Does the future of intricate architectural bricklaying sit with augmented reality?
Unpredictable construction tasks may currently be too much for robots, compared to the skills of well trained trades people, but augmented reality may gradually eliminate drawings on construction sites, avoiding errors and misinterpretations, and increasing the speed and precision of the construction process.
Check out the video below where Cam Newnham from Fologram talks about his visit to Tasmania to assist with the construction of a complex feature wall designed in collaboration with Jackson Wells from University of Tasmania and Colin Barratt from All Brick.
Fologram has been developing an augmented reality platform that extends the skills and capabilities of tradespeople and artisans by allowing them to work with precise digital instructions overlayed directly within their workspace.
Digital instructions were virtually superimposed into the workspace with a step-by-step guide to assist the bricklayers throughout the construction process.
The wall was completed by two bricklayers working from the same holographic model and saved weeks of construction time.
String lines and plumb bobs were replaced with a holographic guide that allowed the brick layers to accurately position each brick in the design.
Without needing to leave the construction site, the bricklayers could interact with the holographic model to change the course of bricks being displayed resulting in the intricate project being completed in only 7 hours of bricklaying.
After working with augmented reality instructions to build the curving brick wall in one tenth of normal construction time, Colin Barratt and his team at All Brick began referring to themselves as ‘burnt clay artists’.
This article was first published in The Fence.