Meet the Newest Robot from UAT!

Kasey Norman, a student in the Digital Makers and Fabrication degree at University of Advancing Technology (UAT), newest robot had its first drive test recently. Take a look at the video for a first look at the semi-autonomous rover. Check back often for updates on this project in the near future!

UAT becomes First University in Arizona to open on campus Digital Makers Fab Lab

 

UAT Digital Makers Fab Lab

The University of Advancing Technology (UAT) becomes first University in Arizona to launch a digital maker fabrication lab on campus: the UAT Makers Fab Lab.

On the heels of the lab opening mid-October 2013, University officials are enrolling students into the nation’s first fully accredited Bachelor of Science degree in digital making and fabrication. The new degree will combine the curriculums and capability of UAT’s existing and respected degrees in Robotics and Embedded Systems, Artificial Life Programming, Advancing Computer Science, Virtual Modeling and Design and Human-Computer Interaction. 

Located on the technology University’s campus in Tempe, the UAT Makers Fab Lab is equipped with the latest 3D printers, maker bots, CNC cutters and the software and knowledge guidance that students need to bring innovative ideas to life. Modeled from the design of MIT’s first Fab Lab community, UAT plans to join together the student communities already leveraging the new lab from many other UAT disciplines to start the first student facilitated and University-sponsored Digital Makers Lab organization. The Digital Makers Lab is designed to foster creativity and challenge student innovators with a 24/7 environment for those who seek to lead the new industrial revolution driven by the convergence of advancing technologies

A groundswell that’s sweeping across the industry according to industry analysts, the Maker Revolution is a new way to think, design, conceive, prototype, test, manufacture and bring innovation to market. It is 3D printers, 4D fabricating, maker bots, robotics and embedded systems, engineering and hardware creation, digital design and animation, laser cutters, open-hardware and software, and desktop fabrication all combined and now taken to the industrial and consumer levels. This is an entire shift in the way we innovate and will change the way products and services are produced, distributed and used in everyday life.

“Anything that can transform the process of making stuff has tremendous leverage in moving the global economy. That’s the making of a real revolution,” states Chris Anderson in his recent book Makers: The New Industrial Revolution.

Already, UAT graduates are innovating and quietly setting the tone in the Makers Revolution. Since 2008, UAT has offered a bachelor’s of science in Robotics and Embedded Systems. The Robotics program is more focused on hardware development versus a balance of hardware and software design methods that are forming together to create the Makers Movement.

The UAT Makers Fab Lab, the development of a BS degree program with a major in the area of digital making and fabrication join the technology University’s series of firsts in advancing technology offerings.

4D Printing Shows Signs of Life

The fourth dimension is not just the things of sci-fi movies. The concept has been on the horizon for years, but now is moving closer to reality. Research is currently being done to explore the very real possibilities for its integration in our everyday lives.

The concept of 4D printers is this: to create objects that can transform over time and possibly even self-assemble.

Right now, we can print complex parts en masse, but it often takes hours of manual labor to actually assemble them. 4D printing seeks to develop materials and printing techniques that address the time issue.

The U.S. Army Research Office has issued a grant that will be divided among three research teams at Harvard University, the University of Pittsburg and the University of Illinois– totaling $855,000 to develop this so-called “4D Printing.”

It’s no surprise the Army is so keen on it. And the U.S. Navy too. They’re testing the possibility of 3D printing ammunition and UAVs onboard ship.

Imagine a 3D-printed textile that could adapt to camouflage a soldier in different environments (or hide them by bending light!). Or a metal that adapts to environmental conditions to improve the performance of a tank or truck. Skylar Tibbits, a leader in the 4D printing movement (who, as Core77 points out, was left out of the Army grant), has had luck printing materials that respond when they're immersed in water—for example, a flat piece of plastic that folds into a box, or the flexible chain that morphs into a rigid structure seen in the here

Why is the US Army Investing in 4D Printing.

At UAT, you not only imagine what’s possible, you become part of a new generation of what actually will lead an entire shift in the way we innovate and change the way products and services are produced, distributed and used in everyday life. It’s the Maker Revolution, a new way to think, design, conceive, prototype, test, manufacture and bring innovation to market. It is 3D printers, 4D fabricating, maker bots, robotics and embedded systems, engineering and hardware creation, digital design and animation, laser cutters, open-hardware and software, and desktop fabrication all combined and now taken to the industrial and consumer levels.

In October 2013, University of Advancing Technology (UAT) became first University in Arizona to launch a digital maker fabrication lab on campus: the UAT Makers Fab Lab. The Digital Makers Lab is designed to foster creativity and challenge student innovators in a 24/7 environment for those who seek to lead the new industrial revolution—a revolution that will include 4D printing and beyond.