HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Friday is the grand opening of USF’s Rapid Experimentation Lab in Tampa. This lab will help develop technologies for the US military.
ABC Action News got an inside look at the fully functioning lab ahead of its grand opening. The lab has everything from welding to laser manufacturing, and several 3D printers are set up.
The work the engineers do in this lab will go to help the Department of Defense.
“Everything from cradle to product is in here, so you can rapidly experiment, rapidly ideate to figure out something together,” said Taylor Johnston, chief operating officer at the USF Institute of Applied Engineering.
Johnston explained that they will build and test prototypes that will address national and global security, and find solutions for the Department of Defense.
“All the way from that whiteboard behind you to ‘this is what we want to do.' Printing it out, adding the electrical component, then testing it from there,” Johnston said.
Johnston explained that this lab is a major upgrade for the engineers. It allows different engineers with different areas of expertise to get into one lab and find solutions quickly.
“Setting them up for success and setting them up with the space so that they can collaborate,” Johnston said.
The ribbon cutting ceremony is Friday at 3 p.m. at 12351 University Mall Court in Tampa.
