Robotics and Autonomous Systems 1

Robotics and Autonomous Systems 1: Integrated Approaches to Fabrication, Computation and Architectural Design presents design research from the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design’s MSD-RAS program. At present, architectural design and construction approaches are unable to meet immediate and projected societal needs in productivity, affordability, and sustainability or to adequately engage with the diverse conditions found in our built environment. The MSD-RAS seeks to address these challenges through bespoke design solutions that are integral to a critical and creative approach to production. Implied in the term “RAS”, the program seeks to harness the potential of AI and robotic systems to work more adaptively than automation affords. Primarily operating through the development of robotically fabricated prototypes, projects are presented that incorporate custom approaches to generative computational design, machine learning, robot tooling, real-time adaptive robot programming, sensor feedback, material and manufacturing processes or human-in-the-loop activities. Serving as a graphical reflection on the first three years of the program, research projects are presented alongside interviews with some of the program’s graduates together with insights into the exciting career trajectories they embarked on post-study. Essays from the program’s faculty dive deeper into several core topics such as the MSD-RAS’s approach to design research, critical engagement with industrial manufacturing processes, and the integration of semi-autonomous workflows in design and production. Also discussed is the program’s unique integrated approach to coursework and why it is inducive to the creation of novel collaborative work that expands design agency into unchartered territories and careers.