Author Jonathan Waldman traces development of the Construction Robotics Semi-Automated Mason (SAM) and Material Unit Lift Enhancer (MULE) machines for laying brick and block in SAM – One Robot, a Dozen Engineers and the Race to Revolutionize the Way We Build.
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| Material Unit Lift Enhancer |
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| Semi-Automated Mason |
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| After tackling the subject of corrosion in Rust, author Jonathan Wildman turned to SAM (left) and MULE—machinery automating brick and block craft. |
Simon & Schuster imprint Avid Reader Press presents the 288-page book, published last month, as “A true story of innovation, centered on a scrappy team of engineers—far from the Silicon Valley limelight—and their quest to achieve a surprisingly difficult technological feat: building a robot that can lay bricks … SAM unfolds as an engineering drama, full of trials and setbacks, heated showdowns between meticulous scientists and brash bricklayers (and their even more opinionated union), and hard-earned milestone achievements.”
The publisher credits Waldman with bringing readers “inside the world of the renegade company revolutionizing the most traditional trade.” Founded by architect Nate Podkaminer and his son-in-law Scott Peters, Construction Robotics unveiled the SAM and MULE machines at World of Concrete in 2017 and 2018. The MULE traveled quickly from Las Vegas to Indianapolis for the National Concrete Masonry Association’s 2018 ICON Expo – Machinery & Equipment Show.