08/10/2026
๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ-๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐น๐ ๐๐ฎ๐?
This question lies at the heart of the European research project โ๐ฃ๐ง๐๐ โ ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ง๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ดโ. At the project kick-off on September 29, 2026, at the University of Sheffield/AMRC, United Kingdom, the international consortium met for the first time to shape the construction site of the future.
๐๏ธ Europe is facing two major challenges: a shortage of affordable housing and the urgent need to decarbonize the construction sector. PTAH therefore explores how containerized robotic micro factories, semi-autonomous cranes, mobile robots and humans can work together directly on construction sites. The goal is to deliver sustainable timber buildings with industrial precision, high efficiency and a strong focus on circularity.
๐ค For the researchers at Fraunhofer IFAM in Stade, Germany, a robotized construction crane is a key element of construction site coordination. A retrofitted crane system is being developed to transport and precisely position materials under human supervision. Mobile robotic systems can be deployed to their respective work locations and used as end effectors for assembly tasks.
๐ At the same time, the crane serves as a sensor platform: LiDAR, stereo cameras and additional sensors are used to verify material positions, monitor construction progress and localize people, robots as well as other actors on site. The resulting data is integrated into a ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐น๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐ ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น โ a shared, continuously updated representation of the status of the construction site.
๐ Together with so-called ๐๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ง๐๐ถ๐ป๐, this world model forms the foundation for coordinated processes. Fraunhofer IFAM contributes expertise in sensor fusion as well as in the synchronization and state management of the digital twins.
๐ฅ Humans remain at the center of the process: skilled workers supervise operations and can intervene at any time. Haptic, visual and sensory feedback, combined with intelligent collision avoidance, support safe and intuitive human-machine collaboration.
โป๏ธ The objective of PTAH is the construction of a two-story timber pavilion designed specifically for robotic assembly. It will serve as a demonstrator for precise, reversible and circular construction methods.
๐ค We are excited to collaborate wth The University of Sheffield AMRC, Instituto Eduardo Torroja, AUAR, Space Solar Group Holdings Ltd and TU Delft.
We also gratefully acknowledge the support of our funding bodies: the ๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ป under ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ โ ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ (Grant Agreement No. 101307365) as well as the Land Niedersachsen and NBank, Germany.
Philip Carstensen, Christian Bรถhlmann, Simon Kothe
