Using autonomous drones with 3D printers to repair global infrastructure efficiently.

A research firm in Denmark, GXN Innovation along with Danks AM Hub and MAP Architects have recently unveiled research that could realize this vision.

The smart and creative researchers there have already came up with some pretty outstanding ideas for repairing the worlds infrastructure such as old buildings and roads.  They are also conducting research on underwater drones that can 3D print coral reeves to save the fishes and protect coastal cities from strong ocean currents caused by hurricanes.

Using 3D printers and drones to build buildings and bridges could be the future of construction and this research provides some strong examples to support it.

The main goal of GXN is to have a positive impact on the environment by letting their imagination go free and coming up with solutions to current real-world problems.  Using existing technology like stepper motors and 3D printers, the team set out to see what they can come up with. With the help of top-notch roboticists Teodor Petrov, the team began to create a series of robots and digital versions of them.

By the way Mr. Petrov is a 21st century badass. He is an experienced architect, industrial designer, IOT devoloper and has worked on many projects involving construction automation technologies and disaster search & rescue robotics.

Some projects he built and worked with...

You can combine virtually any field with robotics. In Mr. Petrovs case, he combined architecture with robotics. Follow your passion...and add a little robotics to it.

Before we get to the flesh of this article, lets meet our sponsor bots...

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OK lets meet some 3D printer robots!

Introducing...

Autonomous road repair robot

 They look like they came from the game Fallout or Boderlands. These are automated robots that repair roads using 3D printed fungus. They are solar powered and will work in teams, moving slowly and filling cup cracks in the road. Pretty cool!

Aging high-rises in cities are also in need of some overhaul. The buildings are wasting energy due to heat loss. 3D printer drones can use special polymers and highly insulated materials to provide new thermal insulation to older buildings. These groups of 3D printer drones can also help construct new buildings efficiently and work 24/7 which is especially important if time to build is crucial.

So meet the....

The drone building repair robot

The autonomous 3D printing robots can help the humans. According to the founder of GXN Kasper Jansen, unleashing autonomous 3D printing robots could be groundbreaking and revolutionize the way we see repairs and construction.

GXN is also looking at underwater 3D printing robots that can help combat climate change damage on coastal cities using oyster-based coral reefs. It is said that less more than 10% of the world coastal population live less that 10 meters above sea level. Building a coral reef for the fishes and using is a seawall could be useful for these coastal cities.

So say hello to....

Underwater coral-reef-wall-builder robot

Air, land an sea. The humans seem to have it all figured out...or it seems they are in the process of figuring it out. These 3D printing drones are great solutions and we must tip our hats to our friends in Denmark for inspirational work. We hope they continue to produce great ideas that will benefit society and bring improvements to Earth.

Here in the US, our infrastructure is getting old so we need to start finding efficient solutions in fixing these roads, bridges and dams. The water pipes under cities are leaking and finding the leaks and repairing them efficiently is crucial.

There are solutions and the robots can help us be part of the solution. 

Side note on robots and 3D printers building stuff....

DFAB House – worlds first inhabited house that was digitally planned, built by robots and 3D printing technology. The construction technologies were developed by ETH Zurich researchers along with with some industrial companies. 

DFAB house is also a smart home that include the latest generation of smart home appliances. The home is energy efficient and has heat exchange technology that can harness access heat from hot water showers and reuse it to heat the home.

We could go a little further and recycle shower water to be used for drinking and cooking? eww but worth looking into..maybe use it for the toilet..

Also check out this concrete ceiling called Smart Slab that looks like it came from the Notre Dame and is half the weight of other traditional ceilings. Yes robots help built this work of art..

Moral of the story...robots are coming. You can help build and own them.

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