Après le projet New York, l’illustrateur estonien Eiko Ojala a décidé de représenter la marque Intel pour une campagne publicitaire avec des illustrations minimalistes aux couleurs d’Intel et qui reprennent le slogan « It’s what’s inside that counts ». A découvrir sur Fubiz dans la suite de l’article.
While many teenagers were out causing trouble this weekend a group of 40 finalists chosen from more than 1,700 applicants displayed their work at the Science Talent Search sponsored by The Society for Science and the Public in conjunction with the INTEL Foundation. The group of ultra-sharp 17-18-year-old high…
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Digital manufacturing and open-source design are revolutionising the way designers make their products, reports Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs in this latest article from our series on technology and design supported by computing brand Intel.
Designers weren’t the stars of the Milan furniture fair this year, and nor was the furniture.
Instead, machines stole all the headlines. At exhibitions across the city, robots were fabricating chairs, computerised metal presses were stamping out lamps and rapid prototyping machines were spitting out everything from coffee machines to food.
Milan’s annual April design fair is the biggest and most important event of its kind in the world and it’s where journalists and cool-hunters converge to spot the latest trends. This year they were unanimous: technology is revolutionising the way designs are turned into finished products, heralding a new era of digitally driven production.
“The idea is to show a new industrial digital revolution, which is happening around us,” said designer Tom Dixon, who presented a series of technology-driven installations at Milan’s Museum of Science and Technology.
The most impressive of these featured three large machines provided by German manufacturer Trumpf (above) which punched, folded and laser-engraved sheet metal, churning out products such as dining chairs, lamp shades and even rulers in front of fair-goers. The machines worked at such high speed that their moving parts were a blur yet they made relatively little noise or mess; it was a world away from the deafening, smoke-spewing factories of old.
“Suddenly designers have got access to machinery they never could have had when I started out,” Dixon added. “The programs you use to design things and the programmes these machines use to stamp and fold things are very similar now. Previously the tooling would have cost £100,000 or £200,000; now it costs £500, £1000. And they’re quite generic so they can do different things.” He gestures to the 67-tonne punch press, the biggest of the three Trumpf machines. “So on this machine I’m not only making a lamp, I’m also making a chair. If I want to change or adapt the chair I just re-programme the machine.”
Across town, a show called The Future in the Making presented a range of different technologies that are being harnessed by designers to create products. “We have Dirk Vander Kooij’s industrial robot that’s actually printing out chairs on the spot (above)” said Joseph Grima, editor-in-chief of Domus magazine and the curator of the show. Van der Kooy’s robot methodically laid down thin ribbons of molten plastic which gradually built up into pieces of furniture.
“Markus Keyser’s Solar Sinter machine is also there,” Grima noted, describing a solar-powered rapid prototyping machine (below) that converts sand into three-dimensional objects, meaning that it could manufacture items in the middle of a desert without needing any additional raw materials.
The implications of these technologies are profound, Grima believes, as their adaptability and affordability mean that items can be manufactured anywhere, in relatively small quantities, with each item being customised for the consumer. This could potentially over-turn the current industrial model that requires huge investment and manpower and which has led to the migration of industrial production to faraway places such as China and Vietnam.
“I think it’s an incredible opportunity for the design community,” Grima said. “One of the objectives of our exhibition is to invite not only designers, but also companies, to think about completely new business models. To actually think about a future [where it’s possible to do] manufacturing on the spot [rather than] simply removing production to another part of the world, and kind of expecting end-users to be happy to just like unbox their objects and put them in their sitting rooms.”
To reinforce the point, The Economist magazine ran a special feature on digital manufacturing the week after the Milan fair, stating that digital manufacturing technologies heralded a “third industrial revolution”. The first industrial revolution saw the mechanisation of home-based craft industries such as textile weaving in 18th century Britain while the second, started by Henry Ford in the USA at the start of the 20th century, introduced the production line and heralded the era of the mass production of finished goods.
