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• India to send world's last telegram. Stop. | 18-06-13

  India to send world's last telegram. Stop.: END OF ERA. infoneer-pulse: At the Bharat Sanchar...

• Crowdbased medical diagnostics? I am a little bit skeptical -... | 18-06-13

  
  
  

  Crowdbased medical diagnostics? I am a little bit skeptical - But am giving it a try. If it works out I may get a cane :)

  emergentfutures:

  Platform harnesses the crowds to solve rare disease cases

  When doctors don’t have the answer, CrowdMed relies on the knowledge of a broad set of users in order to find out the potential causes of rare diseases.

  Full Story: Springwise

• A very interesting clip of whether science fiction influences... | 18-06-13

  
  
  

  A very interesting clip of whether science fiction influences science.

  futurescope:

  How does science fiction influence scientific research?

  Answers by Dr Michio Kaku, Beppe Raffa, Vida Ilderem, Mic Bowman, Colin Angle, Rodney Brooks, Christopher J. Ferguson & Xingang Guo. 

  [Curiosity]

• Regarding your last post on space radiation - do you have any information regarding the abilities of various alloys/materials' ability to shield SEPs and GCRs? In short (however foolish I may sound for asking it), what do you think the feasibility would be for assembling a vessel out of, say, lead while in orbit here, populating it, and sending that off? | 18-06-13

  This article on radiation shielding lists various materials and their ability to reduce radiation...

• What are your thoughts on electric cars and alternative fuels? | 18-06-13

  I think that investment in these technologies is essential not just to reduce dependence on oil but...

• The rise of mobile payments. emergentfutures: CHART OF THE DAY:... | 18-06-13

  
  
  

  The rise of mobile payments.

  emergentfutures:

  CHART OF THE DAY: Mobile Payments Are About To Explode

  Full Story: Business Insider

• How Technology Is Destroying Jobs | MIT Technology Review | 17-06-13

  How Technology Is Destroying Jobs | MIT Technology Review: A graphic look at technological...

• Another interesting “what if” scenario - looking at Werner von... | 17-06-13

  
  
  

  Another interesting “what if” scenario - looking at Werner von Brauns vision of space exploration.

  
  for-all-mankind:

  What would have happened if Von Braun’s original plan for Space Exploration had come to fruition? In 1952, his long-term exploration plan for the Solar System was laid out in a series of now-famous articles in Collier’s Magazine and his book, Project Mars. Ferry rockets would launch crew and cargo to a rotating, artificial-gravity space station, which would then be used as a launching pad for Lunar and Martian missions. This historical vein never came to fruition, but is considered one of the grandest and romantic visions of space travel in history. It’s no surprise, then, that was considered for a film. Ultimately not being created due to a lack of funding, it would have “chronicled the major space exploration and exploitation events of the 20th and early 21st century in an alternative history timeline.” More info here.

  The ferry rocket is one of my favourite rockets, and is shown above in a brilliant artist’s rendering on the launch pad.

• Our daily Shuttle magnificence! Endeavour and Soyuz TMA-21... | 15-06-13

  
  
  

  Our daily Shuttle magnificence!

  
  Endeavour and Soyuz TMA-21 docked to the ISS during STS-134.

• If this cold fusion device works it would be an energy game... | 15-06-13

  
  
  

  If this cold fusion device works it would be an energy game changer.

  joshbyard:

  Cold Fusion Device May Have Been Created

  Against all probability, a device that purports to use cold fusion to generate vast amounts of power has been verified by a panel of independent scientists. The research paper, which hasn’t yet undergone peer review, seems to confirm both the existence of cold fusion, and its potency: The cold fusion device being tested has roughly 10,000 times the energy density and 1,000 times the power density of gasoline.

  Even allowing for a massively conservative margin of error, the scientists say that the cold fusion device they tested is 10 times more powerful than gasoline — which is currently the best fuel readily available to mankind.

  The device being tested, called by Energy Catalyzer (E-Cat for short), was created by Andrea Rossi. Rossi has been claiming for the past two years that he had finally cracked cold fusion, but much to the chagrin of the scientific community he hasn’t allowed anyone to independently analyze the device — until now.

