engadget.com — A robot has been developed to automate the home building process."The operation is akin to a 3D inkjet printer, with the robot moving about in three dimensional space, spraying out the home layer by layer. Part of the simplicity of the process comes from the simplicity of the materials: nearly the whole house is built with concrete and gypsum."
Jan 15, 2007 View in Crawl 4
podgey22Jan 16, 2007
Why didn't somebody take the extra two seconds to post the original link rather than this s**tty blogspam. Even if it has a lot of readers, the article on engadget just slims down what slashdot wrote... And they cut down what The Times wrote...<a class="user" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2546574,00.html">http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2546574,00.html</a>
wiremonkeymommyJan 16, 2007
this will work, extra points for using recycled materials
spiralspiritJan 16, 2007
1) I agree, foundations are probably still best laid by thinking people.2) Even if it just laid down the structure, it would save a s**tload of time and money, and probably do a better/more consistent job.3) Inspectors will line up just to see it in action.4) Part of the building plans, hopefully taken care of before they make the structure, and not after the fact.5) easier to get uniform concrete than to get uniform quality labor. The material supply is just something that will have to be worked out and then perfected. As to the neighbors minding, would they prefer 1 day of noise or a whole month of it?
spiralspiritJan 16, 2007
actually this is more like solid freeform fabrication on a large scale. go look it up.
nyc10004Jan 16, 2007
This thing doesn't create and an entire house down to the bathroom tiles. It simply puts the large structures in place: foundation, walls, levels, etc. After that's done, the electricians, plumbers, carpenters and what not, come to finish the job. Because humans aren't completely excluded after the in ital process the construction will return to normal snails pace. In order for the process to be completely automated, they'll have to create small robots to go in after the large one is done.
kloud213Jan 16, 2007
I'm sorry but i build houses and remodel homes for a living. This is ridiculous, concrete is to cold for a warm family home. I don't mean temperature cold either. this will never fly for the upper-scale residents who are the ones commissioning houses. This would be great for Katrina incidents though. I know they said the one in england will be able to build holes for things like plumbing and electrical but that would just be a pain in the ass. This idea at its current state is retarded.
yournamehereJan 16, 2007
iRobot here we come
mudslagFeb 19, 2007
All you nay sayers are morons, of course there is a market for this. Concrete homes are becoming more and more popular every year. The technology is becoming more advanced, with that the idea of a concrete home is becoming more then just a cold box idea. Iv seen some very creative concrete homes and my wife and I have been looking into them more for our own home. There is a great looking concrete home here in Chicago's Wicker park area that's been in a few mags and tv shows. Its very creative looking and very homely feeling to it.
homebznezpalJul 11, 2007
speedwise and for time saving purposes I should agree, robots will outsmart humans but never on the safety and strength of the outcome. though robots will be helpful, humans should make sure that the architectural foundation is well established first. <a class="user" href="http://www.startingyourownonlinebusiness.com/board-and-batten.html">http://www.startingyourownonlinebusiness.com/board-and-batten.html</a>
nyxerebosMay 17, 2009
People said the same thing about sewing machines. Me, I'm glad I can afford more than one set of hand-stitched clothes.
nyxerebosMay 17, 2009
see: <a class="user" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papercrete">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papercrete</a>