PhD Student Celso Urroz Co-Instructs Robotic Fabrication Workshop

Robotic Fabrication Workshop at the University of Indonesia
Crafting Tree Forks: Robotic Milling Techniques Using Irregular Timber

In July 2025, a Robotic Fabrication Workshop was held at the University of Indonesia, organized in collaboration with PAR-Lab and co-led by Celso Uroz (Florida Atlantic University) and Miktha Farid Alkadri (University of Indonesia). The collaboration emerged from a connection made at the 2024 CAADRIA conference in Singapore and has since developed into an ongoing exchange of research and practice.

The workshop explored innovative approaches to repurposing discarded timber, focusing on reclaimed branch bifurcations from the milling industry. By using robotic fabrication, participants reimagined these irregular natural geometries as functional structural components.

Students engaged in every stage of the process, including branch selection, 3D scanning and creating digital twins, structural design, robotic toolpath programming, operating the robotic arm, and assembling the final construction.

Beyond hands-on experimentation, the workshop provided an opportunity to strengthen robotic research capacities within the University of Indonesia’s PAR-Lab, advancing sustainable design practices at the intersection of natural materials and digital fabrication.