  While it sounds like the scientists had a fairly free rein while testing the E-Cat, we should stress that they still don’t know exactly what’s going on inside the sealed steel cylinder reactor. Still, the seven scientists, all from good European universities, obviously felt confident enough with their findings to publish the research paper.

  (via Cold fusion reactor independently verified, has 10,000 times the energy density of gas | ExtremeTech)

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• Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead | 21-12-11

• Bauhaus-Adrenalin | 21-12-11

• Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead (Original) | 16-12-11

• Vangelis - Conquest Of Paradise | 13-12-11

• Equinoxe 4 - Jean Michel Jarre | 13-12-11

• Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene 2 | 13-12-11

• Blade 2 Soundtrack ( OST ) 3. Main Theme | 13-12-11

• Queen - Another One Bites The Dust (2009 Digital Remaster) | 13-12-11

• The White Stripes Seven Nation Army | 13-12-11

• Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (1993 Digital Remaster) | 08-12-11

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• Yikes! 10 new roller coasters from around the world | 18-06-13

  Apparently 2013 marks a banner year, one that will see investment in amusement park rides and the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions’ database lists these 10 as the latest and greatest. There is information about each ride in the CNN Travel article quoted here, and I’ll post a tidbit about each of the [...]

• China's Space Program - Still Years behind U.S.? | 18-06-13

  John Kelly: In space, Chinese are still far behind, Florida Today "But, don't let yourself get caught up in the idea that the Chinese are somehow gaining ground and soon to pass the United States, Russia or their partners in...

• Legit reasons to cut the phone cord | 18-06-13

  Do you still have a landline or have you gone digital? Here are some reasons that you might want to get rid of the landline. 1. No one ever calls you on it 2. People laugh at you when you suggest a phone call 3. Skype and Google+ voice calls have made it easy to [...]

• A chlorophyll-based phototransistor | 18-06-13

  Shao-Yu Chen at the Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences in Taiwan and associates have incorporated chlorophyll into graphene transistors to make light-activated switches, MIT Technology Review reports. The new phototransistor design consists of two silver electrodes connected by a sheet of graphene. The graphene is then covered by a layer of chlorophyll using a method [...]

• Interstellar Space Travel Art Contest Launches | 18-06-13

  Artists can submit visions of future interstellar travel to the FarMaker Interstellar Speed Sketch 2013 contest.

• Optogenetics for treating obsessive-compulsive disorders | 18-06-13

  By applying optogenetics (light stimulation) to specific neurons in the brain, researchers at INSERM (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale) have re-established normal behavior in mice with pathological repetitive behavior similar to that observed in human patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorders. Repetitive obsessive-compulsive disorders can become a real handicap to daily [...]

• Photos: NASA's 2013 Astronaut Class in Pictures | 18-06-13

  See images of NASA's 2013 astronaut class, a mix of eight men and women that will become the next U.S. space travelers.

• Automated ‘coach’ could help with social interactions | 18-06-13

  New software developed at MIT can be used to help people practice their interpersonal skills until they feel more comfortable with situations such as a job interview or a first date. The software, called MACH (My Automated Conversation coacH), uses a computer-generated onscreen face, along with facial, speech, and behavior analysis and synthesis software, to [...]

• Earth Calling E.T.: New Project Begins Beaming Your Messages Into Deep Space | 18-06-13

  The Lone Signal project wants to send your notes out into the universe.

• Scientists put backpacks on dragonflies to track their brains in flight | 18-06-13

  Neuroscientist Anthony Leonardo created the tiny dragonfly backpack above to study how circuits of neurons do rapid computations to catch a mosquito in air, Wired reports. Electrodes inserted into the dragonfly’s body and brain record the electrical activity of neurons, and a custom-made chip amplifies the signals and transmits them wirelessly to a nearby computer. [...]

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• Lee Robinson Petzer Overview | 25-05-12

  
  This is a visual overview of the career of Lee Robinson Petzer - Management Consultant, Digital Strategist and Analyst.

• Applied technotopia | 06-05-12

  
  Welcome to Applied Technotopia! We are an agency currently based and registered in Groningen, the Netherlands (KvK 55230962), though globally available. We specialize in 3 broad categories: Management Consulting, Digital Strategy, Online Marketing. Our expertise has been acquired in South Africa, Chile and now, the Netherlands, in the following industries: Call Centres, Mobile Telecommunications, Consulting, Financial Services and Insurance, Digital Strategy.

