Intelligent robotics for civil infrastructure construction and maintenance
Construction and maintenance of civil infrastructure assets, including bridges, transmission towers and underwater structures, have been strictly constrained by humans’ limits and health/safety requirements. The need for safe, efficient and effective construction and maintenance has led to a desire to automate the operations. Intelligent robots that can operate either autonomously or collaboratively with humans in a complex infrastructure environment provide a promising solution. However, developing autonomous or human collaborative robots for such applications has a number of fundamental challenges. One is the way in which a robot moves and supports itself must be appropriate to the type of infrastructure. Another challenge arises because remote control of construction and maintenance robots may not be feasible, due to the complexity of the environment and the difficulty of controlling motion in real-time. This presentation will first discuss the functionalities the robots should have for infrastructure construction and maintenance. Key methodologies that enable the development of intelligent robots will then be discussed. A number of case studies will be presented. By reflecting on lessons learnt from these case studies, we will highlight both successes and challenges. Finally, we will explore the opportunities that lie ahead in this exciting field.
About the Speaker
Distinguished Professor , Robotics Institute, University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
Dikai Liu is a distinguished professor at the Robotics Institute of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and an IEEE RAS Distinguished Lecturer. He is Director of the ARC Research Hub for Human-Robot Teaming for Sustainable and Resilient Construction (2025-2030). He served as Co-Director of the UTS Centre for Autonomous Systems (2013-2019) and initiated and established the UTS Robotics Institute in 2019. His research interest lies in robotics, with a focus on field robotics and human-robot collaboration. In addition to conducting fundamental robotics research, he has been instrumental in transforming robotics research into real industry applications. Examples include autonomous robots for bridge maintenance, bio-inspired climbing robots for inspection of confined space, intelligent robotic co-worker for human-robot collaborative abrasive blasting, smart hoist for patient transfer, and autonomous robots for underwater structure maintenance. Since 2006, his research has received over 20 Best Paper and Research/Engineering Excellence awards, including the 2024 IEEE IROS Harashima Award, the 2019 UTS Medal for Research Impact, the 2019 ASME DED Leonardo da Vinci Award, the 2019 BHERT Award for Outstanding Collaboration in Research & Development, and the 2016 Australian Engineering Excellence Awards (AEEA). His research has been featured by reputable newspapers and TV news channels, such as the BBC, ABC, SBS, TVBS (Taiwan), Sydney Morning Herald, 7News, AFR, and The Robot Report (USA).
