Nanotechnology and product design

DESIGN CONCEPTS

The creative industries discover a future market.

by Sascha Peters An imaginary scenario for the year 2015: the depletion of material and energy resources and accelerated global warming force the authorities to enforce stricter conditions for the automotive industry. In future, a vehicle must be 100% recyclable after a minimum lifespan of five years. Volkswagen reacts to the stricter statutory conditions by developing a new production process. To ensure their long-term competitiveness, they employ billions of nanomachines, each less than half a millimetre in diameter, which are able to automatically construct as well as dismantle the lightweight structure of a new car, the Nanospyder. Thanks to the additive and highly flexible production process, the Nanospyder is optimised in all respects - weight, performance and energy consumption. Intelligent self-deforming zones anticipate the effects of external force and ensure the highest possible degree of security. Is this a promising vision or just science fiction? In most cases, this is the typical reaction to such visionary design concepts. An article in Der Spiegel from 30th October 2006 reporting on the results of a design competition at the Los Angeles Auto Show goes as far as to use the headline "Ideas for the compost heap" (Griinweg 2006). In fact, the competition entry featured in the article is based on current technological developments in the textile industry made in the Czech Republic. In late 2004, researchers at the Technical University of Liberec filed a patent for a machine for manufacturing nanoscalar fibres. The potential application areas for these fibres include medicinal technology (e.g. treatment of viral infections) and the building and automobile industries. That the designers Patrick Faulwetter, Daniel Simon and Ian Hunter found the appropriate environment for developing technology-driven visionary scenarios for the automotive industry in the design centre of a leading German automobile manufacturer in California clearly illustrates a deficit in the German economic climate (Kerka et al. 2007). Although the number of patent applications in Germany ranks among the highest in the world, the marketing of such technological innovation usually takes place elsewhere. The iPod is a case in point. Although the Fraunhofer Institute, as the creators of the MPS format, receives a multi-million figure in licence fees every year, it was an American concern that took the shopping shelves of the world by storm, and in the process transformed the way people consume music (Peters 2006). In a recent study, the business consultants Booz Allen Hamilton listed Adidas as the only German company in their shortlist of current leading innovators. The reason given for their success: the early involvement of the

Nanospyder - a design study for the LA Design Challenge 2006: Nanospyde production using nanomachines.

Nanotechnology and product design 50 | 51

Nanospyder: LA Design Chaiienge 2006.

"creative industries" (design, architecture, marketing, PR etc.) in the innovation process, i.e. the direction of research and development activities towards the market place. According to Heinz-Jiirgen Gerdes, director of Bremer Design GmbH, "the creative industries imbue technological solutions with added value in that they turn an invention into a marketable product" (Peters 2007).

warn that not enough is being done to convert research findings into commercial products (Niesing 2006). Here the need to invest more in the creative industries becomes apparent.

In addition to nano-enriched surfaces, information technology is another potentially vast market for nanotechnology. There is enormous potential for the miniaturisation of electronic components and a greater denIn this respect, the comparatively new field of nano- sity of their arrangement. Today it is already possible to technology offers good opportunities. Up to now, poten- realise computer circuits on chips of a size of 90-130 nm tial application areas have been put forward by re- and this is expected to sink to 23 nm by the year 2020: searchers: "cars that can change their colour at the "microelectronics will become nanoelectronics" press of a button, clothes that fulfil bodily functions, or (Hartmann 2006). In the near future, the variety of difintelligent medicines that find their own way to where ferent devices we currently employ (mobile phone, PDA, they are needed", are just some of the loose concept MP3-player, digital camera etc.) will probably merge descriptions proposed (Oesterreicher 2006). Experts into a single device - a challenging task for industrial

Reducing the risk of infection using nanosensors.

