The paper competed against 230 rival projects at the ISARC 2020 symposium in Japan
HEPHAESTUS: Highly automatEd PHysical Achievements and performancES using cable roboTs Unique Systems, coordinated by TECNALIA, aims to create novel solutions for the construction industry, particularly in relation to façade installation and maintenance tasks.
The award-winning paper, “A Cable Driven Parallel Robot with a Modular End Effector for the installation of Curtain Wall Modules” was supervised by the University of Munich, one of the partners on the project. The award was conferred remotely on 29 October last, at ISARC 2020, the 37th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, held over 27-29 October in Kitakyushu Kokura, Japan.
Hephaestus has as its aim to increase automation in the façade installation and maintenance processes, as well as incorporating robotics into the construction sector, thereby enhancing final quality, streamlining the installation process and minimising risks during said task.
This is expected to strengthen the European construction sector and position the robotics industry as an important factor in new digitalisation and automation processes.
Robot technology
TECNALIA has developed a novel cable robot that can be used to move and position loads, controlling them by means of the synchronised movement of eight cables. The procedure is ideal for large workspaces, both vertical, as in façades, and horizontal, for a range of manufacturing applications.
The cable-driven robot is capable of accurate, controlled and safe handling of pieces such as façade modules, and can be used for automated processes in large workspaces, for instance to automatically install brackets to hold the panels.
Further information
Hephaestus is a joint project involving nine partners from different EU countries. The final tests are currently being performed in one of them.
