Fab Labs Allow Creation, Not Just Consumption

With the help of host countries, MIT is setting up Fab Labs, or fabrication laboratories, around the world. Fab Labs provide an opportunity for individuals to use various technological means to build things that solve local problems. For example, Haakon Karlsen, a rancher who lives hundreds of miles north of the Artic Circle, used a Fab Lab in Norway to devise radio collars for his sheep. The collars help Karlsen locate his sheep in the conditions where he lives, and they send information about whether the flock is moving, what the temperature is, and other data he uses to care for the sheep. Neil Gershenfeld, professor at MIT and director of the university’s Center for Bits and Atoms, said the labs take people out of the role of simply being consumers of technology that is available and puts them in the position of creating the technology they need. For each Fab Lab, MIT pays for equipment, and the host country provides the location for the lab. Officials in South Africa are currently working to introduce not one but four Fab Labs in that country, starting with one just outside Pretoria. Sushil Borde, who is directing the development of Fab Labs in South Africa, said the country hopes the labs will open new avenues for engineers and entrepreneurs to develop their ideas into tangible products.

BBC, 27 September 2005