Swedsh designer Omer Haciomeroglu a student at the Umeå Institute of Design, has designed the ERO, a robot that can tear down concrete buildings.
”Current concrete-demolition techniques require a lot of power crushing, separation and machinery”. A lot much water is also wasted to prevent the spread of dust. The rubble is then transported to recycle stations where the waste is separated.
Just like the waste removal robot in the movie ‘Wall-E’, the ERO is a ‘smart’ robot that recycles material in an energy efficient manner.
The ERO can “efficiently disassemble concrete structures without any waste, dust or separation and enable reclaimed building materials to be reused for new prefabricated concrete buildings”.
This is achieved using high-powered water jets to crack the concrete. The aggregate cement and water is then sucked up and separated. The water is recycled back into the system, while clean aggregate is packed and sent to concrete precast stations for reuse. The rebar can then be cleaned and cut on the spot to be reused.
A fleet of ERO robots working together would be able to scan the surroundings and plan a route of action. Once they start working, the robots can “literally erase a building”.
Although still a concept, Haciomeroglu hopes that the ERO will be a solution to today’s complex and wasteful demolition techniques by turning waste into an asset.
[via Inhabitat and iDSA]