Specifications and conceptual design of a mobile manipulator

This thesis investigates the design and application of a mobile robot aimed at automating the scanning and digitization of buildings at demolition sites using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). The objective is to enable the robot to autonomously navigate through complex building environments, such as corridors and around obstacles, while maintaining the capability to access nearly any point within a structure. The design integrates a robotic manipulator arm on a mobile base and necessary sensors to support comprehensive site analysis. The robot integrates a manipulator arm equipped with multiple sensors, including GPR, LiDAR, and depth cameras, to perform detailed scans that contribute to the creation of accurate Building Information Models (BIM). This study discusses in detail the robot’s design considerations. By analyzing data collected from GPR and LiDAR sensors through advanced algorithms, the robot can identify material compositions, detect structural features, and optimize the demolition process by predicting material recovery and waste reduction opportunities. The result of this thesis presents a potential starting concept for the actual design of the robot, taking into account the actual or realistic dimensions of all the elements that will constitute the final robot.