EAGER: Internet Based Manufacturing: Cause or Cure for Global Imbalance

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

This EArly-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) award provides funding to create a forum to discuss internet based technologies that may enable a substantially higher degree of automation in design, manufacturing and administration. While the emergence of the internet has contributed towards reducing some of the world's geographic imbalances by increasing access to knowledge and education, the efficiency of communication that it provides may be having the opposite effect in other domains, including global manufacturing. This new ability to request manufacturing bids on a global basis and award contracts to the lowest bidder in a short period of time may have contributed towards the uprooting of traditional manufacturing communities which are unable to compete in a globally efficient market. As a result, countries with low wages and lax environmental constraints are increasingly successful in attracting manufacturing jobs. Communities which cannot compete in manufacturing will ultimately lose knowledge and expertise in product design and realization, leading to a significant loss in modern economic competitiveness. Uneven competitiveness threatens long-term growth, stability, and peace. Although manufacturing is just one factor out of many contributing towards an uneven flow of goods, services and money between countries, it is felt that because of its strong relationship with jobs, it is a significant driver and predictor of economic success. In response to this challenge, this project suggests a plan to address increasing imbalance in manufacturing using the same technology that drives it. A higher degree of automation will advance the decoupling of manufacturing cost from wages, helping to eliminate some of driving force behind geographic imbalance. It is speculated that a balanced set of new manufacturing jobs can be created in building the new automation infrastructure, rather than through its usage. Since it is expected that a higher degree of manufacturing automation can be achieved through next generation internet resources, Google and key manufacturers in the Bay Area will be invited to participate in this dialogue. The forum will work on distilling ideas and technology suggestions from these discussions and delivering them to the manufacturing community for development.