Open Minds meet Open Campus: The main meeting place for the construction industry

Building Cluster | RWTH Aachen Campus 
The Construction cluster develops and tests new technologies and materials for deployment in construction. The productivity of materials, labor and equipment on site is optimized, and on-site execution is improved and accelerated through integrated planning tools and automation. This will enable more efficient and faster execution of what have been, in some cases, very lengthy approval and launch processes. In the future, a combination of artificial intelligence and machine learning can take construction to the next level of development. In order to make productive, digital tools usable, the cluster is also dedicated to the corresponding qualification of employees. https://www.rwth-campus.com/forschung/cluster-bauen/  

The members
Since the start of the initiative, the reference building site has attracted more and more industry partners. The consortium includes well-known companies such as PORR AG, Hilti Cooperation, EIFFAGE, KUKA DEUTSCHLAND GMBH, Autodesk GmbH, Robots in Architecture, Doka GmbH, LEONHARD WEISS GmbH & Co. KG, ALIMAK GROUP, Fundermax GmbH and RIEGL Laser Measurement Systems GmbH. They support the reference site financially, infrastructurally and with expertise from practice.

The projects
Since the Center Construction Robotics began its work more than five years ago and now carries it out intensively on the Reference Construction Site, numerous projects have been initiated, carried out and already completed. Here is a current selection:

ROBETON
Rising raw material prices and climate change require a rethink in the handling of existing material resources and existing buildings. By digitally upgrading a demolition machine from the BROKK DA GmbH company to a (partially) automated robot, a new sustainable process for the safe, controlled deconstruction and subsequent reuse of concrete components as a source of secondary building products was developed at the Chair of Individualized Production at RWTH Aachen University. The ROBETON research project is funded by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (BMWSB) with funds from the Zukunft Bau research grant and was awarded second place in the 2022 BAUMA Innovation Prize in the research category. In addition, the project is supported by the project partners Hilti Cooperation and Brokk DA GmbH as well as the associated project partners PORR AG, EIFFAGE, LEONHARD WEISS GmbH & Co. KG, HKS Dreh-Antriebe GmbH, Kerschgens Werkstoffe & Mehr GmbH, IMF Group and igus GmbH.

Enable Redevelopment 4.0
Building envelope refurbishment is gaining increasing market potential from an economic and sustainability perspective, and faces increasingly drastic challenges due to the shortage of skilled workers. By 2030, the market potential of building envelope refurbishment is estimated at 400 billion euros with a demand for over 300,000 employees. This corresponds to an increase of more than 50 percent of the current number of employees, which can hardly be met under normal circumstances.
The Center Construction Robotics has set itself the goal of automating the renovation of building shells using construction robotics and thus counteracting the shortage of skilled workers. With the research project “Enable Refurbishment 4.0”, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is supporting this project with the funding program “Digitalization of the Construction Industry and Innovative Construction”. Over a period of two years, the project team will be working on the further development of an assistance system for the automated assembly and handling of facade panels for building refurbishment, thus making a contribution to the construction site of the future. The project is supported and promoted by the members of the Center Construction Robotics.

DIVER
The aim of this project is to equip a mini crane with low-tech sensor technology for digitizing and simulating the laying processes of large-format building materials. Increased construction efficiency is intended to counteract the increasing shortage of skilled workers. The hardware development including the requirements, the installation of the sensors and the connection to the simulation environment as well as the creation of the simulation environment was made possible by two master theses of the master program Construction & Robotics. The project is supported and accompanied by the Chair of Individualized Production at RWTH Aachen University and the companies Xella International GmbH and Schulte Transportsysteme GmbH.

EConoM
EConoM is a research project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport as part of the InnoNT funding call, which is supported by the project sponsor TÜV Rheinland Consulting GmbH. In order to secure the German and European construction industry as well as to advance the technology and innovation location Germany, the research and development of automation of construction sites are indispensable. The combination of key technologies from 5G campus networks, edge computing, artificial intelligence and digital twin will enable enormous automation potential and further optimization of workflows and processes within the construction site.
Within the framework of EConoM, innovations in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G campus networks are to be used to improve the quality of construction work, increase work safety on the construction site, reduce overall costs and shorten construction times. To achieve this, edge computing, AI and communication must be enabled on construction sites in a comprehensive, robust, easy-to-handle and trouble-free manner. It is coordinated by the partners Fraunhofer FOKUS, Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institut, HOCHTIEF ViCon GmbH, planen-bauen 4.0 GmbH, UNIBERG GmbH, Zeppelin Rental GmbH, Construction Robotics GmbH, TÜV Rheinland, Lehrstuhl für Individuali-sierte Bauproduktion, RWTH Aachen University.

5G.NAMICO: Networked, Adaptive Mining and Construction
As part of the 5G.NAMICO research project, 5G is to be used in the construction and mining sector of the future. Based on the findings of previous projects such as 5G-Industry Campus Europe, a 5G network is now to be installed at the Reference Construction Site of RWTH Aachen University and in an underground mine to exploit the benefits of the technology. One challenge here is the adverse and changing environments: Dust, vibrations and humidity place demands on a dynamic 5G network that must withstand the harsh operating conditions. 5G technology, which was developed for use in industrial environments and open areas, must therefore be further developed. The use of 5G in construction and mining has the potential to automate processes and reduce personnel workloads. A prerequisite for this is the development of improved safety concepts that protect people in partially and fully automated processes and at the same time advance the digital transformation. In order to use 5G on construction sites and in mining in the future, the project will first look at selected use cases that deal with the automation of individual work processes and the safety aspect.
The 5G.NAMICO project is funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia via the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and is technically managed by the Fraunhofer IPT. This is a “5G.NRW” project, with the responsible project management organization Julich. The project is supported by the partners Chair of Individualized Production, RWTH Aachen University, Chair for Sustainable Raw Material Extraction MRE, RWTH Aachen University, Kabelwerk Eupen AG, Ericsson GmbH, GHH Fahrzeuge GmbH, BAT Bergbau Service GmbH, BROKK DA GmbH, Liebherr-Werk Biberach GmbH, PORR AG and LEONHARD WEISS GmbH & Co. KG, the development and evaluation of the use case on the construction site is coordinated by the Center Construction Robotics.

TARGET-X
The vision of TARGET-X is to strengthen key economic sectors in Europe by integrating 5G and 6G and accelerating digital transformation. TARGET-X pursues this vision by providing testbeds for different domains (energy, automotive, construction, manufacturing and robotics). The development is expected to lead to new business models. The project brings together information technology providers, operational technology providers and SMEs, in a European context. The reference site of RWTH Aachen University is part of one of the 5 European real laboratories, which is an ideal test environment for great 5G and 6 G processes. The TARGET-X project has received funding from the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 101096614. The project is supported by the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (IPT), ERICSSON GmbH, RWTH Aachen University through the three chairs (Chair for Individualised Construction Production, Machine Tool Laboratory WZL and Institute for Automation of Complex Power Systems), IDIADA Automotive Technology SA, Construction Robotics GmbH, Fundacio Privada I2CAT, Internet I Innovacio Digital a Catalunya, Marposs Societa Per Azioni, Fundingbox Accelerator SP. z o. o, Ericsson Arastirma Gelistirme ve Bilisim Hizmetleri Anonim Sirketi, Marposs Monitoring Solu-tions GmbH, 5G Communications for Future Industry Verticals SL, Neutroon Technologies S.L, Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V. German Branch; FundingBox Communities SL, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies GmbH.