Floor Elevation: Measure with accuracy to deliver quality

Floor Elevation is a new product within the Dusty Robotics FieldPrint Platform that enables contractors to measure vertical elevation differences across a jobsite surface using the FieldPrinter 2. This allows contractors to assess floor conditions, providing the data needed to verify compliance with flatness and levelness specifications—or to take proactive remediation steps like grinding, leveling, or shimming before floor defects impact downstream trades. Elevation data is available in three ways: 

1. A real-time heatmap in the Dusty iPad app
2. A PDF heatmap in the Dusty Portal
3. A downloadable CSV file of pre-determined elevation points in the Dusty Portal

In the Portal, points can be defined to have elevation data collected at specific (x,y) coordinates. On jobsites, elevation can be measured at points and an elevation heat map for the entire floor can be generated using FieldPrinter 2. The data is available in real-time on the iPad. All elevation data collected is displayed in the new Elevation tab in the Portal. A full description of Floor Elevation, including use cases and training content, is available on the Dusty Academy at This Page.

• Robot: The robot can measure the elevation of the floor at predetermined points or across an entire floor by averaging elevation measurements across 4” x 4” grid cells.
• iPad: A Robot Operator can set up elevation measurements and view a heat map of the elevation measurements for the current stationing.
• Portal: A VDC Manager can specify points where elevation should be measured and can view elevation data per layout.

Obstacle Sensing, Hole Detection, and Print Path Optimization

The FieldPrinter 2 uses AI and machine learning to automatically identify obstacles and complete as much of your layout as possible based on site conditions – all without the need for manually scanning or marking obstacles. This allows you to spend more time on layout and less time adapting to site conditions. The robot also optimizes its printing route automatically, eliminating the need to select which lines to print, in what order, while efficiently working around obstacles.

• Robot: Obstacle detection is improved. The robot also plans paths that more smoothly avoid obstacles that it detects.
• iPad: A Robot Operator can view the obstacles that have been detected by the robot, and these can be discarded if desired. A new toggle is available to turn off camera functions if issues are encountered, although Dusty recommends that cameras remain on as much as possible.

The robot now automatically detects small cast-in holes, removing the need for the Operator to draw or scan these manually, choose the robot printhead, or choose the robot’s approach direction.

• Robot: FieldPrinter 2 can detect small cast-in holes, navigate around them, and determine the best strategy for printing nearby shapes.
• iPad: Detected holes are displayed for the Operator to inspect.

Slab Edge Boundary and Cliff Detection Improvements

The new slab edge boundary feature boosts productivity on sites with unprotected short drops, such as slab-on-grade tilt-up sites, by reducing unnecessary interruptions caused by the robot’s cliff detection system. Slab edge boundaries are automatically classified when the robot first detects a drop and the cliff detection system is triggered. When a robot detects an unprotected edge, nearby obstacles in the layout will also be marked as cliffs. The robot will adjust its path planning to maneuver around those obstacles in such a way that it avoids more cliff sensor detections. This prevents repeated triggering of the cliff detection mechanism after the initial encounter.

Currently, there is no capability in the Portal or iPad interface for a VDC Manager to distinguish slab edges from other obstacle types.

Shorter Convergence Runway: Print Closer to Dense Obstacles

Complete more of your layout near obstacles, because the FieldPrinter 2 can now start and stop in shorter distances – as short as 1 inch! This allows printing between obstacles such as stub-ups that would have prevented the completion of the layout before.

Support to Print 2 Lines At Once

When you have adjacent parallel lines less than 1 inch apart, such as for ½-inch or ⅝-inch drywall framing, both lines can be printed at once, cutting print time in half.

In this release, this feature is available for cases where parallel lines have the same length and the total width of the lines (outer edge to outer edge) is less than 1 inch.

We will expand availability to other situations in future releases.

Scan Shape Obstacle Tool to Manually Add Detailed Obstacles

Using the FieldPrinter Reflector, any size and shape obstacle can now be manually added to the layout. Select Scan Shape from the obstacle menu to start scanning points. After 2 or more points has been scanned, closing the Scan Shape tool will save the obstacle lines drawn between each point. After 3 or more points have been scanned, Close Shape can be used to automatically draw an obstacle line from the last point scanned to the first point scanned, and close the tool. 

Add to Queue Feature Update

Add to Queue is only located on the iPad Canvas context menu. To use this feature, select the objects to be added from the Canvas, then long press on the Canvas to open the context menu. Select the Add to Queue option and items will be added to the count below the Start button in the upper right corner.