Can 3D printing help address Canada's housing shortage?

That's the question researchers, industry leaders and government representatives explored at the University of Windsor on Tuesday with a conference exploring new technologies, including 3D printing and modular construction, and how that new technology can save time and lower costs.

Sreekant Das, the associate dean of research and graduate studies at the University of Windsor, says the event was designed to introduce the technology to a wider audience.

“We just wanted to do a conference, workshop to increase the public awareness about this new technology so that people can come and see what this technology can do,” Das said.

Researchers at the university are also working on a three-storey building with seven residential units using 3D-printing technology, which they hope will provide data on how the buildings perform.

Bill Van Heyst, dean of the faculty of engineering, says the project will allow researchers to monitor the building in real-world conditions.

“We can theorize and postulate all we want in terms of how we think the building will perform,” Van Heyst said. “But until we actually have one up and have it monitored with various sensors and we’re tracking the data, that’s the real world situation that we’re going to have to test.”