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The replacement will not be laying bricks but new technologies. Computers didn't replace human "calculators" by using abacus.
like thread, maybe bricks have a place still.
Bricklayers are already a dying breed... workers compensation makes it way too difficult to build many structures out of brick. Most "brick" or "stone" you see in new construction is some prefab panel glued to something. IMO you'd employ more bricklayers doing trim work and operating the robot than you do now. And we should move away from shitty manufactured wood, glue and toxic treatments.
Prefix that with "In the States".
Where I live in California houses are currently erected in days out of cheap wood and cladding. As soon as it is feasible this process will be automated and ways found to construct them more quickly using the cheapest materials.
We recently had some terrible fires where entire subdivisions burnt. Dozens of houses burnt simultaneously yet the trees and cars didn't catch fire. This was due to embers landing on roofs and getting into attics - the houses went up like paper bags.
Making sure the next generation of cheap building materials are fire retardant and robust is a worry given the rush for maximum profit for minimum investment and wealth sharing automation brings.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why emulate a human at all? I think that's the main issue. There has to be a better way to lay brick once you get robots involved.
It's probably anticipating corners and arches, but for the majority of bricks this seems quite inefficient. Bricks could be rolling off a conveyor belt in to place.
Why aren't they using shims and jigs? If you want to line it up right, make sure you have the right amount of mortar in the right place, etc, put a jig around it with some shims. It's the easiest way to build anything precisely that has to be done over and over again.
If you have the right amount, consistency and distribution of mortar, the jig won't do anything :)
Why aren't they using shims and jigs? If you want to line it up right, make sure you have the right amount of mortar in the right place, etc, put a jig around it with some shims. It's the easiest way to build anything precisely that has to be done over and over again.
Whats the setup time for a robot that lays bricks? If you've ever seen a team of skilled masons/bricklayers build a wall, they're pretty freaking fast at it. I imagine the time to transport/setup/calibrate/etc a robot would eat up whatever performance gains it would have over humans - unless perhaps its a really big job, but how many of those are being built these days?
That said, the machines are in field use, since masons are scarce and expensive. You're right about the big jobs, too; they're apparently pretty much limited to sites like universities and hospitals which have lots of big, featureless walls. The Tech Review article about it is much more informative than the NYT one here. [1]
I think this sort of automation worry seriously over-generalizes from factory robots. Robots are spectacular at doing repetitive tasks with nicely-arranged inputs and fixed workspaces. Hence, Amazon warehouses and Ford factory floors. But (as the SAM people admit) outdoor, new-worksite tasks are going to involve way more mixed human/robot tasks.
[1] https://www.technologyreview.com/s/540916/robots-lay-three-t...