“Now a third revolution is under way,” The Economist stated. “Manufacturing is going digital. The digitisation of manufacturing will transform the way goods are made.” This will bring us full circle and herald a return to locally based batch production rather than mass manufacturing that takes place in a remote location. “The factory of the future will focus on mass customisation — and may look more like those weavers’ cottages than Ford’s assembly line,” said The Economist.
This third revolution harnesses advanced production techniques such as robotics and 3D printing and exploits the disruptive power of the internet to allow anyone with a computer to access technologies that until recently were in the hands of a just a few large corporations.
“It can lead to a lot,” said Paola Antonelli, senior design curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. “First of all, there’s an underpinning of sustainability. The idea that you can make things yourself, that you can bring the production manufacturing tools closer to the final user, makes it so that you can produce what you need, at the time that you need it. Secondly, it’s a boost to creativity. Today you can design a plastic chair which, once upon a time, 30 years ago, required an investment of, like, $50,000 dollars for the moulds because injection moulding was very expensive.”
Instead of having to licence their products to manufacturers, designers can now book time at a local FabLab (above) or upload design files to online services such as Shapeways, Fluid Forms and Ponoko, all of which offer 3D printing on demand. Alternatively they can invest in their own mini-factories by “hacking” machines like 3D printers or laser cutters using open source hardware from companies like Arduino and MakerBot (below).
“3D printing existed even 20, 30 years ago, but it was either done with lesser materials or it was extremely expensive,” says Antonelli. “What I like about smaller machines like MakerBot is that they’re much less expensive. It really is about letting everybody experiment more, and hopefully be more economical and more sensible with making things.”
Back at Milan’s Museum of Science and Technology, Tom Dixon showed us another installation that gives a glimpse of how design, manufacturing and consumption may merge in the near future. Dixon had set up a “co-create” lab with Digital Forming, a company that helps brands offer customers bespoke, individually customised products.
At a row of laptop computers, visitors were manipulating computer models of products that Dixon had designed to create a customised version that they could pay for and get printed and shipped to their home address.
“I’ve designed the departure point, but the customer adapts it to his own configuration,” said Dixon. “You can adapt the size, the density and the geometry. It’s automatically priced and you can order your object before you get home from Milan and you have your own Tom Dixon lamp or speaker.”
 | What does the digital industrial revolution mean for you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below, on Facebook or by tweeting with #IntelAlwaysOn. |
Tom Dixon, Joseph Grima, Paola Antonelli and others talk to Marcus Fairs about the digital manufacturing revolution in our series of movies filmed at Dezeen Studio in Milan. Watch the interviews »
The first article in this series took us inside university workshops and studios to investigate how digital technology is radically transforming design education and ask whether emerging technology a help or hindrance to design education. Read it here and have your say »
We then turned our attention to how our online lives and physical environments will become increasingly entwined as information technology creeps into everyday objects like cars, fridges and even park benches. Read it here and have your say »
In this second instalment in our series of articles on technology and design supported by computing brand Intel, we look at how our online lives and physical environments will become increasingly entwined.
Above: A.Way by J. Mayer H envisages all buildings, people and objects cloaked in layers of digital data, with the car used as an access point (see our earlier story)
The virtual and physical worlds are colliding. Information technology is creeping into everyday objects like cars, fridges and even park benches, turning them into devices and apps that monitor our behavior and communicate with each other.
Above: TweetingSeat by Chris McNicholl photographs itself and its surroundings then uploads the pictures to Twitter
As this happens, designers and architects are having to think beyond the physical form and harness the power of social networks and cloud computing to give their creations the edge over competitors’ designs.
Above: the Smart Manager Fridge by LG monitors what food you’ve bought, when it will spoil and what you can cook with it
“Everyone can make a fridge,” says James Wallman, editor of consumer insight network LS:N Global. “What do you do to make a fridge that’s a little bit better?” The answer from electronics brand LG is to make a fridge that tells you when food is nearing expiry, orders groceries as they run out and finds recipes that tell you how to cook what you’ve got.
