New US Centre for Autonomous Construction

The US-based University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering has announced that it is setting up a new research and development centre dedicated to autonomous construction technology.

The new centre has received funding from the US Army Corps of Engineers and will be known as the Center for Autonomous Construction in Manufacturing at Scale (CACMS).

It will focus on translational research – turning emerging technologies and basic research efforts into real world solutions that will be of value to the US Army and the State of Illinois.

The centre will serve as a partnership resource for the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center (USACE ERDC) enabling targeted interdisciplinary research using congressionally directed funding through Senator Dick Durbin’s office.

“With a fleet of self-driving vehicles, the centre will focus on some of the most pressing questions related to autonomous construction technologies, including ones related to control systems, expert systems, artificial intelligence, gap crossing and demolition; system architecture; and manufacturing technologies such as additive manufacturing,” the college said in its statement. “Numerous vehicle types will be tested and developed, including traditional wheeled vehicles, skid steers and tracked vehicles.”