Robots May Threaten Future Of Home Construction Industry

The first prototype — a watertight shell of a two-storey house built in 24 hours without a single builder on site — will be erected in California before April.

A rival design, being pioneered in the East Midlands, with £1.2m of government funding, will include sunken baths, fireplaces and cornices. There are even plans for robots to supplant painters and decorators by spraying colourful frescoes at an affordable price.

By building almost an entire house from just two materials — concrete and gypsum — the robots will eliminate the need for dozens of traditional components, including floorboards, wooden window frames and possibly even wallpaper. It may eventually be possible to use specially treated gypsum instead of glass window panes.

Engineers on both projects say the robots will not only cut costs and avoid human delays but liberate the normal family homes from the conventional designs of pitched roofs, right-angled walls and rectangular windows.

“The architectural options will explode,” predicted Dr Behrokh Khoshnevis at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, who will soon unleash his $1.5m (£940,000) robot. “We will be able to build curves and domes as easily as straight walls.

The researchers in Los Angeles claim their robot will be able to build the shell of a house in 24 hours. “Compared to a conventional house, the speed of construction will be increased 200-fold and the building costs will be reduced to a fifth of what they are today,” said Khoshnevis.

Homes in a Day! What a wonderful concept, and not only that, but with the ability to build curves and domelike structures, the possibility of constructing more wind resistant homes makes it much more appealing.

I suppose the other benefit is for those who like to complain about illegal immigrants stealing jobs in this industry, because there will no longer be a job to take. These robots would be able to replace a whole group of men.

It'll replace jobs not displace them. All that big heavy equipment is gonna need operators, quality control, inspectors, repairmen, software programmers/engineers, hardware engineers, plumbers, and construction finishers. All of those jobs are arguably higher paying then the ones they replace so it could turn into a net benefit to the economy.

Here is what looks like a proof of concept for Contour Crafting.



[edit on 1-3-2007 by sardion2000]

The prices of 'normally' constructed houses are rapidly getting beyond the purchasing ability of many.......when they reach the point that only the wealthy can afford them, the industry will suffer any way. Pre-fab of some kind is inevitable.

That machine video is amazing!

[edit on 1-3-2007 by frayed1]

Can I get a link to this story?

www.technovelgy.com...

www.newscientist.com...

Hippienotical sense, it carries no weight in the concept. Anyone can think 'let's use magic in this case'.

Did you watch the video? Did you check out the links? I've worked with similar technology and can say it's far from magic.

[edit on 1-3-2007 by sardion2000]

Sorry I was rushing before work. Here is the source I used for the story
www.timesonline.co.uk...

Like frankly I am in full support of this. It is about time we diversified the robotics service/labor industry into a more integarted home development role.

I cant wait to have a home with so many wierd curves.

I just wanted to note that inflatable concrete domes can also be erected within 24 hours (actually much less time is needed with only the pressure equal to that of smoking a cigarette). The guy who invented the technique also worked out a technique to erect the huge cylinders in the mammoth structure called the Shmizu Megacity Pyramid (also using only air pressure).

sorry to put a fork in these spokes, but only demand will ever determine if this will work. the building industry has tried to bring new materials into the housing market and it never works. maybe for the rich. but as long as the majority are using wood and framers, this will never fly. this prossess will be way too expensive, i dont care what they say. 4 guys can build a house in 2 months after excavation. that is less than $40,000 in labour. how much is it going to cost to transport this robot, set up, dismantle, maintain, and own for that matter.

sorry, but if i seen one of these thing show up at my site, i would burn it to the ground.

sorry one more thing. a house out of only concrete and gysum? these two materials do not connect. people like their house made of wood, it brings a feeling of warmth into the home. a concrete home does not sound atractive, infact iv'e worked on some and they are very cold and uninhabbitable

Originally posted by tom goose
sorry to put a fork in these spokes, but only demand will ever determine if this will work.

The proof of concept does work and is scalable. Any engineer will tell you this.

maybe for the rich. but as long as the majority are using wood and framers, this will never fly.

Well, there are Billions of other people waiting for something better than a tin roofed shack in a shanty town. From everything I've read about this guy who's developing this, it's what it's primarily meant for, though I think that the inflatable concrete domes will be more successful in the near term.

this prossess will be way too expensive, i dont care what they say.

Really? So no matter how much factual information I put up will change your mind? Thx for letting me know, I'll make sure to not waste the effort.

4 guys can build a house in 2 months after excavation. that is less than $40,000 in labour. how much is it going to cost to transport this robot, set up, dismantle, maintain, and own for that matter.

It'll probably cost something similar to transporting a prefab home to it's destination. 1 day for setup of the machinery, 1 day of printing and another week or two of finishing inside while the concrete cures and then a few days of cosmetic stuff on the outside. Still beats 2 months by a long shot.

sorry, but if i seen one of these thing show up at my site, i would burn it to the ground.

Ahh.... I see where you're coming from now. You're afraid of becoming redundant. Completely understandable and completely futile.

Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated. Bwahahahaha.

Originally posted by tom goose
people like their house made of wood, it brings a feeling of warmth into the home. a concrete home does not sound atractive, infact iv'e worked on some and they are very cold and uninhabbitable

Well then they've been designed wrong as I've been in some that didn't even look like concrete(though the texture was a dead giveaway when you touched it) and the inside felt more like a hobbit hole then anything else. That is the epitome of "homey" btw in case you're not a Rings fan.

a house out of only concrete and gysum? these two materials do not connect.

Actually it can, it all depends on the additives involved and how it's mixed together.

