A spider-like robot named Charlotte, developed jointly by Crest Robotics and Earthbuilt Technology, was unveiled this week at the 76th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney, with ambitious goals both on Earth and in space.
Charlotte is a semi-autonomous, bio-inspired construction robot combining robotics and 3D printing technology. At the IAC, a scaled-down prototype was demonstrated, marking an early milestone in what’s intended to be a transformational shift in how structures are built.
On Earth, the vision is straightforward yet bold: Charlotte would ingest raw materials – such as sand, earth, or crushed brick waste – bind and compress them using a proprietary extrusion system, and progressively “print” building walls and structures in situ.
The target: produce a 200 sq m home in a single day.
Developers claim this approach could drastically reduce the carbon footprint, time, and labour cost of conventional construction, which often involves many separate, energy-intensive stages.
Scaling on Earth, preparing for the lunar frontier
Charlotte’s ambitions extend well beyond Earth. The design has been intentionally kept lightweight and foldable, so it can be compacted for space travel and then deployed on extraterrestrial surfaces.
The long term goal: use Charlotte or future variants to build habitats, shelters, or infrastructure on the Moon – and potentially other planetary bodies – where traditional construction techniques are impossible.
In the words of Crest Robotics and Earthbuilt Technology: “On the Moon we require different building machinery … Charlotte’s agile and dynamic capabilities enable rapid construction on the Lunar surface.”
Developers have also pointed to the Artemis missions, which aim to return humans to the Moon in the mid-2020s, as a possible opportunity for testing such robotic construction systems in situ.
Government backing and challenges ahead
Charlotte has already attracted backing from the New South Wales Government, via its Space+ program delivered by SmartSat CRC.
Clyde Webster, founding director of Crest Robotics, describes Charlotte not merely as a construction robot but as “a giant, massive 3D printer” that could alleviate housing shortages and drive productivity gains in construction.
Jan Golembiewski, co-founder of Earthbuilt Technology, emphasizes the simplicity of the concept: “Raw materials go in and walls come out.” He suggests Charlotte’s speed could rival more than 100 traditional bricklayers working in tandem.
But challenges abound. The prototype is still early stage, and significant hurdles remain before it can build full-scale homes on Earth – let alone operate in lunar gravity, vacuum, temperature extremes, dust, or radiation.
Deployment logistics, material sourcing, durability, reliability, and robotic autonomy all pose deep technical questions.
A researcher at the University of Sydney, Neda Mohammadi, comments that robotics could help address labour shortages and delays in construction, freeing human teams to handle more complex and creative tasks.
Charlotte’s creators are actively seeking collaborators and additional funding from space agencies and industry partners to accelerate development and testing.
Looking to the future: Earth first, then the stars
While the ultimate ambition is extraterrestrial construction, the immediate roadmap appears to be Earth-based housing applications. Success here would not only validate the technology under more forgiving conditions but also provide real-world commercial value in addressing global housing crises.
If Charlotte or related robots can reliably print homes rapidly and with low emissions, they could reshape the building industry, enabling more affordable housing and relieving pressure on labor, materials, and carbon budgets.
At the same time, demonstrating even a modest degree of functionality in the harsh environment of the Moon would be a profound leap for human space infrastructure.
The idea of robots building human settlements on other celestial bodies edges closer to science fiction – but Charlotte’s unveiling suggests we may be stepping into that domain.
