Meet SAM, Brick Laying Robot That Does The Work Of 6 Humans

Meet SAM, Brick Laying Robot That Does The Work Of 6 Humans:

In the latest installment of our “Dear Bernie” series, posts intended to inform the Vermont Senator about the unintended, negative consequences of minimum wage hikes, we present SAM (Semi-Automated Mason), a brick laying robot designed and engineered by Construction Robotics out of New York.  While SAM can do the work of 6 unionized masons each day, he never requires a break, benefits or a paycheck.

Here’s a look at SAM in action:

Each SAM can be rented at a monthly cost of ~$3,300 according to The SunWith an average efficiency of 3,000 bricks per day, that breaks down to about 4.5 cents per brick.  Meanwhile, using using Bernie’s preferred $15 per hour minimum wage rate, plus benefits, and a daily efficiency of about 500 bricks brings the human labor cost equivalent to roughly 32 cents per brick, or a little over 7x.

Of course, SAM can’t completely eliminate the need for masons on work sites just yet, as human assistance is still needed to load bricks and mortar into the system and to clean up excess mortar from joints after bricks have been laid.  That said, Construction Robotics estimates that overall labor costs for bricklaying projects can be reduced by at least 50%.

* * *

PayPal: Donate in USD
PayPal: Donate in EUR
PayPal: Donate in GBP

3 thoughts on “Meet SAM, Brick Laying Robot That Does The Work Of 6 Humans”

  1. The long term implications are disturbing.
    MacDonalds robots.
    Just trying to follow the logical path, employment for humans will become a rarity.
    Income sources and employment options will diminish, but so too will demand for infrastructure to cater for humans as they will increasingly be unable to contribute or pay State Taxes.
    The only growth area perhaps, will be for prisons to keep misfits and opposers under control by incarceration.
    The future looks bleak, unless you have skills in robot maintenance & design.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.