In-Situ Printed Vaulted Ceiling Using a Mobile Robot
The vaulted ceiling prototype demonstrates how mobile robotic 3D concrete printing can reinterpret historical construction principles for contemporary building applications. Developed within the SLAB NET ZERO research project, it combines the material efficiency of vaulted structures with a fabrication process that creates self-supporting concrete segments directly in their intended position, without formwork or steel reinforcement.
The design draws on historical cap ceilings, which transfer loads through curved surfaces between supporting beams. Computational form-finding adapts this principle to additive manufacturing, determining the geometry layer by layer so that the deposited material remains stable during printing. The resulting shape connects structural requirements with the constraints of robotic fabrication.
A mobile manipulator prints the ceiling from below within a timber supporting frame. An onboard material supply and near-nozzle activation system enable controlled concrete deposition, while motion planning accounts for the surrounding beams, the growing structure, and the robot’s own geometry. By adjusting the tool’s orientation, the robot reaches the required printing positions while avoiding collisions. Between segments, the platform relocates to extend fabrication beyond its stationary workspace.
The experimental programme produced 14 full-scale vault segments, each printed in approximately 15 minutes. Laser scanning assessed the resulting geometry and fabrication accuracy. The demonstrator establishes the feasibility of the integrated design-to-fabrication approach and provides a basis for further investigation of structural performance, process reliability, and applications in construction and renovation. The robotic fabrication methods build on research within TRR 277 “Additive Manufacturing in Construction”.
Credits:
Research, Planning and Realisation
David Richter, Gido Dielemans — Professorship of Digital Fabrication, TUM
Frederic Chovghi — Professorship of Structural Design, TUM
Benedikt Grimm — Centre for Building Materials (cbm), TUM
Ahmad Nouman, David Briels — Chair of Building Technology and Climate Responsive Design, TUM
Tilmann Jarmer, Julian Möhring — Chair of Architectural Design and Construction, TUM
Scientific Supervision
Kathrin Dörfler — Professorship of Digital Fabrication, TUM
Pierluigi D’Acunto — Professorship of Structural Design, TUM
Thomas Kränkel — Centre for Building Materials (cbm), TUM
Thomas Auer — Chair of Building Technology and Climate Responsive Design, TUM
Florian Nagler — Chair of Architectural Design and Construction, TUM
Industry Partners
Abele Ingenieure GmbH — Andreas Haertl, Dieter Christ, David Abele
PERI 3D Construction GmbH — Achim Frank, Christian Braig, Fabian Meyer-Brötz
3D Scanning and Evaluation
Alexander Haynack — Centre for Building Materials (cbm), TUM
Funding
SLAB NET ZERO was funded by the German Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs, and Spatial Development on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development, and Building through the research funding programme “Zukunft Bau Forschungsförderung” (grant reference 10.08.18.7-22.21).
This research was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – project number 414265976 – TRR 277 “Additive Manufacturing in Construction”.
Publications
D. Richter, B. Grimm, F. Chovghi, G. Dielemans, P. D’Acunto, T. Kränkel, and K. Dörfler
In-situ 3D Concrete Printing of a Vaulted Ceiling Using a Mobile Robot
Automation in Construction, Volume 192, Article 107257, 2026
DOI
B. Grimm, F. Chovghi, D. Richter, and T. Kränkel
Machbarkeitsstudie zur additiven in-situ Fertigung von Kappendecken mithilfe mobiler Robotersysteme
ce/papers, Volume 9, Issue 6, pp. 813–821, 2026
DOI
Video
Project video