• Lee robinson Petzer skillset | 16-04-12

  
  

• Some of my websites & blogs | 03-06-11

  
  

• Lee Robinson Petzer Promo | 22-08-10

  
  This is about my business experience and specialities. What can I do for your business today?

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• The WordPress.com Dashboard Gets a Beautiful Makeover | 17-06-13

  Each day, you blog, you create, and you make things with your WordPress.com site. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the code that runs WordPress.com gets updated dozens of times a day, as we deploy improvements. While you can’t see the vast majority of those changes, there is one improvement we can’t wait for you to see: […]

• DaddyBloggers in the Spotlight: A Father’s Day Roundup | 16-06-13

  Writing about family life and parenthood is not simply the province of mothers: dads are carving out their own blogular niche. Single dads, stay-at-home dads, working dads, two-dad families — you can find every perspective on WordPress.com. As the US celebrates Father’s Day, here are some dad blogs we love: DorkDaddy.com What’s the point of […]

• Freshly Pressed: Friday Faves | 14-06-13

  Every post that glides into our Reader offers us a fresh perspective and an opportunity to peer into another blogger’s mind. We’re invited to enter new worlds, and examine the shapes, angles, and textures of the blogging craft itself. This week, once again, the diversity of the WorldPress.com community thrilled us. The three posts we […]

• New on WordPress for Android: Notifications | 12-06-13

  Need to get your WordPress.com Notifications on the go? With version 2.4 of WordPress for Android you’ll see all your Notifications right on your Android device. Step away yet stay connected With the new streamlined Notifications view, you can step away from your computer but still stay connected to your readers. With just a few […]

• New Theme: Forefront | 11-06-13

  Today, I’m excited to announce our newest theme. Don’t worry, your calendar is not broken. It’s not Theme Thursday but we just couldn’t hold this theme back any longer! Forefront is a business and corporate theme designed by one of our own, Takashi Irie. The theme is packed with nifty features such as custom page […]

• The TED Blog: Telling Stories, Spreading Ideas | 10-06-13

  This week, TED’s summer conference, TEDGlobal 2013, kicks off in Edinburgh, Scotland. At TEDGlobal, the world’s innovators and thinkers gather to tell stories and share knowledge — it’s where disciplines and perspectives in business, technology, culture, and the arts merge and cross-pollinate, and where attendees are asked to pause and Think Again. Sounds inspiring, doesn’t it? If […]

• Freshly Pressed: Friday Faves | 07-06-13

  We love how blogs give us glimpses into the lives and experiences of people all over the world. We also love how they offer opinion, analysis, and on-the-ground perspectives on current events that are impossible to get anywhere else. This week, three standout posts gave us both: What is Happening in Istanbul? Hundreds and thousands […]

• New Theme: Trvl | 06-06-13

  It’s Thursday, and you know what that means on WordPress.com: new themes! Today we’d like to introduce you Trvl. Trvl is a tumblelog theme that’s all about blogging. With a beautiful and simple design by Danny Cohen, Trvl puts your posts front and center. Literally. It supports a variety of post formats to mix up the […]

• Customizing Koi: 129 Twig & Vine | 04-06-13

  The past several months, we’ve highlighted a number of sites that use some of the popular free themes available on WordPress.com — Oxygen, Bueno, and Sight to name a few. Visiting a site is a bit like walking into someone’s house, and as you poke around, you’ll notice someone’s personal style and accents. With custom touches, the […]

• Weekend Reads: WPLongform Picks | 31-05-13

  This spring, we introduced the WPLongform tag, as we wanted to give bloggers who write longer pieces (of over 1,000 words) and longform readers a space within the WordPress.com Reader to share and discover new content, from nonfiction to fiction to experimental writing. We’re glad to see many of you tagging your posts! The contributors at LibrarianShipwreck, for […]

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• Scanning the horizon of the ever changing global environment and examining the leading trends and... | 08-05-12
  Scanning the horizon of the ever changing global environment and examining the leading trends and weak signals in business management asx fussboden, strategic foresight, robotics, space (government and commercial), energy, the digital landscape and other emerging technologies today, in order to better understand tomorrow and gain insight into where it may lead.
  
