JOIN USThanks to a new robot named Hadrian X, it may soon be possible to construct an entire brickhouse in just two days. Developed by an Australian company, Fastbrick Robotics, the giant truck-mounted robot has the ability to lay up to 1,000 bricks an hour. Its 30-metre telescopic boom allows the base to remain in a single position throughout the brick-laying.
All one needs to do is input a CAD file of the house structure, and Hadrian X does the rest. The system handles automatic loading, cutting, routing and placement of all the bricks. Bricks are fed along a conveyor belt that sends them up the robotic arm, where the sides of the brick are coated with a clear construction adhesive. The arm then rotates the bricks and drops them into place.
Because they are glued together, no mortar is necessary. The machine even has the ability to leave spaces in the brickwork to make room for wiring and plumbing, and can be used with a wide range of block sizes. The high level of accuracy of the finished product means that very little human intervention is necessary, other than designing the structure in CAD.
The robot is the result of 10 years of research and development, and Fastbrick Robotics hopes that it will be able to streamline the construction process, saving clients’ time and money. Hadrian X is expected to be available on the market in a year’s time.