Concrete-Eating Robot

Demolishing a concrete building is usually done in a messy, brute force kind of way - with wrecking balls or explosives and the ensuing cloud of dust and debris - but if Omer Haciomeroglu has his way, that will be a way of the past.

Haciomeroglu, a student at the Umeå Institute of Design in Sweden, has designed a robot that literally erases concrete walls. The ERO (short for "erosion") robot uses pressurized water to break down concrete. "High-pressure water jets attack the micro cracks on the concrete surface, making it come apart," Haciomeroglu said to Fast Company, "It leaves the metal rebar inside naked and ready for reuse."

The broken down concrete are separated into its components of cement, sand, and aggregate, and packaged into neat bags to be transported to recycling plants - or even sold to someone constructing a new building nearby.

Check out more conceptual designs below:

View the full story over at Fast Company.