design! The computer concern Apple once again has made a first initiative with the iPhone: after the iMac, iTunes and iPod the fourth in a series of revolutionary developments from Apple in the last decade. It is no coincidence that the creative industries have traditionally enjoyed a central role at Apple and are involved in strategic decisions from an early stage. Of particular interest for product designers are the possibilities offered by ever smaller electronic components in conjunction with textiles. "Smart textiles", intelligent clothing, is a term enjoying particular currency at present. Examples of products range from outdoor jackets in which an MPS-player or heating elements have been "woven-in" to organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) that will help improve night-time safety for fans of extreme sports (Peters, Kalweit 2006). Research projects are also

Nanotechnology and product design 52 | 53

currently investigating textiles with integrated sensors that can monitor the health (e.g. blood sugar level) of the person wearing them (Halbeisen 2006). The ability to monitor body functions and weather conditions was also the aim of a graduate from the University of Duisburg-Essen. In 2006, design students were asked to develop concepts for converting the potential of nanotechnology into marketable applications. Kevin Kreft devised a product called "Sensoa", an earlywarning system for sportsmen and climbers to avoid exhaustion and inclement weather conditions. A further interesting concept, which again illustrates the potential the creative industries have to offer, is Martin Langhammer's "Nanoplast" concept, which detects infections in wounds through the use of nanosensors that react to certain characteristic proteins. A display that turns red warns the patient or carer of the possibility of potential health risks. These examples demonstrate the far-reaching economic potential that a future nanotechnology market may have across all sectors. By involving creative industries in the innovation process from an early stage, the conversion of technological potential into marketable products can be spurred on.

Sources Booz Alien Hamilton,"Global Innovation 1000", innovation study, published by Booz Allen Hamilton, 2006. Grunweg, T, "Ideen fur den Komposthaufen" (Ideas for the Compost Heap), Hamburg, Spiegel-Online, 30th October, 2006. Halbeisen, M.,"lntelligenteTextilien" (Intelligent Textiles), in: Oesterreicher, M: "Highlights aus der Nanowelt" Freiburg, Basel, Vienna, Herder Spektrum,2006. Hartmann, U., "Faszination Nanotechnologie"(The Fascination of Nanotechnology), Munich, Elsevier/Spektrum AkademischerVerlag, 2006. Kerka, R, Kriegesmann, B., Schwering, M. G., Happich, J., "Big Ideas erkennen und Flops vermeiden - Dreistufige Bewertung von Innovationsideen" (Recognising Big Ideas and Avoiding Flops - A Three Stage Assessment of Innovation Ideas), published by the Institut fur angewandte Innovationsforschung e.V. at the Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, 2007. Miller, F.,"Nanoveredelte Oberflachen"(Nano-Refined Surfaces), in: Fraunhofer-Magazin 1/2005, Munich, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, 2005. Niesing, B.,"Zwerge mit Riesenpotenzial"(Dwarfs with Giant Potential), in: Fraunhofer-Magazin 4/2006, Munich, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, 2006. Oesterreicher, M.,"Highlights aus der Nanowelt" (Highlights from the Nanoworld), Freiburg, Basel, Vienna, Herder Spektrum, 2006. Peters, S., Kalweit, A.,"Handbuch furTechnisches Produktdesign - Material und Fertigung, Entscheidungsgrundlagen fur Designer und Ingenieure" (Manual of Technical Product Design - Materials and Production, Decision-Making Tools for Designers and Engineers), edited by Kalweit, A., Paul, C, Peters, S., Wallbaum, R., Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, Springer, 2006. Peters, S.,"Materialien und Fertigungsverfahren fur Designer in der Automobilindustrie" (Materials and Manufacturing Techniques for Designers in the Automotive Industry), lecture, Frankfurt, EuroMold 2006. Peters, S.,"Kommunikation im Wandel... Kreative Industrien erschlieBen Zukunftsmarkte im Web 2.0" (Communications in Transformation - Creative Industries Discover the Web 2.0 Market), in: Magazin fur Moderne Markte, ARGUZ Publishing, Bielefeld, 2007.

.....
Safe

.,:,

....

Body performance data for extreme athletes.

Slowdown Have a rest

Nanot echnology and prod uct design - 54 155