Above: Samsung’s Smart Window lets you use the whole suface as a touch-screen and even has digital ‘blinds’ to cut out sunlight
“The door of that fridge will be effectively a big screen, so you won’t have to look inside to know what’s in there – the screen will tell you and it will also tell you what you should do with that food,” says Wallman, adding that touch-sensitive screens will become increasingly integral to consumer products – and even buildings. He points to the Smart Window that electronics giant Samsung unveiled earlier this year, allowing the windows of a building to become large transparent touch-screens (yes, just like in the film Minority Report).
Above: Thorunn Arnadottir applies QR codes to meticulously beaded clothing (see our earlier story)
Designers have long been experimenting with adding digital communication to inanimate objects, creating such curiosities as Chris McNicholl’s TweetingSeat bench that uploads photos of itself and its surroundings, Samuel Wilkinson’s terrarium that lets you look after your houseplants remotely via an iPad or Rollout’s wallpaper covered in QR codes that have to be read through a smartphone. Now, following on from these pioneering novelties, influential international brands are seriously investing in digitally enabled products that bring genuine benefits to consumers.
Above: Biome by Samuel Wilkinson, a remote system that cares for houseplants in a sealed environment
“We’ve seen lots of playful ideas but we’re asking what is the service in them, what kind of value can they add?” says Christian Gärtner, curator of the Audi Urban Future Initiative, a think-tank for the German car brand. “Audi is looking at how they can be really useful in the real world.”
Above: QRious Wallpaper by Canadian brand Rollout is printed with QR codes that link to specific websites when viewed through a smartphone camera
Gärtner curated an exhibition at the last Venice Architecture Biennale that asked six architects to explore possibilities for urban mobility in 2030. Many of the architects proposed ways of augmenting the driving experience with online networks.
Danish firm BIG envisaged driverless vehicles that could communicate their projected routes to each other then change course automatically to prevent collisions and ease congestion, while German architect J. Mayer H proposed a sea of data connecting drivers which could, for example, alert them when friends are nearby then compare dining preferences and suggest places they could meet for lunch.
Above: Driverless City by Bjarke Ingels Group, where cars, bicycles and pedestrians automatically communicate with each other and the road to chart routes, preventing collisions and easing congestion
“The social media world will become even more a part of our physical world,” says Mayer H. “In the future the car is not only a driving device but it’s also a communication device.”
Mayer H’s proposal for Audi, called A.WAY, goes beyond simply facilitating communication between drivers. It is a vision of a digitally augmented urban environment in which citizens, objects such as cars and buildings are surrounded by invisible clouds of data. The intersections of these clouds trigger “splashes” of relevant information. “The facade is something that can show mood information or render something visible that’s normally invisible, like wind speeds or ozone levels,” says Mayer H.
In this digitised cityscape, the car becomes a tool for viewing and navigating this data. “Information will come to us rather than us going to look for it,” adds Mayer H. “It will increasingly be embedded in the world around us.”
Above: A.WAY concept by J. Mayer H
Audi now has a team of designers and engineers, called Audi Connect, working on making such fantasies a reality. “Audi knows that people will ask for these kind of services more and more – they are always on and the car has to be always on and ready to connect them,” says Gärtner.
Intel themselves have responded to this demand by announcing the $100 million Intel Capital Connected Car Fund in February, to be invested over the next four to five years in companies working on hardware, software and services that aim to enable seamless connectivity between vehicles and any other online device.
Above: the Little Printer by London studio BERG aggregates information from selected data streams like Twitter updates, to-do lists and content you subscribe to, then prints it out on a till-roll like a miniature, customised newspaper
“This is really a transition that has happened over the past three years as the expectation of consumers has shifted to much more interactivity with embedded devices, and all of these embedded devices have become connected,” says Intel vice president Ton Steenman, pointing to applications like self-checkouts at supermarkets as helping to normalise computers in all areas of life.
