- UF laser origami research could shape future moon construction.
- Researchers are also investigating how laser forming could make it possible to manufacture with materials that are difficult or impossible to shape using conventional methods.
- The technology could create new possibilities for building tools, infrastructure and other systems in space, where conventional manufacturing equipment is often too large or difficult to use.
University of Florida researchers are exploring how lasers could help astronauts build structures on the moon using materials already available there, including lunar soil transformed into glass.
The work, led by Victoria M. Miller, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and researcher with the UF Astraeus Space Institute, recently completed a DARPA-funded research phase focused on laser forming, a manufacturing process that bends materials without physical contact.