Researchers at the University of Stuttgart’s Institute for Computational Design have created a new construction method using small robots.
University of Stuttgart graduate Maria Yablonina developed a carbon-fibre fabrication process that uses small robots. These robots climb the walls and ceilings working together to pull carbon fibre filaments across a space, creating a simple structure.
The project is a form of “swarm construction” a modern fabrication process that involves teams of small robots that work together reaching areas and creating structures that larger industrial sized robots can’t.
ICD director Achim Menges told Dezeen.
We are only at the very beginning of exploring the true architectural potential of this fabrication system. But we are convinced that its main advantage is that you can build entirely new structures that would be impossible to materialise otherwise.
The next step is to increase the number of robots, allowing them to attach the carbon fibres to other surfaces which would allow for more complex creations.