Open minds meet open campus: From the reference construction site to the place to be of the construction industry

The Center Construction Robotics presents research highlights of the past two years

Aachen, June 13th, 2022 – After two years of intensive cooperation between industry, research, politics, and associations, the Center Construction Robotics is hosting a celebration week on the occasion of the second birthday of the reference construction site at Campus West of RWTH Aachen University from June 20-24, 2022. The patron of the event is Rector Prof. Dr. Dr. Ulrich Rüdiger. RWTH had handed over the 10,000-square-meter site to the center two years ago. On Tuesday, June 21, 2022, he will welcome Ina Scharrenbach, Minister for Heimat, Kommunales, Bau und Gleichstellung of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Prof. Beate Wiemann, Managing Director of the NRW-Bauindustrieverband, to the construction site of the future. Both will jointly present the awards of the NRW State Championships Worldskills Digital Construction. During the festive week, the research highlights of the past two years initiated here as well as current projects of the Center Construction Robotics will be presented.

The Reference Construction Site – Platform for interdisciplinary cooperation

At the Center Construction Robotics, an interdisciplinary team of scientists from RWTH Aachen University collaborates with a European industry consortium to do research on the construction site of the future. The reference construction site serves simultaneously as a think tank and a living lab. Here, new construction processes, construction products, networked machines, use of robots, software solutions, and teaching, working and communication concepts are being tested under real construction site conditions. At the same time, the Chair of Individualized Construction Production, headed by Prof. Dr. Sigrid Brell-Cokcan, has launched the international master’s program in Construction & Robotics (cr.rwth-aachen.de). Students are not only taught digitalization and automation in the construction industry in theory, but they can also put it directly into practice in cooperation with industry partners. Within a very short time, the course has gained an international reputation.

Digitally connected: From pre-production to the construction site to the Internet of Construction

One of the most significant projects of the past two years is the BMBF-funded project ‘Internet of Construction’ (IoC). Headed by Prof. Dr. Sigrid Brell-Cokcan, ten industrial companies and research institutions are researching a new system for cooperation in the construction industry across all value chains. From planning to pre-production to assembly on the construction site, digital solutions are being developed and connected to advance digitalization and automation in the construction industry. Thanks to the intensive cooperation between the research institutions and industrial partners, the developments could be tested, improved, and validated under real construction site conditions on several IoC demonstrators. The results of the research project will be presented to the public during the festival week.

The positive response from the industry, research and – SMEs.

Since the start of the joint venture, the reference site has attracted more and more industry and project partners. The consortium includes well-known companies such as Liebherr, PORR, Hilti, EIFFAGE, Saint-Gobain, KUKA, Autodesk, Doka, Leonhard Weiss, Xella, ALIMAK, Fundermax and Riegl. They initiate joint research projects and support the reference construction site financially, in terms of infrastructure and with practical expertise.

Another way of cooperation is project partnership based on a fair-use principle, i.e. cooperation in time-limited, dedicated pilot projects. This is particularly interesting for small and medium-sized companies that – often without their own research and development department – approach the center with specific questions in order to receive fast answers within the framework of proof-of-concept projects.

Open minds meet open campus: Where does research take place on campus?

On Wednesday, June 22, 2022, the CCR team comes up with something special: A Tour de Campus. Here, guests of the event will get the rare opportunity to take a close-up look at the institutes of the Building Cluster. A Tour de Campus will be offered for this purpose: where does research take place on campus?

This tour leads from the large-scale robotics hall of the Chair for Individualized Construction Production (IP) to the Machine Tool Laboratory (WZL) and via the Institute for Steel Construction and Sustainability in Lightweight Metal Construction (STB), to the Institute for Solid Construction (IMB) and Road Construction (ISAC), where scientists and researchers provide an up-to-date information status on the ongoing projects.

In addition, a tour of the Zukunft Bau Pop-up Campus, an initiative of the BMWSB and BBSR with RWTH Aachen University and the City of Aachen, will be offered at the same time. Participants will have the opportunity to attend lectures on digital component manufacturing followed by a guided tour of the pop-up campus on the topic of building in existing contexts. For both tours between 1:30 p.m. -5:00 p.m (Pop-up Campus) and 2:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. (Tour de Campus) you can register at office@construction-robotics.de.

The construction site of the future – the meeting place for those who build the future of the construction industry

Whether research, industry, politics, or associations – the Construction Site of the Future on Campus West of RWTH Aachen University has become the meeting place for the construction industry. Scientists, innovators, reporters, young talents and similar initiatives meet here to discuss the topics of the future. Open minds meet open campus: The festive week is used for the awarding of the best young talents at the NRW state championships, for the conclusion of the sovereign development project ‘Internet of Construction’, for the center meeting of the industry consortium Center Construction Robotics, as a meeting point for the constituent meeting of the VDI Society for Construction and Building Technology and as a kickoff for a joint expert paper. Within the past two years, the reference construction site has become the place to be for the construction industry.

Please refer to the attached attached progamm overview. The number of participants for the Open Campus Week is limited. Please register for the festival week at office@construction-robotics.de until June 17th, 2020. You will receive written confirmation of participation.