In September 2015 the center hosted a 2.5 day event on „Rethinking Technology Innovation: Factories, Fabrication & Design Research”. A group of approx. 25 researchers and practitioners met for disucussions in round-table sessions, working groups, as well as a public event open to other interested stakeholders.
In order to advance research in and around human-computer interaction on factories, fabrication and DIY making, this event brought together key researchers and practitioners from varied disciplines and backgrounds. We approached making and fabrication both from a perspective of manufacturing cultures, including, for instance, industrial and personal fabrication, as well as from hobbyist and entrepreneurial production. Although different variants of fabrication pursue various, even conflicting goals (e.g., democratizing technology, profit orientation), they all affect and are affected by society. They question, or are questioned by, forms of innovation, workplaces, and access to as well as assessment of (physical and immaterial) goods.
