Bricklaying Robots Being Developed for Autonomous Construction
Posted on August 2, 2015
Corporations and scientists in university labs are developing robots that lay bricks and stack concrete blocks. So far the robots are best at work that is the most repetitive and basic. They will likely be able to significantly reduce the time needed to build large structures in the future.
IEEE Spectrum discusses one of the bricklaying robots from a company named Fastbrick Robotics. This robot can place as many as 1,000 bricks per hour as long as it is continuously fed bricks according to its CAD design. Here is an animation of how the bricklaying robot works:
ETH Zurich is also developing an autonomous construction robot calls the In-situ Fabricator. IEEE reports that the In-situ Fabricator is equipped with an industrial arm for placing bricks. It can build a 3D map of the construction site using its laser rangefinder. A downside with this robot is that it does not yet place bricks with mortar so whatever it builds will not be very sturdy. This could be changed if the robot is adapted for commercial use. Take a look: