Prompt
From your research, report on your community’s use of emerging technologies. How do they use technology to advance the community or share information?
Reflection
Emerging technologies is a large part of what makers do. If they can't find a product that works for them....they build it, or work with others to create a better, more cost effective model. It's because of the model of collaboration, a drastic price reduction in materials, along with a vast network of open source assets has allowed the Maker Movement to take over so quickly.
The level of prototyping and manufacturing tools that, at one time, cost thousands of dollars can now be purchased at the local home depot for $1,000.00 or you can purchase a kit online and build your own for around $200. (Especially in the realm of 3D printers) Technologies that would have require special knowledge for set up and software are now, as shown below with the Glowforge just one button creation stations.
The Glowforge is a "Laser Cutter/Engraver that uses a beam of light the width of a human hair to cut, engrave, and shape designs from a variety of materials". It's footprint is only 38 x 28 inches and has the ability to work with materials as large as 12” x 20” (Glowforge Basic), or 20” by ∞ (Glowforge Pro) this machine is bringing laser technology to your desktop.
The level of prototyping and manufacturing tools that, at one time, cost thousands of dollars can now be purchased at the local home depot for $1,000.00 or you can purchase a kit online and build your own for around $200. (Especially in the realm of 3D printers) Technologies that would have require special knowledge for set up and software are now, as shown below with the Glowforge just one button creation stations.
The Glowforge is a "Laser Cutter/Engraver that uses a beam of light the width of a human hair to cut, engrave, and shape designs from a variety of materials". It's footprint is only 38 x 28 inches and has the ability to work with materials as large as 12” x 20” (Glowforge Basic), or 20” by ∞ (Glowforge Pro) this machine is bringing laser technology to your desktop.
3D printers, like other technologies listed here have become a reality of everyday life with growth up 29.4 percent in 2011 alone. (Richerson, p. 143)
The newest "style" of 3D printers are referred to as SLA or Stereolithography printers. They are still considered an additive technology where layers of resin are combined with a UV laser to "cure" the resign creating a solid object. The Form 2 in the below video is another example of emerging technology that Makers are using. The Maine State Library just purchased one for our UP room!
The newest "style" of 3D printers are referred to as SLA or Stereolithography printers. They are still considered an additive technology where layers of resin are combined with a UV laser to "cure" the resign creating a solid object. The Form 2 in the below video is another example of emerging technology that Makers are using. The Maine State Library just purchased one for our UP room!
Where 3D printers are an additive technology, CNC (Computer Numerical control) mills are considered the opposite, they use subtractive printing to carve objects out of solid masses such as wood, stone, or acrylic. Larger CNC machines can start at $10,000 and go as high as $47,000.00 but with companies such as Shapeoko Makers can get their own DIY kit for around $600.00 and build their own. The video below is of a ShapeOko 2 CNC mill which is one of the first and still considered better desktop CNC mills available.
Drones are a hot topic right now and are predicted to be the number one Christmas gift this year. That being said the need to drivers or "pilots" over the next few years is expected to double if not triple. "As many as 100,000 new jobs will be created in the first 10 years after unmanned aircraft are cleared for takeoff in U.S. airspace, according to a 2013 report from the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International." (Rooney, 2014) The need for individuals to be able to make, repair, and fly drones is one of the reasons many Makerspaces are holding drone days or teaching build your own drone classes. The uses for drones are growing daily and the video below is a great example of a kit Makers can purchase to build their own personal drone.
Augmented reality or Virtual reality is another emerging technology that has become viable within maker communities. Google created the "Google Cardboard", a VR (Virtual Reality) experience created through the use of mirrors, cardboard and the use of a smartphone, in order to allow "Immersive experiences for everyone" (Cardboard. 2015) Google has also released the Cardboard API to allow developers (Makers) to easily create these immersive experiences.
Microsoft has created their own VR lenes called Halo that is shown below. As with the Microsoft connect I'm sure Makers and Hackers will find other ways to use the Halo. Watch the video below and be amazed.
Microsoft has created their own VR lenes called Halo that is shown below. As with the Microsoft connect I'm sure Makers and Hackers will find other ways to use the Halo. Watch the video below and be amazed.
The Maker Community as mentioned before is among the first to push the boundaries of what is possible. With a wide group of individuals with varying levels of skills joining together, both digitally and in the physical word, their willingness to collaborate, access to high speed internet, and Moore's law, "the observation that, over the history of computing hardware, the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit has doubled approximately every two years.", have allowed user based manufacturing (and sharing) to flourish and by doing so allowed amateurs to create, design, build and market new technology to a global community.
References:
Anselmo,J., Warwick, G., & Karp, A. (2015, October 1). FAA Nightmare - A Million Christmas Drones. Podcast retrieved from http://aviationweek.com/commercial-aviation/podcast-faa-nightmare-million-christmas-drones
Cardboard. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2015, from https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/
CNC. (n.d.). in Wikipedia. Retrieved November 9th, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerical_control
Glowforge - the 3D laser printer. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2015, from https://glowforge.com/
Moore's Law. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law
Richardson, M., Elliott, S., & Haylock, B. (2013). This home is a factory: Implications of the Maker movement on urban environments. Craft Plus Design Enquiry, 5141-163.
Rooney, B. (2014, November 26). Drone pilot wanted: Starting salary $100,000. Retrieved November 9, 2015, from http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/25/news/drone-pilot-degree/
Stereolithography. (n.d.). in Wikipedia. Retrieved November 9th, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography
Cardboard. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2015, from https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/
CNC. (n.d.). in Wikipedia. Retrieved November 9th, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerical_control
Glowforge - the 3D laser printer. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2015, from https://glowforge.com/
Moore's Law. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law
Richardson, M., Elliott, S., & Haylock, B. (2013). This home is a factory: Implications of the Maker movement on urban environments. Craft Plus Design Enquiry, 5141-163.
Rooney, B. (2014, November 26). Drone pilot wanted: Starting salary $100,000. Retrieved November 9, 2015, from http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/25/news/drone-pilot-degree/
Stereolithography. (n.d.). in Wikipedia. Retrieved November 9th, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography