Watch a desktop "laser factory" fabricate a drone that flies itself right off the machine

MIT's LaserFactory is an integrated desktop fabricator that with amazingly little human assistance can build a small working drone that when complete flies itself right off the machine.

"In the near term, this kind of one-stop-shop for fabrication would be beneficial for researchers, educators, product developers and makers looking to rapidly prototype functional devices such as wearables, robots and printed electronics," MIT researcher Martin Nisser told IEEE Spectrum. "It is also a compelling solution for logistically challenging environments such as space, where the ability to create functional devices remotely, on-demand and without human intervention is paramount."

"LaserFactory: A Laser Cutter-based Electromechanical Assembly
and Fabrication Platform to Make Functional Devices & Robots" (CHI 2021)

(via Pluralistic)