IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Winter 2013 - 22

OPINION

STEPHEN FOX

Open Prosperity: Breaking
Down Financial and
Educational Barriers to
Creating Physical Goods

he Internet has been a topic of discussion
individuals to design, make, and then sell, physical
in IEEE Technology and Society Magazine
goods [9], [10].
for the past 15 years. Throughout this time,
These organizations' combinations of the Internet
it has been recognized that the Internet can
plus digitally-driven technologies break down financial
fundamentally change the creation and distribution
barriers to going from idea to production to sales. These
of information [1]. recently, another opportunity
new processes eliminate the need for large investment
for fundamental change has become apparent. That
in market research and production facilities. rather,
is, the potential of the Internet to funthe Internet can be used at little cost in
damentally alter the creation and distriorder to determine the extent of interest
The Internet
bution of physical goods. In particular,
in a potential new good and to receive
plus digital
the Internet, combined with new digital
pre-orders. Then, time on digitally-driven
technologies, can break down financial
manufacturing equipment can be paid for
technologies
and educational barriers to the invention,
as needed. This is a radical departure from
can facilitate
design, manufacture, assembly, and sale
having to make big investments in moulds,
the invention
of goods [2].
presses, and assembly lines in order to
and
Consider, for example, the activities
achieve efficient production. Hence, the
of the following Internet-based organizapotential now exists for anybody anyproduction of
tions. Kickstarter applies crowdfunding
goods as large where to invent, design, produce, and sell
to enable individuals to quickly secure
physical goods [11].
as buildings.
investment funding for their new ideas
In addition to breaking down financial
[3]. Open Materials enables individuals
barriers, the Internet plus digitally-driven
to source the latest production materials and methequipment can do much to break down traditional eduods [4]. Arduino offers micro-electronics that can be
cational barriers involved in taking an idea for a new
used to make almost any physical good interactive
good through market research in to production and on to
[5]. Thingiverse is focused upon enabling the digisales. For example, the direct transfer of digital data from
tal design of new types of physical goods [6]. Makdigital photographs, digital scans, and/or digital designs
erfactory and 100k Garages enable individuals to
eliminates the need for people to convert detailed inforeasily find their closest providers of digitally-driven
mation from measurements and/or designs into detailed
manufacturing services, such as additive manufacproduction information. This greatly reduces depenturing and computer-numerically controlled (CNC)
dency on education in production engineering. The use
machining [7], [8]. Sculpteo and Shapeways enable
of digital photographs, digital videos, and digital scans
to define measurement data also eliminates the need
for education in the development of three-dimensional
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2013.2286430
drawings from sets of one-dimensional measurements
Date of publication: 9 December 2013
22

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

wINTEr 2013

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