  

  We have moved from this site to Futurist Foresight. Both have been running concurrently for some time, however the format and scope of Futurist Foresight is more detailed and more positioned to effectively communicate and inform.

  SpaceX, NASA looking for new Falcon 9 launch date following slip | NASASpace…

  SpaceX, NASA looking for new Falcon 9 launch date following slip | NASASpaceFlight.com

  via The NewSpace Daily | Scoop.it on 4/24/12

  
  

  Following SpaceX’s announcement that their Falcon 9 launch date will be slipping from its April 30 target, evaluations are taking place – in cooperation with NASA – to ascertain when the Dragon spacecraft can make its debut attempt to berth with the International Space Station (ISS). With an unofficial NET date of May 7, Dragon may yet have to dodge an upcoming Soyuz mission.

  Being ready to launch is always a challenge, regardless if one is launching sounding rockets out of Wallops or Space Shuttles out of KSC. As such, any slip prior to launch should not be seen as a negative, but as a necessity of ensuring no stone is left unturned ahead of a launch and its subsequent mission.

  See it on Scoop.it, via The NewSpace Daily

  {{ Futurist Foresight - Analyze Yesterday, Lead Today, Build Tomorrow }}

  Planetary Resources will have Personal space Telescopes that are ten to 100 …

  Planetary Resources will have Personal space Telescopes that are ten to 100 times cheaper by 2014 and then asteroid mining by 2017

  via Next Big Future by noreply@blogger.com (bw) on 4/23/12

  MSNBC Cosmislog - Lewicki hopes the personal space telescope will do for astronomy what the personal computer did for information technology. Planetary Resources plans to put the instrument into Earth orbit to survey the sky for potential targets — asteroids that come close enough to Earth often enough to make them reachable, and have a spectral signal that would make them good candidates for mining. The main target is C-type or carbonaceous asteroids, which are dark and not so easy to detect with existing instruments.

  The Arkyd-101 telescope is designed to be launched on any of a variety of rockets, including the Russian Dnepr, the European Ariane, the Indian PSLV or the SpaceX Falcon. It would have arcsecond resolution for astronomical observations, and if the camera were turned earthward, Lewicki said the resolution would be a “couple of meters per pixel,” which comes close to the standard for commercial Earth imaging. The key factor is the cost: Lewicki noted that an imaging instrument like NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer would typically cost hundreds of millions of dollars. “We’re looking to go one to two orders of magnitude below that,” Lewicki said.

  
  

  

  
  Planetary Resources has developed the Arkyd-101 space telescope with remote sensing capability, as shown in this artist’s conception. Data gathered from near-Earth asteroids will assist in analyzing the composition of the body to determine a commercial value.Read more »

  

  

  

  {{ Futurist Foresight - Analyze Yesterday, Lead Today, Build Tomorrow }}

  Planetary Resources Asteroid Mining Video

  Planetary Resources Asteroid Mining Video

  via Next Big Future by noreply@blogger.com (bw) on 4/23/12

  ABC News - Mining asteroids may sound like one of those ideas guaranteed not to get off the ground anytime soon, but Anderson and his comrades say they have detailed plans, and deep pockets as well.

  “Everything we hold of value on Earth — metals, minerals, energy, water, real estate — are literally in near-infinite quantities in space,” said Diamandis. Eventually, Anderson said he could picture fleets of robotic “droids” closing in on asteroids, scouring their surfaces for minerals and either bringing them back to Earth or to supply depots in space. The company says there are more than 1,500 asteroids that pass close to Earth, and, since they don’t have much gravitational pull, it would take less fuel to land on them than on the moon. Anderson said the idea is to start small, with a telescope in Earth orbit to look for asteroids that pass close to us and have the right mix of minerals. He claimed the launch could happen soon — in as little as 18 months to two years. To keep the cost down, it might share a booster rocket with another satellite. Who might make the booster? The Russians, or a private American company, he said — anyone who can do it for an affordable price.

