Core77
An Australian company called FastBrick Robotics has invented what may be an architect's wildest fantasy: The ability to go from a CAD file to a standing structure, with no chance for those pesky human workers to muck up their design.
The company's FastBrick Wall System uses the Hadrian X, a gigantic truck-mounted robot arm, to precisely lay specially designed cinderblocks adhered to one another with industrial adhesive, rather than mortar.
The company refers to their offering as "Wall as a service," conferring the following advantages:
- Build the walls of a house in one day
- Maintain accuracy over distance
- Safer working environments
- Moving toward zero waste construction
- Significant cost savings
As for putting bricklayers out of work, the company writes:
"Hadrian X and its underlying technology signals the next evolution for bricklayers. It enables them to transition away from laborious, unsafe and physically demanding tasks and move into smarter, safer roles that offer a physically sustainable career path."
I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.
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Truck-Mounted Robot Arm Builds Structures Straight from CAD File
I can't help but wonder how many people will understand the true brilliance of calling a wall building robot "HADRIAN". This is an incredible achievement.
From an old postcard
I can only imagine, when I think of my own design history, that when you forget to flip the face normals in CAD the machine could wall itself inside a brick building.
The first prototype was never to be seen again...