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 communities.
The truck and its accompanying brick-laying arm is known as the Hadrian X and has been developed by robotics company FBR, which first announced its prototype in 2015. That machine could complete a full-sized house in two days. Last year, FBR (which used to stand for Fastbrick Robotics), showed off the new Hadrian X which, at top speed, could stack 500 USA-format masonry blocks per hour.
The robotic vehicle/construction arm gets to work after it is loaded by pallets containing the blocks. Each block is then sent down a chute on the arm, painted with a quick-dry construction adhesive that takes the place of mortar, and is placed by a variable gripper at the end of the arm. Thanks to its impressive length, the arm is able to build structures that are three stories tall. Plus, because it's a robot, it never needs to sleep or take a break if the weather turns nasty, so it can chug along pretty much 24/7.
Hadrian X's arrival in Florida is part of a joint venture between FBR and CRH Ventures Americas, Inc, a subsidiary of CRH plc, one of the largest concrete block suppliers in the US.
The plan is for the robotic builder to first complete a site acceptance test at a facility in Fort Meyers, Florida, to demonstrate its capabilities. Should that go well, Hadrian X will then build between five and 10 single-story homes as part of a demonstration program. Once that's done, the two companies will enter into a more permanent agreement wherein FBR will become CRH Ventures' exclusive "Wall as a Service" provider in the United States.
Such an agreement could eventually lead to the phased purchase of 300 Hadrian X units from FBR, which would be used to create entire robot-built communities.
“We have set a clear strategy for the Company to enter the United States market, and we will be doing so with the assistance of one of the largest concrete block manufacturers in the country," said FBR Managing Director and CEO, Mike Pivac. "We are excited to arrive in a new international market to showcase the capabilities of our technology and commence our scaling plan with the financial and operational support of one of the world’s leaders in building materials production.”
You can find out more about Hadrian X and its work in the US in the following company video.
Source: FBR
Did you not read the story, see the dripping glue in the video? Good points about the re-bar for anything over one floor.
@Nelson - These are hollow blocks, so vertical steel reinforcement can be added afterwards. Horizontal reinforcement is not always needed.But Hadrian has been shown to lift window plinths into place, and place bricks precisely. A future version might be able to place a row of bricks, and then add some full length horizontal bars.
In the meantime though, walk before you run.
Someone has to stack the load of bricks. How is this done? There has to be an operator of the vehicle and the cost of the vehicle itself. We've had millions of illegal aliens pouring across our borders for recent years, expecting work. What labor is required for the truck and loading vs getting labor from the Home Depot parking lot?
There has to be trenching, footings poured in anticipation of the truck coming. In earthquake country we use rebar and put concrete down between the concrete blocks ..... the adhesive I speculate will not be as strong over time as mortar and the pour will still be required. I'm wondering about the net cost?
With symmetrical structures I can see where stacking using a robotic arm can work, but I wonder about complicated building design?
Industrial buildings use tilt up, and I cannot imagine the robotic stacking will compete with tilt up. I'd like to see some costings. Otherwise, it's a great idea.
That being said, the notion that a device that lays bricks is being called an 'employee' is an insanely insulting anti-labor – never mind anti-human – notion.
If a company is using robots to do a task it's because they more often than not want to actually hire employees – which means 'humans.'