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Bee-like aerial 3D printing

By Charles Carter, 03/10/22

Engineers from Imperial College London have created a team of bee-like drones capable of 3D printing structures while in mid-air.

Such a system could enable more efficient 3D printing of buildings, especially in hard to reach locations.

The drones mimic aerial builders in nature such as bees, that deposit layer upon layer of wax to construct their hexagonal patterned hives ready for housing honey.

How does it work?

Just like bees, different drones have different jobs, one drone deposits a layer of material after which a second drone scans the structure to help guide the next layer.

They produced two proof-of-concept structures, one 2.05m cylinder consisting of 72 layers of a rapid-curing insulation foam and a 0.18m cylinder consisting of 28 layers of structural pseudoplastic cement material.

The team also simulated a multi-drone system with three 3D printing drones depositing material at once to construct a dome-like building, with the trajectories visualised using light-trails.

Because drones move around slightly when hovering, the innovators created a dynamic nozzle to compensate and ensure the material is layered in the correct place.

What are the potential benefits?

3D printing could unlock faster and more accurate construction of buildings with lower labour costs and less waste.

Existing examples of 3D printed buildings make use of long robotic arms and/or a dynamic scaffold rooted to the ground to deposit the layers of material.

Aerial 3D printing has the potential to lower costs further, with the same team of drones able to construct a variety of different building shapes, without needing bespoke ground-based infrastructure each time.

It could also make taller buildings or constructing in hard-to-access locations simpler and cheaper.

Questions for you. Comment below

  1. First thought that comes into your head?
  2. Pros and cons according to you?
  3. Other applications of this approach?
  4. What could this be combined with?

Links

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04988-4

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63 responses

  4. Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?

    Reply

  56. It is fascinating how the Imperial College London engineers translated bees’ layer-by-layer building into a drone swarm that prints while flying. The idea of reaching inaccessible sites without scaffolding feels genuinely practical rather than gimmicky. That same logic of steering a small agent while its actions unfold automatically appears in pokemon survivor game.

    Reply

  57. The idea of drone swarms building structures mid-air feels like a genuine shift in how we think about construction. What stands out is how Imperial College London’s team drew directly from bees, which deposit material layer by layer without a fixed frame. That biological parallel makes the printing process feel less like a gantry and more like collective foraging. For anyone curious about swarm-based building in a game setting, azeroth survivors how to play covers similar wave survival mechanics.

    Reply

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