No job is too big for these tiny robots! Clip-on machines 3D print BUILDINGS using giant pottery-style wheels
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A giant robot in China may be able to 3D print 10 bungalows in a day, but the machine needed to pipe the concrete has to be bigger than the building it is creating - making skyscrapers an all but impossible dream.
However, swarms of small robotic builders could soon overcome this problem to make structures much taller and wider than themselves.
Engineers in Barcelona have created a range of Minibuilders that can work together, beavering away on different tasks, to construct large pieces of buildings.
Handy: Swarms of small robotic builders - including this vacuum bot - could make structures much taller and wider than themselves
MINIBUILDER FUNCTIONS
The Minibuilder robots are team players and together they could build a skyscraper with very little human intervention, once their paths are mapped out.
Foundation robots build up the first 20 layers of mixture, similar to a large coiled pot.
'Grip' robots that clip onto the sides of the walls take over the work to add more layers of piped mixture as they move along, climbing higher.
Vacuum robots use their suction power to creep up the side of a structure, adding extra piped mixture to reinforce it.
In theory, if enough of these robots were used, they could built skyscrapers.
Experts at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) in Barcelona created the 'family' of small construction robots that are all capable of constructing objects far larger than themselves.
They work together squirting out concrete-like material that hardens quickly to form the structure of a building.
However, the shapes of the buildings are determined by architects using computer software.
Foundation robots build up the first 20 layers of mixture by pumping out the quick-drying mixture, similar to a large coiled pot.
Their work is then taken over by 'grip' robots that clip onto the sides of the walls to add more layers as they move along piping mixture, FastCo reported.
A master of the trade: Scientists have created Minibuilders that can work together, beavering away on different tasks, to construct large pieces of buildings
Teamwork: The Minibuilders work together squirting out concrete-like material that hardens quickly to form the structure of a building, which they can then clip onto (pictured) and continue their work
Vacuum robots use their suction power to creep up the side of a structure, adding extra piped mixture to reinforce it.
If many robots are used together, they could rapidly create structures much, much larger than themselves as the building they would create could act as a sort of climbing frame.
'Each of the robots were developed was to perform a diverse task, linked to the different phases of construction, finally working together as a family towards the implementation of a single structural outcome,' their creators explained.
Frugal: The little robots could also cut construction waste produced in large quantities by traditional building techniques, as they only pump what they need (pictured) and there are no moulds or support structures
Laying the foundations: Here, a foundation robot begins the structure by building up the first layers of piped mixture. Other robots will take over the work when the structure becomes high enough for them to cling to
Suck it and see: Vacuum robots (pictured) use their suction power to creep up the side of a structure, adding extra piped mixture to reinforce it
Foundation robots (pictured) build up the first 20 layers of mixture, similar to a large coiled pot
'Hence, instead of one large machine, a number of much smaller robots working independently, but in coordination, towards a single goal.'
Researchers Petr Novikov and Sasa Jokic of the IAAC explained that while huge robots can print small buildings quickly, they have to fit around a structure, limiting the size of projects, and are expensive.
'Making such machines isn't economically reasonable, sustainable, and, in some cases, simply impossible due to their size,' they said.
In contrast, there is no limit on what the Minibuilders could create.
'The robots can work simultaneously while performing different tasks, and having a fixed size, they can create objects of virtually any scale, as far as material properties permit,' they said, noting that such machines would also be easy for builders to take to construction sites.
The little robots could also cut construction waste produced in large quantities by traditional building techniques, as they only pump out what they need and there are no moulds or support structures required to make structures.
It is hoped more swarm robots will be created so they could take on the roles of plasterers and decorators too.
A giant robot in China (only its nozzle is pictured) can 3D print 10 bungalows in a day, but the machine needed to pipe the concrete has to be bigger than the building it is creating - making skyscrapers an all but impossible dream
Ambitious: There is no limit on what the Minibuilders could create. 'The robots (pictured) can work simultaneously while performing different tasks, and having a fixed size they can create objects of virtually any scale, as far as material properties permit,' their creators said
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