2015年7月4日，陳列于同濟(jì)大學(xué)建筑與城市規(guī)劃學(xué)院外的一個(gè)創(chuàng)意戶外雕塑吸引了不少同濟(jì)學(xué)師生駐足觀賞。這個(gè)造型特別的創(chuàng)意作品并非人工打造，而是由兩臺(tái)KUKA機(jī)器人和RoboTeam協(xié)同完成。該作品只是當(dāng)天“數(shù)字工廠”機(jī)器人建造工作營(yíng)成果展集中展出的多項(xiàng)創(chuàng)意作品中的一件。

On July 4, an creative outdoor sculpture displayed at the exhibition hall of Tongji Architecture and Urban Planning College drew a lot of attention from students and faculty members. The “Swarm Fabrication”, one of many digital fabrication projects on display at the DADA “ Digital Factory” Workshop Exhibition, was not fabricated by human hands but completed by two collaborative KUKA robots.

為期一周的DADA2015“數(shù)字工廠”機(jī)器人建造工作營(yíng)吸引了來(lái)自美國(guó)南加州USC、美國(guó)密歇根大學(xué)、美國(guó)羅德島設(shè)計(jì)學(xué)院、意大利米蘭理工大學(xué)、韓國(guó)延世大學(xué)、香港大學(xué)、臺(tái)灣淡江大學(xué)、同濟(jì)大學(xué)、清華大學(xué)等多所知名院校學(xué)生的積極參與。120多位同學(xué)在31位導(dǎo)師帶領(lǐng)下，通過9天時(shí)間完成了本次成果展的所有作品。機(jī)器人木構(gòu)建筑、機(jī)器人陶土打印、自主建造等設(shè)計(jì)作品的亮相也為本屆活動(dòng)畫上了圓滿的句號(hào)。

The week-long DADA 2015 “Digital Factory” Robot Fabrication Workshop from June 27 to July 4 at Tongji University attracted students from many renowned universities around the world including the University of South California, University of Michigan, Hong Kong University, Tongji University and Tsinghua University. More than 120 students spent 9 days at the workshop to deliver a series of creative digital projects, covering robotics ceramic printing, robotics wood tectonics and robot team fabrication.

在活動(dòng)期間，我們采訪到來(lái)自?shī)W地利的JohannesBraumann教授和同濟(jì)大學(xué)建筑與城市規(guī)劃學(xué)院數(shù)字設(shè)計(jì)研究中心袁烽教授。Braumann教授是RobotsinArchitecture“世界機(jī)器人在建筑中應(yīng)用協(xié)會(huì)”的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)辦人之一，也是本次數(shù)字建造營(yíng)的主題演講嘉賓和項(xiàng)目導(dǎo)師。他和袁烽博士將為我們解讀機(jī)器人在建筑和創(chuàng)意領(lǐng)域的應(yīng)用和最新趨勢(shì)。（JohannesBraumann以下簡(jiǎn)稱“J”；袁烽簡(jiǎn)稱“袁”。）

We’ve spoken with Professor Johannes Braumann, co-founder of Robot in Architecture Association and Doctor Yuan Feng from Architecture and Urban Planning College, Tongji University at the exhibition.They have shared their insights on the potential of industrial robots in creative industry, development trends and future plans. (Johannes Braumann referred as “ J ”and Yuan Feng as “ Yuan” in the interview.)

Q:機(jī)器人在工業(yè)制造業(yè)已得到廣泛應(yīng)用，但在建筑和創(chuàng)意領(lǐng)域，機(jī)器人的應(yīng)用似乎還是比較新的嘗試。您作為推動(dòng)機(jī)器人在建筑領(lǐng)域應(yīng)用的先鋒人物，能否介紹一下最新的應(yīng)用和發(fā)展趨勢(shì)？

Q: Industrial robots are widely used in manufacturing but in architecture and creative industry, it seems there are still a lot of potential and possibilities. Can you tell us more about the current development in these sectors? 

