A group of swarm robots that is able to build a concrete structure by working together are going to get quicker and faster at doing so this year, their creator has said.

The group of robots that were first used this year are now having work done to make them more agile and intelligent so that they are able to get around a construction site more easily.

Architect Stuart Maggs, who is behind the Minibuilders project, said that his team are continuing to work on the robots after their successful first test.

Earlier in the year Maggs and other members of the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, based in Barcelona, 3D printed a circular structure using a team of robots, which were all responsible for their own tasks.

He said such robots will be able to help transform the construction industry and present a realistic opportunity to use 3D printing in construction.

“There’s a massive gap between what we can design and what we can build.

“The object they produce is always smaller than the machine that is used to produce it.

“If you want to build the Empire State building you would need a 3D printer the size of the Empire State building,” he said at the Re.Work Technology conference in London.

He said the Minibuilders may be able to help get around a lot of the problems involved with 3D printing structures.

Attempts to 3D print buildings around the world, including China, are not effective as they often are created off site and transported to the location which still causes a lot of pollution, according to Maggs.

He says that with Minibuilders it still doesn’t mean that we will be 3D printing buildings overnight and here are a lot of challenges that need to be overcome – including getting the technologies to be cost efficient.

These include advancements in the robots as well as attitudes from architects and those working in the industry.

“The economies of scale are very good but the material itself needs to move on to a place where it is economically viable,” he said.

Maggs and the team are developing the robots and their systems to try and overcome this at present.

He said they are learning on challenges that were thrown up by the first tests of the Minibuilders.

This included making sure the robots were able to work outdoors.

This included issues such as higher levels of humidity that were caused by building the structure next to water and the heat of the sun.

“We had to change things on site constantly. We learnt a huge amount doing this on site, rather than in the laboratory,” Maggs said.

Images courtesy of Minibuilders