Biomimetic fabrication through robotic 3d printing

This purpose of this project is to develop a novel way of investigating and implementing biological design principles within architectural desing contexts.

Taking its starting point in the current field of self-organized construction, we seek to demonstrate that a hybrid approach which combines simulated agents with a 3D printed material model can be used to overcome challenges associated with current simulation or collaborative robot approaches.

To this end, we aim to build a digital agent simulation where the agents are correlated to a physical design space, and where their actions are materialized through a robot-mounted clay deposition device.

In parallel, we aim to implement a real-time scanning and sensing mechanism which feeds back data from the material model into the simulation, allowing the model to be fully interactive and non-deterministic, responding in real-time to emergent behaviour of the built outcome.

The project will be carried out in collaboration between two departments at Lund University (Architecture and Automatic Control), and will utilise the facilities and expertice of the newly founded construction robotics lab. The project stretches over four years, and is linked to an extensive international collaboration framework.