Publications / CCC 2025 - Zadar, Croatia
The automatic on-site assembly of timber components using robotic systems has emerged as a significant research focus, addressing challenges such as labor shortages and carbon dioxide emissions within the construction industry. However, existing timber joints utilized in current research often exhibit limitations, including reduced structural strength, limited reusability, and susceptibility to construction tolerances. In this study, we introduce an innovative timber joint concept specifically designed for on-site robotic assembly that addresses these limitations. This design combines the traditional mortise-tenon timber joint with glass fiber lashing in the tenon direction, thereby ensuring stiffness and strength in all loading directions. Additionally, post-installation prestressing of the glass fiber is employed to further augment the joint's mechanical properties. The proposed design presents several advantages for on-site robotic assembly, including reusability, installation efficiency, and insusceptibility to construction tolerances, without compromising structural strength and stiffness. The feasibility of the automatic assembly is validated through experiments with a bimanual robotic system, where a vision-based impedance control strategy is implemented to enhance the accuracy and robustness of the assembly process. The experiments show excellent efficiency and reliability in the automatic assembly of the proposed joint, demonstrating its potential for application in automatic construction of timber structures.