Intelligent autonomous plant for the construction industry

This paper argues that the future of intelligent autonomous systems, such as robotic vehicles in any complex nonbenign environment (such as construction), is as much dependent upon adoption of the appropriate management infrastructure, systems architectures and standards that demonstrate quality, as upon the specific technological development. An analysis and design paradigm supporting modularity and interoperability based upon object orientation is presented, that offers the potential for a product culture in robotics based on inherent quality features including robustness, correctness, compatibility, reusability and extensibility.