[edit on 1-3-2007 by sardion2000]

i see where you are getting to. and no i do not feel threatened. i feel disrespected. I spend a good part of my day trying to fix engineered drawings and making things work in REALITY. im still waiting for my flying car that i was supposed to get by 2000, but i guess some things will never change.

one thing this will be good for is constucting concentration camps for citizens at the cost of the taxpayer.

a computer will never be smarter or more capable than the human brain, i know this and i have faith in myself knowing this, you sound like your waiting for a time when everyone is as usless as you are. dont hold your breath.

where is the vapor barrier? or are these house for dry conditions only? I live in vancouver, and this looks like a leaky condo waiting to happen. generally concrete isn't used residencialy because frost lines will apear on the interior without a proper vapor barrier. that is why all concrete highrise apartments are furred out with steel and drywall on the interior, leaving a space for vapor.

i think the pottery industry might be the most effected by this machine

Originally posted by tom goose
i see where you are getting to. and no i do not feel threatened. i feel disrespected. I spend a good part of my day trying to fix engineered drawings and making things work in REALITY.

Engineers don't draw Architect plans. Architects do.

im still waiting for my flying car that i was supposed to get by 2000, but i guess some things will never change.

Got a million bucks? I'm sure Mr. Moller will be interested in the extra cash...

a computer will never be smarter or more capable than the human brain, i know this and i have faith in myself knowing this,

Umm... computer CAD drawing are drawn by humans, not artificial intellects. And what does that have to do with having faith that AI will never outperform humans? Wrong thread for this.

where is the vapor barrier?

I presume between the drywall and concrete where it usually is..

I also sent you a U2U, please read it and respond ASAP.

[edit on 2-3-2007 by sardion2000]

Originally posted by sardion2000

Originally posted by tom goose
i see where you are getting to. and no i do not feel threatened. i feel disrespected. I spend a good part of my day trying to fix engineered drawings and making things work in REALITY.

Engineers don't draw Architect plans. Architects do.

im still waiting for my flying car that i was supposed to get by 2000, but i guess some things will never change.

Got a million bucks? I'm sure Mr. Moller will be interested in the extra cash...

a computer will never be smarter or more capable than the human brain, i know this and i have faith in myself knowing this,

Umm... computer CAD drawing are drawn by humans, not artificial intellects. And what does that have to do with having faith that AI will never outperform humans? Wrong thread for this.

where is the vapor barrier?

I presume between the drywall and concrete where it usually is..

I also sent you a U2U, please read it and respond ASAP.

[edit on 2-3-2007 by sardion2000]

architects draw, thats it, engineers make it work on paper, and trades build it. i dont care about the architects drawing, only the bank and perspective buyer care about that.

the engineer is who i work with, and we would both agree that adhesive will not work as a vapor barrier, and these homes are going to feel cold.

i just noticed you never even said adhesive. you dont have the slightest idea how these things are going to work do you?

you are the second person today im going to have to ask to leave the internet.

architects draw, thats it, engineers make it work on paper, and trades build it. i dont care about the architects drawing, only the bank and perspective buyer care about that.

Which is what I said. You said you had to spend a lot of time fixing engineers drawings. I was just correcting what you incorrectly stated. No offense. If you said Blueprints, then I would have gotten you completely as I am going to engineering school. But as a rule, we usually call Blueprints, Blueprints and drawing, drawings(or plans). Even though I never even work with that stuff, I do talk to those guys a lot. (Nanomech Engineering student here).

the engineer is who i work with, and we would both agree that adhesive will not work as a vapor barrier, and these homes are going to feel cold.

Who uses adhesives as a vapor barrier? OR do you mean using adhesives to attach the vapor barrier? If it's the latter, then nvrmnd, if its the former, then I wouldn't be the one to go around accusing people of not knowing what they are talking about. As for what to use on Concrete as a vapor barrier, the contractors we had when renovating the den put up simple Aluminum Foil.

[edit on 2-3-2007 by sardion2000]

Originally posted by sardion2000

architects draw, thats it, engineers make it work on paper, and trades build it. i dont care about the architects drawing, only the bank and perspective buyer care about that.

Which is what I said. You said you had to spend a lot of time fixing engineers drawings. I was just correcting what you incorrectly stated. No offense.

the engineer is who i work with, and we would both agree that adhesive will not work as a vapor barrier, and these homes are going to feel cold.

Who uses adhesives as a vapor barrier? OR do you mean using adhesives to attach the vapor barrier? If it's the latter, then nvrmnd, if its the former, then I wouldn't be the one to go around accusing people of not knowing what they are talking about. As for what to use on Concrete as a vapor barrier, the contractors we had when renovating the den put up simple Aluminum Foil.

you are the second person today im going to have to ask to leave the internet.

Ok, now I suspect I'm being flamebaited or trolled. I suspect the former.

[edit on 2-3-2007 by sardion2000]

[edit on 2-3-2007 by sardion2000]

alluminum foil? omg, what the heck is going on. have you seen "holmes on homes" you should ask him to come look at your house. alluminum foil.lololo, i dont know what to say. the whole point of vapor barrier is to trap moisture and let it breath away, but alluminum foil will build up vapor, and the temp changes will bring it right into your walls.

Ive never seen it before, so i wont say for certain that it wont work, but i think your contractor is attempting to devise his own moisture escape system. iv'e seen others try to do funny things on the exterior, but you never know if it is going to work unless you try, and by then it could be costly.

there are no codes or laws to keeping moisture out of your home, it is like drywall, if the owner is happy, it passes.

Well the guy wanted to use the paint, but I kinda put a stop to it as I'm highly sensitive to paint smells. I don't care wether mold grows back there as this house is gonna be sold as soon as the last bathroom is reno'd.

[edit on 2-3-2007 by sardion2000]