The Hardware Startup

Epilogue: The Third Industrial Revolution

Globalization and economic changes have helped to turn the maker movement into something profoundly important on a global scale. Between 1760 and 1830, the First Industrial Revolution introduced mechanized manufacturing and sparked a transition away from human-powered production. Whether we assign the Second Industrial Revolution to Henry Ford’s introduction of the modern assembly line and mass production or to the democratization of the personal computer and the beginnings of the Internet (also called the “Digital Revolution”), all three of these periods in time have had profound economic implications, particularly with respect to jobs.

The Third Industrial Revolution is about the power of the Web intersecting with modern manufacturing technologies. Digital manufacturing has serious economic impacts. It has shifted the geography of production and changed the face of the modern factory into one that requires fewer workers. Workers who operate the factories of the future will require a different kind of technical skill. They will be monitoring and operating the robots and machines that make the products, not physically working the line themselves.

Political leaders are paying attention. President Obama referenced the future of manufacturing in his 2013 State of the Union address, announcing an initiative to create new manufacturing hubs and high-tech jobs within the US. While factory jobs will change, the advances of the Third Industrial ...