Sketching in Hardware 2018
The New Machine Age
David Whitney Building
Detroit, Michigan
The possibility created by digital technology today to directly alter the physical world is perhaps only equalled by the postwar material science explosion. The 1950s and 60s gave us metal replacement hips and Tupperware. Today we have (or will soon have) woodworking tools that compensate for their operator's imprecision, CAD tools that anticipate and correct for errors, sensor-enabled logistics chains, and robots that etch musical grooves into frozen lakes (cf Kazuhiro Jo's Sketching presentation last year). The wisdom of lifetimes can be algorithmically distilled, extended, shared and embedded invisibly in everyday physical objects. Expertise is now a design material. What are the tools we need to build for and in this world? What are the creative and technical possibilities?
What are the warnings we should be heeding? How should we heed them?
Charrette
Synthetic tools for designing the New Machine Age
The Henry Ford
Dearborn, Michigan
This charrette is intended to let Sketching participants respond to the ideas brought up during the summit through discussion and hands-on making. It's set in the Henry Ford Museum to provide context and let the successes and failures (technological, social or both) of past innovation guide the design of future technology design tools. As the boundaries fade between hardware, software, robotics and architectural environments, and as artificial intelligence, coupled with models of human behavior, erase the boundaries between the capabilities of people and those of their digital tools, I think the design of tools for creating new physical and digital products becomes a critical activity when trying to change present conditions in the world to more desirable ones. Basically: tools create the envelopes of possible designs created with them, and I think the shape of those envelopes should not be left to chance, but consciously designed.
Locations
- David Whitney Building Venue & Hotel One Park Ave Detroit, MI 48226 313.237.1700
- OmniCorpDetroit Thursday, July 26 1501 Division St Detroit, MI 48207 313.666.1234
- Polonia Restaurant Friday, July 27 2934 Yemans St Hamtramck, MI 48212 313.873.8432
- Preservation Detroit Tour Saturday, July 28
- Firebird Tavern Saturday, July 28 419 Monroe Ave Detroit, MI 48226 313.782.4189
- The Henry Ford Charrette Location Monday, July 30 20900 Oakwood Blvd Dearborn, MI 48214 313.982.6001
- Sheeba Restaurant Monday, July 30 13919 Michigan Ave Dearborn, MI 48126 313.724.6887
Sponsors
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The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, is an internationally recognized cultural destination that brings the past forward by immersing visitors in the stories of ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation that helped shape America. Exploring the American experience of innovation, ingenuity and resourcefulness.
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Particle is an Internet of Things platform that enables developers to easily add the power of connectivity to any device. From hardware to connectivity to device management and cloud, Particle provides developers with tools to prototype IoT solutions quickly as well as a reliable and secure platform for enterprises to scale. Over 150,000 product builders in more than 170 countries are bringing devices online powered by Particle’s WiFi, Cellular, and Mesh products.
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Supplyframe was founded by Steve Flagg in 2003 to help electronics engineers design products in a more labor and cost saving way. The opportunity was to use the then-strange-and-new internet to be embedded in tools that predict part availability and fit. By 2018, Supplyframe has developed a number of powerful tools that are essential to hardware engineers and procurement alike, and are now the most reliable way to find and replace components to design a mass produced product from start to finish.
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ThingM is a device studio. We design and manufacture ubiquitous computing / Internet of Things products that combine user experience design expertise with a deep knowledge of cutting-edge technologies. We create useful tools for designers and innovative products for everyone else.