MIT and Bhutan partner on robotic construction pilot for sustainable smart city

The capital city of Thimphu, Bhutan. Image: Adobe Stock

The agreement will be led by DHI’s Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck Super Fablab (JNWSFL) and MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms and will focus on the development of voxel-based building systems (reconfigurable, lightweight building blocks) using mobile robots and recyclable local materials such as wood, rammed earth, and bio-composites. Japan’s Chiba Institute of Technology is also participating in the effort.

Voxel construction, developed at MIT, is modular, reconfigurable and said to be low-carbon, with the potential to speed up deployment of housing, public pavilions and digital infrastructure hubs. Structures built using this system are designed to adapt over time, aligning with the flexible and environmentally conscious goals of the Gelephu development.

In its first year, the project will centre on research and prototyping in the US. The second year will shift to onsite testing and deployment in Bhutan, including collaboration with Bhutanese engineers and students.

Professor Neil Gershenfeld, director of MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms, said the voxel system has previously been used in aerospace contexts and now offers “a transformative methodology” for sustainable construction in remote or culturally sensitive settings.

DHI CEO Ujjwal Deep Dahal said the initiative aims to “transform how we could design, build, and imagine the cities of tomorrow,” linking the project to Bhutan’s 10X roadmap for innovation and to the long-term vision for the estimated US$100 billion Gelephu Mindfulness City.

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