Are construction workers the next industry to be outsourced to a robotic workforce? Flying robots at the FRAC Centre in Orléans, France, have built a nearly 20-foot-tall structure based on blueprints designed by Swiss architects Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler, with assistance from Zurich roboticist and professor Raffaello D’Andre. The tower was built by four quadrocopters--worker-bee-like mobile flying machines that use four rotors for better agility--that were programmed to lift, carry, and assemble 1,500 polystyrene foam bricks to complete the design.
Entitled “Flight Assembled Architecture,” the exhibition, which opened on December 4, is a 1:100 scale version of a large-scale, 2,000-foot-tall “vertical village” that could house 30,000 inhabitants. This “revolutionary assembly apparatus,” the architects say, addresses a new way of thinking about architecture as “a physical process of dynamic formation.” In other words, they’re re-imagining the role of the architect in a new digital environment. “We do not design architecture solely by drawing,” they wrote in advance of the show, “but conceive spatial relationships and contextual behavior through programming.” Each quadrocopter uses three pins to puncture, hold, and carry the bricks while a motion capture system on the ceiling directs where the foam bricks are placed.
So yeah, it's not quite Jetsons-level. But in the video above, the little machines move around pretty efficiently. They lower the foam bricks into place aggressively, after testing showed that gentler landings were more affected by turbulence. And to avoid collisions, the vehicles use two "freeways" around the tower by reserving the space required for any particular flight trajectory.
This isn't the first time we've heard from Gramazio and Kohler--in 2009, we reported about their project for NYC, in which they used car-assembly robots to create an undulating brick wall. Ho-hum. Those robots didn't fly.
Edit: fixing tags.
_________________ "Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee "... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades
Last edited by Kaffis Mark V on Mon Dec 12, 2011 12:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.
That's actually pretty neat. I wonder how it'll scale up.
This is my wonder. I also notice that there really is nothing actually joining the bricks together- additionally, there really isn't anything *inside* the building. I wonder how they'll handle attachment/sealing/plumbing/wiring etc.
_________________ Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.
That's actually pretty neat. I wonder how it'll scale up.
This is my wonder. I also notice that there really is nothing actually joining the bricks together- additionally, there really isn't anything *inside* the building. I wonder how they'll handle attachment/sealing/plumbing/wiring etc.
Indeed. However, I think they mentioned that the bricks represent pre-fabricated modular units, so in a real environment, my guess is that the sealing can be pretty rudimentary, and the plumbing and wiring will essentially be done on the pre-fab units, with only connections needing to be made.
That still leaves a lot of wasted space internally, but... Perhaps the notion is that it's made up for by having an "atrium" area on the ground, as well as being able to market only spaces with windows, no interior apartments/offices. The rippling nature of the ring of units serves to cram more into a smaller footprint, so, perhaps it needn't be as wasteful as it appears, especially if they're then able to be billed higher.
_________________ "Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee "... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades
Ah, when they mentioned pre-fab units, that's not what I had in mind. They're gonna pretty damn big robots to carry full prefab units!
So that pretty much just leaves stairways/elevators to be installed, as well as internal stabilizing structures- if the sealing/connections are only rudimentary, they're going to need *some* external stabilization, the wind force is pretty high at the height they're wanting to build.
_________________ Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.
Oh, I meant sealing like environmental sealing. Who cares if the stairs might be a little drafty, right? I was assuming there'd be some kind of adhesion or fastening going on for the full scale construction.
Looking at the model again, though, I wonder where they build the elevators? There's a slight twist to the whole thing, so there's no way I can see to build a vertical channel through every floor.
It would be darned cool to have the elevators pop in and out of empty space, but I don't think that makes it practical, lol.
_________________ "Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee "... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades
At 2000 feet, we're not talking a little drafty- that's some pretty heavy wind. Any stairs or outside areas would need to be sealed pretty well to prevent people/things from blowing away, not to mention the safety concerns.
Off hand, I'd assume 2-3 elevators and a rim at each "floor"- but that's adding a good bit to construction, and really doesn't fit with the prefab approach very well, imo.
_________________ Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.
On another note, I suppose there's really nothing stopping one from building a slanted elevator shaft. Put wheels on the corners of the car, and it can get towed and lowered on rails...
_________________ "Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee "... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades
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