Robotic Aerial Vehicle Fabricator (RAV-Fab)
Robotic Aerial Vehicle Fabricator (RAV-Fab) was a NASA USRC team formed in 2021 at the Virginia Tech DREAMS Lab. Their objective was robotic construction of a quadcopter using additive manufacturing (3D Printing) and robotic pick and place operations. Using free-form 3D printing and a common, modular set of electronics, the team accomplished their goal and broke new ground in the field of advanced manufacturing.
The group was comprised of undergraduate engineering and business students and was one of only four teams selected nationwide by NASA for the University Students Research Challenge (USRC), created with the purpose of solving new technical challenges in aerospace, stimulating student entrepreneurship, and motivating student critical thinking.
Tadeusz (Tadek) Kosmal
Team Lead
Eric Link
Drone Design Lead
Kieran Beaumont, Work Cell Design Lead
Jimmy Lowe
Funding and Corporate Sponsorships Lead
Conner Pulling
Software Design Lead
Dalton Phillips
Pick & Place / Workcell Designer
Heather Wotton
Validation and Testing Lead
Camille Kudrna
Drone Designer
Hutchison Peter
Embedded Electronic System Lead
David Spadaccia
Assitant Designer for Wire Embedding and Toolchanging System
Calvin Siemers
Assistant Designer for Topology Optimization and Generative Design
Robotic Drone Build Time Lapse
Motor Module Embedding
Robotic Placement and 3D Print Embedding