ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Built Environ.
Sec. Sustainable Design and Construction
Volume 11 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbuil.2025.1649278
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancing Automation in Design and Construction: Practices and ResearchView all articles
Integrated workflow for a semi-automated and robotic facade renovation
Provisionally accepted
Kepa Iturralde1,2*
Wenlan Shen1
Renzo Bazan1Oscar Amo Grau1
Danya Liu1Aravind Srinivasaragavan1Samanti Das1
Thomas Bock1Christoph Holst1- 1Technische Universitat Munchen, Munich, Germany
- 2Universitat Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
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The drive towards enhanced efficiency, precision, and automation in the realm of building fac¸ade renovation is a salient factor in this paradigm shift. This transition is characterized by the need for streamlined processes that encompass design, fabrication, and installation. This paper expounds upon an integrated workflow that combines data acquisition, geometric modeling, and robotic assembly to automate the manufacturing of prefabricated facade modules for building renovation. The workflow consists of several steps. First, a structured online data acquisition platform has been developed to standardize the digital modeling process, providing users with a guided approach from basic project input to BIM (Building Information Modeling) -compatible outputs. Next, to enhance the precision of facade modeling from the previous step, a geometry estimation method based on AprilTag is utilized. This method facilitates sub-millimeter accuracy through photogrammetric calibration and plane fitting. These geometric definitions are subsequently transferred to a CAM (computer-assisted manufacturing) pipeline, which enables automated detailing and fabrication of panels using industry-standard software. The final step involves robotic assembly driven by a robotic manipulator with a vision-assisted system for flexible pick-and-place operations. The system demonstrated sub-centimeter assembly precision and reduced manual layout and clash-checking time in different case studies. The proposed system offers a scalable and precise solution for energy-efficient building renovation through a seamless connection between digital modeling and robotic execution.
Keywords: Building renovation, Data acquisition platform, AprilTag geometry estimation, Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), Robotic assembly
Received: 18 Jun 2025; Accepted: 08 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Iturralde, Shen, Bazan, Grau, Liu, Srinivasaragavan, Das, Bock and Holst. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Kepa Iturralde, Technische Universitat Munchen, Munich, Germany
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