Energy efficient multi-robotic 3D printing for large-scale construction - framework, challenges, and a systematic approach

An emerging trend in smart manufacturing of the future is robotic additive manufacturing or 3D printing which introduces numerous advantages towards fast and efficient printing of high-quality customized products. In the case of the construction industry, and specifically in large-scale settings, multi-robotic additive manufacturing (i.e., adopting a team of 3D printer robots) has been found to be a promising solution in order to overcome the existing size limitations. Consequently, several research efforts regarding the development and control of such robotic additive manufacturing solutions have been reported in the literature. However, given the increasing environmental concerns, establishing novel methodologies for energy-efficient processing and planning of these systems towards higher sustainability is necessary. This paper presents a novel framework towards energy-efficient multi-robotic additive manufacturing and describes the overall challenges with respect to the energy efficiency. The energy module of the proposed framework is implemented in a simulation environment. In addition, a systematic approach for energy-aware robot positioning is introduced based on the novel concept of reciprocal energy map. The reciprocal energy map is established based on the original energy map calculated by the energy module and can be used for identifying the low energy zones for positioning and relocation of robots during the printing process