The Batram's Covered Bridge, near Willistown Township.
It’s one small step for Amsterdam, one giant leap for bridge-kind. If all goes according to plan, Amsterdam will be home to the world’s first pedestrian bridge constructed by 3d printing robots. The future is now. From the Guardian:
Look closely and you can see the robot in this artist’s rendition.
A Dutch startup has unveiled plans to build the world’s first 3D-printed bridge across an Amsterdam canal, a technique that could become standard on future construction sites.
Using robotic printers “that can ‘draw’ steel structures in 3D, we will print a (pedestrian) bridge over water in the centre of Amsterdam,” engineering startup company MX3D said in a statement, hoping to kick off the project by September.
The plan involves robotic arm printers ‘walking’ across the canal as it slides along the bridge’s edges, essentially printing its own support structure out of thin air as it moves along.
No word yet on robots moving into the home building market. And that may be a good thing because home prices are just now beginning to return to “sane” levels–or prices in line with make indicators (cost of living, median incomes, etc). From the New York Times Upshot blog:
A decade ago the market was unquestionably too hot. Four years ago it was too cold. Now, by a wide range of measures, nationwide home prices look relatively normal when compared with incomes, rents and other fundamentals — and are rising at similar low, single-digit rates.
So now is not a bad time to buy a home. However, borrowing may soon become more expensive. The Fed hinted today it was considering an interest rate hike before the end of the year. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said in a press conference that the importance of the first rate hike should not be overstated, and, for now, interest rates will remain near zero.
That’s all for today’s Covered Bridge. Check back in with us tomorrow as we bring you our favorite videos from around the web.