J:相比我們熟悉的工業(yè)領(lǐng)域機(jī)器人的應(yīng)用，比如焊接、涂裝和組裝等，機(jī)器人在建筑和創(chuàng)意領(lǐng)域的應(yīng)用時(shí)間并不算長(zhǎng)，但在最近十年，這一領(lǐng)域的應(yīng)用發(fā)展很快。工業(yè)機(jī)器人在創(chuàng)意設(shè)計(jì)領(lǐng)域其實(shí)大有可為，這也是創(chuàng)業(yè)產(chǎn)業(yè)越來(lái)越多地關(guān)注和投入機(jī)器人研究的原因。在學(xué)術(shù)領(lǐng)域，最初我們看到的是嘗試和探索，但現(xiàn)在，更多的是實(shí)實(shí)在在的研究，目的是讓機(jī)器人能在建筑中發(fā)揮更大的作用。

J: The application of robots in creative industry is still quite recent. But In the past ten years, we have seen quite rapid development in using industrial robots in architecture and design. I have also noticed many companies in the creative industry began to show increasing interests in robotics. As to the academic world, at the very beginning most activities were of experimental nature but now we see more and more serious projects involving industrial robots and many universities in Asia are actively looking into to this area. I think there is very good academic atmosphere to drive the development forward.

Q:制造業(yè)和建筑業(yè)性質(zhì)有很大不同，這是否會(huì)對(duì)機(jī)器人的應(yīng)用帶來(lái)新的挑戰(zhàn)？

Q: In architecture and creative due to different nature of these industries, will robots play a different role compared to their application in manufacturing ?

J：創(chuàng)意產(chǎn)業(yè)和制造業(yè)對(duì)機(jī)器人的需求有很大的不同。在制造業(yè)的很多環(huán)節(jié)，機(jī)器人往往需要從事重復(fù)性較高的工作，但在建筑領(lǐng)域，設(shè)計(jì)師會(huì)不斷嘗試新的想法，我們往往需要借助機(jī)器人完成創(chuàng)作性的項(xiàng)目。因此，需要機(jī)器人兼容程度高、操作更柔性，這就對(duì)軟件編程提出了更高要求，所以一款容易使用且具有開放性的軟件，對(duì)于首次接觸機(jī)器人的設(shè)計(jì)師來(lái)說(shuō)非常重要。

J: Indeed that creative industry has different needs and requirement for industrial robots. In manufacturing, robots are often doing repetitive work therefore you only need to program the robot once and it will do a perfect job for a long time. But in creative industry, designers are always trying new things and working on new projects, which means we need to provide them with flexible software that allows them to realize ideas in a very quick way. This also applies to academia and universities because they only have students there for a couple of hours each week so they have to be more efficient with time.

Q:您主導(dǎo)開發(fā)了KUKAprc這款應(yīng)用軟件，讓設(shè)計(jì)師能將參數(shù)化的建模成果直接轉(zhuǎn)換成機(jī)器人語(yǔ)言。為何會(huì)選擇KUKA機(jī)器人作為開發(fā)平臺(tái)？

Q: You led the development of KUKA|prc, a plugin that enables robot control from within architectural software. Can you tell us more about your cooperation with KUKA ? Why choose KUKA robots to work with?

J:2005年，在我開展研究之初，我需要一臺(tái)能從事切削應(yīng)用的設(shè)備。KUKA是當(dāng)時(shí)唯一能提供綜合性切削機(jī)器人解決方案的供應(yīng)商。在維也納，KUKA公司離我住的地方很近，我們保持了多年的合作。KUKA看到了機(jī)器人在創(chuàng)意設(shè)計(jì)領(lǐng)域的潛能，也為我的研究提供了很多支持。

J: I started the cooperation with KUKA many years ago. At the beginning of my research, I was just trying to look for a milling machine to do some experimenting projects. At that time KUKA was the only industrial robot manufacturer that can offer integrated milling solution. Since then I have been working with engineers of KUKA  Austria for a long time. They have seen potential and value of robots application in architecture and have been quite supportive for my research. 

對(duì)我個(gè)人來(lái)說(shuō)，KUKA的機(jī)器人設(shè)計(jì)得非常棒，在創(chuàng)作中，我的很多想法都能通過機(jī)器人得以實(shí)現(xiàn)。對(duì)于創(chuàng)意行業(yè)來(lái)說(shuō)，外型的美觀也是一個(gè)重要的因素。盡管是工業(yè)機(jī)器人，但KUKA的設(shè)計(jì)相比而言更有吸引力，也能符合建筑師和設(shè)計(jì)師對(duì)美的需求。此外，對(duì)于非工程背景的人來(lái)說(shuō)，KUKA的控制界面簡(jiǎn)單、易操作，這也是很多設(shè)計(jì)院校選擇KUKA的原因。

For me, KUKA robots are well designed and I like the way they work. Most of my ideas can be realized with KUKA robots and I can easily integrate the system with my software. This may just be my personal opinion but I do think the design of KUKA robot has a large appeal to people in the design world. In terms of the interface, KUKA’s control panel is also nicely designed so even for those outside the engineering world, it is still accessible. That I believe is a big reason why so many universities choose KUKA robots.

