Perfect for doing repetitive and difficult tasks without tiring, robots are definitely the wave of the future for handling a wide range of exercises that humans really don’t want to do—as well as some we’ve never thought of. It’s not all about vacuuming and sweeping our floors or putting together intricate components in factories—in fact, if Dr. Mirko Kovac has his way, they may soon be responsible for some quite noble tasks.
Undeniably embroiled in the full-fledged research of drones and all the benefits they may be able to offer us, especially his own designs, Kovac works in the Department of Aeronautics at Imperial College London. While his is not the only work being centered around what drones, robots, and 3D printers can do for construction, it is definitely the only research focusing on doing so from the air. Continuing along with his aforementioned projects, Kovac is now saying specifically that he sees his drones as being able to perform imperative work in major construction, as well as disaster zones in the future.
Drones could be instrumental in allowing for such jobs as going into very hard to get to areas and building temporary shelter areas until emergency personnel can actually reach those in need. The shelters would probably be dome-shaped or self-constructing structures.
“Drones would fly to the [emergency] site and just observe what is happening. Once the site has been identified, and where shelters would be needed, then we could create the virtual model on the computer offsite, in a safe zone away from the site,” explains Kovac.
Kovac foresees swarms of drones being able to help in future emergency situations–working much faster and much more affordably. This concept can also be used in many other areas besides crisis situations, and definitely for improving the world of construction overall–as well as helping to construct what Kovac foresees as being ‘smart cities.’ He also foresees drones as creating more jobs rather than taking them as they will have to be manufactured, operated, and maintained–and will work at our bidding, offering greater safety and streamlining in operations.
The construction industry is often mentioned as one of the sectors that will benefit the most from 3D printing, but that has not really come to fruition. Yet. With 3D printing, the benefits are vast in concept, but it is a matter of creating equipment and processes that will actually do the job. Once that all comes together, many things may change as we know it from the construction angle, with transportation and environmental impacts being greatly reduced, along with speed in manufacturing, new innovations in design, and affordability all playing a huge role.
While it all sounds extremely futuristic, Kovac and his team are certainly working to make these concepts into a reality that can transform emergency management and help those in need, save lives in construction, and streamline work that currently is fraught with complexities and challenge.
“Dr. Kovac is leading the project as Principal Investigator with partners from the Dyson Robotics Lab at Imperial, the University of Bath, University College London and the Architectural Association School of Architecture. Industrial partners on the projects are leaders in construction, robotics and 3D printing including the BRE Trust, Buro Happold, Cementation Skanska, Dyson Limited and Ultimaker BV,” notes Imperial College London.
Discuss these evolving concepts in the 3D Printing Aerial Drones forum over at 3DPB.com.
[Source & Images: Imperial College London]