Advanced Building Engineering: Deploying Mechatronics and Robotics in Architecture

Purpose As robots are not yet widely accepted in Europe as service providers in home environments, the authors intent to establish the possibility to distribute robotic elements and mechatronic devices in order to fuse them with various subsystems of buildings. Thus, robotic service systems could support Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), becoming an invisible part of the building. The proposed approach combines and applies strategies of performance oriented architecture, ubiquitous computing and service robotics. Method Buildings and environments consist of a multitude of subsystems as for example walls, ceilings, furniture, service cores and many others. In order to realize the proposed vision of seamless robotic assistance, the authors, since 2008, extensively studied various subsystems, exploring how these could be fused with mechatronic and robotic elements. Currently, the research team enters Step 2 (Table 1). In the proposed paper, building subsystems that had been experimentally fused with mechatronic and robotic elements during Step 1 are described and evaluated. For each category, the authors present their implemented system, embedded into a 1:1 scale prototype experimental flat, which was developed for the realization of the proposed robotic environment. Additionally, the paper outlines: a) how the systems can support ADLs, b) architectural aspects, c) deployed sensor-actuator systems and d) the use of other basic technologies (Vision systems, Robot Operating System: ROS, etc.) during implementation. Results & Discussion The evaluations showed that the fusion of building subsystems with robotic technology, in each category (Wall, Ceiling, Service Core, Cabinet, Seat, In-House Mobility – Table 1), holds the potential to create assistive systems that are acceptable in the home environment, and moreover able to assist a multitude of ADLs. The evaluations also revealed that modularity and safety issues should be addressed intensively in future research. The author’s ultimate goal is to explore more building subsystems and finally integrate all systems explored during step 1 and step 2 to an integrated robotic environment in step 3.