Where are the robotic bricklayers? • Hacker News Board

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#311

Post by oldsecondhand » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 6:13 AM UTC

NonContro wrote: post #164

spyckie2 wrote: post #31

The value of work is not in the work done; it's in the decisions being made. It's the ability to handle edge cases, to work your way through ambiguity, to "unstuck" a stuck situation, and to resolve tricky unforeseen issues. If you build a robot that only handles the main workflow and can't handle any of the exceptions, you're not automating anything; you're building a convenience tool. Basically, you're removing som…

I'm planning to build a house, and it has surprised me that standardised house plans are not readily available online - particularly for European weather conditions - the emphasis is instead on custom floorplans. Creating new designs millions of times over seems like an obvious inefficiency.

In Hungary we had house templates since the socialism.

(following sites are in Hungarian)

https://kulcsrakesz.hu/tipushazak/

https://hellohaz.hu/tipushazak/

https://www.leier.hu/tipushazak

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#312

Post by orliesaurus » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 6:16 AM UTC

eloisius wrote: post #298

octokatt wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d add to the list of why partial automation isn’t worth it: it’s more satisfying to build a brick wall than babysit a bricklaying machine. Doing the physical labor is difficult. My father was a bricklayer from ten to fifty, when he finally had to stop working. But he loved showing me the buildings he built. He helped build city government buildings, schools, libraries. The pride he felt, that he’d built something w…

My dad was a stair builder his whole career until finally becoming a freelance carpenter after getting laid off. Stairs, like bricks, are probably another implement that us techies use daily with absolutely no appreciation for complexity and skill involved. Spiral staircases are an incredible work of craftsmanship, or at least they were. I used to go to the shop with my dad when I was a kid. They would rig up these b…

Loved reading this post!

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#313

Post by ben_bai » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 6:18 AM UTC

The robotic bricklayers are in the factories. They do construct prefab elements that then get hauled to the building site to be quickly assembled.

Usually it's done with wood but there are also factories that build prefab houses with bricks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJIDjdFTVW8

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#314

Post by rurounijones » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 6:26 AM UTC

NonContro wrote: post #164

spyckie2 wrote: post #31

The value of work is not in the work done; it's in the decisions being made. It's the ability to handle edge cases, to work your way through ambiguity, to "unstuck" a stuck situation, and to resolve tricky unforeseen issues. If you build a robot that only handles the main workflow and can't handle any of the exceptions, you're not automating anything; you're building a convenience tool. Basically, you're removing som…

I'm planning to build a house, and it has surprised me that standardised house plans are not readily available online - particularly for European weather conditions - the emphasis is instead on custom floorplans. Creating new designs millions of times over seems like an obvious inefficiency.

I think the middle ground is something like https://wudl.co.uk/ where your house is essentially put together from smaller modular pieces. This allows pre-construction and the efficiencies in "mass production" while allowing semi-customisation.

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#315

Post by empiricus » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 6:34 AM UTC

For my new house, laying the bricks (aerated concrete blocks actually) took 2 days. The rest of the house took more than one year to finish. Not really necessary to optimize this step in many cases.

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#316

Post by SideburnsOfDoom » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 6:56 AM UTC

dragonsky67 wrote: post #130

The question I would have around automated building construction is "why use bricks?". Bricks are great for humans to build with, they are just the right size and weight for the human hand to manipulate and place. They are not optimised for machine manipulation. I would guess that if you wanted to automate construction you would start by making things like walls on an automated production line, then ship the largest…

> The question I would have around automated building construction is "why use bricks?".

Well, eventually roads will also be optimised for self-driving cars not human drivers. But until then, self-driving car have to interoperate with the existing, pervasive, legacy infrastructure, even if it isn't optimal for their needs.

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#317

Post by turtlebits » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 6:58 AM UTC

com2kid wrote: post #295

turtlebits wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Bricks aren’t great for construction. Not structural, poor R-value, a ton of labor. Just have concrete poured or stick frame and a fake brick facade. Will probably last longer as well. Seems like the wrong problem to solve.

Bricks can last a long time. Brick houses also hold their value well. No one cares about a brick facade. Also why do you say bricks aren't structural? I assumed those 100 year old brick houses used bricks for structural support.

Bricks are for decorative purposes nowadays (pretty siding). They aren't practical as you won't meet code for insulation. You will also need to frame another interior wall for vapor control.

A single layer brick wall isn't structural.

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#318

Post by yawaworht1978 » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 6:58 AM UTC

They are kind of here, not the classic concept, however: https://www.dezeen.com/2021/06/22/broad-group-modular-apartm...

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#319

Post by goguy » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 6:59 AM UTC

atoav wrote: post #300

mbesto wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is why partial robotic systems don't really exist; either it's a nifty tool that speeds up a small repeatable process of your work, or it's building the entire house. I think I understand your overall point, but what you said isn't exactly true. Isn't "speed up a repeatable process" essentially a partial robotic system? Just look at a modern car manufacturing plant - it's essentially one big chain of robotics…

Yeah, but houses are rarely like a serial manufactured car. Sometimes you have to lay down every row of bricks differently with a ton of unplanned (or unplannable) things to account for, because the electrician might work while you lay your brick etc. Not that you cannot automate whole houses and sell them off the shelve for cheap (see prefabs), it just isn't something that could be done at a site where your brickbot…

Just wait for electrobot 2000 and the problem is resolved :)

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#320

Post by tragomaskhalos » Wed, Aug 04, 2021, 7:02 AM UTC

spyckie2 wrote: post #31

The value of work is not in the work done; it's in the decisions being made. It's the ability to handle edge cases, to work your way through ambiguity, to "unstuck" a stuck situation, and to resolve tricky unforeseen issues. If you build a robot that only handles the main workflow and can't handle any of the exceptions, you're not automating anything; you're building a convenience tool. Basically, you're removing som…

Exactly. If you need an expert to constantly babysit the machine then you may as well dispense with the machine and have the expert build the wall themselves.