Pathways to Design Robotics

Description

The increasing necessity for design and architecture professionals to engage with advanced manufacturing technologies presents a unique challenge for design schools to develop hands-on teaching programs, which expose large cohorts of students to state-of-the-art machinery and fabrication processes. Of particular note, is the trend towards inclusion of multi-axis articulated robot arms in design workshop facilities.

Takeaway

This session will provide participants with two alternative frameworks for teaching design robotics, using real-world case studies undertaken simultaneously within a new design robotics facility. Emphasis will be on the differences and overlaps of these teaching approaches, so that students may be offered multiple entry pathways into design robotics.

Abstract

Recent advances in digital technologies have already radically transformed the way in which spaces and objects are produced, both physically and conceptually. Within the building and manufacturing industries, sophisticated file-to-factory fabrication processes have become increasingly commonplace across all stages of design ‐ from early conception and schematic design, to final physical realisation. The ability to rationalise and fabricate complex geometries in-house allows architects designers to seamlessly integrate reduced- or full-scale rapid prototyping into early stages of the design process. As the relationship between the digital and physical conception of a project changes, so too does the nature of skills required to bring a project to fruition. In order to adapt to these changing modes of production, many architects and designers operating within the built environment are beginning to cultivate new skills, including fluency in programming languages, a working knowledge of non-standard material systems, and an understanding of advanced manufacturing techniques. It follows that tertiary design education must adapt to these changing productions modes ‐ placing increasing demand on design schools to expose large cohorts of students to state-of-the-art machinery and fabrication processes. In the context of advanced manufacturing, rapid prototyping and bespoke fabrication, architecture and design schools are increasingly integrating robotics into education ‐ but how do we teach students the skills to make the most of this technology for their future practice? This paper will offer a critical comparison of two different approaches for teaching design robotics, using real-world teaching case studies conducted within a new design robotics lab. The first is optimized for high-volume, limited-variability artefact generation, using a plug-and-play approach. The emphasis of this approach is on “use” of the tools, only. The second involves a smaller student cohort, affording increased one-on-one contact with tutors. The emphasis of this second approach is on building agency and autonomy with the tools. By agency we mean an understanding of the digital tools themselves; their intent, purpose and limitations. In line with recent work by Markauskaite and Goodyear, we suggest it is this understanding that enables students to rethink the tools themselves, to identify the affordances and constraints embedded within them and to challenge them. Through the comparison of these two recent case studies we will identify opportunities for each to inform the other in order to develop an optimal and multifarious approach to teaching design robotics.