  

  video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player Read more »

  

  

  

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  Asteroid mining company Planetary Resources live webcast

  Asteroid mining company Planetary Resources live webcast

  via KurzweilAI on 4/24/12

  

  Dr. Peter Diamandis has announced a live webcast of the company’s announcement at 10:30 a.m. PDT Tuesday April 24 of a “new space venture with the mission to help ensure humanity’s prosperity.”

  Broadcasting live with Ustream

  {{ Futurist Foresight - Analyze Yesterday, Lead Today, Build Tomorrow }}

  ExoHand by Festo

  ExoHand by Festo

  via The NXT STEP - LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT Blog by Matthias Paul Scholz on 4/23/12

  Another great new contribution to our loose series of robotic news that are not directly related to the NXT but might rather serve as some kind of inspiration: the ExoHand by Festo, a world-leading automization company located in Southern Germany:

  Looks almost LEGO®ish, doesn’t it?

  

  {{ Futurist Foresight - Analyze Yesterday, Lead Today, Build Tomorrow }}

  Launch your own satellite for US$8000

  Launch your own satellite for US$8000

  via Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine by Brian Dodson on 4/22/12

  

  Interorbital Systems (IOS), a rocket and spacecraft construction company founded in 1996, has announced the age of the Personal Satellite. For US$8,000, IOS provides the TubeSat Personal Satellite (PS) Kit, complete with launch to low Earth orbit (LEO). A TubeSat is a (very) low-cost alternative to the CubeSat - for comparison, by the time you have assembled a CubeSat and had it placed in orbit, your cost will be well north of US$100K. .. Continue Reading Launch your own satellite for US$8000Section: Aero GizmoTags: CubeSat, Launch vehicle, Lunar X PRIZE, Picosatellite, Space, Spacecraft, TubeSat Related Articles:

  • Boeing wins construction bid for Ares I
  • Atea-01 Rocket: New Zealand to enter space in 2008
  • Gatech’s five-speed rocket engine
  • SpaceX sets launch date for world’s most powerful rocket
  • SpaceX conducts first mult-engine firing of Falcon 9 rocket
  • SpaceX successfully launches Falcon 1 into orbit

  

  

  {{ Futurist Foresight - Analyze Yesterday, Lead Today, Build Tomorrow }}

  Black boxes to be required in all new cars from 2015

  Black boxes to be required in all new cars from 2015

  via KurzweilAI » Blog by Amara D. Angelica on 4/22/12

  

  (Credit: Frederic Guimont/Wikimedia Commons)

  A new bill (Senate Bill 1813, known as MAP-21) passed by the U.S. Senate in March calls for “mandatory event data recorders” to be installed in all new passenger motor vehicles sold in the U.S. for recording data before, during, or after a crash.

  As stated in Section 31406 of the bill, the government would have the power to access it in a number of circumstances, reports Infowars.com. It may also require an “interoperable data access port” to facilitate “universal accessibility and analysis” — by EMTs in case on an accident, for example (think: hacker-accessible).

  The bill, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer [D-CA] and promoted by Sen. Harry Reed [D-NV], would also empower the IRS to revoke passports of citizens merely accused of owing over $50,000 in back taxes. Could the black box or a similar technology be used in the future for the same purpose?

  Biometric face-recognition and transdermal sensor technology that prevents an inebriated person from driving a car by disabling the automobile has already been developed in the U.K., in addition to systems that refuse to allow the vehicle to start if the driver is deemed to be overtired.

  The ultimate Big Brother scenario would be a system whereby every driver had to get permission from the government to drive each time they get behind the wheel, once it had been determined from an iris scan that they were good citizens who have paid all their taxes and not misbehaved, suggests Infowars.com.

  Or perhaps the massive computer systems running future “smart cities” could sense driver emotional state (say, road rage, or even intentions), and disable the vehicle, or else access the phone’s GPS and have law enforcement pull you over? Or feed

  On the plus side, the legislation would prohibit “electronic screens from displaying broadcast television, movies, video games, and other forms of similar visual entertainment that is visible to the driver while driving.” (Nothing said about displaying tweets, text messages, emails, etc., or about augmented reality displays on windshields.)

