Fully autonomous robot for paving operations

Efficiency is low in conventional concrete construction. This fact, combined with high accident rates at construction sites, low product quality, and insufficient controls of the project schedules have led researchers to develop autonomous robots to perform specific tasks. Such robots are highly advantageous for a multi-task operation such as concrete paving. Concrete pavement construction is ideally suited for robotics in that the complete construction process is made up of many single-tasks that can be automated and integrated into a single machine. Although the state-of-the-art paving process includes a high level of automation, the process is still labor intensive and the final quality of the pavement section is a function of the skill of the paving crew. Introducing autonomous robotics into paving operations provides a means to consistently produce high-quality products, faster and safer than conventional concrete paving techniques. Ohio University is developing a 1:20 scale prototype of a fully autonomous robot for concrete paving called RoboPaver. The purpose of the prototype is to serve as a proof-of-concept concrete pavement construction robot. The full-scale version of the RoboPaver will occupy about the same volume as a typical commercially-available slipform paver, but will combine all the operations of a conventional paving system into one robot. The RoboPaver prototype will also implement an intelligent concrete construction system that will allow real-time remote monitoring and control of the paving operations, based on sensors and other machine performance data. The tangible benefits of using RoboPaver for pavement construction will include lower labor costs, lower equipment maintenance costs, less construction downtime, and lower demobilization and cleanup costs. Other potential RoboPaver benefits include increased construction site safety and higher quality of the finished pavement section, both of which can be directly related to a reduction of overall project costs.