A special thanks to Quazar on the Atomic forums for linking this video about 3D printing and its viability for the construction industry of the future. It truly is remarkable.
As mentioned in the video, construction is one of the only "hands on" industries left in the world; nearly everything else is either completely automated, or at least assisted by complex machinery or computers.
For this reason construction is very expensive, very slow and prone to human error. The idea behind 3D printers used in construction, would be relatively simple. Architects and Engineers come up with "print files" and the printer could then go to work assembling the designed structure in a quick and efficient manner.
Obviously "houses" have been constructed using 3D printing for well over a decade, only on a scale of around 10,000:1 in the modelling world. The idea is to now develop 3D printers large enough and advanced enough to build full scale housing suitable for living.
The video explains the idea of 3D printing used in construction far better than I ever could, so please enjoy.
