Our vision for the manufacturing factory of the future is to embrace the rapid growth of Internet-connected products via embedded sensors producing massive volumes of data, and transform these traditionally discrete activities into one seamless process that is capable of real-time continuous product refinement.

Our vision for the manufacturing factory of the future is to embrace the rapid growth of Internet-connected products via embedded sensors producing massive volumes of data, and transform these traditionally discrete activities into one seamless process that is capable of real-time continuous product refinement. We will develop data-driven systems that provide an auditable, secure and seamless flow of information between all operations inside and outside the factory to facilitate real-time adaption and re-orientation of the entire manufacturing system based on data harvested via product-embedded sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity.

The research will achieve a radical interruption of the existing ‘consumer sovereignty’ model based around surveys and market research – and introduce ‘use sovereignty’ via an embedded understanding of consumer behavior – making products that are fit for purpose based on how they are used. This will not be unmediated but buffered by robust, secure and interpretable data analysis at scale – with ethical integration of human labor. Designers will have a completely transformed role being ’embedded in production’ in a world of “chatty” products and a dynamically evolving factory floor.