When it comes to demolishing buildings, there are almost as many ways to take them apart as put them up. We knock them down, blow them to bits, and build machines to take them apart. But what about a robot that eats buildings? Omer Haciomeroglu of Sweden’s Umeå Institute of Design has come up with the concept ERO concrete de-construction robot, which uses high-pressure water jets to strip concrete from rebar and recycle it on the spot.

 

Reinforced concrete consists of concrete poured on a mesh of steel rebar. This provides a great deal of strength, but it also makes demolition a slow, difficult process involving a great deal of smashing, bashing, and crushing. This brute force method is even used by advanced demolition robots that rely on jack hammers and shovels. The end result is a process that requires huge amounts of power, lengthy separation of crushed concrete and twisted rebar, and the machinery and transportation to achieve this.