Robotic Fabrication with the COMPAS Framework online workshop
10:00am – 5:00pm CET
December 13th-15th 2021
Tutors: Gonzalo Casas, Romana Rust, Beverly Lytle
Hosted by McNeel Europe
Architecture and digital fabrication in the age of robotics require juggling a toolchain spanning very different skills, ranging from the creative aspects of design to the engineering needs of software and hardware development. At ETH Zurich, the NCCR Digital Fabrication lab develops an open-source Python framework, the COMPAS framework, that aims to streamline these workflows, lower the barrier of entry to robotics and enable architects and designers to access state-of-the-art robotics tooling from within the parametric design environment.
In this 3-day workshop, Gonzalo Casas (software engineer), Romana Rust (senior researcher) and Beverly Lytle (software engineer), of the Chair of Architecture and Digital Fabrication at ETH Zurich and members of the COMPAS core development team, will introduce participants to the COMPAS framework, provide an overview of robotics fundamentals and focus on the design and planning of robotic fabrication processes.
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Analyse and explain the kinematic structure of a robot model (Links, Joints, Joint Types, URDF description format).
- Describe and discuss building blocks of robotics (forward and inverse kinematics, cartesian and kinematic planning, planning scene).
- Apply building blocks of robotics to plan stereotypical assembly processes (e.g., bricklaying) in a simulation context.
- Design new robotic processes (e.g., spatially assembled linear elements) for digital fabrication based on the building blocks applied in the physical world.
COMPAS FAB is the robotic fabrication package for the COMPAS framework that facilitates the planning and execution of robotic fabrication processes. It provides interfaces to the software libraries and tools available in robotics and makes them accessible from within the parametric design environment.
Participants are expected to be familiar with Rhino/Grasshopper and have at least basic knowledge of Python programming.
Fee: 395€ (+VAT, if applicable).
Full-time students and university teachers (proof of status required) will get a 50% discount.
Please note your seat is only confirmed once payment has been cleared.
Max. Number of Participants: 25.
If there is no quorum, the course will be cancelled 15 days prior to the start date of the workshop.