Rise of the Maker Movement.
Innovation is the key – The maker culture is the technology-based extension of the conventional DIY, where innovators make use of their existing unused components and transform them into marketable products. This community of creators out there is tapping into the cutting edge of technology to come up with great gadgets and stories that revolutionize the new industrial era.
The Makers Faire is a nurturing ground for dreamers, innovators, creators – to foster creativity, and to keep the innovation flame burning. There are hundreds of thousands of makers attending Makers Faire that is held in many cities around the world where proud makers showcase DIY products and tools that will enrich the community. Great ideas are always snowballing into bigger and better projects and some will eventually become products for public retail.
The Maker community is strengthened by people who willingly share and contribute innovative ideas. Websites such as 3DCONTENTCENTERAL provides a library of digital CAD models for engineers and designers to work on. Being able to access quality CAD files brings greater freedom in creating better designs faster.
As the trend develops into something of greater purpose than a really cool hobby, we can only imagine the diversity of new products and startups to come from this movement. We can hear stories of lives changed through printed prosthetics or bio organic heart valves, or simple kick starter campaigns that empower innovators to make really awesome products.
At IME, we began our own Maker’s project – the iLab project so that we can proudly call ourselves Makers – we don’t just watch things happen, we make things happen.