Great NEWS !! Our proposal related to OSIP December 2020 ideas – Off-Earth Manufacturing and Construction Campaign has passed the evaluation and is accepted !!
European Space Agency
Details: ESA’s Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP) seeks novel ideas for new space research activities. Campaigns and Channels invite solutions to specific problems or ideas on more general topics, with those run by Discovery & Preparation, including the Open Discovery Ideas Channel, specifically looking for ideas that could be implemented as system studies, early technology developments, or PhD or postdoc research co-funded by ESA and a university.
Biologically inspired autonomous solar tracker made with 4D printed shape-changing metamaterials
University of Southern Brittany
Solar trackers adapt the inclination of a solar panel over the course of a day to keep it pointing towards the Sun. Although this may lead to a more effective solar panel, it costs energy and requires maintenance, which makes it difficult to use solar trackers in a space environment. This co-funded research will investigate the development of an autonomous solar tracker inspired by biology – in particular sunflowers – that can be made with materials that respond to stimuli such as temperature and radiation. These materials could be manufactured through 4D printing.
