Silhouettes
Quick notes and thoughtsArchive for modularity
DTF Part 5: Similarities in the Auto Industry
I just finished reading the Wired article, “Beyond Detroit: On the Road to Recovery, Let the Little Guys Drive“. As I read it, I couldn’t help but see significant similarities to my own goals for this competition. Below I’ve quoted some of the most important lines from the article with a few edits for clarity:
“Automakers [mobile phone manufacturers] will need to transition from a vertical, proprietary , hierarchical model to an open, modular, collaborative one, becoming central nodes in an entrepreneurial ecosystem. In other words, the industry will need to undergo much the same wrenching transformation that the US computer business did some three decades ago, when the mini-computer gave way to the personal computer. Whereas minicomputers were restricted to using mainly software and hardware from their makers, PC’s used interchangeable elements that could be designed, manufactured, and installed by third parties.”
“We just have to harness our national entrepreneurial spirit to develop the next wave of breakthroughs.”
“Successful companies in mature industries rarely embrace disruptive innovation because, by definition, it threatens their business models.”
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More thoughts for Design the Future
I recently had the chance to bounce some ideas off my good friend Kelly Peoples regarding the competition. She reinforced the idea of modularity and how the modules/parts could be easily re-entered back into the product stream after a period of use or upgrade. She also mentioned that a necessary software component would be to have some type of program-writer that allowed laymen to more fully customise their phone. I know something like that was been done before with things like Rhinoscripting with Grasshopper, but I haven’t been able to dig up anything substantial. If anyone has any further information feel free to drop a comment or two.
