Exponential technologies are going to disrupt many industries, and it is clear that manufacturing is due a revamping sooner rather the later. In this article, Peter Diamandis discusses the three ways he thinks manufacturing is to be impacted:
‘1. Mass Customization: As fixed costs begin to reach variable costs in the production sphere, companies will no longer fabricate millions of the same product or part. Design driven by customer data will allow for tailor-made commodities, and one-off production will be just as cheap.
2. Democratized Invention: Incubator studios and fabrication equipment labs are jumping onto the scene. Flaunting AI-aided robots and swarm 3D printers that work overnight, these urban workshops basically serve as your new testing ground—the physical hands for your digital designs.
Forget operational costs, fabrication equipment, prototyping, tooling, and far-flung production plants. Whether in-house or entirely outsourced, design-to-production technologies allow anyone to invent.
3. Smart and Autonomous Factories: Already own a manufacturing plant aiming to meet production quotas? Industrial IoT (IIoT) and smart factories are ushering in a new era of autonomous production, minimizing recall risk, and freeing corporations to design expanded product lines.’
Full article: Singularity University’s 3 Major Shifts Are About to Transform Manufacturing as We Know It
Pablo F. Alonso Caprile 