Component Specific Expert System and Robotic Applications for Building - Total Life Cycle Integration through Knowledge Bases

Modern building comprises the assembly of discreet and diverse systems for their structure, fabric and services. Each system comprises manufactured products, building design and construction skills and a completed element that requires maintenance in use. The success of the total building is dependent on how well the design, construction and operational processes comply with the general fundamental “rules” of each specific system in a particular application and integration with other systems. The control of these processes must therefore be rule-based and interrelated over time so that consistent decision-making can be achieved throughout the life of the system in the building. This paper proposes that through the application of Artificial Intelligence techniques in computers in the design, construction and operation processes and Robotic techniques in the construction and operation processes, the required management control can be achieved. It will take a specific component system used in modern building construction – dry-wall partitioning – as an example and suggest how AI and Robotic techniques can be applied to its design, construction and operation processes based on current experimental research. Conclusions will then be drawn on the implications for the other systems in the building, the total building itself and feasibility for use in practice.