Jan 16, 2015 | By Simon

As overall interest in robotics continues to increase, so does the advancement of what’s possible when combining robotics with additive manufacturing methods.  Particularly, projects completed by 3D printing enthusiasts who aim to combine the best that 3D printing has to offer with basic programming.

But as the technology and resources for creating autonomous robots become more readily available, more creators are putting their smartphones and other control peripherals away to let the robots control themselves.  

Among other projects that have explored the possibility of combining the powers of additive manufacturing with robots is Swarmscapers, which was a two-month long research undertaking led in the Creative Architecture Machines studio and taught by Jason Kelly Johnson and Michael Shiloh at the California College of the Arts’ Digital Craft Lab.  The students who immersed themselves for two months in the Swarmscapers project - Clayton Muhleman, Alan Cation and Adithi Satish - previously had no experience with designing products or gadgetry.

Among other topics explored in the project, the primary focus was to investigate the “capability of a self-ruling swarm of robots that were fit for working free in antagonistic situations,” according to the project’s Instructables page.  Ultimately, the trio of students wanted to further explore the possibility of using on-location granular materials - such as sand, sawdust, salt and rice - in a layered 3D printing process to create inhabitable structures...particularly in other uninhabitable areas such as a desert environment.    

“[The Swarmscapers] 3d print huge structures that calcify and rise up out of the scene where the catalyst for structure is to create future settlements in great situations, places where people couldn't overall form,” the team said.  

“Compelling hotness and the wealth of crude materials in the desert make it a perfect testing bunk for the mechanical swarm to work, making eminent seed structures for future homes that are prepared for human inhabitants throughout the span of numerous decades.”

To test their concept, the team established a “research center-like setting” (or to be more specific: a prototyping box to contain the materials) with no less than one operating Swarmscaper robot to produce a structure within the box’s 48" x 48" x 20" form volume.  Since it was imperative to use found materials that were specific to a specified location, the team utilized the sawdust grounds from the dumpsters outside of their Digital Craft Lab during their research.  Once the sawdust was placed, their test robot was able to interpret 3D models and maneuver the sawdust into a variety of 3D structures using a 2:1 glue/water solution and heat lamp to bind the material together layer by layer.  

The end goal is for the gantry-less mobile robots is to test the viability of autonomously 3D printing entire human-scale structures that are exponentially larger than the machines themselves while also being able to reuse leftover materials to create a minimal amount of construction waste.    

The project features an extensive build tutorial over on the team’s Instructables page for any users who are interested in building their own Swarmscaper(s).  

The team was able to successfully print the enclosure for their Swarmscaper on both an Ultimaker 2 and a Creator Flashforge 3D printer, and have included the necessary print files on the Instructables page.  

They are planning to continue their research and have plans to create larger structures using their proven concept.  

“We believe that the potential of Autonomous Mobile 3d printing is enormous, and with enough time and research, that this is a viable method for 3d printing actual buildings in the future,” they add.  “There is of course, much more work to be done.”

You can check out their project in-full over on Instructables.  

 

Posted in 3D Printing Applications

 

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Booblick wrote at 1/21/2015 1:50:28 PM:

What is this? A house for ants?!



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