The Bricklayer's Doom? Hadrian X Robot Conquers America

Australian company FBR, which has created the Hadrian X “walls as a service” bricklaying robot, has marked a significant milestone with its next-generation robot completing site acceptance testing with a potential U.S. partner.

Perth-based FBR informed the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in August that it had received confirmation from U.S. company CRH Ventures that Hadrian X had completed a test build that was “consistent with the design and met acceptable building standards.”

The successful test triggers a USD600,000 payment for FBR. It will now proceed to the next stage of the demonstration program, building ten houses for CRH to be certified by an independent structural engineer.

This would trigger another payment of USD400,000 but, more importantly, will begin a 45-day period in which CRH can exercise an option to create a joint venture to deliver the “wall as a service” in the US market.

CRH has previously paid USD1m to execute an agreement with FBR and complete factory acceptance tests.

FBR has developed a robotic bricklaying system, which, after just over five years of development, has culminated in the Hadrian X system, which is now being sold worldwide through a network of global partnerships.

Hailed as the world’s first mobile robotic bricklaying machine, Hadrian X can lay 300 blocks an hour with U.S. format cement blocks, working from a 3D CAD model that produces less waste than traditional construction methods while improving site safety.

At this pace, it is claimed that Hadrian X can build the walls of an average-sized house in as little as a day.

The proof of concept was achieved in 2021 when Hadrian X constructed an entire Childcare Centre in Perth using aerated concrete and calcium silicon blocks. This was followed up with five homes built in Perth’s suburbs.

This was impressive enough for FBR to sign deals to build up to 5000 homes in Mexico, ink a deal with the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and sign the agreements to take Hadrian X to the U.S.

Image credit: iStockphoto/artisteer