Zhe Lin's Reflection on Reading 4: Integrating Robotic Fabrication in the Design Process

Robotic fabrication is the most cutting-edge technology in architectural field. It combines the advantages of hand-made models and digital models. Models made by robotic fabrication still contain the details which architects need, such as structure and construction method. It also gives architects the direct feedback of space. Robotic is more precise than human so that the models made by robotic have a closer relationship with the digital models.

However, there are some prerequisites to use robotic fabrication to build physical models. First, architects should clearly know the computational logics of the design. Second, architects should

Have a good command of programming and robotics. Because robotic fabrication is so new to architects that lack of these prerequisites restrains some architects from using robotic fabrication. I think it is necessary to start to learn something about robotic fabrication, because it will become the mainstream.

Robotic fabrication is awesome, but is still one-way from digital world to physical world. I hope that one day the physical world could be reflected in computer easily. It is like what we used several weeks ago, the 123D app. It allows the physical models to be translated into digital models. I hope that when we physically changed the model produced by robotic fabrication, the digital model could change too, which is a two-2ay interaction between physical world and digital world.