10 outstanding construction technologies in the future

Healthy, self-healing concrete, carbon nanomaterials, color changing bricks are advanced technologies that can be widely used in the future construction industry.

In the past, the only way to repair cracked concrete was to patch, reinforce, or smash to remake from scratch. In 2010, the team at the University of Rhode Island, USA, successfully built a "smart" concrete with the ability to heal the crack itself, according to How Stuff Works. The concrete mixture is mixed with numerous small sodium silicate capsules (Na ₂ SiO ₃ ).When the crack formed, the broken capsules released a gel-like substance that quickly filled the gap.(Photo: Justin Sullivan).

By using electron beam lithography, scientists can now manufacture carbon tubes with a thickness of just one nanometer.Carbon nanotubes have a higher strength / weight ratio than any other material on Earth, and it can be tens of times more tensile than inherent thickness.Carbon nanotubes are very light and strong.They can be mixed into other construction materials such as metal, concrete, wood, glass to increase density and durability.(Photo: Corbis).

In the 1980s, scientists began testing new types of ceramics made from a mixture of aluminum, oxygen and nitrogen.They heated aluminum powder with great pressure for several days at a temperature of 2,000 degrees Celsius, eventually polishing to create a completely transparent material like glass but with the strength and durability of aluminum.This material has been used to create bulletproof windows and optical lenses.(Photo: Claser).

In 2015, Lafarge Tarmac, a construction materials company in the UK, introduced a water-repellent concrete called Topmix that could absorb 4,000 liters of water in a minute.It is designed with a super-absorbent coating, allowing water to penetrate the surface quickly and avoid stagnation.Concrete soaked in water not only helps to cope with flooding, but also reduces heat due to asphalt-spreading materials produced in the hot sun.For flood prone areas, this method can replace conventional concrete and solve problems effectively.(Photo: Mirror).

Aerogel is a lightweight foam-like solid material that is capable of maintaining its shape. It is made by removing the liquid from the gel, all that remains is the silica structure (SiO ₂ ) with 90 to 99% air.Aerogels are super insulating and insulating.Although very light, Aerogel can withstand the heat of a blowtorch or the weight of a car.(Photo: NASA).

Moving Color Company, USA, produces decorative glass tiles with a varnish that changes color according to the surface temperature .At room temperature tiles are glossy black.But when you touch the bricks or leave them in the light and warm water, the bricks will appear in many colors like green, blue, iridescent purple.(Photo: Moving Color Studios).

Inspired by termites, Harvard University's Self-Research System team, USA, has built small construction robots capable of working together in groups.These four-wheeled robots build brick walls by lifting bricks, climbing walls and placing bricks in the proper place.They have sensors to detect the presence of other robots as well as algorithms so as not to collide with each other when moving.(Photo: AFP).

WinSu Company, based in Shanghai, China, built a 5-storey building and a large villa in Jiangsu Province using a 3D printer 150m long and 6m high. The walls are printed in layers, then assembled to form a complete block. "Printing ink " is a recyclable construction waste such as iron, glass, cement and special additives.The process of using this recycled material can limit carbon emissions.(Photo: Xinhua / REX).

In the future, roads can act as chargers for electric vehicles.Halo IPT in New Zealand successfully built a pad on the road, can charge wirelessly to an electric car parked above.This technology can be installed directly on the road, in garages and parking lots, to ensure continuous charging of vehicles.(Photo: Corbis).

Every year, people emit about 33 billion tons of greenhouse gases CO ₂ into the atmosphere, increasing global warming. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, use a special type of yeast to convert CO2 into calcium carbonate (CaCO ₃ ) as a construction material. A transgenic yeast can produce 1kg CaCO ₃ from 0.5 kg of CO ₂ .(Photo: Nazgoz).