A group working out of the Institute for Advanced
Architecture of Catalonia has come up with a more permanent method of
sand castle construction, though. It involves the use of a new 3D printer called the Stone Spray RobotWhat the Stone Spray does is combine soil/sand
with a liquid to form a jet spray that can be used to 3D print
structures. Once formed, they dry to a permanent sculpture. In the video
above you see the robot using sand along with the liquid mix to create a
structure on a beach, but the robot can be positioned anywhere and
create your structure of choice on any surface.
The goal of developing this robot is to research new ways for on-site
fabrication. So rather than mixing materials together and having a
workforce use them for construction, we could use a robot instead
coupled with a predefined model of what needs constructing.The Stone Spray Robot may be a prototype unit
and research experiment, but it clearly works. It’s also eco-friendly
due to its low power use with the research team claiming it can be run
purely off solar panels. All the materials used in the creation of the
robot are LEED Certified, meaning they have been created with
sustainability and energy efficiency in mind.
If it could be scaled up and the jet made more accurate, I’d like to
see the Stone Spray having a go at 3D printing a full-size building.