May 28, 2014
This April, a new Fab Space opened in the Media Center at SFC. To commemorate the opening, a panel discussion titled "Fab is for Everyone: Digital Fabrication in a Society Premised on the Internet" and a tour were held starting at 4:30 p.m. on May 20.
The panel discussion was held in room Ω11. The panelists included Jun Murai, Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University; Hiroya Tanaka, Associate Professor at the same faculty; Yasuaki Kakehi, Associate Professor at the same faculty; and Satoko Takita, Part-time Lecturer at the same faculty and Representative Director of Mozilla Japan. The session was moderated by Daijiro Mizuno, Senior Assistant Professor at the same faculty. The venue was attended by many people, including SFC students, the general public, Keio University alumni, and members of the press. The panelists spoke passionately about the possibilities and future of digital fabrication using tools like 3D printers and digital sewing machines, while introducing student works. The audience listened intently, with occasional bursts of laughter.
After the panel discussion, participants were free to tour the Fab Space in the Media Center, the site of digital fabrication. Lively discussions took place with students while watching 3D printers and other equipment in action.
Next to the Media Center, the "Mozilla Bus (MozBus)," an IT workshop bus, was also on display. Equipped with a network environment and digital fabrication equipment, it is expected to serve as a mobile FabLab. Many students gathered around the distinctive orange vehicle, looking inside with interest and asking questions to the Mozilla staff.
We hope this event will encourage more SFC students to utilize the Fab Space, give shape to their various ideas, and share them with the world.