Researchers at a Swiss university recently built a "construction robot" to "print" houses using environmentally friendly materials, but the construction method is different from traditional 3D printing. The R&D team hopes that this construction robot can further promote the reduction of emissions in the global construction industry.
According to reports, the process of building a house with the latest research and development of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology is similar to that of a 3D printed house, the difference is that the robot adopts the "impact printing" technology, which can cut the viscous building materials into blocks, and then shoot to the designated position at a speed of 36 kilometers per hour.
Lauren Vassy, Ph.D., Swiss Federal Institute of Technology: Basically, what we do is we stamped the building materials together, but without using any mechanical structures or building molds in the process, and the robots shoot at high speeds to stack the building materials layer by layer.
According to the researchers, the advantage of this latest construction method is that it can be "made from local materials". The building materials of the construction robot do not require cement at all, and the soil dug up when laying the foundation is mixed with a small amount of additives to make the building materials.
Lauren Vassy, Ph.D., Swiss Federal Institute of Technology: If this mechanical system can be used on a large scale, we have great potential to make buildings both fast and environmentally friendly.
According to relevant studies, the construction industry accounts for 37% of global carbon emissions. Nearly half of a building's total carbon emissions come from building materials and construction processes. The Swiss team hopes to drive emissions reductions across the construction industry by using sustainable building materials and increasing the speed of construction.