We created the droxels while searching a structural component able to provide four essential features required by robot-based construction:
- They can faithfully reproduce any 3D structural form with a good structural stability;
- They have a large laying tolerance for easy interlocking;
- They avoid the need for scaffolding in most cases;
- Their size can be scaled up or down to reach the desired surface aspect.
Droxels were initially developed to build with flying robots, but they also have the potential to cover a large range of “do-it-yourself / home-handyman” applications, including garden/farm/industrial shelters, temporary/emergency structures, artistic structures, tiny houses, small footbridges and retaining walls.
Concrete, timber and (potentially recycled) polymer droxels are possible and each have advantages and disadvantages. For instance, polymer droxels are light, easy and fast to make, and could be filled with another material (e.g. insulation or sand).
Our current research is dedicated to the construction with recycled plastic large size droxels.