Galt's Gulch

Brick Laying Robot

Posted by jimslag 8 years, 4 months ago to Technology
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This is absolutely cool. This robot can build a small house in 2 days, laying a thousand bricks per hour. Fascinating to watch it work with very little human interaction. This would revolutionize housing in many areas of the world.
SOURCE URL: http://www.cnet.com/news/watch-a-lightning-fast-robot-build-a-house-in-just-two-days/

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  • Posted by Herb7734 8 years, 3 months ago
    When I was having my first house built, I thought the bricklayers were fast. Are we on the road to human obsolescence? As far as manual labor is concerned -- probably.
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    • Posted by MinorLiberator 8 years, 3 months ago
      I hear you Herb, but that's an age-old and false extrapolation. Because human demand for new and better products is virtually infinite, and all kinds of resources limited, there will always be a demand for manual labor. Historically, every new labor-saving device was supposed to cause permanent unemployment for the manual laborers it replaced, but economists have proven, as has history, that that has never happened on a permanent basis> Manual labor simply moves to a new area. As a life long "techie", I think robots are really cool, but the Utopian theories that have humans having 100% leisure time while automation does all the work, is just never going to happen.
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      • Posted by Herb7734 8 years, 3 months ago
        Don't get me wrong. I don't see anything wrong with science eliminating manual labor. As a matter of fact, I think it's destiny. When statistics show manual labor changing to suit new ways of doing things, it fails to take into account how far it can go. It will, in my opinion reach a point where all human activity will be above the neck and everything else will be optional. This does not mean that bodies will become obsolete, only that what we call manual labor will be done by mechanical devices.
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    • Posted by lrshultis 8 years, 3 months ago
      'We' is a big inclusive word. Manual labor will survive. It might be that threatening on the horizon is the demise of mental work that would send 'us', another big inclusive word, back to that seemingly desirable garden of Eden without needing to make choices as a moral being.
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      • Posted by $ jdg 8 years, 3 months ago
        If most manual labor jobs are forced underground, a huge number of people will be rendered homeless. That's cause for revolution.
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        • Posted by lrshultis 8 years, 3 months ago
          Consider that large numbers of manual labor jobs have disappeared and huge numbers of people have not been rendered homeless. New labor can be used in non manual labor ways as long as laws do not get in the way. Homelessness is not the result of less manual labor.
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          • Posted by $ jdg 8 years, 3 months ago
            Homelessness is quite often the result of jobs being destroyed and not replaced, and when government caused the problem, it needs to cure it (preferably just by getting out of the way).
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            • Posted by lrshultis 8 years, 3 months ago
              So, some homelessness is the result of jobs being destroyed and not necessarily manual labor jobs?
              Maybe it could be that some jobs have been kept in existence far too long and must finally be removed from the workforce. As long as labor is available and nothing stands in the way of hiring them, they are hired to the extent that division of labor will dictate. That means that workers get paid as to the value of the work done and not due to a decree from government or threats from unions, both decrease the number of workers hired.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 3 months ago
    Whoa if a weaver used wooden shoes what would as bricklayers union use?

    A: Hillary.

    More houses of better material faster means lower prices and saved money to use for furniture and appliances etc

    Capitalism and Synergy
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  • Posted by Zenphamy 8 years, 4 months ago
    Cool, but where's the mortar? I don't imagine it would be all that difficult to add that to the machine. It's a new world.

    Txs for posting.
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    • Posted by jimslag 8 years, 3 months ago
      There was one scene where you could see the machine squirting something onto the brick before it handed to the other section. Not really sure if it was glue or mortar or what.
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      • Posted by STEVEDUNN46 8 years, 3 months ago
        I could see something being applied to the blocks. But nothing in the vehicle spaces between the blocks. The cores could have rebar inserted vertically then poured with a soupy mix on concrete. I did that on the last basement that I had laid a thousand blocks. Makes a very strong wall.
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  • Posted by term2 8 years, 3 months ago
    I welcome the $15/hr wage. If that is good, why not $20 or $25 an hour. That will make automation pay off all the more.

    Automate NOW, before 10-289 gets passed to forbid laying off workers who arent worth the minimum wage.
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