In the beginning, there was mud. The earliest human dwellings were constructed of nothing more than mud-and-straw bricks baked in the sun. The ancient Romans were the first to experiment with concrete, mixing lime and volcanic rock to build majestic structures like the Pantheon in Rome, still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world [source: Pruitt].
But what does the future hold for construction technology? Will there come a day when noisy construction crews are replaced by swarms of autonomous nanobots? Will the cracks in concrete foundations one day miraculously heal themselves, or gas stations be replaced by electric cars running on self-charging roads?
Flip through the slide show in order to see all the new technology in construction.
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