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Where are the robotic bricklayers?

constructionphysics.substack.com

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Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#401

Post by MillenialMan »

version_five wrote: post #90
mavhc wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not destroying your body lifting heavy weights for 50 years seems like something people might like. We automated looking after the house after it's been built, no need for people scrubbing floors and clothes any more, freed up 40% of the workforce. My partially automated vacuum cleaner, clothes washer, dish washer, food cooker, water heater, all work well.

Most construction relies on fit young men to do the "heavy lifting". It would be interesting to see how the dynamics changesd if technology moved the needle on the brawn->brain scale, so that the core value prop of a construction worker was not their fitness. I'm not convinced it would be for the better. Also just want to add that working in a physical job for 50 years is much better for your body than sitting at a d…

This is completely untrue. Contrary to popular belief, sitting at a desk is extremely healthy in comparison to manual labour, which destroys your body over time.

Standing all day is also worse for your back than sitting all day. Even being a shop assistant is harder on your body, and particularly your back, than sitting at a desk. (Alternating, i.e. an office job with a sit/stand desk, is best.)

The primary issue is complete lack of inactivity (a large component just being weight gain), which you can combat by exercising outside of the office.

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#402

Post by LightG »

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…

Sounds like FSD.

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#403

Post by fennecfoxy »

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…

This (and similar comments below) are a very American view of the situation.

To be honest, as a kiwi I was the same when the first moved to the UK "why are they building NEW buildings out of brick???" It's because there's so much clay here, the materials to make bricks are abundant and this is similar in other parts of Europe.

Brick is also more resilient to the weather here, if they build hosues with wood like NZ (or America) they'd degrade incredibly quickly.

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#404

Post by necovek »

MillenialMan wrote: post #394
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 don't really understand this. When I see a small house being built, it will have four or five builders on-site at all times, mostly doing labour (and they're, frankly, extremely slow. It will take months to lay the bricks). If you still need the decisions, can't you cut that down to one, or maybe two? That strikes me as a dramatic reduction in labour cost.

Multi-story buildings take only a few days of brick-laying by 4-5 people. Before you can lay the bricks though, you need a firm foundation to carry those bricks, including those concrete floors which take a while to dry up.

There is still a bunch of work in construction that can happen while brick laying happens (plumbing and electrical installations in the floor, pillars to carry roof/next floor, ...) and there is usually a mandated licensed professional to oversee the construction (or few, one for safety, one for quality and ensuring the project is actually followed).

And you can also start doing things as parts of walls get completed (installing windows, insulation, more electrical installations). After the building is put under a roof, that's when the real work begins :), though that's even easier to parallelize.

Brick laying is literally one of the quickest parts and most effective parts of making a building look like a building, but it's nowhere near the most costly thing.

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#405

Post by rendall »

egh wrote: post #28

The great contempt that computer people have for the skills that every human brings to the jobs that the do is always on display here. We haven't automated driving; we haven't automated picking tomatoes; we haven't automated bricklaying; we can't automate cooking a fucking hamburger. But they are completely convinced that it's just around the corner, because they are full of contempt for the skill and intelligence of…

> The great contempt that computer people have for the skills that every human brings to the jobs that the do is always on display here.

Kind of an unfair generalization, I think. I see far more comments in defense of the skill of masonry and masons, insisting that automation may be too difficult, and almost none that "display contempt" as I see it. But I could be missing something. Would you be willing to expand on what you see here?

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#406

Post by mypalmike »

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.

Even in 100 year old brick houses (like the 1920s craftsman I once owned), the brick is almost always non-structural. Only in old urban commercial buildings do you typically find structural bricks.

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#407

Post by dazc »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #324
function_seven wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they’re pleasant to look at. Half the time, the wall isn’t even “needed”, other than for aesthetic purposes. Whenever a wall is purely functional, it’s almost never made of small clay bricks today. I’m talking about foundation walls, subsurface retaining walls, and similar things. The types of walls that aren’t meant to be looked at, but instead meant to hold something back or up. Whenever you see a wall bein…

> Because they’re pleasant to look at. I expect that this is less a case of "bricks have long been used because they’re pleasant to look at", and more a case of "Bricks are considered pleasant to look at, because they have long been used, and have that old-timey feeling"

Also people like to think they are buying something substantial that is literally made of bricks - even if those bricks are just a façade.

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#408

Post by MillenialMan »

necovek wrote: post #404
MillenialMan wrote: post #394

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand this. When I see a small house being built, it will have four or five builders on-site at all times, mostly doing labour (and they're, frankly, extremely slow. It will take months to lay the bricks). If you still need the decisions, can't you cut that down to one, or maybe two? That strikes me as a dramatic reduction in labour cost.

Multi-story buildings take only a few days of brick-laying by 4-5 people. Before you can lay the bricks though, you need a firm foundation to carry those bricks, including those concrete floors which take a while to dry up. There is still a bunch of work in construction that can happen while brick laying happens (plumbing and electrical installations in the floor, pillars to carry roof/next floor, ...) and there is u…

There's a build happening at the end of my road at the moment, I can see how this maps onto that. Thanks - this explains a lot.

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#409

Post by 123pie123 »

fy20 wrote: post #366
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.

What you are talking about are facing bricks, which are used on the facade. In Europe almost all new residential construction is made from masonry blocks, which are basically just bigger bricks. They are structural (in terms of compression, but have low tensile strength which is probably why they aren't popular in North America) They have a good R-value They are easy to work with We are building a house right now, an…

> but have low tensile strength which is probably why they aren't popular in North America)

out of curiosity, why do the blocks need to be different in North America?

Re: Where are the robotic bricklayers?

#410

Post by imtringued »

bserge wrote: post #277
pottertheotter wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find this comment so out of touch with the history of the world. Would you have us stuck back at the art of knocking rocks together to create fire since the people who created matches and lighters had so much contempt for the rock knockers? If anyone has contempt, it's this line of thought. What are we if we aren't trying to move forward--solve problems, invent, and improve lives? A few weeks back I came across Had…

Why not build the CNC router? It's a surprisingly simple machine, you could build one of any size yourself. There's even open source firmware and designs around. Bonus points for making it double as a laser etcher/cutter :D

>It's a surprisingly simple machine

Yes, there is nothing dumber than a robot that doesn't know what it is doing. It is merely following a preprogrammed sequence of steps hoping nothing goes wrong.

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