RWU develops autonomous construction machine

Weingarten/Munich - The skyline of countless construction cranes towering over the open-air area of bauma in Munich Riem can be seen from afar. Tens of thousands of visitors flock to the world's leading trade fair for construction machinery every day. In the Science Hub, a dedicated hall for research topics, RWU and other renowned institutions bring the combination of theory and practice to life. Among them: Prototype II of an autonomous bulk material robot built at RWU's Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

High practical demand

Transporting building materials during demolition work is part of the strenuous daily routine for many workers on construction sites. Researchers at RWU want to make this type of work easier and healthier. The "BARROB" research project was launched in April 2023. It was funded by the Central Innovation Program for SMEs (ZIM) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection. Together with B. Büning GmbH & Co. KG, a company specializing in earthmoving and demolition from the western Münsterland region, the project was implemented after a two-year project period.

"In today's construction world, there are challenges that cannot be overcome by standard construction robots and for which we needed the scientific expertise of RWU," reports Managing Director Johannes-Georg Büning. "With the robot, we can achieve economic and ecological benefits by increasing efficiency in the renovation sector." Interest at bauma was correspondingly high: "Several big players in the industry asked us directly when we could come to their construction sites - there were also many inquiries from abroad."

The path to market maturity

"Students were also involved in the development as part of their project work or dissertations," says Technical Project Manager Benjamin Kathan happily. However, the hardware is only a small part of it - the software and control system are particularly labor-intensive. An important aspect that still needs to be developed to market maturity is the functional safety that allows the vehicle to be used on the construction site.

The project partners also want to take these next steps together: "We also want to cooperate with RWU beyond the project," says Büning. And Benjamin Stähle, Deputy Head of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence at RWU, predicts: "We expect a market-ready product in three to three and a half years."

Text: Hannes Gilch