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British construction tech start-up Automated Architecture (AUAR) is sending two of its pop-up, robotic micro-factories to the U.S. for the first time in a move to bring automated and affordable house building to North America. Founded in 2019, AUAR functions by licensing its technology to builders... View full entry
Researchers at ETH Zurich have introduced a new robotic 3D printing method for cement-free low-carbon materials for a circular economy. Using a technique called 'impact printing,' the team demonstrated a mixture of excavated materials, silt, and clay that was less dependent on additives for... View full entry
A team at the University of British Columbia has developed “smart construction robots” for performing basic tasks on construction sites, such as lifting and moving objects. The team, led by Dr. Tony Yang from the University’s Smart Structures Lab, recently demonstrated the concept at a... View full entry
Skyline Robotics is disrupting the century-old practice of window washing with new technology that the startup hopes will redefine a risky industry.
Its window-washing robot, Ozmo, is now operational in Tel Aviv and New York, and has worked on major Manhattan buildings such as 10 Hudson Yards, 383 Madison, 825 3rd Avenue and 7 World Trade Center [...]
— CNBC
Automation has entered the building maintenance field with AI-powered window-washing robots appearing on Manhattan's high-rise facades. The technology could signal a shift in the workforce traditionally assigned to this task, from human teams to lone robots controlled remotely, potentially... View full entry
A new report predicts that the global market for artificial intelligence in construction will experience significant growth in the next decade. The analysis by Research Dive reports that the market will grow by 34.1% by 2031 fuelled by AI-driven solutions and services, both on-site and... View full entry
New research suggests that the global market for construction robotics will triple by 2030. The figures, generated by Straits Research, predict that the construction robotics market will grow from its current $50 million value to reach $164 million by the end of the decade, increasing at a... View full entry
Like many highway projects around the world, it has been engineered to span great distances and stand strong—feats that have become so normal they’re expected as the status quo. But unlike most large-scale building projects, this bridge has been designed and constructed without any drawings. — Fast Company
Called the Randselva Bridge, the structure stretches 2,080 feet and stands 180 feet above ground at its highest point. It’s located near the city of Hønefoss, about 31 miles northwest of Oslo. When it opens to traffic next month, it will be the longest bridge ever constructed without 2D... View full entry
Rugged Robotics, a Houston-based developer of construction technology, raised $9.4 million in Series A funding. Similar to Dusty Robotics, Rugged offers a robot to automate construction layout. Rugged’s Mark I marks architectural and engineering designs directly onto concrete floors so workers know where to build. The robot is available for commercial use, which the company delivers via layout as a service (a derivative of Robots as a Service). — The Robot Report
The funding round was led by BOLD Capital Partners and Brick & Mortar Ventures, along with Riot Ventures, Morpheus, Embark, Consigli Construction Company, and Suffolk Technologies. This latest capitalization round brings the company’s full funding to around $12 million. Rugged Robotics... View full entry
Intelligent City, a Canadian company focused on innovation in housing, has offered a glimpse inside their new factory in Delta, British Columbia. The facility, which has now begun building mid-to-high-rise urban housing projects for Canada and the United States, will use advanced robotics to... View full entry
A New York-based construction robotics startup that makes prefabricated rebar cages for concrete structures has announced that it has secured $8 million in a Series A funding round. The round was led by Tribeca Venture Partners and featured Blackhorn Ventures, Point72 Ventures, New York... View full entry
This week's featured virtual event happenings, from Archinect's Virtual Event Guide, are highlighted by Exhibit Columbus' Design Presentations kicking off this Friday. Other events to tune into address topics such as decolonization, surveillance, automation, public and domestic... View full entry
Japanese contractor Obayashi has started to build a dam almost entirely with robots, addressing the industry's labor shortage and aging workforce.
The site of the trial project is a concrete dam in Mie Prefecture, on the southeast coast of Japan's main island. The 84-meter-high structure is slated for completion in March 2023.
— Nikkei Asian Review
According to Nikkei, Obayashi has developed automated equipment to stack concrete layers to form the 334-meter-wide dam with virtually every process for constructing the dam involving some form of automation. Those process include the initial work of establishing the foundation... View full entry
Even before the pandemic reconfigured every aspect of our daily lives, it was clear that the cash register — the kind with a drawer that pops out after your groceries are tallied — was headed for the dust heap of technology, joining fax machines and CD players. Many convenience stores, like CVS, Rite Aid and Target, started installing self-checkout stations a decade ago. — The Philadelphia Inquirer
Architecture critic Inga Saffron of The Philadelphia Inquirer examines the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has supercharged the automation of grocery stores and other spaces, finding that with the boom in grocery delivery services that has taken hold since the pandemic hit, some purveyors... View full entry
This post is brought to you by Material Bank Material Bank is the world’s largest material marketplace, providing the fastest and most sustainable way to search and sample materials. It simplifies the complex process of material search and sampling by enabling architecture and design... View full entry
Around the world, private companies and public institutions alike are racing to present "first-of-its-kind" 3D-printed buildings, even entire villages. In the Czech Republic, a developing company in collaboration with sculptor Michal Trpak is preparing to build, what it calls, the country's first... View full entry