Update December 14: There’s now a video of the robots actually constructing the tower/art exhibit embedded at the bottom of the story.

While scientists are not creating evil robots that are hell bent on destruction (as far as we know), they are working on drones that will have the ability to autonomously build the structures that we both work and live in. The day of driving around your city and seeing swarms of nanobots or robots capable of flight building a new office building may not be far off. With recent development in robotic technology, the days of the human construction worker may be numbered as machinery will make the task cheaper and safer for all of those involved. It may be time to start thinking about re-purposing that hard hat into a flower pot to make it useful.

This isn’t an idea that comes out of some sci-fi flick, but rather from real research projects underway as you read this story. A robotics team from the University of Pennsylvania has developed fully autonomous quadcopter drones that have the ability to build simple structures out of magnetic parts. The robots have the ability to work in “swarms” without interfering with each other, and have the intelligence to know when a part is placed correctly and locked into place. The team has developed an algorithm that in their words is “limited only by the battery life of the quadcopters and the number of parts available.” As a result of work like this, architecture and construction may become something that is solely done through a computer terminal. Plan the building, plot the robotic courses then hit the start button and watch your vision become reality. You can see the project in action in a video at the end of the article.

While the quadcopter drones are a technology we can see in action today, nanobots are the true future of the industry. While still in the research and development phase, scientists have created “vehicles” that are driven by molecular “motors” that respond to heat and the chemical consistency of the surface they are on. The idea of nanotech in regards to construction is to create molecular machines that can self replicate and swarm over an area, building structures as they go. In essence, a group of nanobots can be released and controlled to transform themselves into a building. The advantage of having a house or an office built out of nanobots is the ability to easily repair any damage that might happen. A consumer could get a nanobot kit that can simply patch the roof or seal a hole in the drywall. Imagine being able to put an addition onto your house with a simple kit that you buy at Home Depot. It’s an idea not too far outside the realm of possibility.

Using quadcopters, Swiss architect Gramazio & Kohler and Italian robot designer Raffaello D’Andrea intend to create a 20-foot tower out of polystyrene building blocks — an art exhibit, effectively. The robots will be programmed to operate inside a “robot arena” that was developed by D’Andrea to build the structure with no human assistance. The FRAC Centre in Orléans, France will be housing the sculpture as a testament to the idea that construction need not be so rigid, but can be free flowing with new technology and technique.

The idea of a world built with nanobots is in the future. For now we will have to settle for the developments in robotics like we have seen in the quadcopter construction drones. I predict that if the research continues to move forward, we will see corporations jump at the chance to have “employees” that have no need for a paycheck, days off, sick leave, or vacation. The world has already seen a workforce get replaced in the auto industry, is the construction market next?