Wall-climbing micro-robot uses carbon fiber to build a new structure

    Maria Yablonina, a graduate of the University of Stuttgart, has devised a new construction method using micro-robots that are cheap, fast, and can create structures that would otherwise be impossible to build. Instead of using one or two large robots, Yablonina and the University’s Institute of Computer Design (ICD) developed a carbon fiber manufacturing method involving many small robots. These look like Roomba vacuum cleaners and can be placed in a suitcase.

    Agile robots climb up the walls and ceilings and work together to pull fiber filaments across the space to create structures on site.

    Architect and head of ICD Achim Menges said: "We are only at the beginning of exploring the true architectural potential of this manufacturing system." "But we firmly believe that its main advantage is that you can build completely new structures that would otherwise be impossible."

    He told Dezeen: "Practically speaking, small robots will be cheaper, and in a lot of collaboration, they will be faster than existing systems."

    Yablonina is a graduate student in the university's ITECH course, and co-developed the project with ICD and the Institute of Building Structure and Structural Design (ITKE). These departments are located behind the carbon fiber Elytra Filament Pavilion currently on display at the V&A Museum in London.

    The project constitutes a form of "build in bulk"-a manufacturing method that is expected to be commonly used in the future, which involves groups of small robots working together.

    The project is called "Mobile Robot Manufacturing System for Filament Structures", which features a robot that uses sensors and suction to move on any horizontal or vertical surface (including existing architectures).

    Their size and mobility means they can reach areas and create structures that large industrial robots cannot reach.

    Menges said: “Working with many small robots instead of one or two large robots greatly expands the design space and allows us to take advantage of the unique possibilities of the filament structure.”

    People can conceive more complex, differentiated and larger building systems beyond the scope of working spaces and typical industrial machinery. "

    The robot can use internal fans to move on walls and ceilings. These fans generate strong suction and draw them to any surface.

    The next step will be to expand the scale of work by increasing the number of robots and their range of motion. Currently, robots must be connected to an external power source via cables, which limits their applications.

    ICD and ITKE have developed various building systems using carbon fiber, which Menges described in an earlier interview with Dezeen as "the largest untapped resource in the construction industry."

    He claimed that combining digital technology with physical manufacturing could trigger the fourth industrial revolution.

    Menges' team is using carbon fiber in large-span building roofs and advanced building envelopes. Their most recent projects include a pavilion based on a lightweight shell wrapped around the wings and belly of a beetle, and another inspired by the exoskeleton of a lobster, both of which are made by large industrial robots.

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