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Home-building robots could help fix the housing crisis (www.cnn.com)

submitted 2 hours ago by Powderhorn@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org

6 comments fedilink hide all child comments

"Could" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.

Many parts of the world are experiencing a housing crisis, with demand in urban areas often outpacing supply, leading to soaring prices.

In countries including the UK and the US, an aging population of builders combined with a drive to fill the housing shortage means there is a need for more construction workers. The UK’s Construction Industry Training Board found that the country will need 250,000 more workers by 2028 to meet building targets but in 2023, more people left the industry than joined.

UK technology company Automated Architecture, or AUAR (pronounced “our”) believes it has a solution. It makes portable micro-factories that can produce the wooden framing of a house — the walls, floors and roofs. Co-founder Mollie Claypool says the micro-factories will be able to produce the panels quicker, cheaper and more precisely than a timber framing crew, freeing up carpenters to focus on the construction of the building.

Despite the focus on automation, Claypool insists she is not trying to put anyone out of work. “Automation isn’t replacing jobs. Automation is filling the gap,” she told CNN.

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[–] just2look@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Innovations like this entirely miss why housing is expensive and out of reach for most people. We have more housing than people already.

This doesn't address corps like Blackrock buying up housing in bulk in order to dictate market prices. It doesnt address the wealthy buying up property as a way to avoid taxation on wealth even when they have little intention of using it. It doesn't address legislation that prohibits high density housing or mixed use real estate. It doesn't address plummeting buying power because wages have plateaued for decades while inflation keeps rocketing up.

So until that and more is addressed there is no construction innovation that will make the housing market more affordable.

[–] ShellMonkey@piefed.socdojo.com 13 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Either the construction costs more by adding the bots to the crew, or they cost the same with the owners of said bots pocketing the difference of reduced labor. The chances of costs actually going down by cost savings being passed through are roughly zero.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 3 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

Its really to compensate for the lack of framers.

Five years ago the average age of a framer was 55.

This is what happens when you don't have a new generation of people trained to do something - constructors have no choice but to use automation.

I'm not blaming anyone - its just an observation of pressures. Framing's a tough job.

There will be massive outlays for the systems, they'll probably be leased or you'll have companies that specialise in managing the system, and as a GC you'll contract them to implement the design.

[–] just2look@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

It is super easy to attract more people as framers and construction in general. Pay them a wage/benefits that make the work attractive. If there aren't enough people trained, then use your aging workforce and start a paid apprenticeship program. Voila you have a younger workforce trained to do the work. That cuts into profits though, so they would rather blame made up BS for housing issues.

[–] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 2 points 27 minutes ago

God forbid we mentor new people.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 0 points 1 hour ago

Pretty sure constructing something to live in isn't the expensive part, it's land you are allowed to live on that is.