Enhancing precision and safety on smart construction sites with advanced robots and laser tracker technology
Samsung C&T – South Korea
High-precision indoor positioning and autonomous painting robots boost productivity and safety on construction sites
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Transforming smart construction site: Amplifying precision and safety with laser tracker solutions
Samsung C&T is a leader in innovative change in the construction industry, looking to reshape construction practices for greater efficiency, sustainability and safety. Using Hexagon’s ATS600 direct-scanning laser tracker solution, they have developed a high-precision indoor robotic positioning system and autonomous painting robot that enhance on-site productivity and keep workers safe.
Samsung C&T’s construction division takes pride in its diverse construction experience across all areas of architecture, boasting advanced construction methods and optimal design development. Notably, it has garnered global recognition by independently constructing all three of the world’s tallest buildings: the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, Taipei Financial Centre, and currently the highest in the world, the Burj Khalifa.
Construction projects are rapidly changing with the introduction of modularisation technology. This technique premanufactures building parts in a factory for assembly at sites for greater flexibility and environmental performance. Modularisation considerably reduces construction time at sites and minimises noise, dust and building waste, making it an eco-friendly and sustainable building technique.
Bringing precision to autonomous on-site construction robots
Ensuring quality throughout the premanufacturing, transportation, installation and construction processes is critical, and precision is paramount. Additionally, decreasing hazardous tasks while constructing large and tall buildings is an essential challenge. To address these concerns, Samsung C&T has been developing smart construction sites by introducing several advanced technologies and construction robots.
For example, they are deploying automated equipment for high-rise steel assembly work and robots that automatically install double-layered floor finishes like access floors in high-tech constructions. “The general construction tolerance used at sites is about ±50 mm. Accordingly, the permissible error range of the total station used for measurement is about 2-3 mm,” explains Jongho Choi, a Pro at Samsung C&T. “Construction sites require a level of precision equivalent to that found in the manufacturing industry. Hexagon’s products very effectively allow us to achieve these standards.”
Samsung C&T has developed two indoor systems that combine Hexagon’s Leica Absolute Tracker ATS600, reflectors, and various autonomous robots to simultaneously ensure high precision, productivity and safety at construction sites.
One is a precision positioning robot for autonomous measuring tasks; the other is a painting robot that can autonomously spray paint along walls up to 3.6 metres high.
Figure 1. The ATS600 laser tracker directly scans and measures 3D coordinates of hard-to-reach areas. It checks the alignment of large-scale modular construction and assesses the construction completion level to verify whether architectural modules have been properly made and executed.
Precise indoor positioning robot
The positioning robot is a high-precision measurement automation solution that combines the ATS600 laser tracker and a lifting device.“We use these indoor precision robots in three areas,” says Jongho Choi. “To measure and review alignment in advance in large-scale modular construction, assess
the construction completion level to verify whether architectural modules have been properly made and executed, and to improve precision of the various construction robots used on site.”
Figure 2. The indoor positioning robot combines the ATS600 laser tracker and a lifting device on an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR).
To operate the robot, a set of three points defined on-site are measured with reflectors to align the robot’s coordinate systems to the site’s absolute coordinate system. “Before, there was the hassle of having to align the system each time the measurement location shifted,” Jongho Choi, explains. “Now, we have developed and automated a capability that allows the mobile robot to quickly find its exact location by recognising a reflector specified prior to the displacement value of the robot’s movement, enabling continuous measurements.”
Combined tech for autonomous painting
Painting work, especially painting the exterior walls of tall buildings, poses a safety risk that must be handled with particular care. In a first step to address this issue, Samsung C&T and its partners undertook a project to quantify and replicate the hand techniques of skilled painters on a mobile robot.Their autonomous indoor painting robot is used at residential sites to spray-paint the walls of underground car parks. Using cameras and LiDAR sensors to recognise its surroundings, the robot integrates this information to accurately calculate and apply the required angles and poses to paint the walls.
The ATS600 measures reflectors installed on the painting robot to identify its position and posture to obtain accurate location information. Based on this information, the painting robot moves to correct any positional errors.
Samsung C&T’s plans for the painting robot include developing it for high-rise operations using cherry pickers or gondolas and further improving positional precision for the safety of construction sites.
The introduction of these innovative solutions has had a positive impact, enhancing productivity and safety on construction sites together with improving quality control. Samsung C&T continues to set best practices in developing efficient technology as it leads innovative changes in the construction industry.
Figure 3. The ATS600 follows reflectors on the autonomous indoor painting robot to ensure it is accurately positioned.
