Long-term autOnomy For service robots in consTruction (LOFT)

The adoption of machinery and technological innovations in the construction industry, as described by end-users, is traditionally based on a) safety, which relates to the construction industry's goals of minimizing injuries; b) reliability, where equipment must be robust and able to function for a long time or over operational lifetime; and c) efficiency, which targets machines that can optimize a task and thus constitute a fruitful investment.  

To cope with those technological and market barriers, we will focus on the use case of long-term autonomous and socially safe service robots for material transportation in a construction site.  

Specifically, a worker will load material, such as bricks, tools, and demolition material, onto an outdoor mobile robot. Simply press a button, and the robot will begin autonomously transporting the material to another predefined target location on the construction site. 

Using advanced AI, sensors and the locomotion-navigation control system will secure that the robot moves smoothly around workers without interrupting their activities or putting them in direct danger. 

Finally, when the robot reaches the target location, it will wait to execute the same task in another target location. This achievement has not been demonstrated so far. Potential service tasks beyond the use case: The LOFT technology can be extended and applied to other service applications (for companies outside the project) that require object transportation in complex environments with safe human-robot interaction (e.g., logistics, agriculture, mining).