Automation and Robotics in the Built Environment - Design, Manufacturing, Construction, and Maintenance

With the further development of industrialization and urbanization, the world is facing a growing set of challenges, prominently among them being population aging. Presently, almost all major economies have entered into aging or aged societies. For example, Japan has become 'super-aged' society, with approximately 30% of its population aged 65 or older, and China has just recorded its first ever population decline in over 60 years and its population has just been surpassed by India in 2023. As a consequence, many industries around the world are grappling with intensifying labor shortages, a problem further exacerbated by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. In response to these pressing issues, automation, robotics, and assistive technologies have emerged as powerful tools both to alleviate the challenges of population aging and labor shortages, and to enhance social sustainability of the manufacturing sector to retain aging workforce.

As above-mentioned, the implementation of automation and robotics is an inevitable and irreversible trend in all areas of life including the built environment. However, the adoption of these technologies in the built environment still lags compared to other industries like manufacturing, mining, and agriculture. Therefore, it is urgently needed to promote the research and development in automation and robotic technology for the built environment. This research topic aims to attract high-quality research articles from global contributors to raise awareness of these problems existing in the design, manufacturing, construction, and maintenance processes of the built environment, and to facilitate the exchange of cutting-edge research and development advances that can mitigate and eventually solve these problems.

Authors are encouraged to contribute research articles focusing on promoting the automation and robotization within the built environment across processes. The topics of interest include:
• Design: Explore areas such as generative design, parametric design, robot-oriented design, building information modeling, and design for manufacturing and assembly;
• Manufacturing: Address industrialized prefabrication, lean manufacturing, modular construction, and circular construction to promote sustainability in manufacturing;
• Construction: Investigate construction robotics, autonomous construction equipment, human-robot collaboration, and digital fabrication to enhance efficiency, productivity, and safety;
• Maintenance: Delve into smart home technologies, gerontechnology, ambient-assisted living, companion robots, and smart infrastructure to improve maintenance processes.