Mega-trend Exponential Industries
Industrial and manufacturing processes are undergoing exponential change. Previously separate industries are becoming drivers of innovation; production processes such as 3D printing are being used in more and more new contexts. At the same time, materials are being manipulated on an atomic scale, giving them new qualities.
Flexible production
The use of additive manufacturing, decentralised production and the prescriptive analysis of demand is making flexible production possible. In overlap markets we are seeing innovations at the interfaces of previously separate industries, as the lines between them become increasingly blurred. Resilient supply chains – supply chains defined as resilient due to their agility, transparency and sustainability, which can quickly be relocated – are becoming a key factor in high-performance production.
Automation of production tasks
On the industrial side, robotics involves the automation of production tasks that human workers used to do. 3D printing is increasingly overcoming the limitations of conventional production methods. Freedom of design is thus almost unlimited. With machine sensing, machines record their environment using technologies and sensors.
Smarter materials
Materials are also getting smarter. Smart materials adapt to new environmental conditions. Thus, the range of functions of a material expands or it can be made easier to recycle or compost. In nano engineering, materials are manipulated on an atomic scale, thereby acquiring new functions and properties.
Mega-trend Exponential Industries and its macro-trends
As a long-term sign of change, each mega-trend emerges in the form of medium-term macro-trends. Depending on factors like technological development, research status and societal acceptance, the macro-trends need different lengths of time for mainstream adoption.
Exclusively in the Trendexplorer: Macro-trend deep dive
- Drivers of Innovation
- Degree of maturity/mainstream adoption
- Challenges for different industries
- Opportunities for different industries
