Fastbrick prototype on track

Perth-based Fastbrick Robotics says it is on track to have its commercial prototype Hadrian X bricklaying robot fully assembled by the end of the quarter, with the company expanding its workforce to 140 people to meet its development schedule.

The robots can lay up to 1,000 bricks an hour, about twice the daily output of a typical brick layer, and the company is aiming to be able to construct the brick component of a house within three days.

In an update to the market today, Fastbrick said its software team had also developed a number of new features, including a waste management system and the ability to create two- and three-storey applications for future testing.

“FBR has also designed and produced an optimised block for use by the Hadrian X, which is equivalent in size to approximately 11 standard house bricks and weighs less than 20 kilograms,” the company said.

“This block has been designed to optimise the performance of the Hadrian X, to reduce waste and for use with FBR’s construction adhesive, which is used in the Fastbrick wall system rather than traditional mortar.”

Once the company has assembled the prototype it will begin the testing process, which it is aiming to have completed by the third quarter.

The company is targeting completion of the first house build, a three-bedroom, two-bathroom structure, in the final quarter of 2018.

“We are excited to be drawing closer to assembly completion and taking the Hadrian X outdoors for testing and Build1,” chief executive Mike Pivac said.

“Given that the Hadrian X is just the first application of our proprietary dynamic stabilisation technology, we are looking forward to validating it with the Hadrian X in real-world outdoor conditions during the coming months.”

Shares in Fastbrick finished up 13.8 per cent at 16 cents each.