An end-effector design for H-beam alignment in high-rise building construction

There have been active progresses in the construction of high-rise buildings since the robot and information technologies were applied to the construction industry. Although many techniques have been proposed for safe and efficient H-beam lifting and assembly, most of construction tasks are manually operated causing dangerous working environments. The objective of this study is to develop a robotic end-effector for fine H-beam alignment in high-rise building construction. The H-beam has a number of drilled holes so that bolts can go through to assemble the elements. Before the bolts are inserted to combine two H-beams, the bolt holes should be aligned with very tight tolerance. Otherwise, there is a potential for serious damage during the bolting process. In this study, an end-effector design that helps the H-beam alignment for bolting operation is proposed. Moreover, finite element analysis and computer simulations are conducted to evaluate the mechanism.