Q：由您和西格麗德·布瑞爾考根（SigridBrell-Cokcan）教授共同創(chuàng)辦的“世界機(jī)器人在建筑中應(yīng)用協(xié)會(huì)”每?jī)赡陼?huì)舉辦一次國(guó)際會(huì)議。未來(lái)，這個(gè)學(xué)術(shù)交流會(huì)有可能來(lái)到中國(guó)嗎？

Q: Rob|Arch conference next year will be held in Australia. We know the past two sessions gained supported from many renowned universities &institutions around the world. Will it be possible for the conference to come to China? 

J：是的。2012年，我們?cè)诰S也納舉辦了首屆RobIArch國(guó)際會(huì)議；2014年，在美國(guó)密歇根成功舉辦了第二屆。而明年，會(huì)議將在澳大利亞墨爾本舉辦，目前已經(jīng)得到了包括悉尼大學(xué)、墨爾本皇家理工學(xué)院等高校的支持，這也是我們首次在亞洲舉辦活動(dòng)。其實(shí)把地點(diǎn)選在澳洲，也是一次新的嘗試。據(jù)我所知，澳洲近半數(shù)的設(shè)計(jì)院校都配備了KUKA機(jī)器人，他們對(duì)機(jī)器人在建筑和創(chuàng)意領(lǐng)域的應(yīng)用非常重視。當(dāng)然，我也希望這個(gè)活動(dòng)能吸引學(xué)術(shù)圈以外的企業(yè)和組織參與，這也是我這次同濟(jì)之行的目的之一。我們希望能與KUKA中國(guó)共同推進(jìn)這一目標(biāo)。

J：Robots in architecture is an industry association and an open platform for everybody interested in the creative use of industrial robots. It is fund by me together with Sigrid Brell-Cokcan. In 2012, we held the first conference in Vienna and in 2014, we went to Michigan. Next year, we will hold the third conference in Melbourne, which will be the first time we have this event in Asia. We have gain a lot of support from local universities like Sydney Universities and RMIT. In Australia, robot’s application in architecture is hit topic and as far as I know, nearly half of the design schools have robots. I think in universities, there is a tendency to choose KUKA robots. This is especially true in Asia, like Australia where we see that if one university chose KUKA robots, the others are likely to follow as they can exchange knowledge and it is quick and easier to start with.I certainly think it is possible for us to hold this conference in China. This is why I wanted to work more with KUKA China to know local projects and companies. 

Q:您如何看待自己現(xiàn)在的身份？工程師、建筑師、還是導(dǎo)師？

Q : Do you see yourself as engineer, architect, programmer or mentor? 

J：其實(shí)我的背景并不是軟件工程或技術(shù)工程師，而是建筑設(shè)計(jì)。接觸機(jī)器人是一個(gè)很偶然的機(jī)會(huì)。2005年，我在維也納技術(shù)大學(xué)擔(dān)任助教，從那時(shí)起，我有機(jī)會(huì)嘗試將機(jī)器人用在各種可能的創(chuàng)意環(huán)節(jié)中。建筑師的身份讓我能更了解建筑設(shè)計(jì)的需求，我覺得這也是一種優(yōu)勢(shì)。如果談到教學(xué)的話，我很享受和學(xué)生的接觸，他們總是愿意嘗試新的想法，也讓我能跳出慣性思維，獲得更多收獲。以下是袁烽教授談同濟(jì)大學(xué)和Braumann教授及“世界機(jī)器人在建筑中應(yīng)用協(xié)會(huì)”未來(lái)的合作。

J：In fact I’m not coming from engineering or computer science. I’m from an architect. I got into robotics in a naive way when I was working at Vienna   university. I think my architecture background is quite beneficially as I won’t be confined by certain rules and I understand the unique needs of architecture. As to my role, I really this it is a mix of educator and engineer. I enjoy school environment very much and I like to spend time with my students. They’re always willing to try new ideas and I’m often inspired by them.

