Industrialized Construction Engineering (ICE) Research Project

A multidisciplinary UF research initiative advancing industrialized construction through emerging technologies, including AI, design automation, and robotic construction.

Funded by the UF Strategic Research Fund and Autodesk.

Overview

The traditional construction industry faces persistent challenges related to site-based inefficiencies, labor shortages, fragmented workflows, and productivity. Industrialized construction (IC) addresses these challenges by shifting more building activities into controlled, off-site environments where precision, automation, and repeatable processes can be systematically developed and improved.

The Industrialized Construction Engineering (ICE) initiative brings together researchers across the University of Florida’s College of Design, Construction and Planning and Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering to advance how buildings and infrastructure are designed, constructed, and maintained. The program explores emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, design automation, robotics, and digital twins to improve productivity, safety, quality, and resilience.

My research within the ICE initiative focuses on digital twins, interoperability, and data-driven approaches for connecting automated production with construction processes. This work investigates how digital information can support automated assembly, improve coordination between systems, and help create more connected and reliable construction workflows.

The broader ICE initiative contributes to the development of smart, technology-enabled approaches to industrialized construction and modern methods of construction, with the goal of making construction more productive, scalable, safe, and resilient.