Researchers Develop Small Robots That 3D Print Buildings

 Disruptive Technologies  

A research group at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia,  based in Barcelona set on a goal of re-imagining 3D printing techniques so as to overcome existing limitations of using the technology for constructing buildings.

Researchers from  the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Spain have taken a 3D printing/additive manufacturing approach to architecture and have developed scale prototypes demonstrating their concept.

"Within the construction industry we haven't seen any disruptive technologies being introduced for almost a century," states the narrator of the team's film (below).  "We believe that robotics and additive manufacturing will play a key role in the construction industry of the future."

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Their most recent and innovative project entitled Minibuilders, uses small scale robots printing large scale structures.  This is different than other approaches used to 3D print buildings, that use machines that are as big or bigger than the structures being produced.

Minibuilders uses a family of small-scale construction robots which are mobile and capable of constructing objects far larger than the robot itself. Moreover, each of the robots developed performs a separate task, linked to the different phases of construction, finally working together as a family towards the implementation of a single building structure.

"We believe that robotics and additive manufacturing will play a key role in the construction industry of the future."

The researchers have also implemented a 1:1 scale prototype, printed by the three robots, and displayed at the Design Museum of Barcelona.



Minibuilders is a project of IAAC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, http://www.iaac.net developed during Open Thesis Fabrication in 2013 by:
Researchers: Shihui Jin, Stuart Maggs, Dori Sadan and Cristina Nan
Faculty: Saša Jokić and Petr Novikov
Sponsored by: SD Ventures

SOURCE  Minibuilders

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