The Pop-Up Factory is the first example of a live manufacturing experience where an electronic product was custom designed, fabricated, and customized by users in real-time.
Fueled by technologies such as 3D printing, generative design, and low-cost electronics, the manufacturing landscape is currently undergoing a complete revolution. This dramatic change brings about incredible opportunities for new kinds of objects to be envisioned and created, and most importantly, it has the potential to democratize how products are made, and who gets to make and use them.
For the SOLID Conference, we partnered up with ANT Wireless, Formlabs, Protolabs and Seeed Studios to create 500 uniquely designed Alike wristbands. Each wearable consisted of a circuit board and enclosure which were injection molded, die cut, 3D printed, assembled by a pick-and-place machine, and programmed on demand. During the live manufacturing process, conference attendees customized their device by loading it with their personal profile and selecting a unique design which was algorithmically generated. The wristbands were then used by attendees as a networking tool during the 3-day event.
Partners: Formlabs, ANT Wireless, Protolabs, and Seeed Studios
