Wall-Walking Spiderbots: Weaving Impossible Structures With Carbon Fiber
Researchers at the University of Stuttgart have created a groundbreaking robotic system for construction that employs spiderbots to weave intricate structures out of carbon fiber. This system, known as the Mobile Robotic Fabrication System for Filament Structures (MRFS), leverages “swarm construction,” where numerous small robots collaborate to produce a single piece.
These bots resemble wall-hugging Roombas, weaving a carbon fiber structure akin to something that would emerge from a Spirograph. The project is based on the research of Maria Yablonina, a graduate student at the ICD.
Achim Menges, director of the ICD, told Dezeen: “We are only at the very beginning of exploring the true architectural potential of this fabrication system, but we are convinced that its main advantage is that you can build entirely new structures that would be impossible to materialize otherwise.”
The robots possess spools of carbon fiber thread that they pass back and forth after being affixed to points on the wall, resembling two hands creating a cat’s cradle.
Menges draws inspiration from nature’s economy and ingenuity. His team has designed buildings based on the shells of insects and lobsters, and the robots described here are clearly influenced by arachnids and other silk-weaving animals.
The plan now is to increase the number of robots and enable them to maneuver and attach the fibers to other surfaces, such as ceilings or curved walls. This should facilitate the creation of even more unusual structures.
