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CU-Brick: Cable-Driven Bricklaying Robot

Cable-driven bricklaying robot

Project Overview

CU-Brick is a cable-driven parallel robot for automated brick placement. At the Yard for Environmental Sustainability (YES) Pavilion, it positioned bricks across a large construction workspace while workers applied mortar and checked the brickwork.

CU-Brick bricklaying robot overview CU-Brick cable-driven parallel robot in operation CU-Brick robot and brick structure progress CU-Brick construction site close-up CU-Brick brick structure completed view CU-Brick brick structure view

Inside CU-Brick

Explore the cable-driven robot, then look inside its brick-handling end effector.

CU-Brick robot at the construction site
4 support poles / 8 cables

Components

  1. Pole 0 · motors 0, 4
  2. Pole 1 · motors 1, 5
  3. Pole 2 · motors 2, 6
  4. Pole 3 · motors 3, 7
  5. Motorized winches × 8
  6. Adjustable lower pulleys × 4
  7. Positioning cables × 8
  8. Suspended end effector
  9. Brick pick-up pole
  10. TX2-60 transfer arm
  11. Brick feed conveyor

The 3D view is unavailable. CU-Brick uses eight motorized cables on four poles to position a wireless gripper. Four lower pulleys rise as the wall grows; a separate pick-up pole presents bricks to the robot. The project photos above show the assembled system.

Simplified site layout; arm reach and end effector enlarged for clarity. The cycle illustrates brick transfer and placement with moving cables. End-effector controls show rotation, gripping and release; separation groups hardware by function.

Project Details

The YES Pavilion project used more than 5,800 bricks across 40 layers, reaching 2.5 m in height within a 13 m by 9 m work area.

Fiducial-marker localization and 3D scanning support calibration. An elevation system raises the lower cable attachment points as construction progresses, helping the cables clear the growing brick structure.

CUHK Engineering: the construction workflow and deployment

TVB News: CU-Brick media coverage
Now News: CU-Brick media coverage
i-CABLE News: CU-Brick media coverage
RTHK News: CU-Brick media coverage

Awards & Recognition

Publication & Project Updates

Selected Contributions

  • Designed and implemented the cable-driven robot for a full-scale construction project.
  • Supported robotic brick placement for the 2.5 m-high, 40-layer structure, working alongside the contractor's mortar application and quality checks.
  • Integrated fiducial markers and high-resolution 3D spatial data for calibration and localization.
  • Designed and manufactured the robot's electrical and control boxes.
  • Co-authored and presented the CU-Brick paper at CableCon 2025.
  • Supported public demonstrations and coverage by TVB News, Now News, i-CABLE News, and RTHK.
  • Helped prepare the project for YPEC 2025, where it was named second runner-up in the Open Section, and for the 2026 OSH Innovation and Technology Award, where it received an Open Category Merit Award.