CHAMP Welcomes Researchers with Open Arms

After two years of renovation, a small outbuilding at the University of Tennessee's Tickle College of Engineering (TCE) is ready to help researchers revolutionize the construction industry.

The Concrete Hybrid Autonomous Manufacturing Platform, or CHAMP, is equipped with two massive, state-of-the-art robotic arms that glide along tracks and can pivot and swivel along multiple joints. One is rigged with a nozzle for concrete 3D printing; the other can perform various tasks from video recording to sensor implantation.

CHAMP is the first major milestone achieved by UT's interdisciplinary Future of Construction Initiative (FCi), which started in 2023. FCi is devoted to research in functionalized construction, which incorporates sensors, energy storage, or other specialized materials to elevate a building beyond its basic structural purpose.

"Concrete 3D printing has been around for a while, but using robotics and AI enhancements is something really novel," said Sai Swaminathan, an assistant professor in the Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and a member of the FCi leadership. "We wanted to have a one-of-a-kind, unique facility here at UT."

Along with Swaminathan, FCi is led by Nick Zhou, an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE); Joshua Penney, the director of UT's Manufacturing and Design Enterprise (TN-MADE); and Associate Professor Marshall Prado and Distinguished Lecturer James Rose from the College of Architecture and Design (CoAD).

"CHAMP will dramatically accelerate multidisciplinary research in construction," Zhou said. "Instead of having engineers, architects, and computer scientists working separately, CHAMP acts as an open 'playground' where experts in different fields can test and refine ideas together, fostering breakthroughs no single field could achieve alone."

Developing CHAMP

In 2023, nearly 50 faculty members from across the university—including four departments in TCE, the College of Architecture and Design, and the College of Social Work—came together to form the FCi.

"I saw FCi as a great opportunity to work with new colleagues from other departments and colleges and develop new capabilities for the university," said Penney, who joined the leadership team as a postdoctoral fellow in the former Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering (MABE). "Multidisciplinary research is built into its DNA."

Swaminathan, Zhou, Prado, Penney, and Rose started meeting biweekly to determine what kind of facility would most benefit campus researchers tackling problems in modern construction.

"As a faculty member in CoAD, a relatively small college at UTK, it can be difficult to access research opportunities," said Prado. "FCi has access to several facilities across campus, but we wanted to expand our research focus to include advanced technologies and novel materials for applications in both architecture and infrastructure."

With backing from UT's Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development (ORIED), CEE, industrial collaborators, and federal agencies including the United States Departments of Energy and Defense, FCi secured two state-of-the-art robot arms, software to run them, and training for their use.

CEE contributed more than $150,000 toward retrofitting and rewiring the TCE outbuilding to support CHAMP; additional funding for the remodel came from ORIED, CoAD, MABE, and EECS.

"I was happy to add departmental support to the facility," said CEE Department Head Chris Cox. "We want to be leaders in 3D printing capability and to support the many other aspects of FCi. There's a lot of potential in this area, and that's what we're seeking to take advantage of."

Vast Research Potential

CHAMP's robots will whir into action the moment the facility's doors open on October 28, 2025. Eleven research projects from faculty across campus are already queued up to use the facility.

The high demand reflects CHAMP's incredible flexibility. Working in tandem, the robotic arms can precisely place sensors or reinforcements into printed walls, hold cameras to monitor the printing process and detect defects, or even mimic human experts' movements.

"The coordination of two different robotic arms to do advanced types of printing is a unique experimental capability I'm very excited about," said Cox.

FCi researchers' projects include investigating how low-carbon, biologically based, or recycled concrete can be made suitable for 3D printing; optimizing components' internal geometries for different objectives; accounting for differences between 3D models and the finished prints; and using AI to predict the optimal movements the robots should execute to achieve a particular build.

"CHAMP's development was driven by the desire to perform research at scale—which, for construction, means quite large components," explained Penney. "With the construction of CHAMP, faculty teams are able to think about how to augment their research using the many unique elements of the system to make a larger impact."

Provided by University of Tennessee at Knoxville