Wall-building robot eyed for blast shield construction on the Moon

When you live on the Moon, your only option for commuting back to Earth or onward to Mars will be some kind of rocket. But each launch will kick up a hellstorm of debris. Building walls to contain all that mess might one day fall to autonomous rovers.C… Continue reading Wall-building robot eyed for blast shield construction on the Moon

Innovative ‘solid knitting’ machine builds 100% reconfigurable objects

A new materials technique has taken cues from Grandma’s yarn bag and cutting-edge technology, and it could see us ‘solid knitting’ whole furniture sets, as well as the fabrics that cover them. What’s more, it can be unraveled to use again in a complete… Continue reading Innovative ‘solid knitting’ machine builds 100% reconfigurable objects

World’s fastest brick-laying construction robot lands on American shores

A robotic truck equipped with a 105-ft (32-m) telescopic boom arm has just journeyed from Australia to Florida. Now the construction robot will get busy churning out up to 10 houses in a bid to become the employee of choice for building entire communit… Continue reading World’s fastest brick-laying construction robot lands on American shores

Edible batteries, sensors and actuators unlock robots designed to be eaten

Imagine ordering drone delivery for your takeout, and then, after eating your food, you eat the delivery drone for dessert. The first part has been happening for a while; the second – the edible robot – could be coming soon, according to scientists fro… Continue reading Edible batteries, sensors and actuators unlock robots designed to be eaten

Climbing crane shimmies up turbine towers like a kid up a coconut tree

To build or maintain today’s colossal wind turbine towers, you either need an absolute monster of a crane – or something like this. The KoalaLifter self-climbing crane is quick, compact, handles heavy loads and creeps up turbine towers of any height.Co… Continue reading Climbing crane shimmies up turbine towers like a kid up a coconut tree

Climbing crane shimmies up turbine towers like a kid up a coconut tree

To build or maintain today’s colossal wind turbine towers, you either need an absolute monster of a crane – or something like this. The KoalaLifter self-climbing crane is quick, compact, handles heavy loads and creeps up turbine towers of any height.Co… Continue reading Climbing crane shimmies up turbine towers like a kid up a coconut tree

Bricklaying robots can now build tennis-court-sized walls in 4 hours

The extraordinary Hadrian X bricklaying robot rocks up to a building site looking like a regular truck, then extends a 32-m (105-ft) boom arm and starts precisely laying up to 300 large masonry blocks an hour. It’s pretty remarkable to watch.Continue R… Continue reading Bricklaying robots can now build tennis-court-sized walls in 4 hours

Robots pitch in to build wooden hanging gardens in Switzerland

If you were building a complex wooden structure by hand, it would be quite difficult to lift the heavy wooden components, place them in precise alignment, then keep them aligned as they were glued together. That’s why a Swiss team is using robots to sh… Continue reading Robots pitch in to build wooden hanging gardens in Switzerland

Hadrian X brick-laying robot ups the ante to 200 blocks an hour

Back in 2015 we looked at an interesting approach to automated construction in the form of a brick-laying robot, capable of putting together full-sized homes in just two days. The engineers behind the Hadrian X have continued making software improvemen… Continue reading Hadrian X brick-laying robot ups the ante to 200 blocks an hour

Pop-up office, studio or cafe built with blocks fabricated by robots

A team of post-graduate students from London’s Bartlett School of Architecture’s Design Computation Lab has created a modular home office to promote its automated architecture (AUAR) project, which involves the use of robotic fabrication. Dubbed ALIS (… Continue reading Pop-up office, studio or cafe built with blocks fabricated by robots