Programme: Mechanical Engineering

Course: MT2573 – TRANSFORMATIVE PSS INNOVATION

Corporate partner: Volvo construction equipment

Challenge: Transforming the traditional demolition of buildings in a more sustainable way, by buildings being deconstructed or partly reused instead of demolished.

Solution: A solution consisting of a physical prototype and a digital plattform. The physical prototype, called V-Lab, is an arduino based system that through sensors, uses the light reflective characteristics of different types of construction material to determine what kind of material it is. This will allow the user to know what a specific part of a building is made out of on the inside, for example behind a layer of paint, plaster or other decorative part. The digital platform, called VIM, is intended to be an online marketplace for selling and purchasing salvaged materials from old buildings that are deconstructed instead of demolished. VIM enables the contractors to upload a basic BIM-model of a building’s exterior and market the materials that are going to be salvaged. The V-Lab will provide additional information such as the type of materials and presence of toxins. This allows the contractor to find potential customers before starting the deconstruction process, reducing storing and transportation costs. VIM provides the end-customer with a user-friendly platform where they can purchase salvaged materials that can be used for new projects. If the end-customer lacks the knowledge of how to handle and use salvaged materials, they can get inspiration from case studies of existing buildings made of salvaged materials that are linked through the platform.

Impact: The use of V-lab makes it possible to identify the type of material that is present in a building, for example behind the paint on a wall but even if there is pollution. For the customer, the process is faster to identify toxic substances, instead of sending it to an external laboratory that takes weeks to get a response. The Vim platform makes it possible to collect the data obtained from V-lab and opens up the possibility of deconstruction through a market for salvaged materials.

Prototypes: The physical prototype, which is V-lab, was built through Arduino systems with associated sensors to identify toxic substances and materials. The Vim platform was designed using a non-code development platform called Adalo.

Quotes from sponsor/partner: The partner liked the concept and suggested that we present it to the product developers at the company. Volvo CE would like to read the report at the end of the project.

Project team: Hussein Abdalameir, Stefan Liedman, Karl-Henrik Andersson,  Muaz Abdul Muti