MIT's Martin Nisser Details Projects for Assembling Ready-to-Run Drones, Space-Ready 3D Printing

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has released a profile of Martin Nisser, a PhD student working on robots that build robots — and 3D printers which can operate efficiently outside the confines of gravity.

"We typically build systems to perform a specific task, like a chair or a car. However the long-term vision is to be able to create systems from modular, smart components that let the system reconfigure and adjust its functionality to diverse needs," Nisser explains in an interview published by MIT News. "By addressing core challenges along the way, we aim to develop technology for the short term too."

Nisser's focus is on machines to build machines, robots that build robots, and making technology more affordable — and includes projects like LaserFactory, a $150 upgrade for laser cutters which allows for the production of ready-to-run complex electronics including, MIT claims, "finished drones [which] can fly straight off the assembly line."

Part of that work is to be trialled in space. "The ability to print fully functional robots is also important for space," Nisser says, "where creating on-demand electromechanical devices without any human intervention is paramount to enabling long-duration missions." This also extends to 3D printing, with Nisser and colleagues to test a new 3D printing system which can operate in microgravity on the International Space Station (ISS) this December.

"The closer we get toward automating assembly, the sooner we can reduce costs and increase accessibility to all kinds of advanced hardware systems," Nisser claims in the interview. "By distributing fabrication via inexpensive printers or self-assembling hardware that remove the need for engineering expertise, we create an opportunity for people to share and create things physically. And that’s good for everyone."

The full interview, including links to Nisser's work and other projects at MIT's HCI engineering Group, is now available on MIT News.