House printer

According to this article, a machine that allows a computer to build a house using gypsum and concrete – basically a house printer – has now been invented. It sounds really cool, but as somebody asked on Slashdot: How does such a machine build flat roofs and other structures that are not supported from beneath? The video beneath seems to indicate it puts in beams first, but surely that’s not always wanted.

Anyway, while this is a wonderful first step – perhaps we’ll all soon live in Gaudi-style houses – I really hope they will start supporting other materials soon. Using wood, brick and natural stone rather than concrete makes for much more attractive houses, but at the moment, it requires much more manpower. In the future, hopefully robots can use most reasonable materials, and we can finally get the houses we want!

Here’s is a video about it: