A robot that lays bricks is now out of beta testing and at work alongside masons and laborers at a school-building jobsite in Ft. Collins, Colo. The Semi-Autonomous Mason, more commonly known as SAM, is already booked for two additional jobs. Masons working with SAM say the robot may help alleviate workforce shortages foreseen in future generations in masonry trades.
"He does a pretty good job, is pretty efficient, and I don't mind working with him," says John Munt, a mason employed by Ft. Collins-based Soderberg Masonry. "He's putting [bricks] in the wall for us and we get them jointed right behind." Munt lives in Arizona but was called out to Colorado where there is a shortage of masons. Other team members came from California.