Tomorrow is Now: Eco-friendly Autonomous Construction through Sustainable 3D Concrete Printing

Description

In Hong Kong, there is an ongoing need for construction to address the local housing crisis, aswell as a lack of land for landfill development. Imminent shortages in resources and skilledlabor compound these issues. Therefore, this proposed Strategic Topic project aims to developan innovative system to construct buildings autonomously and sustainably through threedimensionalconcrete printing (3DCP) with minimal interaction from a non-specialist operator.The system will reduce labor needs for the construction sector, while improving qualityassurance and control, minimizing waste of materials and time, and providing a route for largescaleindustrial recycling. Additionally, 3DCP excels in generating intricate shapes andstructures that are unattainable through conventional construction techniques, increasingcapabilities for on-site and off-site construction. This collaborative project will integrate teamknowledge from multiple disciplines (materials science, computational modeling, artificialintelligence, system design, automation and control, digital twins, environmental science andpublic policy) to develop this automatic and sustainable system. First, we will use generativeartificial intelligence techniques to develop sustainable cementitious composites that includewaste-derived components. Second, using computational simulations and laboratory-scaleprototypes, we will optimize the developed cement composites for use in 3DCP. Third, we willdesign a cable-driven robot system for 3DCP with newly proposed control algorithms forautomatic, reliable, and high-quality printing processes. Fourth, we will develop an automated3DCP control system with real-time monitoring and feedback, as well as digital twins of the3DCP system that can interact with computational models. Finally, we will assess the social,economic, and environmental factors that may affect the sustainable implementation of thedeveloped system by the construction industry in Hong Kong. The overall objective of thisproposed project is to furnish the construction sector in Hong Kong with a complete system ofautomated, robust, and cost-effective 3DCP technology that uses sustainable building materialsand produces minimal waste. This project will contribute to alleviating housing and laborshortage, saving landfill space, and reducing carbon emissions, in Hong Kong, the Greater BayArea (GBA), and internationally.