workers can use a machine – just on a bigger scale than a hand drill . Once that cobot is able to carry its own drill and move around we ’ ll see big changes in the way buildings are assembled with the assistance of a machine that can lift the panels on small scale operations .”
Today , we rely on cranes to work to millimetre precision in a hierarchy of machines down to that hand drill , but the future envisaged by Watts will see cobots working in conjunction with one another in a network of equipment . “ Robots will be able to inspect a structure and then inform 3D printers directly without the need for new drawings in each new scenario ,” he reveals . “ We will move away from paper and towards working directly with a 3D model so the design of assemblies will change to respond to the needs of those cobots . Panels will become steps for them to climb up and access the fixing points at each successive step of the installation as structure becomes more geared to the interplay between our machine colleagues and the building . The design will start to respond to the needs of the machines that create them .”
KAFD design concept
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