Evaluation of Standard Product Models for Supporting Automated Erection of Structural Steelwork

Published

March 1, 2007

Author(s)

Vineet Kamat, Robert R. Lipman

Abstract

Automation is being increasingly explored as a possible solution for safely increasing productivity in structural steelwork erection. The research investigates the extent to which the CIMsteel Integration Standards (CIS/2) can support automated steelwork erection. Algorithms to interpret steel member geometry and spatial configuration from CIS/2 files were designed. Then, using inverse kinematics principles, a kinematically smart crane capable of accepting robot-like instructions was implemented in 3D virtual reality. The crane was programmed to utilize the algorithms to automatically extract member information from CIS/2, and to use that information to compile assembly instructions for erecting the structure in the virtual world. Based on the obtained results, it was found that CIS/2 does encapsulate the basic geometry and pose of steel members in a format that, after geo-referencing, can be used to support automated steelwork erection. However, several processing steps are necessary before the extracted data can be readily used to program automation equipment. In addition, although CIS/2 defines a rich product model, it was found that the weak semantics of many statements largely underutilize the standard s applicability for supporting structural steelwork automation.

Citation

Automation in Construction

Volume

16

Issue

2

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

automation, CIS/2, construction, inverse kenematics, product model, steel, visualization

Buildings and Construction and Fire

Citation

Kamat, V. and Lipman, R. (2007), Evaluation of Standard Product Models for Supporting Automated Erection of Structural Steelwork, Automation in Construction, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=861002 (Accessed June 14, 2021)