Robotic technology company FBR Limited’s (ASX: FBR) first next-generation Hadrian X robot has achieved a new sustained lay speed record of over 300 blocks per hour, with USA format cement masonry blocks, far surpassing the highest ever recorded peak lay speed of its predecessor, the Hadrian 109.
Achieved during the testing and calibration programme of the next-generation Hadrian X, the new lay speed record demonstrates the commercial potential of FBR’s robotic construction technology, with current demonstrated lay rates equating to over 70 vertical square metres of wall per hour if using the largest format blocks the Hadrian X is designed to handle.
The new lay speed record is expected to be surpassed as the testing and calibration programme progresses. This will be followed by outdoor build activities at FBR’s facilities in the coming months, after which the next-generation Hadrian X® will be available for commercial work.
Achieving a lay speed record during calibration of our first next-generation Hadrian X is extremely encouraging, with expectations that the lay rate will become significantly faster still. In our testing and calibration programme we are using the most commonly used cement masonry blocks in the world,” Managing Director and CEO, Mike Pivac, said.
“However, using larger format and readily available blocks at the rates we have demonstrated to date, means we could robotically lay, on site, the walls of a standard double brick house in a single day.
“With the labour constraints being experienced in the construction industry globally, and the ability to significantly reduce overall construction times and costs, we are on track to deliver a compelling efficiency gain to the industry while keeping clay, AAC and cement masonry blocks as the fastest, cheapest and most durable wall production materials into the future. We are very much on track to achieve our goal, which is that the Hadrian will be the fastest, cheapest, safest and lowest waste way to erect low rise structural wall anywhere in the world.”
