KUKA NOX - Construction Robot

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KUKA NOX

Mobile, collaborative Service Robot for the Construction Industry

How can robots help us on the construction site? The construction robot KUKA NOX helps bringing the digital building data from the computer to the site. NOX was developed in close collaboration with KUKA. The world’s leading robotic company in the area of industrial production. With the printhead on its arm it can print positions and information from parts on the floor, walls and ceiling. That’s making the work of the construction workers a lot easier, they can work more accurate and efficient.

After the research phase the project opened with a range of 20 different product concepts. They stated how robots can support people on the construction site. The visualisations enabled a thorough discussion about the potential and feasibility of each concept.

At night the robot scans its environment and documents the building process. During the day KUKA NOX charges it's battery and the workers don't interfere with the robot. The robot's markings make the work of the craftsmen easier and they achieve better results.

This storyboard explains the workflow of the construction robot NOX.

Early concept sketches and ideas about the shape of the construction robot.⁠

If the robot moves over longer distances it folds its arm to the back to be as compact as possible.

Mobility still is a key challenge for robots to take part in the life of humans.⁠ With its tracks KUKA NOX can overcome obstacles such as stairs. The robot is small enough to fit through doors and hallways.

The word Cobot is a short form for “collaborative robot". What does that mean? I means it can work side by side with a human. But today this application is very rare. A lot of safety systems have to prevent accidents with humans. There are many regulations which require the robot to run very slowly in such a setting. Only about 2% of all cobotic applications work hand in hand.⁠ In practice it is already a big step if there's no safety fence around the robot. So there's still a long way to go into a future where humans and robots work seamlessly together.⁠

Hopefully KUKA NOX can contribute to reach this goal.