Democratized innovation holds undeniable promise for European producers, but the integration with corporate innovation practices is in its infancy, and is still neither easy or efficient for SMEs to benefit from collaborative production. The iPRODUCE project has taken proven concepts and approaches (DIY manufacturing, FabLabs, Makerspaces), and upscaled and installed them in well-connected multi-stakeholder ecosystems under an umbrella concept of collaborative Manufacturing Demonstration Facilities (cMDF).
The project objectives included:
1. To define a social manufacturing framework (SMF) for the collaborative design, engineering and manufacturing of consumer goods by engaging manufacturers, makers and consumers (MMCs) in relevant open innovation (OI) challenges.
2. To create and establish local cMDFs by interconnecting and enriching existing micro-manufacturing facilities. Local stakeholders will join the facilities.
3. To develop and deploy a digital platform that will facilitate the activities of the local cMDFs and will allow them to operate both independently and under an european-wide federated structure
4. To develop and deploy a set of digital tools that will stimulate co-creation and open innovation in the consumer goods sectors, etc.
5. To devise novel sharing economy business models and IPR management strategies and tools to simplify and automate multi-stakeholder interactions.
6. To integrate the social manufacturing framework, the digital platform and the digital tools into a social manufacturing space.
7. To demonstrate the proposed social manufacturing space through pilot cMDFs and open innovation missions.
This digital space –called OpiS- was deployed in cMDFs across Italy, France, Spain, Greece and Germany. Each cMDF represents an industrial sector, such as furniture, automotive, medical, electronics and microelectronics.
The heart of the iPRODUCE digital space is a set of innovative tools to enable the application of co-creation approaches. These tools cover matchmaking, secure interactions, generative product design, process orchestration, agile prototyping, usability evaluations, etc. plus a strong social component that aims at easing engagement and participation. Other tools, more specific to cMDFs, included a cMDF training platform, a data analytics and visualisation suite, and a video intelligence tool that allows automatic analysis and transcription of videos, as well as exchange among multiple remote users
The platform enabled SMEs, maker communities and consumers to tap into collective knowledge, gaining insights and support for manufacturing processes.
Positive experiences demonstrated how a social manufacturing framework like OPiS can effectively integrate both digital and human/social approaches to open innovation.
