CW KELLER & ASSOCIATES

Area of Research:
Architecture, Engineering, and Construction

Location:
San Francisco / Boston

CW Keller & Associates (CWKA) specializes in fabrication of irregular or complex geometry for architectural-scale designs. As technology center residents, CWKA has created an augmented construction site scenario that will help visually and physically verify part and site conditions for various stakeholders. Working in partnership with FARO Technologies, CWKA is laser-focused on improving accuracy and predictability in construction sequencing and prefabrication.

CWKA deploys manufacturing and aerospace-derived metrological quality control strategies to merge pre-construction best practices with digitized construction environments. In addition, robotic positioning of existing manufacturing metrology tools (all aligned with BIM information) supports digital-to-physical synchronization for unstructured construction environments and high tolerance part-installation activities.

From hardware mock-up design reviews to advanced consulting referrals, access to the expertise of Autodesk teams and the technology center equipment has been crucial to CWKA’s progress. With guidance from Autodesk teams–including BIM, construction, reality capture, and robotics experts–CWKA has successfully navigated multiple challenges to move forward with innovative technical solutions.

Continuing research proposes that these tools can be used to augment construction tasks that are not easily automatable. CWKA’s research at the technology center shows how reality capture of the as-built environment can verify BIM information through augmented site projection. As a result of their work at the technology center, CWKA is creating hands-on, spatially augmented reality tools for construction trades and project planning.