Robotic Assisted Design: A study of key human factors influencing team fluency in human‐robot collaborative design processes

Nahmad Vazquez, Alicia 2019. Robotic Assisted Design: A study of key human factors influencing team fluency in human‐robot collaborative design processes. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Architecture is going through a new phase of consolidation after a paradigm shift on how architecture is conceived and produced. It includes an increase in interdisciplinary approaches, a deep relationship between architecture and technology, a new era of trial and error – of prototyping in theory and in practice – and, most importantly, a change in the relationship between thinking and doing. Work within architecture research laboratories has focused on connecting parametric models with robotic manufacturing tools and materials that allow the production of many different, customised parts. This idea stems from viewing robots as precisely controlled machines for fabrication and has led to the current scenario of relatively unchanged models of human-machine interaction and design processes. However, evolution in the field of human–robot collaboration suggests that the implementation of technological change should not be viewed simply as an engineering problem. It is crucial to understand the human factors that are needed for the successful integration and implementation of new technologies. This dissertation aims to understand key human factors that influence the development of symbiotic agencies in robotic‐assisted design. It explores the relationship between digital architectural design and its materialisation through a collaborative process between designer manipulation, phase‐changing materials and robotic fabrication. In this context robotic technology is utilised as an ‘amplifier’ in the design process to realise geometries and architectural visions through iterative feedback loops. The robotic environment enables synchronised analogue and digital modelling through robotic agency within a dialogic design process between materials, computational hardware, software tools and the designer. Experiments, case studies and a controlled user study have been developed to test this workflow and evaluate the theoretical framework of key human elements that need to be considered for the successful implementation of human-robot collaboration in the architectural design process

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Submission
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Architecture
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	10 January 2020
Last Modified:	11 Dec 2020 02:22
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/128423

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