Challenge: build a home using robots.

Robots are great at simple repetitive tasks, which work out great for an assembly line, but bad for construction.  The problem with home building is that there are many separate tasks, some of which require specific onetime actions. The different tasks for homebuilding include:

• excavating
• Building a level concrete foundation.
• Framing
• Electrical wiring
• Plumbing
• Drywall hanging / finishing
• Roofing
• Bricklaying / Stone masonry / vinyl siding.

Lets take a single simple job and see if we can break it down to a robot task:  Framing.

This job starts with cutting wood.  For simplicity sake lets say that stacks of wood have been delievered and organized such that the robot can find the right piece of wood (in this case an 8’ 2x4), maneuver it to a cutting area, measure the board, then make a straight cut at the desired mark.  This job could take years of programming a humanoid, or could simply take an automated forklift, and a CNC table.  The folks at wikihouse are working on implementing this very thing:

Now we have the correct size board in hand, we need to maneuver it to the correct position on the house.  Yet again, a simple job for a human, but one that requires several steps for a robot.  First, move the wood to the correct place on the house.  There are several ways to do this including a robotic arm on your automated forklift, but this has issues with upstairs placements and nonstandard positions.   Instead, lets say that you have a team of quadrocopters for this task.  Check out the teamwork achieved by several quadrocopters to build a tower in this video:

 

Next you need a way to stabilize the board and hit it with a mobile nail gun.  This is tricky, because you can’t think about the project as a simple wall, rather it could be a complex architectural shape with non square angles, and difficult to access joints.  Let’s face it, every home built in the past 50 years has these features.   For this task lets use two motorized clamps connected by a motorized telescoping rod.  Connect the clamps to the board and its new surroundings with the quadrocopter, then let the telescoping rod expand or contract until the board is in the correct position.  This board can then be tacked into place by a nail gun mounted on a separate quadrocopter.

OK lets say you are a critic who thinks that quadrocopters can’t lift heavy things like boards and cant fly under things.  Specific to flying under things, you are correct.  A different mode of building would need to be used where houses are built from the ground up.  As for the weight limit check out this beauty, and think teamwork!

The original question was can a robot build a house, and the simple answer is no, or more correctly, not yet.  However, can a team of specifically designed robots build a house?   Perhaps!