Drones Will 3D Print Our Future Homes and Offices on the Fly
An international team of engineers have taken 3D printing to a whole new level by designing a fleet of drones that can build structures while in flight, unlocking new approaches to construction in hard-to-reach, unstable, or otherwise inaccessible places. These robots are the first of their kind to 3D print and hover simultaneously, and in proof-of-concept research published on Wednesday in Nature, researchers showed that the drones were able to coordinate and build tall cylinders out of polyurethane foam and a cement-like material.
“We've demonstrated the first-ever robots that are 3D-printing in flight, and it's a pretty amazing achievement,” Robert Stuart-Smith, an autonomous manufacturing researcher at University College London and the University of Pennsylvania, and a co-author of the study, told The Daily Beast. By working with swarms of small robots that can make decisions as they build, tomorrow’s architects will be able to change building designs halfway through construction and tailor projects to fit a dynamic environment, he added.
The potential implications are myriad. The new drones could provide new opportunities to construct buildings outside of the formulaic one-floor-after-another approach. Or, after a natural disaster like an avalanche, drones could 3D print tools for an entrapped survivor to free themselves. They might also be able to quickly construct temporary shelters for displaced individuals and families. Since they are free-roaming and don’t need to be plugged in, 3D-printing drones could assist when there’s a power outage from a storm or other weather event, making quick repairs to vital infrastructure (especially if there are obstacles preventing humans from getting close).