{"product_id":"sam-one-robot-a-dozen-engineers-and-the-race-to-revolutionize-the-way-we-build-hardcover","title":"Sam: One Robot, a Dozen Engineers, and the Race to Revolutionize the Way We Build - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJonathan Waldman\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA true story of innovation, centered on a scrappy team of engineers--far from the Silicon Valley limelight--and their quest to achieve a surprisingly difficult technological feat: building a robot that can lay bricks.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHumans have landed men on the moon, programmed cars to drive themselves, and put the knowledge of our entire civilization in your back pocket. But no one--from MIT nerds to Army Corps engineers--has ever built a robot that can lay bricks as well as a mason. Unlike the controlled conditions of a factory line, where robots are now ubiquitous, no two construction sites are alike, and a day's work involves countless variables--bricks that range in size and quality, temperamental mortar mixes, uneven terrain, fickle weather, and moody foremen. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTwenty-five years ago, on a challenging construction job in Syracuse, architect Nate Podkaminer had a vision of a future full of efficient, automated machines that freed men from the repetitive, toilsome burden of laying bricks. (Bricklayers lift the equivalent of a Ford truck every few days.) Offhandedly, he mentioned the idea to his daughter's boyfriend, and after some inspired scheming, the architect and engineer--soon to be in-laws--cofounded a humble start-up called Construction Robotics. Working out of a small trailer, they recruited a boldly unconventional team of engineers to build the Semi-Automated Mason: SAM. In classic American tradition, a small, unlikely, and eccentric family-run start-up sought to reimagine the behemoth $1 trillion construction industry--the second biggest industry in America--in bootstrap fashion. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the tradition of Tracy Kidder's \u003ci\u003eThe Soul of a New Machine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e SAM\u003c\/i\u003e unfolds as an engineering drama, full of trials and setbacks, heated showdowns between meticulous scientists and brash bricklayers (and their even more opinionated union), and hard-earned milestone achievements. Jonathan Waldman, acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eRust\u003c\/i\u003e, brings readers inside the world of the renegade company revolutionizing the most traditional trade.\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 288\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 9.2 x 6.3 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 07, 2020\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51771832369440,"sku":"9781501140594","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/e95c2e09ed2299f56a1b1c2b605cf91d.webp?v=1780394843","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/sam-one-robot-a-dozen-engineers-and-the-race-to-revolutionize-the-way-we-build-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}