PL | EN
6 November 2020
#8
Abandoned art and a space war

Robots building houses and the architecture inspired by sponges

The structure of the deep-sea sponge skeletons could inspire the technology for stronger and more durable architecture, like buckle resistant bridges. According to the newest research, Euplectella aspergillum species has an intricate skeletal structure that is exceptionally strong – it performs better than the comparable configurations humans use for lattice-style bridges. It has a tubelike skeleton in the shape of a square grid with diagonal reinforcements.

The scientists from the Living Materials Laboratory at the University of Colorado Boulder enriched concrete with a polymer called PEG-PVA that is currently used in time-released pharmaceutical pills. As a result, they received concrete more resistant to the temperature swings. Daily temperature changes make water freeze and expand and then contract when it thaws. The regular concrete is porous and absorbs water which makes its surface flake and peel.

In Great Britain, construction of a first-ever robot-built house just started. The robot uses a digitized version of the architect’s design, and it builds the house twice as fast as the human bricklayers. The technology has been in development for four years. Construction is one of the last industries that isn’t using robots.

More about: WorldUnited KingdomUSANorth America
Read also
Loneliness: new definitions and loneliness among EU residents
Loneliness: new definitions and loneliness among EU residents
Why do scientists expand the definition of loneliness to include the feeling of disconnection from animals, places, habits, rituals or weather? For example, Turkana shepherds in Kenya have to abandon their seasonal lifestyle due to climate change, droughts and violence in the region. Families are separated from farm animals, and social bonds based on the […]
Armaments and subsequent strategic pacts in Asia
Armaments and subsequent strategic pacts in Asia
Indonesia and the United States have signed a defence cooperation agreement to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Previously, the US concluded a defence cooperation agreement with Papua New Guinea and a strategic partnership with Vietnam. Meanwhile, the US and South Korea updated their security agreement to counter nuclear and missile threats from North […]
The Three Brothers Alliance offensive – a new version of the civil war in Myanmar
The Three Brothers Alliance offensive – a new version of the civil war in Myanmar
In Myanmar, the alliance of three armed ethnic groups from the north of the country against the country’s junta allowed the capture of key cities, activated guerrilla groups elsewhere and highlighted the weakness of the military. The offensive began at the end of October this year after the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Ta’ang […]
Panamanians, Kofani and Tohono O’odham Nation defending the environment
Panamanians, Kofani and Tohono O’odham Nation defending the environment
Living between the foothills of the Andes and the Amazon rainforest, the indigenous Kofani (A’i Cofán) people fight to protect their lands from gold miners. Kofani seek help in the courts and justice armed with spears, drones and GPS navigation. The gold-fever invaders destroy their sacred Aguarico river, ravage forests and poison ecosystems with mercury, […]
AI in the electricity industry, steel production and child adoption
AI in the electricity industry, steel production and child adoption
ScottishPower Energy Networks uses artificial intelligence to locate better potential power grid faults caused by severe weather, mobilise engineers and keep equipment ready to solve problems even before they occur. The “Predict4Resilience” project estimates the possibility of failure up to a week in advance, considering historical and current weather forecasts. New York-based Fero Labs is […]
Previous issues