In conjunction with the robotics department (The Center For Intelligent Machines at McGill), the ice architecture team is speculating on how to use parametric software for form-finding, and in turn, how to translate parametric models into task planning for the robots that will build the ice structures.
Our first experiments involved established means of translating 3-dimensional STL digital models into physical models using techniques of rapid prototyping, and CNC milling. However, as we determine which processes work best, we hope to scale up from small objects to architectural projects, at which point the robot itself will have to move. It is this ambition that distinguishes our project from other engineers interested in rapid prototyping involving ice.
Watch the robot in action!
Robot (closeup) [.mov]
Trail [.mov]