Can you bee-lieve it?

Have you learned about the bots and the bees yet? If not, you’re about to.

A team of international scientists and engineers have created a swarm of 3D-printing drones that work together to form a single blueprint, similar to how bees or wasps construct large nests, per a new peer-reviewed article published in Nature on Wednesday. This marks the first time detailed 3D-printing has ever been achieved by a free-flying robot, the researchers said.

🐝 How it works: Like bees or wasps, the drones use a “collective building method.” Meaning some drones are in charge of doing the actual printing – which could be done with either a cement-like pseudoplastic material or insulation foam – and others are responsible for verifying the accuracy of everything that’s been constructed.

• The drones are fully autonomous while flying, but still require human supervision in case something goes awry.

👀 Looking ahead… The researchers plan on using these drones to help with especially challenging projects in the future, like rebuilding disaster areas, repairing skyscrapers, or constructing buildings on the Moon and/or Mars.