Visakhapatnam: Vizag will very soon get the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Fab Labs, giving a huge fillip to the electronic manufacturing sector, one of the priority sectors of the state government.
Fab Labs is the educational outreach component of MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA). Fab Labs is a technical prototyping platform for innovation and invention that provides stimulus for local entrepreneurship. The Vizag Fab Labs will be housed in IT incubation centre on the IT hills in Rushikonda.
Vizag Fab Labs will be one among the three in South India. The remaining two are coming up in Kerala.
The AP Electronics Policy has also envisaged setting up 20 electronic manufacturing clusters in 13 districts, but until now only a couple of semi-conductor and electronics manufacturing firms have evinced interest in setting up units in the state.
“Fab Labs can actually help in prototyping of hardware products which will help the growth of the hardware and electronics sector. Until now to make a prototype, one had to approach China and there the companies do not take orders less than 1,000 units. Fab Labs will change the scenario,” said Vizag Startup Village, chairman, and Sanjay Vijayakumar.
Fab Labs will have a laser cutter that makes 2D and 3D structures, a sign cutter that plots in copper to make antennas and flex circuits and many other types of equipment worth crores of rupees for the student entrepreneurs to work on.
“We are processing the proposal of Fab Labs as per the instructions of the Chief Minister who is very keen on it. We are taking inputs from Kerala Fab Labs on the design and how to go about it. Very soon Vizag will get an MIT-Fab Labs,” said IT & C secretary, Kona Sasishar.
There are ambitious plans to attract investments in electronics.
