Hadrian uses 3D CAD (3D computer assisted design) to read plans and build. The machine is much like a car assembly robot in some ways, mounted on a telescopic boom arm attached to a tracked vehicle or a truck. The software is pretty agile, correcting itself 1000 times a second to manage accuracy requirements. It can use mortar or adhesive, fed through to the arm.
This is “3D printing with bricks” to a degree, but it’s also done at 1000 bricks an hour. The company behind Hadrian, Fastbrick Robotics, says the commercial version of Hadrian will be available next year. It’ll be interesting to see how Australia’s hyperactive construction industry reacts.
It’s not all about automation, though. One of the reasons for Hadrian’s existence is the average age of bricklayers in Australia, around 50. The theory is that Hadrian will make this type of work more attractive to younger people.
That makes sense. Anyone who’s ever worked with bricks, and I have, can tell you the attractions of lugging the things around on a building site are minimal. Bricks can be very dangerous to work with, and can cause some pretty grim injuries. Handling is also a major component of construction time usage, not too efficient.
Hadrian’s high work rate may be able to deliver very good values for home and commercial construction, cutting costs and eliminating waste. For Australian developers, dealing with an undersupply of housing, the higher efficiency represents huge money in basic operational costs. Construction time is also a big cost, particularly if schedules blow out, and Hadrian’s 2 day turnaround is a huge cost benefit.
The likely result of Hadrian’s appearance in the market will be a synthesis of human expertise and robot grunt. Someone will have to be expert enough to check actual laying and basically “audit” the construction job relative to specifications in real time to avoid errors.
A brick face out of alignment or incorrectly laid is a true horror story, and it does happen. Minor mistakes can create undesirable load pressures on structures, leave gaps, or cause problems that require expensive remedial work. Add CAD software to expert management, and you’re saving even more money.
Somebody certainly seems to think Hadrian has a future. Fastbrick Robotics was recently acquired by an investment company. The IP (intellectual property) values of Hadrian may be worth a lot more than the embryonic robot.
