“Robot factors” design, analogous to ergonomics for humans, seeks to create devices and equipment that can be readily operated by robots, by considering typical capabilities of current robots throughout the design process. While a number of principles and heuristics for robot factors design have been identified, the successful design of hardware operable by autonomous robots often depends in practice on the designer's intuition about robot capabilities, developed through personal experience working with robots. Here we present a tool we have developed to help evaluate a potential device design for usability by a robot, by allowing a designer to in effect teleoperate a virtual robot and attempt the operation of the device. The tool uses a 3D physics-based simulation built in Unity, and a Phantom Omni / Geomagic Touch haptic device that controls the virtual robot's end-effector and provides force feedback. Through user studies, we show that the use of this tool can significantly improve a user's estimation of the suitability of a design for robot operation, in two case studies involving replacing a unit in a modular hardware system and unzipping a canvas bag. By incorporating the use of such a tool early in the design cycle, designers can more effectively develop equipment to be used by autonomous robots without themselves needing direct robotics experience; as a result, robots will be able to take on more tasks in the nearer term with current robot technology.

Crochet is a textile craft that has resisted mech-anization and industrialization except for a select number of one-off crochet machines. These machines are only capable of producing a limited subset of common crochet stitches. Crochet machines are not used in the textile industry, yet mass-produced crochet objects and clothes sold in stores like Target and Zara are almost certainly the products of crochet sweatshops. The popularity of crochet and the existence of crochet products in major chain stores shows that there is both a clear demand for this craft as well as a need for it to be produced in a more ethical way. In this paper, we present Croche-Matic, a radial crochet machine for generating three-dimensional cylindrical geometry. The Croche-Matic is designed based on Magic Ring technique, a method for hand crocheting 3D cylindrical objects. The machine consists of nine mechanical axes that work in sequence to complete different types of crochet stitches, and includes a sensor component for measuring and regulating yarn tension within the mechanical system. Croche-Matic can complete the four main stitches used in Magic Ring technique. It has a success rate of 50.7% with single crochet stitches, and has demonstrated an ability to create three-dimensional objects.

Robots are increasingly being called on to operate in settings and on tasks originally designed for humans, or where humans are also expected to work. Accordingly, the hardware and tools to be packaged, operated, or maintained are typically designed for use by humans, not robots. Robot autonomy in such cases can be expedited by a “robot factors” approach to the design of hardware, analogous to ergonomics for humans, taking typical current robot capabilities into account during the design process. In this paper, we present two case studies of redesigning mission-critical hardware in space habitats to facilitate autonomous robot operation. In both cases, hardware that previously required dexterous bi-manual manipulation is redesigned such that the entire maintenance task can be completed by a single robotic arm with a standard parallel jaw gripper. We demonstrate successful autonomous replacement of modules in the two hardware systems, and characterize how orientation and compliance of a grasp helps compensate for positioning errors. Based on our findings, we identify several key design strategies that underpin the robot factors approach to designing robot-friendly hardware, including consolidating compound actions into simpler mechanisms, constraining required motions to a single axis, and introducing mechanical compliance to mitigate the effects of pose uncertainties.

Research in autonomous robots for construction has largely focused on ground-based robots whose reach constrains the size of what they can build, or on climbing or aerial robots that build solid or unroofed structures. Autonomous construction of larger, multistory buildings, or bridges spanning unsupported distances, would require robots that build sturdy structures supporting their own weight. In this paper, we present VaultBot, a system of autonomous robots that build a load-bearing spanning vault using identical modular blocks. The custom blocks employ mechanical and other features to facilitate robotic manipulation and locomotion, and can be removed from and replaced in an assembled structure as a way of repairing damage. We characterize the system's performance and failure modes, and demonstrate reliable autonomous assembly for a structure composed of 46 blocks. Blocks can be made collapsible and deployable as a way of reducing mass and volume that must be transported to a construction site. Such a system could be used to help enable construction of protective shelters in challenging environments, such as disaster relief scenarios, arctic settings, or extraterrestrial habitats.

Soil stabilization is a fundamental component of nearly all construction projects, ranging from commercial construction to environmental restoration projects. Previous work in autonomous construction has generally not considered these essential stabilization and anchoring tasks. In this work we present Romu, an autonomous robot capable of building continuous linear structures by using a vibratory hammer to drive interlocking sheet piles into soil. We report on hardware parameters and their effects on pile driving performance, and demonstrate autonomous operation in both controlled and natural environments. Finally, we present simulations in which a small swarm of robots build with sheet piles in example terrains, or apply an alternate spray-based stabilizing agent, and quantify the ability of each intervention to mitigate hydraulic erosion.

Construction automation has historically been driven by top-down implementations of specific tasks, which are neither responsive nor resilient to dynamic situations, and often require centralized control or human supervision. Previous work on robotic assembly has generally neglected to consider forces acting on the structure, whether in the completed structure alone or throughout the building process. In this paper, we investigate the utility of local force measurements in guiding construction by a distributed team of strut-climbing robots, focusing on a scenario involving building an unsupported span out across a gap in a two-dimensional vertical plane, as a step towards building a bridge. We show that such measurements enable robots to build structures that cantilever significantly further than those built by robots without access to such information, while maintainig stability throughout the building sequence. We consider both structures securely anchored to the ground and those resting unanchored atop it, using a counterbalancing approach in the latter case to permit cantilevering. The principles explored in simulation are also demonstrated in hardware, including a prototype strut-climbing robot and truss components, incorporating a cost-effective sensor implementation that reports the requisite force information.