Cable Driven Parallel Robots for Rapid Post Disaster Housing Construction in Displaced Communities

Abstract

Each year natural disasters and forced displacement leave tens of millions of people without adequate shelter. Conventional humanitarian construction responses are slow, carbon intensive and poorly matched to the terrain, climate and cultural context of affected communities. Robotic and automated approaches, including concrete 3D printing, serial robotic arms and prefabricated modular units, have each been proposed as faster alternatives, but each carries fundamental limitations in post-disaster deployment contexts. This paper proposes that cable-driven parallel robots (CDPRs), a class of robotic system already demonstrated in architectural and construction contexts, offer a solution to this problem that has not previously been examined. Through a structured review of existing CDPR systems developed for construction, including SPIDERobot, CU-Brick and the IPAnema family, the paper identifies the core properties that make CDPRs well suited to post-disaster deployment: large workspace from lightweight portable infrastructure, reconfigurability without heavy plant, adaptability to irregular terrain and the ability to anchor to existing structural elements. A cross analysis of humanitarian shelter requirements against CDPR capabilities reveals a strong alignment, alongside specific gaps in weatherproofing, localisation in environments where Global Positioning System (GPS) signals are degraded and rapid operator training that current systems do not address. The paper proposes a six-priority research agenda, covering localisation, end effector design, operator interfaces, field durability and material adaptability, and identifies that deployment requirements differ meaningfully across seismic, flood and conflict-driven displacement contexts. The research agenda draws on the demonstrated capabilities of existing systems rather than speculative design.