A bit like zipping up a coat, this “zipper truck” assembles tunnels and arches by fitting together concrete blocks from both sides, eliminating the need for mortar while also cutting down construction time by up to 90 percent.

The truck component is backed by a system of rollers around a metal core. The locking blocks slide into place as the truck rolls slowly forward, like closing an interlocking zipper. No special joinery is needed, plenty of strength and seismic resistance are achieved and, maybe best of all, the blocks can always be uncoupled later and reused elsewhere.

Used for everything from tunnels and shelters to archways and overpasses, the system is exceedingly fast: 24 hours for a quarter mile of tunnel. Most of the heavy lifting is done by the machine, with workers simply feeding blocks into the system and moving the truck forward.

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We all know that drones can safely go where humans cannot, but one other big upside is their potential to (sometimes literally) pave the way for people to follow, by doing things like weaving together physical bridges that can support a person’s weight.

As this video from the RTH Zurich Flying Machine Arena shows, a set of quadcopters can be programmed to braid and knot a sturdy rope bridge in midair. The effect is surprisingly graceful, each drone managing to avoid the other as they swoop back and forth in the room. The low strength-to-weight ratio of the materials deployed makes it possible for lightweight drones to construct surprisingly capable structures.

Motion-capture devices were used to map the space, taking positional measurements around which the drones could then operate. Nothing was left to human hands – even the tie-offs and other connections were completed automatically by drone. While scaffolding was provided in this case, there is no fundamental reason why the same drones could not work with existing supports in nature like rocks or trees. The open question: what will we call the works and processes of this new breed of robotic builders? Droneconstruction sounds a little too much like deconcstruction, but options are still open.

The post Dronestruction: Watch Drones Build a Working Rope Bridge first appeared on Gajitz.

Architects were pioneers in the development of rapid prototyping and 3D printing, so it stands to reason that the architectural industry is still finding unique and useful ways to use this remarkable technology. A team of students at Cornell, working with Sabin Design Lab and Jenny Sabin Studio, created waste-free construction bricks that snap together without the use of mortar.

Dubbed PolyBricks, the building blocks are made of lightweight ceramic with a honeycomb-type structural lattice. This structure gives the bricks tremendous strength and makes them exceptionally lightweight. Each brick fits into the bricks around it via interlocking pieces, eliminating the need for mortar and cutting down on construction costs. Gravity helps to strengthen the connections and make structures more stable.

Building with PolyBricks would enable an entire structure to be made from just one material. Data obtained during the construction of a structure can be used to tune the structural lattice of each brick to meet the specific attributes it needs. This fully-customized type of construction will allow for complex, biologically inspired structures.

One of the biggest benefits of ceramic is that it’s inexpensive to work with. The PolyBricks system uses a material that is already inexpensive, eliminates other materials and allows for an unprecedented amount of freedom in design. The project is the first to address the use of 3D printed building blocks as viable construction materials, and from the results it seems that the PolyBricks building system is far superior to our old brick-and-mortar method.

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The natural world has a lot to teach us about how to interact with our environment. Researchers at Harvard looked to the often-maligned termite for robotic inspiration. Their work led them to create a swarm of robots that can build architectural structures. The hope is that the robots can be used to build structures in dangerous or inaccessible places.

The robots put together structures without a set plan, “thinking” the way that termites do when they are building. Termites build their structures simply by carrying a piece of dirt to a place – if that place already has a piece of dirt in it, they move on to another place.

Similarly, the termite robots are only given very simple directions as to which direction they should move with their building blocks. If there is already a block or another robot in the place they go, they just go to a different place to put down their block. The robots are programmed to never trap themselves inside the structure they build.

To test the robots, the researchers had them build a little castle. Their work is incredibly slow and doesn’t seem to have a lot of order to it, but in the end the structure is built and the termite ‘bots prove once again that just watching nature can inspire the most amazing technology.

The post Nature-Inspired Robots Build in Teams Just Like Termites first appeared on Gajitz.

As greenhouse gas emissions increase, there have been a number of ideas about what to do with carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, none have ‘closed the carbon loop,’ so to speak. Three different groups have teamed up and are attempting to do just that.

A flagship production plant developed by The University of Newcastle in the UK, the chemical company Orica and GreenMag Group has managed to convert carbon dioxide into bricks that can be used as construction material. Six years in the making, the bricks will also be tangible carbon sinks.

So what makes this venture special? Previous developments in carbon-transforming technology have only produced prototypes and models. This time around an actual production facility will be built to manufacture actual objects.

Ian Smith of Orica told ABC News that the concept may be applicable to power plants worldwide. “This would enable, not just us as a company, but all the coal fired power stations around the world to be retrofitted so they can capture their CO₂ off-take. It’s an alternative solution.” It’s also a crucial foray into a dire issue.

The post Green Bricks + Land: New Factory Could Close Carbon Loop first appeared on Gajitz.