Penn State researchers developed 3D printed housings for life on Mars at the Additive Construction Laboratory
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An inconspicuous building stands on a thoroughfare in Cato Park. It was once a North American Refractories Co. building, and if you’ve ever driven past it — chances are — you have no idea that inside, researchers are developing concrete formulations for testing in microgravity at the International Space Station, draft by 3D -printed housing for life on Mars and solving a housing crisis in Alaska.
The Additive Construction Laboratory is located in the cavernous rear half of CITEL, where construction 3D printing systems are developed to create concrete structures that are printed, not poured. The research effort spans half a decade and the work has advanced the state of the art in 3D printed concrete.
More recently, several of the lab’s founders formed X-Hab 3D to commercialize the technology, with a focus on developing mobile concrete 3D printers for expeditionary use.
The printers are engineered to work virtually anywhere — in fact, they’re Expeditionary by Design — and now the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is investing in that mission.
“With this DARPA grant, X-Hab 3D will develop carbon neutral material formulations for artificial reefs along shorelines,” said Sven Bilen, Head of Systems Engineering at X-Hab 3D. “These are not insignificant assets — the Department of Defense has 1,700 shoreline assets affected by sea level rise.”
Using proprietary connections developed in partnership with Aleksandra Radlinska of Penn State’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and JP Gevaudan in Architectural Engineering, Bilen and his team will work intensively on the project over the next 12 months.
“DARPA labels this type of research as ‘DARPA Hard’ or near impossible,” he said. “But they’re doing it — innovations like the internet and GPS. We have a one-year SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research Grant) of the first phase, and if it is awarded, the second phase will be extended by two more years.”
Print 3D habitats for Mars, the borders of Alaska and under the sea
It’s a natural step for the founders of X-Hab 3D, who first came together in 2017 in response to a NASA Centennial Challenge. The 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge tasked teams with 3D printing habitats for life on Mars. After competing and winning multiple awards, the lab used the funding to further develop the team’s ideas. “It also showed us how to do it on Earth,” Bilen said.
The system consists of expeditionary robots that use special mixtures of materials and are controlled with proprietary software. Because the company has developed robust robots that can work in harsh conditions, along with a range of concretes for different building needs, the team can create structures quickly and efficiently. The result: the ability to build almost anywhere, from Mars to the coast to Alaska.
“There’s another really important project that we’re working on concurrently with the DARPA grant,” Bilen said. “We are working with the Xtreme Habitats Institute and others to help address Alaska’s massive housing shortage with 3D printed housing.”
“Innovations happen when you bring people together”
X-Hab 3D began when Bruce Kraselsky, a serial entrepreneur who became the company’s CEO, teamed up with three AddCon Lab founders, Professors Bilen, Jose Duarte and Shadi Nazarian, and Nate Watson, who is part of the lab and NASA Challenge teams was formed as a student. Watson is the vice president of engineering and product and the lead investigator for the DARPA effort.
In addition to his work for the company, Bilen is a professor of structural design, electrical, and aerospace engineering at Penn State. A Penn State graduate, he has more than three decades of experience designing, building and deploying innovative systems for harsh and demanding environments.
Sven Bilen, Systems Engineering Lead at X-Hab 3D, credits Penn State’s collaborative culture as driving the company’s growth. “Penn State is particularly good at doing interdisciplinary research and bringing together experts from many different fields.”
X-Hab 3D isn’t his first foray into commercialization; it’s not even close. Over the years he has worked on a space engine commercialized by a “New Space” company in Silicon Valley; an “indoor GPS” system for retail stores; and “prosumer” 3D printing technology. “I like seeing what I’m working on to get into the wild,” he said.
The innovations he has driven vary widely, but there is a common thread that has made them all possible: collaboration.
Bilen said he firmly believes that innovation happens at the intersection of disciplines.
“Innovation happens when you bring people together,” he said. “If you only do things in your own field, you can only get so far. Only when you apply principles from other areas does innovation emerge.”
“Think about things that you would think would be really innovative,” he added. “They aren’t typically found in a specific industry because it takes a whole team of people to do it. And often another area has already solved a problem you encounter in your project. If you don’t talk to them, you’ll never know.”
“If you really want to learn about this concept,” he continued, “we recommend you check out TRIZ, the Russian acronym for Theory of Inventive Problem Solving, which encourages invention by looking at data on similar previous projects and noting that inventiveness this can be learned by anyone.”
The Penn State connection: ‘I couldn’t do what I do everywhere’
Bilen said the concept of working together to foster innovation is lived at Penn State:
“I couldn’t do what I do anywhere. Penn State is particularly good at conducting interdisciplinary research and bringing together experts from many different fields. There have been reports of cluster hiring not working, but it works here. And it has really grown the entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Bilen said he left Penn State in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and returned in 2000 as a faculty member.
“I’ve been an entrepreneur since day one. Entrepreneurial activities weren’t supported back then either, but I’ve watched Penn State make great strides to help researchers and innovators get closer to commercialization,” he said. “It never works when it’s just top-down, and it rarely works when it’s just bottom-up — but with InventPennState, Innovation Park, and resources like Ben Franklin Technology Partners, the X-Hab 3D just got one Have awarded seed funding – the bottom and top meet. We can push, they can pull. I see things changing.
“The state college is a great place for innovation,” he added. “Many of my students used to just want to leave, but now they are happy to stay with the startups. I’m very optimistic about the future.”
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