18 Oct The Future of Design

Emerging technologies disrupt and reinvent the ways in which people work within the industries they are used.  They are catalysts for change and makers of waves, impacting (and, hopefully improving) the future of how we interact with each other and our environment.

Virtual Reality is no exception.  Although often thought of as a new and exciting gaming platform, VR also has numerous–seemingly boundless–applications in the workforce.  Manufacturers are using Virtual Reality to simulate scenarios in which their products will be used, in order to increase their products’ effectiveness.  They are also using VR to simulate the development of those products in order to learn how to maximize production efficiency and effectiveness.  In this way, VR is helping people design better products by allowing them to learn through empathy.

3D printing is another technology with a multitude of applications which can help improve the way we interact with our world.  Live Virtual Reality, 3D modeling has aided in design practices by simulating actual products, and has helped people discern how useful those products may be.  Researchers and designers have also used 3D modeling to analyze molecular structures and help us better understand things that impact millions everyday–things such as dangerous pathogens and lightweight carbon fiber.  By doing these studies, they have been able to develop products that have improved healthcare and transportation at a systematic and societal level.

These technologies–Virtual Reality and 3D Printers–are growing in not only their usage levels, but in their potential to help society create better products.  And students at NEXIS are studying these technologies’ usage and impacts every day.  In the process, they are realizing their potential to use these technologies to benefit this increasingly interconnected world.