Meet the Semi-Automated Mason or SAM, a robot that is so good at building walls it could take over the construction industry. Created by New York-based company Construction Robotics, the brick-laying robot promises to both increase productivity while reducing overall labor costs.
While the efficiency on construction sites has been stagnant in the last 20 to 30 years, manufacturing efficiency has increased significantly due to robotics and technology. Construction Robotics created SAM to solve that problem. SAM requires a human partner to smooth over the works, but the heavy lifting is left to the bot.
The robot can lay bricks at least three times faster than humans – and it never gets tired or makes mistakes. VICE News went to a construction site in Virginia to see SAM at work.