These 3D-Printers Will Wander Around The Earth And Fix Our Planet

In order to repair the environment, the Break the Grid initiative wants to let 3D printers autonomously wander around the Earth.

The initiative is from the three Danish companies, including GXN Innovation, Map Architects, and The Danish AM Hub. The three worked together to imagine how 3D printers might look when they are transformed into robots capable of crawling, swimming and even flying.

The group designed three robots each of which has a specific purpose.

The first one is a crawling 3D printer with six-legged to fill cracks in asphalt. The “Trichoderma Reesei” fungus would be put in the filler, which releases calcium carbonate. This substance helps neutralize the acidic conditions in both water and soil and prevent corrosion.

The second one is a swimming 3D printer that will help deal with rising sea levels as well as areas vulnerable to storms/tsunamis. The robot would build artificial reefs to protect the coasts by mixing glue with sand from the ocean floor.

The final one is a flying 3D printer which would tackle the loss of energy and heat problem because of bad insulation normally found in high-rise buildings in big cities. The robot would add to older skyscrapers thermal insulation using graded materials combining high-performing polymers and glass.

While these robots are still in their designing phases, Kasper Jensen, GXN founder, believes that letting 3D printers autonomously wander around the Earth and fix our planet is a great idea.

In a press release, he said that sending 3D printers to deal with these challenges would be a revolution. With crawling, swimming, and flying robots, environmental problems around the world could be addressed at a much lower cost but with greater efficiency.