  {{ Futurist Foresight - Analyze Yesterday, Lead Today, Build Tomorrow }}

  OSIRIS-REx to Launch in 2016 to Asteroid

  OSIRIS-REx to Launch in 2016 to Asteroid

  via Spaceports by noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) on 4/22/12

  
  

  OSIRIS-REx (Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer) is an approved NASA mission of about $1-billion designed to send an unmanned spacecraft to study and return a sample of asteroid 1999 RQ36, a carbonaceous asteroid, to Earth for detailed analyses in 2023.

  Planetary scientist and former NASA astronaut Tom Jones, PhD, a leader in the newly formed private firm Planetry Resources, Inc., talked about this particular asteroid with Fox News about two years ago [video].

  NASA has selected the University of Arizona to lead a sample-return mission to an asteroid. The team is led by Michael Drake, director of the UA’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. will manage the mission for NASA. Lockheed Martin is building the spacecraft.

  

  

  

  {{ Futurist Foresight - Analyze Yesterday, Lead Today, Build Tomorrow }}

  DARPA Robot Masters Stairs

  DARPA Robot Masters Stairs

  via Post-Sapiens, les êtres technologiques | Scoop.it on 4/22/12

  
  

  A modified platform resembling these robots is expected to be used as government-funded equipment (GFE) for performers in Tracks B and C of the DARPA Robotics Challenge (http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2012/04/10.aspx).

  See it on Scoop.it, via Post-Sapiens, les êtres technologiques

  {{ Futurist Foresight - Analyze Yesterday, Lead Today, Build Tomorrow }}

  Helium-filled floating wind turbine, renewable energy with style

  Helium-filled floating wind turbine, renewable energy with style

  via Engadget Alt by James Trew on 4/22/12

  

  There’s no doubting that the cause of renewable energy is a noble one. But, ethics aside, it also gives birth to the occasional technical marvel. Altaeros Energies, a company from Massachusetts (with MIT and Harvard blood in its veins) has created one such curiosity. The prototype is a wind-turbine that doesn’t just languish on a hill-top, cutting a line in the horizon. No, this one has a helium-filled outer-section which allows it to deploy itself to 1,000 feet, where it can benefit from stronger, more consistent winds and gives nearly twice the power yields of its land bound brethren. That’s all very nice, but we just thought it looked dang cool in action.

  Helium-filled floating wind turbine, renewable energy with style originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Apr 2012 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Permalink Yahoo  |  Altaeros Energies  | Email this | Comments

  {{ Futurist Foresight - Analyze Yesterday, Lead Today, Build Tomorrow }}

  Upgraded Reaper can fly 42 Hours

  Upgraded Reaper can fly 42 Hours

  via robots.net on 4/22/12

  

  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has announced the near-term availability of a trio of field retrofits for the Predator B (MQ-9 Reaper) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). Taken together, these enhancements increase the endurance of the Reaper from 27 to 42 hours, or, without the extended wings, from 27 to 37 hours. The upgrades consist of stronger landing gear, underwing fuel pods, and longer wings that take the wingspan to 88 feet. (via Danger Room)

  {{ Futurist Foresight - Analyze Yesterday, Lead Today, Build Tomorrow }}

  Planetary Resources Starts with Billionaires

  Planetary Resources Starts with Billionaires

  via Spaceports by noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) on 4/21/12

  
  

  There’s a new space venture about to get underway, and the backers are big ones. Larry Page, Eric Schmidt, Charles Simonyi, X PRIZE chairman Peter Diamandis and James Cameron have something special planned. Stay-turned more information Tuesday afternoon, April 24, 2012. There are many potential uses for asteroid materials, including steam-powered spaceships!

  

  

  

  {{ Futurist Foresight - Analyze Yesterday, Lead Today, Build Tomorrow }}

  Anyone Can Be A Manufacturer

  Anyone Can Be A Manufacturer

  via Ebongeek by ebongeek on 4/21/12

  by Derek muy zorras Singleton

  The next manufacturing revolution has begun–and it’s being led by individuals, not multinational corporations.The Industrial Revolution brought us mass manufacturing. Manufacturing 2.0 delivered high-tech automation that dramatically increased our productivity and enabled mass customization. Today [individuals] can bring the capabilities that mass manufacturing allowed to a very small lot size. – John Rogers, Founder and CEO of Local Motors The next manufacturing revolution is about empowering individuals with the same types of manufacturing capabilities that were once only available to large corporations. The plummeting costs of manufacturing-related technologies (e.g., CAD software and 3D printers) has reached the point where this field is now accessible to the average person. It’s easier than ever to become a manufacturer.

