The Icons of the 3rd Industrial Revolution

Under the title ‘De revolutie in de maakindustrie’ I had the pleasure to open an afternoon packed with experts from that very revolution: Enrico Dini, italian architect and ‘the man who prints houses’, and Thomas Bossuyt who works as a sales engineer with LayerWise (the guys who printed that spring for positioning a telescope … and a first jaw implant).

I had the task to introduce that revolution in manufacturing which is indeed the 3rd Industrial Revolution, and the 3D-printer is its icon machine—as were the steam engine for the 1st and the conveyor belt for the 2nd industrial revolution.

My presentation was certainly a follow-up on earlier versions, such as the one I gave to an equally attentive audience at the MakLab in Glasgow the week before.

The discussion in Glasgow actually triggered me to add a few more illustrations of what the 3rd Industrial Revolution means.

I already used the the icon machine and the icon actor imagery—this time round I expanded the list to include social and urban developments, means of transport and aspects of the supply chain … probably more to come.

And here is the Glasgow presentation: