Construction streamlined for climate efficiency utilizing robotic technology
The Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Munich-Ebersberg Construction Guild have taken a significant step forward in the construction industry by integrating robots into climate-optimized construction. A robot developed at TUM is now assisting apprentice bricklayers in building a wall designed to respond to local climate conditions.
The robot, equipped with a gripper and mounted on a mobile base, can reach any point on the approximately 4 x 2.50-meter wall. It uses a digital twin of the wall and a digital design configurator that calculates exact, climate-optimized brick positions based on the wall's sun and shade exposure. This integration of digital planning, robotic execution, and craftsmanship creates new possibilities in the construction process.
Prof. Kathrin Dörfler, TUM Professor of Digital Fabrication, and Laura Lammel, Master Craftsman at the Munich-Ebersberg Construction Guild, initiated the workshop. The project aims for simpler construction using only bricks, with trainees laying bricks in several layers one behind the other. The benefits of using robots for craftsmen in this process include precision beyond human limits, expanded craftsmanship, sustainable construction, and creative freedom.
The robot complements rather than replaces skilled craftspeople. It stores a digital twin of the wall, integrating robot assembly logic into the design process. This human-machine teamwork represents a future-proof craft, strengthened rather than displaced by new technologies. The workshop showcases prospects for trainees in this field, as they gain new skills in digital fabrication and robotic collaboration.
The wall is composed of multiple brick types, with weather-resistant clinker bricks or impregnated bricks used on the outside, and insulating bricks on the inside. This monomaterial construction improves energy efficiency and can be dismantled and reused more easily, considering easier dismantling and reusability. The approach fosters creative freedom, greater accuracy, and climate-friendly building methods.
TUM, one of the world's leading universities in research, teaching, and innovation, is represented worldwide by its TUM Asia campus in Singapore and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Mumbai, San Francisco, and São Paulo. Each year, over 70 start-ups are founded at TUM, which plays a key role in Munich's high-tech ecosystem.
In summary, TUM's use of robots in climate-optimized construction integrates robotic precision driven by digital climate data with skilled human labor, leading to more sustainable, precise, and innovative building methods. This collaboration between digital tools, human knowledge, and skills opens new possibilities in construction, making the craft future-proof while promoting sustainable urban building envelopes tailored precisely to environmental conditions.
- The robot, developed for climate-optimized construction by TUM, uses digital planning, robotic execution, and craftsmanship to create walls that respond to local climate conditions.
- The integration of digital tools, robotic assistance, and human knowledge in construction at TUM fosters sustainable, precise, and innovative building methods.
- In the construction industry, there are benefits to using robots, including precision beyond human limits, expanded craftsmanship, sustainable construction, and creative freedom.
- The collaboration between artificial intelligence, technology, and environmental science at TUM is driving advancements in climate-friendly building methods, and this partnership is bolstered by investments from the finance sector.
