Iran’s Scientific Vice-Presidency to Build 6 Fab Labs Across Country
A fab lab (fabrication laboratory) is a small-scale workshop offering (personal) digital fabrication. The idea was conceived by renowned inventor and scientist Professor Neil Gershenfeld at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His idea was a simple one: to provide the environment, skills, advanced materials and technology to make things cheaply and quickly anywhere in the world, and to make this available on a local basis to entrepreneurs, students, artists, small businesses and in fact, anyone who wants to create something new or bespoke.
Given the importance of fab labs, the Vice Presidency for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy announced that fab labs will be built in six provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan, Fars, Isfahan, Semnan, Qazvin and Tehran.
Fab Labs provide access to the environment, the skills, the materials and the advanced technology to allow anyone anywhere to make (almost) anything (fabfoundation). They are physical spaces offering access to digital and industrial-grade fabrication and electronics tools, open-source software, and programmes to support prototyping.
They are a place to play, create, learn, mentor, and invent: a place for learning and innovation. They offer tools such as Numerically Controlled (NC) knife cutting, laser cutters to make 2D and 3D structures; microcontroller equipment; NC machining to make circuit boards, precision parts, and mold casting; 3D Printers; wood routers; access to sensors, actuators, and displays; and wired and wireless communications.
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