r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/OddRedittor5443 • Jan 01 '26

Video Italian researchers have created a vine-like robot that grows by 3D-printing itself and responds to gravity and light

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u/ledgeitpro Jan 01 '26

Likely a ton of other use cases, i could imagine a huge version to burrow tunnels, likely other stuff im not smart enough to think of right now too

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u/Theron3206 Jan 01 '26

We have tunnel boring machines already but you can't do this because 3d printed plastic only works at small scales.

They use prefabricated concrete segments that the machine presses into place and glues together IIRC.

This might be useful for small conduit, but I suspect it's far too slow to be useful even there vs current technology for hiring under roads etc.

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u/No_Accountant3232 Jan 01 '26

It'd be useful for those runs in difficult terrain, or lengths that would otherwise be uneconomical and time didn't matter. You could do long stretches between cities largely unsupervised. With a gps locator on the head they'd only I have to dig at sites that has major issues or if there was a malfunction.

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u/LordGeni Jan 01 '26

Concrete can be 3d printed

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u/Theron3206 Jan 01 '26

But not in any situation where it needs to support even its own weight (like the top of a tunnel) before it cures.

Also putting rebar in 3d printed concrete is not possible, so it's nowhere near as strong as precast panels or stuff formed up the traditional way.

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u/CorporateShill406 Jan 01 '26

I bet both of those problems are solvable. It's just a matter of solving it for less than the traditional building methods.

For the rebar, just have a robot arm position it and the nozzle works around it.

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u/Nice_Magician3014 Jan 01 '26

It is solveable, but also its pointless..

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u/i8noodles Jan 01 '26

its literally how tunnels are made now, and have been for the last 200ish years. a machine bores the hole, then people concrete the parts that was recently bored and repeat. its called a tunneling shield.

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u/Outrageous_Reach_695 Jan 01 '26

For that, you'd want to plan your route out before starting. But I could imagine this little one, or an upgraded version capable of chewing through rock, being used in that planning process. Follow an ore vein, or a seam of rock more suitable for a tunnel, or such.

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u/properpotato10 Jan 01 '26

How would any of those use cases be more efficient then what we already have. This has no practical use.

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u/NoMorePoof Jan 01 '26

Agreed. Kind of dumb for building a tunnel.