Kuka advising German government on automated construction
A shortage of living space, rising prices and a lack of skilled workers are among the major challenges facing society.
Automated modular house con-struction offers a solution here, according to industrial robotics and automation giant Kuka.
During a visit to Kuka’s advanced facility, Klara Geywitz, the German Federal Minister for Building, was presented with more information about the innovative new concept.
Automated house building largely relocates the construction site to the factory.
In other words, all of the parts of the housing construction are produced on the assembly line with the help of robotics in a highly automated and digitized manner.
After that, these parts are transported to the actual building site, and only need to be put together, or assembled, on the construction ground.
This method of off-site, automated modular house construction “significantly reduces construction time and costs”, according to Kuka.
It also helps to compensate for the shortage of skilled workers, conserves resources and opens new perspectives for greater sustainability, says the company.
Timo Heil, CEO Kuka Systems EMEA, says: “At Kuka, we are applying the automation and systems expertise we have built up over decades to the construction industry. And this innovative concept offers enormous potential.”
This new, innovative construction concept is already being implemented by Kuka, in partnership with a company called Gropyus, a property development company that uses a high level of digitalization and advanced technologies, such as robotics.
Kuka is building a turnkey, flexible system with 50 robots in the world’s first unique smart factory, owned by Gropyus in Richen, Baden-Württemberg.
From 2025, multi-storey, sustainable timber-hybrid apartment buildings will be digitally planned there, produced on an industrial scale with a high degree of automation and then assembled on the construction sites with a degree of automation.
Every year, Gropyus will create more than 3,500 apartments using Kuka technologies.
Federal Minister Klara Geywitz says: “With the use of robotics, living spaces can be built faster, more sustainably and more cost-effectively.
“In view of the shortage of skilled workers and the high demand for living space, we need more digitalization in the construction industry.
“Kuka is showing how modern automation technologies can advance modular house construction and thus make construction fit for the future.”