Robotic arm to automate bricklaying

Australian company Fastbrick Robotics has produced Hadrian 105, a robot capable of laying 225 bricks per hour in a fully automated process. Bricks are fed onto a belt and travel along a telescopic boom where they are gripped by the robot’s claw-like hand that lays them out into a predetermined pattern, say, a house, using a laser-guiding system.

There has been an online criticism of the lack of mortar within this process, with many concerned about the structure’s waterproofness and sturdiness. In a video (below) of Hadrian 105 creating a room from bricks, there appears to be a part of the process prior to laying the bricks where they are sprayed with an adhesive (at 34 seconds).

The advantages of Hadrian 105, over traditional hand-laid bricks, are the reductions in time, cost and waste, plus improved safety.

Fastbrick Robotics is currently working on Hadrian X, which will be able to lay 1,000 bricks per hour.