“People want experiences they’re used to getting at home or on their mobile devices,” agrees Intel Labs researcher Joe Pitarresi. “They want the entertainment and access to online services they’re used to getting outside the car to extend to what we call the fourth screen, which is inside the car.”
Above: UP by Jawbone was designed to monitor your health and give advice to make you healthier. See our earlier story
Digitally enabled products are also being used to accumulate information about daily activities like sleeping, eating and exercising, allowing them to analyse the results and make suggestions for improvements. In February, for example, sports brand Nike launched training shoes that can monitor your workout and transmit data including calories and reps straight to your phone for analysis by an app, then publish your scores via social media channels.
Above: Nike+ Training shoes monitor your activity then transmit that data to your phone for analysis
This is part of a broader strategy by Nike to integrate technology into sportswear. Called Nike +, the initiative also includes a watch that measures biometric activity and a new product, the Nike FuelBand, a wristband with a built-in accelerometer that allows you to set personal sporting goals. At the end of each day the user can sync data wirelessly to their smart phone to review their performance.
“Nike first started to integrate digital services into products about five years ago,” says Nike global creative director Andy Walker. “It allows athletes to measure their performances and improve on them”.
Above: the NikeFuel Station combines traditional retail with data analysis (more details and a movie in our earlier posts)
In February, the brand opened its first NikeFuel Station – a hybrid of a traditional sportswear shop and a digital physiotherapist, where runners can have their data analysed by experts who can recommend personalised training regimes and appropriate equipment.
“The computer doesn’t need to be the hub any more,” confirms Wallman. “It’s a question of where those mini computers or mini sensors can talk to each other: the cloud is the hub.” Any physical object can theoretically collect and store data and share it with any other object: our possessions are becoming nodes.
Above: the Delen Memory Table by David Franklin automatically photographs your work process and uploads the pictures to Facebook
“We are now looking for these kinds of nodes, using devices to access digital data in the cloud,” concludes Audi’s Gärtner. “In the future we will have more of these nodes in the real world; they will be real mobile devices, including mobile phones but increasingly other objects like cars will be mobile devices too.”
  | What would it mean for you to be surrounded by smart products that are always connected? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below, on Facebook or by tweeting with #IntelAlwaysOn. |
The first article in this series took us inside university workshops and studios to investigate how digital technology is radically transforming design education and ask whether emerging technology a help or hindrance to design education. Read it here and have your say »
This first article in a series on technology and design supported by computing brand Intel takes us inside university workshops and studios to investigate how digital technology is radically transforming design education.
Above: editing suite at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
The current generation of architecture and design students is exposed to more technology than ever before. With an abundance of hardware and software available, today’s undergraduates face a tough challenge to identify and develop the digital skills that will enable them to stand out among a growing crowd of technically proficient graduates, while retaining a focus on established design values.
Above: product and furniture design studio at Kingston University’s faculty of art, design and architecture
For those studying creative subjects, laptops and digital cameras have replaced pencils and sketchbooks as standard personal equipment, enabling students to work on and present projects anywhere. And schedules, tutorials and research material are all online, replacing the library and the notice board.
Above: computer lab at Kingston University’s faculty of art, design and architecture
“Everything is mobile now,” says MA Industrial Design student Tom Maisey, talking in the computer lab at London college Central Saint Martins. “It’s hard to believe that I started my BA in 2005 without a computer or access to internet.” The lab is packed with students toiling away at crammed rows of Apple Macs.
Above: computer lab at Kingston University’s faculty of art, design and architecture
The open-plan studios at Central Saint Martins are still littered with the familiar creative chaos of sketches and models but now there are laptops and tablets everywhere. The school’s new £200 million campus at Kings Cross in central London also features communal areas with informal booths where students cluster round their screens.
Above: flexible workspace at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Access to the latest manufacturing and prototyping machinery is an important differentiator for many prospective students and the school has also invested in an advanced computer centre with cutting-edge facilities for teaching physical computing science, robotics and sensor-based interactive electronics. The absence of noise is striking: compared to the loud, dusty, messy workshops of just a few years ago these spaces are serene, clean and quiet.
