The additive manufacturing of real scale structures using drones (or UAV = Unmanned Arial Vehicle) is a new discipline with challenges as broad as the opportunities it opens up for the future. This research, carried out jointly by MIT and UCL since more than 3 years, has investigated several aspects related both to the UAVs flight behavior while transporting heavy loads and the development of “drone compatible” construction elements, in particular masonry systems [1] [2] and timber systems [3]. The challenges that such a construction process require are numerous but mainly: - The possibility of building large scale structures composed of elements with a mass < 100 kg; - The precise positioning of the drone. A maximum inaccuracy of 5 cm around a theoretical point is possible according to lab tests made with a big drone at the UCLouvain Dronezone. In this context, using timber makes sense since the ratio between its weight and its mechanical characteristics is very good. Furthermore, ancient wood-to-wood connections, such as the ones inspired from the Japanese architecture, are a good source of inspiration for this research [3]. This article will focus on various complex architectural shapes of timber space structures that show the interest of combining parametric design with the drone-based construction. The structures are generated using Grasshopper and Rhinoceros 3D software in order to standardize the connections despite the complex shapes.
Goessens, S., Rogeau, N., De Beusscher, G., Mueller, C., & Latteur, P. (2018). Parametric Design of Drone-Compatible Architectural Timber Structures. Published. IASS 2018 CREATIVITY IN STRUCTURAL DESIGN, BOSTON USA. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/95544