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Bricklaying robot hits new milestone: 200 bricks in an hour

We look into how it works, and compare it with the first bricklaying robot to be made commercially available.

Jesse Orrall Senior Video Producer
Jesse Orrall (he/him/his) is a Senior Video Producer for CNET. He covers future tech, sustainability and the social impact of technology. He is co-host of CNET's "What The Future" series and Executive Producer of "Experts React." Aside from making videos, he's a certified SCUBA diver with a passion for music, films, history and ecology.
Expertise Future tech, sustainability, social impact of technology Credentials
  • Gold Telly Award, 2X Silver Telly Award
Jesse Orrall
2 min read
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This massive bricklaying robot can lay 200 bricks an hour.

Fastbrick Robotics (FBR)

The Hadrian X bricklaying robot has hit a new speed milestone, laying 200 bricks in just one hour. The massive machine is made by a company called Fastbrick Robotics (FBR), which aims to get the Hadrian X laying up to 1,000 bricks per hour.

For comparison, human bricklayers typically lay 300 to 500 bricks per day, with the human speed record being a blistering 914 bricks in one hour.

Watch this: This bricklaying robot could build 100 to 300 homes a year

The Hadrian X's 200 bricks per hour may seem slow in comparison, but the Hadrian X isn't using average bricks. The bricks were made special by FBR, and are 5 times larger than standard house bricks. The adhesive that joins the bricks is also an FBR original, drying in 45 minutes as opposed to traditional mortar, which can take one to two days to set.

FBR says its specially-made bricks are lighter, stronger and will minimize waste, though the Hadrian X isn't limited to these bricks. It can also work with standard bricks in a range of different sizes. 

Unlike other bricklaying robots currently on the market like the SAM100 from Construction Robotics, the Hadrian X can lay bricks around corners and build curved walls thanks to its telescoping arm.

For ease of transport, the Hadrian X can also be mounted onto trucks, boats, barges, cranes or more. Once onsite, human operators are needed to set up and load bricks into the Hadrian X, but once it's up and running, it's fully autonomous.

The Hadrian X isn't commercially available quite yet, but the SAM100 is. You can get pricing information on the SAM100 directly from Construction Robotics on its website.

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