Global construction industries could have the opportunity to work with self-organizing robots and self-healing concrete in the future, an Australian firm has claimed.
The Gutter Masters, a firm based out of Perth, has compiled a list of the tools and technologies construction firms could work with within the next few years.
This includes self-organizing robots working through a system called Termes, which was developed by a team of researchers at Harvard University in 2011.
"Inspired by termites and their building activities", the developer team's goal behind the development of Termes is "to develop a swarm construction system in which robots cooperate to build 3D structures much larger than themselves".
"The current [as of 2011] hardware system consists of simple but autonomous mobile robots and specialized passive blocks.
"The robot is able to manipulate blocks to build tall structures, as well as maneuver over and around the structures it creates."
The Gutter Masters's list also includes self-healing concrete, which is developed by embedding concrete mix with capsules of sodium silicate.
The capsules rupture when a crack forms in the concrete, filling the gaps with a gel-like heating agent.
Self-healing concrete is expected to reduce maintenance costs, The Gutter Masters says.
Construction Week
20 July