Q：同濟(jì)大學(xué)一直以來(lái)走在中國(guó)建筑設(shè)計(jì)領(lǐng)域的前沿。您如何看待機(jī)器人在建筑和創(chuàng)意領(lǐng)域的應(yīng)用潛能？

Q: Tongji University is a leading institution in architecture and engineering education in China. What is your view on robot’s application in architecture and creative industry? 

袁：機(jī)器人在制造業(yè)的應(yīng)用已經(jīng)非常廣泛，但在創(chuàng)意領(lǐng)域相對(duì)來(lái)說(shuō)探索才剛開始。在創(chuàng)意設(shè)計(jì)行業(yè)，機(jī)器人提供了新的創(chuàng)作媒介，可以說(shuō)是大腦和手的延伸。這幾年，我們看到在很多跨界領(lǐng)域都開始出現(xiàn)機(jī)器人的身影，這也是因?yàn)榇蠹铱吹搅巳斯ぶ悄芘c藝術(shù)設(shè)計(jì)結(jié)合帶來(lái)的可能性。

Yuan: Robot’s application in architecture is still new in China. In recent years, we have seen the trend of use of robots in cross-industry applications increasing. People in the creative industry start to see possibilities brought by this technology. In creative sectors, industrial robots can be seen as a new media or platform. They are “empowered” by human brains and they can do lot of work that can’t be done by human hands.

Q:目前，國(guó)內(nèi)的建筑設(shè)計(jì)院校對(duì)機(jī)器人的應(yīng)用情況如何？同濟(jì)和KUKA有哪些合作？ 同濟(jì)大學(xué)建筑與城市規(guī)劃學(xué)院是否會(huì)和“世界機(jī)器人在建筑中應(yīng)用協(xié)會(huì)”有更緊密的合作？

Q: How do you see China in terms of robots application in design and architecture? Will there be more cooperation with Professor Johannes Braumman and Robots in Architecture ? 

袁：目前國(guó)內(nèi)的200多所設(shè)計(jì)院校中，僅有包括同濟(jì)大學(xué)在內(nèi)的3所院校配有機(jī)器人。在過去三年里，同濟(jì)大型機(jī)器人工作室的2臺(tái)KUKA機(jī)器人已經(jīng)幫助我們完成了很多創(chuàng)意作品，可以說(shuō)同濟(jì)大學(xué)在這一領(lǐng)域走在了前面。對(duì)于學(xué)校來(lái)說(shuō)，機(jī)器人的可靠性、準(zhǔn)確性以及是否經(jīng)常維護(hù)等因素是我們?cè)谶x擇機(jī)器人供應(yīng)商時(shí)的重要考量因素，我覺得KUKA機(jī)器人能很好地滿足我們這些要求。

“世界機(jī)器人在建筑中應(yīng)用協(xié)會(huì)”是一個(gè)世界性的創(chuàng)意機(jī)器人應(yīng)用交流平臺(tái)。這個(gè)平臺(tái)讓大家分享機(jī)器人在建筑、藝術(shù)和創(chuàng)意領(lǐng)域的應(yīng)用成果，也集合了全球這一領(lǐng)域的先鋒人物。我們已經(jīng)和“世界機(jī)器人建筑協(xié)會(huì)”達(dá)成了合作意向，計(jì)劃在中國(guó)成立“世界機(jī)器人建筑協(xié)會(huì)”亞洲中心，學(xué)院也非常期待與Braumann教授未來(lái)的合作。

Yuan: Robots in Architecture presents an open platform for anyone interested in robotics in the architecture industry to share ideas and it connects academic pioneers, educators and professionals from all over the world. In China, only three architecture and design institutions have industrial robots. Our Rob Team of two KUKA robots have done many creative projects in the past three years. For universities, when we choose a robot to work with, we certainly would consider several factors, like reliability, accuracy, easy to use and maintenance. KUKA robots answered all our requests. We’re pleased to work with KUKA.

Another good news for us is we have already signed a memo with Professor Braumann to make Tongji the home of Robots in Architecture in Asia. We are looking forward to our future cooperation in this area.