Fiberbots
Swarm bots build alien structures - and re-vision the future of architecture
Fiberbots are small robots that work as a group to wind fiberglass filament into large structures, from buildings to art installations. These digital agents can be paired to work together as a team in order to build complicated, organically shaped three-dimensional structures as high as 15 feet tall. Each Fiberbot consists of a winding arm and a motorized base. It is connected to a tank on the ground by a tube, which contains fiber and resin, which the winding arm sucks to mix it in its nozzle, creating a filament that gets spun by the arm around the entire Fiberbot’s body. Once it’s done building this small segment around itself, the robot turns an ultra-violet light that cooks the fiberglass filament in place, solidifying it. Each of the bots is autonomous and fully aware of the others’ positions–they communicate using Wi-Fi–which ensures they don’t collide. Re-visioning the future of architecture, the bots could already be used in extreme situations to build bridges etc.