Now, a 3D printer that can build a house in 24 hours

Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis from the University of Southern California claimed that his 'Contour Crafting' construction method can build entire houses with all the fixtures and fittings, the Daily Mail reported.

Countour crafting is a layered fabrication technology that uses a huge moveable gantry to build a house in the same way that a 3D printer deposits layers of plastic.

Strong walls are built up layer by layer using concrete with automatic reinforcement, while plumbing and electrics are also added by the system during the building process.

"The nature of the technology means it will also be possible to create curved walls and architecture that is both 'exotic' and 'beautiful'," Khoshnevis was quoted as saying by the paper.

He believes that Contour Crafting could build houses for a fraction of the cost and in significantly less time. He said that a 2500-square-foot house can be built in approximately 20 hours with Contour Crafting.

Furthermore, he believes that the technology could be applied beyond our planet.

"Contour Crafting technology has the potential to build safe, reliable, and affordable lunar and Martian structures, habitats, laboratories, and other facilities before the arrival of human beings," he wrote on his website.

The technology has been developed over several years and was presented at the TEDx conference earlier this year.