CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
30 January 2012
Events News
Inventors, Entrepreneurs, and Makers of All Things Technical and Scientific Will Find Amazing Ideas and Tools to Make Their Dreams Reality at USA Science & Engineering Festival
The USA Science & Engineering Festival hosted by Lockheed Martin offers a special appeal for budding entrepreneurs, inventors, engineers and programmers who will find the ideas, tools and resources to help them make their dreams a reality. From robotic technology to desktop manufacturing technology that makes prototype development easy and cost-effective, the "makers" and innovators of society will find a wealth of inspiration throughout the Festival and Expo, as well as in the Robot Fest and DIY Expo pavilion, where creativity and technology meet.
"The Festival is a fantastic place for technical experts of all kinds to learn about the amazing advances that have been made in technology to help them make product prototypes from 3D printers, find designs online for parts and components, and meet an array of experts to help them bring their product ideas to life," said Larry Bock, serial entrepreneur and Executive Director of the USA Science & Engineering Festival-- the nation's largest celebration of science and engineering that will take place April 28-29, 2012 in Washington, D.C. "If you're an inventor or entrepreneur looking for inspiration, the Festival will be a wealth of ideas and the DIY Expo will provide the tools to get your ideas in motion."
Organizations like MakerBot Industries, Fab Lab DC and Fab@Home by Cornell University and Dassault Systemes Americas will show prospective inventors how they can develop product prototypes with 3D printers and digital fabrication. Sparkfun Electronics will show participants how to bring new product ideas to life more easily and inexpensively through electronics and microcontroller kits. The Festival will also feature an array of robotic technology ranging from military, manufacturing and surgical robots to more entertaining robots like R2DC's Star Wars droids and other exhibits that allow attendees to build their own robots.
In addition, budding entrepreneurs will be able to network with members of various "hackerspace" groups who work collaboratively to network, socialize and develop technical solutions and new products in their spare time. The Baltimore Node, Unallocated Space and HacDC are three hackerspace groups participating in the DIY Expo and will show some of their recent projects like the HacDC spaceblimp. Unlike the more malicious forms of hacking, the hackerspace model is borne of an interest in collaboration, shared knowledge and tools to create and innovate.
"One of the most intriguing developments in the world of American innovation over the past few years has been the advancement in collaborative 'crowdsourcing' to make it easier for ideas to become reality by working together with like-minded individuals," said Gary Mauler, founder of Robot Fest and host of the Robot Fest and DIY Expo pavilion at the USA Science & Engineering Festival. "The 'hackerspace' groups that have come together across the country are providing volunteer assistance to the defense industry and cyber-security industry, and they are now making an impact on assistive technology for individuals with disabilities, fashion and many other industries," he added.
Dustyn Roberts, author of Making Things Move: DIY Mechanisms for Inventors, Hobbyists and Artists, will also appear at the Festival. Roberts is an engineer who started her career at Honeybee Robotics working on the Sample Manipulation System project for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. She is the founder of Dustyn Robots where she consults on projects ranging from gait analysis to designing guided parachute systems.
The USA Science & Engineering Festival and Book Fair is a free, family-friendly event that allows kids and adults to participate in over 2,000 hands-on activities and see more than 200 live performances by science celebrities, explorers, best-selling authors, entrepreneurs and world-renowned experts. For inventors and others looking for ideas and information, the Festival offers a smorgasbord of scientific and technological wonders that will entertain as it inspires the American spirit of innovation.
For more information on the USA Science & Engineering Festival, please visit the Festival website.
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