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We are starting to see some exciting possibilities in the field of robotic construction and how, as well as taking some of the load off human hands, it might give rise to an entirely new branch of architecture. The Fiberbots developed at MIT are one impressive example of this, building self-supporting tubular structures from the ground up, which automatically adjust their shape and orientation as they go.
[...] The Fiberbots number 16 in total and each is fitted with a spooling mechanism that wraps the robot's cylindrical body in a mix of fiber and resin, just like a fishing reel being wound in. As each section sets, the body is driven up through the tube to start a fresh section on top.
A human controller sets some basic design parameters pertaining to how they want the finished structure to look, and a mix of algorithms and sensors then dictate the length and curvature of the Fiberbots as they wind upwards, preventing them from getting in each others' path. The system was put to the test in creating a 14.7-foot tall structure that stood undamaged through a harsh Massachusetts' winter.
Human-directed tube worms are now possible. Yay, science.
FIBERBOTS: Design and Digital Fabrication of Tubular Structures Using Robot Swarms[$] (DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-92294-2_22)
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 24 2018, @12:36PM
This neat Fiberbot process is similar to filament winding, where a fiber or tape is coated with an adhesive and then wound around a turning mandrill. All kinds of things are made this way, from polevault poles (very slight taper in the mandrill so it can be removed) to lightweight/thick and very strong tubes (often machined to final size after winding) and many high pressure composite tanks (where the mandrill or form might be left inside). Once I saw a large glass-epoxy tube (~1 meter diameter, ~5 meters long) being wound for a science museum, to support the metal sphere for a big van de graaff generator.
But the Fiberbot winder is mostly inside the structure and can "inchworm" along. My guess, the applications won't be architectural, but it might be useful to create certain kinds of engineered products.
So why are the inventors at MIT Media Lab claiming architectural applications? Perhaps because the Media Lab was started by Nick Negroponte who came from the MIT Architecture dept (the computing section of that department)??