  Nature Mill Rises from Humble Beginnings
  In the past, innovators and enthusiasts had to settle for assembling a kit. Today, they can be involved in everything from design to final assembly.Take Russ Cohen, the CEO of Nature Mill. In true startup fashion, Cohen launched Nature Mill in his garage to make an automatic compost bin. In the beginning, Cohen built prototypes by hand using a metal bender and a jig. These prototypes offered his contract manufacturers a general idea of what to build, but were imprecise and resulted in re-engineering before production. Fortunately, computer-aided design (CAD) software has become affordable and fairly easy to use. Cohen purchased the CAD program SolidWorks and taught himself to use it. According to Cohen, CAD has become a lot like Microsoft Excel in that “nearly anyone can use the basic functionality right away and learn the complex stuff as you go.” Cohen is now able to share exact engineering specs with his contract manufacturers, which eliminates guesswork and accelerates time-to-market. To find contract manufacturers, Cohen uses the site Alibaba. In this forum, anyone can post CAD schematics for what they want built. Contract manufacturers willing to make it happen respond with a bid to take it from concept to product. As it turns out, tapping into a broader community to manufacture things is gaining in popularity.

  Local Motors Creates a Manufacturing Community
  Another instance of individuals taking manufacturing into their own hands is Local Motors, which produces crowdsourced cars. The Local Motors model is simple: people submit design prototypes and Local Motors helps build the best ones in a microfactory over a couple of weekends. What’s fascinating is that anyone can submit their idea and get feedback from a community of engineers, car enthusiasts, industrial designers and fabricators. It could potentially transform automotive manufacturing from an industry that once required a multi-million (or billion) dollar investment to one that anyone with a passion for cars can tap into. John Rogers, Founder and CEO of Local Motors, says that he started the company “to speed up the pace of technological innovation in the automotive industry.” But he also wanted to prove a point: everyday people can be manufacturers. When I look at the technologies available today, I tend to agree.

  Manufacturing Technologies at Our Fingertips

  I’ve already highlighted several technologies that are giving people a shot at making their ideas a reality, but here’s a more comprehensive list:

  • Crowdsourcing – Crowdsourcing is an approach to idea generation and product development, not a technology. However, there’s a variety of tech resources available that enable crowdsourcing for any kind of project; check out Open Innovation for a great list.
  • CAD Software – 2D and 3D designs created with CAD software can be saved in a sharable file format before production. You can accessprofessional-grade CAD software on a subscription basis for $19.95/month from Local Motors.
  • 3D Printing – 3D printers are rapidly decreasing in price, making it affordable to create a prototype model of a CAD design. Some 3D printers, such as Objet, are already powerful enough to make small numbers of finished items. As this technology advances, the hope is that individuals will be able to produce larger batches of finished products.
  • Manufacturing-as-a-Service – Manufacturing is following software’s lead and becoming an on-demand service. Online manufacturing directories like Alibaba and ThomasNet can connect you with a manufacturer that will build for you so you don’t have to invest in any equipment.
  • Cloud Computing – The Cloud isn’t a manufacturing-specific technology but it deserves a mention because of how cost-effective it makes running a product business. Cloud solutions like NetSuite and Plexprovide affordable solutions for managing orders, inventory, accounting and other business functions.
  • E-commerce – Of course, the Internet is a critical enabler for any business these days. Sites like eBay, Amazon, or your own e-commerce website, make it easy for customers to find and buy from you. If you’re interested in running your own e-commerce site, you should check out Volusion and BigCommerce.

  Collectively, these technologies make it easier than ever to go from idea to product to market. We’ve already seen technological advances democratize music, film, publishing and other industries. Why not manufacturing?

  

  Derek Singleton ERP Analyst, Software Advice

  Source: http://blog.softwareadvice.com/articles/manufacturing/anyone-can-be-a-manufacturer-1031312

  Read more: http://blog.softwareadvice.com/derek-singleton/

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