While many people have a certain fear of spiders, especially the way that they move with all their legs, imagine a pair of spider-bots climbing the walls of your house and weaving a mathematical cocoon in your absence, won’t you be amazed? You come back, get into the hammock for a nice, long nap.
The Mobile Robotic Fabrication System using different filaments was created at the Institute for Computational Design, a department at the University of Stuttgart. The main principle is multiple robots working together to build a common item – called swarm construction. Here, the spider-like mini-bots are weaving a nook using carbon fiber. The result looks remarkable like a black Spirograph. This project is based on the studies and development of Maria Yablonina, a graduate student at ICD.
“We are only at the very beginning of exploring the true architectural potential of this fabrication system,” said Director ICD, Achim Menges. “But we are convinced that its main advantage is that you can build entirely new structures that would be impossible to materialize otherwise.”
Aside from the strength and the variety of structures, it is very cool to watch the mini bots working. They have reels of carbon fibers that they share, as they affix to points on different walls, one at a time. It is very much like two hands knitting wool.
These bots can climb the walls and coordinate with each other in a swarm fashion. This style of construction can produce some new structures and utilize previously unused spaces. Menges’ source of inspiration was nature’s originality and economy and his students plan to make use of insects and lobster shells in buildings. The mini-bots are also based on arachnids and weaving insects. Watch the amazing video below:
The next step would be to make more robots and make them attach the carbon fibers to other places like a curved wall or a ceiling, neither of which has been tried yet. This would mean more unique structures. So what you say about sitting or sleeping in a Spirographic black yarn? Did you enjoy the video? Comment and let us know!
