3D scanning could help rock-stacking robots build habitats on Mars

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a robotic system that uses 3D scanning to intelligently stack and balance irregularly shaped objects. The robot could someday be used to build habitats on Mars. Considering all the amazing things that robots can do, building one that stacks rocks hardly seems like the best use of a roboticist’s time. But that’s exactly what researchers at ETH Zurich have done, in the hope that such a rock-stacking robot could someday be used to build useful structures like walls and even buildings.

from 3ders.org - http://www.3ders.org