As part of Boston Dynamics’ Early Adopter Program Foster + Partners’ Applied Research + Development group collaborates with Boston Dynamics to explore the potential of the Spot® robot to easily compare the ‘as-designed’ models against the ‘as-built’ reality.
Construction sites are hectic and complex environments. With several contractors working at tandem on-site, there is a need for a quick and consistent monitoring of deviations from the design. Early detection of on-site anomalies can vastly improve the project timeline and budget.
“The ability of Spot to repeatedly and effortlessly complete routine scans, in an ever-changing environment was invaluable not only in terms of the consistency but also the large amount of high-quality data collected. Through this process we developed a sequence of scans that may help us track the project progress against timeframes as well as facilitate regular comparisons against the BIM model. Our scans can ensure that very quick and accurate changes to the newly designed system could be made to accommodate the differences captured by the scans – all in a matter of days. This could result in savings both in terms of time and money.”
Martha Tsigkari, Partner at Foster + Partners
Foster + Partners used their Battersea Roof Gardens project as a testbed to create a 4-dimensional model of the building that highlights how it changes over time. The architects send Spot along a set route through the project at different times to capture on-site changes. Combined with data from sensors who read environmental conditions and occupancy the technology has the potential to create an intricate model of how people, furnishings and environmental conditions interact with each other.
“Combining temporal and spatial information with data from sensors that read environmental conditions and occupancy, we can construct an intricate model of how people, furnishings and environmental conditions interact. This, in turn, helps us to operate our premises more efficiently and to anticipate how new designs will perform."
Adam Davis, Partner at Foster + Partners
These virtual models can also become collaboration spaces for team members who can not physically be in the same location. Spot® also allows architects to remotely visit a construction site to see detailed current developments of their project.
