Robotics engineer unveils new era of manufacturing

Dr Zoz Brooks on the Discovery Channel TV show Prototype This!.
Photo by Michael 'Boj' Florido, for the Discovery Channel.
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Monday, 22 October 2012

International television personality and robotics expert Dr Zoz Brooks will give his vision of manufacturing in the future when he delivers a talk organised by his alma mater, the University of Adelaide, this Wednesday 24 October.

Dr Brooks, a former host of reality show Prototype This! on the Discovery Channel, will discuss the latest developments in rapid prototyping and robotic fabrication techniques which are revolutionising the manufacturing industry worldwide.

His talk, at the Art Gallery of South Australia this Wednesday, is titled Manufacturing the Future - Design Implications of new manufacturing methods?

The consulting design engineer (and three-time University of Adelaide graduate) says the advent of rapid prototyping tools and fabrication techniques has been a boon to recent generations of designers.

"Automated production of physical models now permeates the design process of everything, from computer products and equipment, to buildings and structures," Dr Brooks says.

"These fabrication methods are no longer limited to models and prototypes, however. Concepts like direct digital manufacturing - where products are manufactured directly to part without specialised tooling - have become a reality.

"Designers of mass-produced products can easily satisfy consumer demand with direct digital manufacture and bespoke design is enjoying resurgence at low cost," Dr Brooks says.

His talk has been organised by the Australian Workplace Innovation and Social Research Centre (WISer) at the University of Adelaide in association with the Department of Further Education Employment Science and Technology (DFEEST) and the Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT).

Apart from co-hosting Prototype This!, Dr Brooks helped produce and appeared in the Discovery Channel show Time Warp, devoted to high-speed imaging of natural and scientific phenomena.

He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Adelaide with majors in Organic Chemistry and Computer Science in 1993, followed by First Class Honours in Computer Science in 1994 and a Graduate Diploma in Education in 1995.

Dr Brooks also has a Masters from the Australian National University and a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Among his creations include a project to develop tools for humanitarian land mine clearance, a backpack device that allows the wearer to broadcast music, and a video game called War Face that uses computer imaging to recognise movements in the game player's face.

His talk will be held from 11.00am-12.30pm in the Radford Room, Art Gallery of South Australia.

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