Cable-Driven Parallel Robot for Curtain Wall Modules Automatic Installation

Recently, the accurate prefabricated Curtain Wall Modules (CWM) used as building facade are gaining popularity around the world. However, the conventional manual procedure for installation of CWM is dangerous for labour work. More so, it is a time consuming and expensive task. Automation of the CWM installation using a cable robot is an alternatively faster and safer method. The cost saved due to shorter installation time would compensate for initial investment costs of the robotic systems. However, for CWM installation, the cable robot and its modular end-effector (MEE) need to perform several tasks such as positioning within 1 mm accuracy, drilling, installing bracket (connectors), and handling and positioning the CWMs. However, there is no such robotic solution currently available on the market. As a probable solution to CWM installations, the European project "HEPHAESTUS" is designing a cable robot-based automatic system capable of 1 mm positioning accuracy, while performing other tasks such as drilling on the building. Meanwhile, it could carry nearly a tonne in payload in an outdoor environment. As a design phase in this paper, five different conceptual scenarios for such complicated automatic installation process conducted by a cable robot are introduced. The possible concepts are assessed using the Delphi method. Finally, the accuracy, safety, and installation time of the selected scenarios are comparable to the conventional manual procedure of CWM installation. In the future, these systems further improve with in the HEPHAESTUS project framework.