Above: physical computing lab at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Digitally operated “time reduction” tools such as three dimensional scanners and printers, computer numerically controlled (CNC) milling and laser cutting machines are particularly popular and are becoming more accessible as the costs of buying and running the machines decreases. If used correctly, time reduction technologies can greatly benefit a student’s learning experience and project outcomes, enabling them to design and make forms that would be impossible to produce in any other way.
Above: 3D scanner at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
However, developing models and prototypes using this technology requires an understanding of the structural properties of materials and how to programme the machinery correctly. “One of the misconceptions about technology is that it’s magic and that you can come in to the workshop and look at a machine and it will make something for you,” explains Johnny Wilkinson, Technical Coordinator for the 3D workshops at Central Saint Martins.
Above: computer-controlled knitting machine at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
It’s also easy to get carried away. In making cutting-edge technology available to students, there is a danger that they can be seduced by what it is capable of and want to use it for unnecessary or inappropriate tasks, explains Simon Maidment, acting head of the design school at Kingston University: “We’ve all seen rubbish projects being made using rapid prototyping. Just because someone knows how to use that technology doesn’t make for a good project; you still need to have a strong idea.”
Above: digital weaving at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Maidment encourages students to design by experimentation and the transition between workshop and studio space here is less clearly defined. Meanwhile the high-tech end of the workshop stands almost empty as students throng around more traditional machinery.
Above: 3D workshop at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Lisa Bengtsson, a third year student on Kingston’s product and furniture design course, agrees that prototyping technology should be treated as just part of the creative process and recognises that having access to information and news on the latest technology-led trends can distract students from following their own path. “The computer needs to be used more as a tool than a solution to every problem. It’s important not to be limited by what you’ve seen being done before and to concentrate instead on understanding what the possibilities could be.”
Above: student operating CNC lathe at Kingston University’s faculty of art, design and architecture
Increasingly diverse and constantly evolving technologies are forcing teaching staff to decide what machinery to invest in and what software and technical skills are most valuable for their students. “The balance between the number of technologies that are available to students and the amount of time available to teach them has shifted dramatically in recent years,” claims Maidment, adding that there is a hierarchy of deliverables in the curriculum that means some potentially interesting and relevant topics are being left out.
Above: 3D workshop at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Reflecting the breadth of technologies that need to be covered by contemporary architecture and design courses, teaching methods are shifting away from the traditional format of lectures and tutorials towards a system of introductory workshops backed up by practical tuition. Recent Kingston graduate Ben Fursdon says this approach allows students to identify and explore new uses for the technologies. “Learning by doing is key. You gain a better understanding of how things work once you see it happen, especially with something you’ve designed yourself.”
Above: film studio at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Demonstrating an understanding of current technologies and computer software is seen by most students as key to an attractive portfolio. “Practices expect graduates to have a solid knowledge of 2D and 3D programs,” says Mike Begent, a graduate from London Metropolitan University’s Part II architecture course. “Being able to use those presentation tools is important but you also need to show strong conceptual skills if you don’t want to end up in an office doing one type of thing on a computer day after day.”
Above: student’s workplace at Kingston University’s faculty of art, design and architecture
With time reduction machinery and advanced software becoming more accessible to architecture and design students, the focus within education must remain on maintaining standards of creative thinking, with technology acting as a medium through which to generate and realise exceptional ideas, rather than as a replacement for traditional skills.
 | How does this report compare with your experiences at college? Is emerging technology a help or hindrance to design education? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below, on Facebook or by tweeting with #IntelAlwaysOn. |
Voici le nouveau spot viral de la marque Intel à l’occasion de leur nouveau processeur. L’agence Venables Bell & Partners a conçu cette course poursuite interactive baptisée “The Chase” afin d’illustrer les possibilités parmi les applications comme iTunes, Facebook ou Photoshop.
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