Construction Giant Backs CAD House Builder

The role of CAD training in construction could undergo a major shake-up as a new house building robot has been revealed, also receiving backing from construction giant Caterpillar in a $2 million deal.

The bot, known as Hadrian X, is mounted on the back of a huge Caterpillar truck and can build an entire house within two days, working non-stop. It can lay up to 1,000 bricks an hour using a 92 foot boom, which means the house can be built without the truck needing to move. The bricks are glued in place, rather than being fixed in the traditional way.

Fastbrick Robotics, who developed the robot, explained why this method is used: “By utilising a construction adhesive rather that traditional mortar, the Hadrian X will maximise the speed of the build and strength and thermal efficiency of the final structure,” a spokesman said, reported the Daily Mail.

The company will work with Caterpillar on development, manufacturing, sales and services to find the best way to get this new technology onto the world’s building sites as quickly as possible, with the option for the latter company to invest another $8 million into the project.

3D computer aided design is used to tell the robot the shape of the house, however, it’s the robot which calculates where each brick should go - the building equivalent of 3D printing. The bricks are fed along a conveyor belt, are picked by the robot in order and placed using laser guidance before being affixed.