Researchers at Adelaide University are exploring how humans, robots and construction materials could work together to build future habitats on the Moon.
PhD candidate Albert Rajkumar, a space architect from the university’s Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources, is investigating the role that building materials themselves may play in lunar construction.
While most discussions focus on human supervision and robotic execution, Albert believes construction materials should also be considered active participants in the process.
“In most discussions around lunar construction, humans and robots are key, as the human interprets, supervises and intervenes, while the robot executes,” he said.
“But I’m currently exploring the idea that the building block, like a brick, is not a passive part of the process, but an active agent in construction.”
The research examines how humans might collaborate with robotic systems when construction takes place remotely rather than on-site.
Albert said future lunar construction would likely occur with human operators located far from robotic builders, creating new challenges for communication and decision-making.
“This poses new challenges. But it is where extended reality (XR) can help reconnect human perception and decision-making with robotic construction happening at a distance,” he said.
“With that in mind, it’s important to explore why understanding material behaviour is as valuable as user interfaces and robot autonomy.”
The concept has been explored through a series of academic papers, including research presented at the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney last year.
Rajkumar also tested the ideas during this year’s Australian Rover Challenge at the University’s Roseworthy campus through a project known as Side Quest.
Participants wore virtual reality headsets and supervised a robotic arm tasked with stacking blocks to build the tallest tower possible within a simulated lunar habitat environment.
“We wanted to demonstrate how robotics and extended reality would work for the purpose of construction,” Albert said.
“This really allowed people to see first-hand how robots, people, and architectural artifacts can work together in this way.”
The project has also helped foster collaboration with researchers working in robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and extended reality technologies.
Albert is now expanding the research through a larger-scale experiment at the university’s CRATER facility at Roseworthy, where a more life-sized habitat will be constructed.
“In the long term, we hope this research helps lay the groundwork for how humans and robots might build together – both in space and here on Earth – and uncover what this new architecture might look like,” he said.
