Brick-Laying Robot is Construction Worker of the Future

Meet Hadrian X, the most productive construction employee you’ll find. He’s fast, smart, versatile, and works around the clock—he can do the work of your entire construction crew in just a few days.

He’s also a robot.

From 2000 to 2010, 85% of the 5.6 million jobs lost by U.S. and Canadian workers were due to “productivity growth,” a less scary way of saying human workers had been replaced by robots and machines, according to a recent study by the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University. In just five short years, robots and automated machines will have eliminated 6% of existing U.S. jobs. And with the development of machines like the Hadrian X, construction jobs may be part of that statistic.

Australia-based Fastbrick Robotics has engineered a fully-automated machine that will bring end-to-end brick laying (meaning no human hand touches a brick) to the construction market. The Hadrian X is capable of laying 1,000 bricks per hour over a 100-foot arm from a single position on the jobsite. This means the robot can build a standard brick home in just 1-3 days, saving a significant amount of time and money for builders. The Hadrian X has the capability to work 24/7 and could complete anywhere from 100 to 300 homes per year.

The machine is driven by a SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD software designed by the company called The Architectural Designer, or TAD. The software generates a 3D model of the home or structure, and then sends the data to the Hadrian X. The machine then prints the bricks for the structure, and will preform all cutting, grinding, milling, and routing of the bricks prior to moving to the build site. It even takes electrical and plumbing routes into consideration.

The system uses a construction adhesives and/or thin bed mortar instead of a traditional mortar to increase speed while building, and enhance the strength and thermal efficiency of the finished home.

The Hadrian X commercial prototype is a new-and-improved version of the company’s first “technology-demonstrator,” the Hadrian 105, which gained attention last year for being the first fully-automated brick-laying robot prototype developed, with the ability to lay 225 bricks per hour. This version will be truck mounted for easy mobility to and around the job-site, though once parked the robot won't have to physically move to complete the job. Construction on the Hadrian X began in July. The company has not yet said when the machine will be commercially available, but is hoping to hit the market sometime in 2017.

Fastbrick also signed a non-binding Framework agreement in September with Perth, Australia-based Archistruct Builders & Designers to build the world’s first 3D-printed brick homes. The two companies will build 11 3D-printed brick, three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,900-square-foot homes in Perth using the Hadrian X prototype once it’s fully constructed.

The deal follows the success of Fastbrick’s first 3D-printed multi-room brick structure built earlier this year. The Hadrian 105 alone constructed the world’s first multi-room brick structure built with fully-automated 3D printing technology from a 3D CAD rendered model.

The company was recently chosen as the overall winner of the Mitsubishi Corporation WA Innovator of the Year Award, nominated in the Emerging Innovation Category.