2008 Technology Horizons Spring Exchange, May 4-5, 2008
We are on the verge of a transformation in how products are designed, manufactured, and distributed. The entire supply chain is undergoing reinvention and the impact will be felt not only by manufacturers but by individuals, households, communities, even entire regions. Driven by the need to innovate faster than ever before, green aspirations, and a quest for authenticity, new paradigms for "making things" are emerging. The introduction of cheap 3D printers, the growth of the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) culture, the rise of ad hoc manufacturing, and the popularity of collaborative communities around ideas, designs, and R&D all point to how the future of making may play out. What will these new models for making look like? Who will be the new makers? What role will your organization play in the new production chain and what will it mean for how you relate to your customers?We will begin the exploration by immersing ourselves in the at the third annual Bay Area Maker Faire, a massive celebration of DIY culture taking place at the San Mateo Expo Center on May 3 and 4. Sponsored by MAKE:, the DIY technology projects magazine, the Maker Faire is packed with "weak signals"—projects, methods, and people that can give us glimpses of the future of making. After our Sunday at the Maker Faire, we will gather the next day at a nearby hotel to make sense of what we've learned. IFTF's Technology Horizons team will present the new Future of Making Map, a framework for thinking about this transformation. Joining us will be a handful of future-thinking, passionate experts who will help us understand how to navigate a future where making itself is being remade.
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