L.earning E.nvironment for A.rchitectural R.obotics for N.ewbies

Welcome

Welcome to L.E.A.R.N., a platform dedicated to beginner-friendly creative coding tutorials and exercises for building architecture with robots.

In these tutorials, we will introduce computational methods for architecture, fabrication & construction, incentivising computational literacy. Students will learn the theoretical background and basic implementation details of fundamental datastructures and algorithms, and to plan and control robot tasks in CAD environments using the COMPAS and COMPAS FAB framework, and other open-source libraries.

Session Blocks

Title	Description	Slides
Python Basics	Quick start on Python	Python Basics
Geometry	COMPAS geometry	Geometry
Frames and Transformations	Frames and transformations	Frames and Transformations
Data Structures	COMPAS data structures	Data Structures
Assembly Information Model	Assembly and Element data structures	Assembly Information Model
AM Information Model	Additive Manufacturing data structures	AM Information Model
XR Assembly	Visualize Assembly data in XR	XR Assembly
Robotic Fabrication Planning	Planning of a robotic assembly process	Robotic Fabrication Planning
Robotic Fabrication Control	Control of a robotic assembly process	Robotic Fabrication Control
Design Algorithms	Simple generative design algorithms
Utilities	Helpful utilities

Requirements

• Windows 10 Professional
• Rhino 6 / Grasshopper
• Anaconda Python
• Visual Studio Code
• Github Desktop

Dependencies

• COMPAS
• COMPAS FAB
• Assembly Information Model
• AM Information Model
• UR Fabrication Control

Getting started

Please set up your Python environment following these instructions:

1. Setting up the Anaconda environment with COMPAS

Execute the commands below in Anaconda Prompt:

(base) conda config --add channels conda-forge

Windows

(base) conda create -n learn compas_fab --yes
(base) conda activate learn

Mac

(base) conda create -n learn compas_fab python.app --yes
(base) conda activate learn

Verify Installation

(learn) pip show compas_fab

Name: compas-fab
Version: 0.19.1
Summary: Robotic fabrication package for the COMPAS Framework
...

Install on Rhino

(learn) python -m compas_rhino.install

NOTE: This installs default to Rhino 6.0, if you are using a different Rhino version add -v 5.0 or -v 7.0 after the above statement.

2. Installation of Dependencies

(learn) conda install git

Assembly Information Model

(learn) python -m pip install git+https://github.com/augmentedfabricationlab/assembly_information_model@master#egg=assembly_information_model
(learn) python -m compas_rhino.install -p assembly_information_model

NOTE: If you are not using Rhino 6.0, after the above statement, add -v followed by the version of your Rhino software (i.e -v 5.0 or -v 7.0)

AM Information Model

(learn) python -m pip install git+https://github.com/augmentedfabricationlab/am_information_model@master#egg=am_information_model
(learn) python -m compas_rhino.install -p am_information_model

NOTE: If you are not using Rhino 6.0, after the above statement, add -v followed by the version of your Rhino software (i.e -v 5.0 or -v 7.0)

UR Fabrication Control

(learn) python -m pip install git+https://github.com/augmentedfabricationlab/ur_fabrication_control@master#egg=ur_fabrication_control
(learn) python -m compas_rhino.install -p ur_fabrication_control

NOTE: If you are not using Rhino 6.0, after the above statement, add -v followed by the version of your Rhino software (i.e -v 5.0 or -v 7.0)

3. Cloning the Course Repository

Create a workspace directory:

C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\workspace

Then open Github Desktop and clone the L.E.A.R.N. repository into you workspace folder.

Voilà! You can now go to VS Code, Rhino or Grasshopper to run the example files!