Dusty Robotics Inc. has launched its second-generation FieldPrint Platform with new features and enhancements. This release polishes all of the elements that deliver a more refined experience for end users, said the Mountain View, Calif.-based company.
“Construction is fundamentally a data-driven workflow that hinges on the right information being made available to the right person at the right time,” said Tessa Lau, co-founder and CEO of Dusty Robotics, in a release.
“Our new FieldPrint Platform supports the seamless flow of data from the design phase to the field and back to the trailer,” she said. “More than just a robot, Dusty provides an integrated software+hardware solution that architects, designers, and field operators utilize to get unparalleled accuracy, communication, and efficiency.”
Dusty Robotics said it has developed tools to address construction’s “most painful” manual workflows. The company said its FieldPrinter robot and FieldPrint Platform combine hardware, software, and services to print accurate building layouts directly onto concrete, fitting into existing construction processes.
New construction design is all digital
Construction has evolved over the past decade, as the latest generation of architects and construction managers brought new digital skill sets to the industry. Today, Revit by AutoCAD is the most popular CAD program that architects and architectural engineers use to design buildings.
Dusty Robotics released an enhanced plugin for Revit to eliminate errors, streamline workflows, and enhances virtual design and construction (VDC) efficiency by automating most of the manual steps needed to prepare robot-ready drawings. The company said its plugin incorporates best practices learned from key builders and thousands of projects.
Dusty Revit Plugin can get the most complete and accurate information on the floor by automatically extracting it from the coordinated building information modeling (BIM) dataset, it claimed.
Since its introduction in 2018, the Dusty Robotics FieldPrinter has printed more than 91 million sq. ft. (8.5 million sq. m) of layout. The latest edition of the software for FieldPrinter can now mark the information for all of the various trades on a building site, including structural, plumbing, and electrical.
This can enable quality checks during walkthroughs and reduces errors as the building physically comes together, said Dusty. Changes and modifications to the building design can be quickly implemented from digital design to the physical building site.
New features for Dusty FieldPrinter 2
The second-generation Dusty robot enhances on-site performance and productivity through its compact design and extended capabilities.
Upgraded features include:
- Compact form factor: The FieldPrinter 2 effortlessly navigates tight spaces and seamlessly maneuvers around obstacles to provide the most complete layout.
- Edge Print enables printing right up to edges, columns, and site features.
- Shadow Print enables printing behind columns for more coverage in less time.
- Full sensor suite enables real-time detection of edges, obstacles, and other objects that may impede printing.
- Curve printing generates smooth arcs of any radius.
- Extra-wide printhead (1″ vs ½”) prints points, lines, text, and curves quickly and legibly at 300 dpi.
- Light weight: FieldPrinter weighs in at 23 lb. (10.4 kg), including the battery.
- Power Hold ensures uninterrupted operation during battery replacement.
Onsite, operators can access the FieldPrinter entirely through an iPad interface for the printing process.
Dusty Robotics offers the system exclusively through a robots-as-a-service (RaaS) subscription model directly to general contractors. This allows the company to immediately support onsite staff in the field, and upgrade the fleet of FieldPrinters as new features are released.
Dusty Robotics Portal supports multiple trades
This release also includes the new online Dusty Portal, which facilitates multi-trade layout by allowing all trades to combine and align their digital files in a single place. The portal enables the design team to verify that all files utilize the same coordinate system, preview the combined files before printing, and ensure that everyone is working off the latest version.
In addition, the Dusty Portal provides access to productivity reports for project tracking and operator performance.
