They Build ’em up, I Tear ’em Down
This is cool!
I love seeing stories about inventions that I predicted in Into the Dark. In this case it is a swarm of small flying helicopters that robotically build a tower based on a blueprint on a computer. They function independently, following directions from the computer as they take turns flying bricks into place. They have no-fly-zones programmed to prevent them from flying into the ceiling, the tower, or each other. As each one runs out of power it flies itself to the charger and another takes over.
This video shows them in action. Great work guys! It is called Flight Assembled Architecture and you can see it at the FRAC center in France untill Feb. 19th, 2012.
In Into the Dark I have the same gadget, sort of. They are flying shaped charges that use anti-gravity for propulsion and are used for demolitions. A computer scans a structure that needs to come down and helps a technician decide where the charges need to be placed, then commands the ASH charges, via coded radio signals, to fly to those locations and attach themselves…then BOOM!
Related articles
- Flying robots build structure (boingboing.net)
- Flying robots build 20-foot tower in France (news.cnet.com)
- Flying robots build 20-foot-tall tower (futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com)
- Video: Watch Flying Robots Build a 6-Meter Tower (spectrum.ieee.org)
- Flying robots build a 20-foot-tall tower (futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com)
- Robotics Meets Architecture – 50 Quadcopters Will Autonomously Build Twenty Foot Tower (Video) (singularityhub.com)
- Quadrotor robots find work building massive sculpture [Video] (winextra.com)
- Architects Using Robots to Build Beautiful Structures (spectrum.ieee.org)
Bill Housley 