Before Building Laboratory awarded NSF grant to advance robotic sawmilling technology towards commercialization
Principal Investigator (PI) Kyle Schumann, Assistant Professor of Architecture and co-founder of the Before Building Laboratory, is part of a research team embarking on a seven-week experiential training program that prepares researchers to extend their focus beyond the university laboratory to accelerate the economic and societal benefits of promising entrepreneurial projects. Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) Program Grant, the team will advance robotic sawmilling technology with a focus on future steps towards commercialization.
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The subject of the NSF I-Corps grant is multi-axis robotic cutting machine invented at the Before Building Laboratory at the University of Virginia. The technology was invented by PI Kyle Schumann, Co-PI Katie MacDonald (Assistant Professor of Architecture and co-founder of the Before Building Laboratory), and Gavin Garner (Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) — and is the subject of a U.S. Provisional and Full Patent Application filed by the UVA Licensing & Ventures Group (LVG).
Robotic sawmilling brings Computer Numerical Control (CNC) and five axes of motion to bandsaw-based cutting machines, enabling the blade to produce angular, curving, and twisting cuts. This technology eclipses traditional sawmills, in which logs are squared into lumber with parallel and perpendicular cuts, by making the cutting of non-planar timber elements possible. The machine is programmed directly from a digital 3D model in the industry-standard Rhinoceros modeling software, bringing advanced large-scale digital fabrication methods to a broad audience.
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This promising technology is currently positioned to (1) increase material efficiency in timber processing operations, making viable logs that are too irregular to efficiently produce traditional lumber and (2) expand product offerings, enabling the manufacture of novel engineered wood building products. The functional sawmill prototype has been used to construct several proof-of-concept pavilions, including “Sylvan Scrapple” for Exhibit Columbus, “Crinkle Cuts” at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and two student design-build installations by advanced research studios at the UVA Morven Sustainability Lab.
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Before being awarded an NSF I-Corps National Program Grant, Schumann and MacDonald worked with the UVA Licensing & Ventures Group and participated in a Regional I-Corps Program held at SXSW in Austin, through the NSF I-Corps Mid-South Regional Hub in 2024. The regional I-Corps program at SXSW oriented the team to the customer discovery process and provided access to a broad range of industries, companies, and organizations. This multi-stakeholder approach opened new lines of inquiry for the technology, including different end use groups and small scales, such as DIYers, hobbyists, and furniture makers, and new material streams from the forestry side, including small diameter logs produced through wildfire management practices.
Over several months this summer, the grant team is conducting over 100 interviews with industry experts. The goal is to construct an understanding of the most viable paths forward for commercializing this technology, including identifying a beachhead market and possible business partners, building a viable business model, quantifying revenue streams, and defining an ecosystem map from supply to distribution.
U.S. National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) Program Grant
Project Title: Robotic Sawmilling
Award: $50,000
Project Team
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UVA Assistant Professor of Architecture |
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UVA Assistant Professor of Architecture |
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UVA Sawmilling Founder & Fab Lab Technician |
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Professor of Environmental Sciences |
Kyle Schumann serves as PI and Technical Lead, keeping this projective work grounded in the current and future capabilities of the technology, and identifying priorities for the next steps in this research and development.
Katie MacDonald serves as Co-PI and Entrepreneurial Lead, spearheading the industry interviews and synthesizing a holistic view of how the technology interfaces with a material supply chain that begins in the forest and ends with wood products manufacturers including furniture makers, millwork manufacturers, and mass timber fabricators.
Andrew Spears, Co-Founder of UVA Sawmilling, serves as Industry Mentor, working with his extensive network of forestry and timber industry companies within and beyond Virginia.
Manuel Lerdau, Professor of Environmental Sciences, serves as Advisor, bringing an interest in adapting timbering practices for small landholders as the forestry industry transforms.
