New bee-inspired drone fleet works together to build 3D objects

A flying drone deposits a layer of concrete on top of a cylinder of concrete - A new system of flying drones working together to 3D print material, has been developed by a team involving researchers at UCL and Imperial College London. It's the first time flying drones have been coordinated like this to 3D print an object. The system, called Aerial Additive Manufacturing (Aerial-AM), is a new approach to 3D printing using collaborative flying robots to transport and deposit building material. Inspired by natural builders like bees and wasps, it employs a fleet of drones collectively working together from a single blueprint. The multifaceted system consists of several BuilDrones, which deposit building material one layer at a time during flight, as well as quality-controlling ScanDrones, which continually measure the BuilDrones' output and inform their next manufacturing steps. Unlike traditional 3D printing systems, in-flight 3D printing doesn't require an enclosure or supports for the printing nozzles, allowing for on-site manufacturing and building in difficult-to-access or dangerous locations such as post-disaster relief construction, tall buildings or infrastructure. Aerial-AM uses both a 3D printing and path-planning framework that enables a team of drones to adapt to variations in the geometry of a structure as manufacturing progresses.