A new robot builder can construct an entire house in two days - and never needs a tea break.

Hadrian X is a giant truck-mounted robot that can lay up to 1,000 bricks an hour using a 30-metre arm, meaning it can stay in a single position throughout.

Bricks are fed on to a conveyor belt which sends them along the robot's long arm - otherwise known as a telescopic boom.

At the end of the boom is a hand which grabs and arranges the bricks, securing them with construction glue instead of cement.

It is smart enough to leave spaces in the brickwork for wiring and plumbing, and can even cut and shape bricks to size.


Image: Human workers put the finishing touches to the building

The robot was created by Australian firm Fastbrick Robotics, and founder Mark Pivac told Perth Now: "People have been laying bricks for about 6,000 years and ever since the industrial revolution, they have tried to automate the bricklaying process.

"We're at a technological nexus where a few different technologies have got to the level where it's now possible to do it, and that's what we've done."

The robot took 10 years to create, and has cost about £4.5m in research and development so far.

Mr Pivac insists he has "nothing against bricklayers", but says he just wants to streamline the construction process.

The prototype needs no human intervention once the process begins.

Fastbrick Robotics says it will take about a year before the robot is ready to hit the market.