Interactive Robotic Plastering: Augmented Interactive Design and Fabrication for On-site Robotic Plastering

ABSTRACT This paper presents Interactive Robotic Plastering (IRoP), a system enabling designers and skilled workers to engage intuitively with an in-situ robotic plastering process. The research combines three elements: interactive design tools, an augmented reality interface, and a robotic spraying system. Plastering is a complex process relying on tacit knowledge and craftsmanship, making it difficult to simulate and automate. However, our system utilizes a controller-based interaction system to enable diverse users to interactively create articulated plasterwork in-situ. A customizable computational toolset converts human intentions into robotic motions while respecting robotic and material constraints. To accomplish this, we developed both an interactive computational model to translate the data from a motion-tracking system into robotic trajectories using design and editing tools as well as an audio-visual guidance system for in-situ projection. We then conducted two user-studies of designers and skilled workers who used IRoP to design and fabricate a full-scale demonstrator.