Research:
This project reimagines the future of carbon-neutral buildings through defects detection in building systems and façades, predictive maintenance, and investment plans informed by estimates of the life-cycle cost and embodied carbon of renovations. To achieve this aim, we will design and develop Miniaturized Intelligent Construction Robot for Optimal Building Operations and Defect Detection (MICRO-BODD) to collect data in hard-to-get-to spaces in buildings (e.g., crawlspaces) and find utility and structural defects, providing inputs for better maintenance and retrofitting decisions. This research builds on experiences from the research team in designing moving platforms that are flexible and singularity free and robots that can navigate indoors. The proposed project builds on our extensive interactions with the collaborating partners, who have helped shape further research needs and directions described in this proposal.
This project takes on two interdisciplinary objectives:
- the development of MICRO-BODD and a training program of facility managers to collaborate with the robots
- predictive maintenance and life-cycle assessment of building systems and portfolios and gauge community impressions of the robots.
Core innovations will be developed on four levels, including components, building systems, buildings, and communities.