall and its shading. The individual positions of the bricks are then determined in a climate-optimized manner.
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According to TUM, the aim of using the robot is not to replace human labor. Rather, the robot's capabilities are intended to supplement those of humans where they reach their limits. In the case of the climate-optimized wall, humans cannot position the bricks precisely enough.
Working with the robot initially “took a lot of getting used to,” says one of the apprentices involved. After completing the project, however, he could “very well” imagine working with the robot as a colleague on the construction site.
(olb)
