The world of manufacturing is changing – again. For a long time, it was seen as an industry that was already settled and not a place where new entrepreneurs could make a fortune. But thanks to the disruption of old business models, the market has finally been bust wide open again. Tech-savvy entrepreneurs are taking what they’ve learned in the tech world and applying it to this old industry, whether it’s using drones, sensors or data.
A New Case For Your iPad
Patrick Buckley and Craig Dalton are two entrepreneurs from San Francisco. They never imagined, growing up in the city, that they’d ever be involved in manufacturing, but the pair realized that the market was demanding their skills. They noticed that people didn’t really have very many options when it came to iPad cases. You could either buy a leather case if you were a regular person, or a PVC case if you were vegan.
They decided that the market was in need of a new style: bamboo. Immediately, the pair bought a CNC machine and an Uniwin filter press to process the raw materials in their new, makeshift factory. Before long, their idea caught on, and thousands of people wanted bamboo cases for their iPads. Now they operate out of a 10,000 square foot facility on the edge of town.
Better Drones
Drone are good. But there’s always room for improvement, or at least that’s the view of Chris Anderson. He left his job at Wired magazine back in 2012 when he realized that the technology existed to make drones way better than they already were. Like many visionary entrepreneurs, he saw what the future had in store and began working hard to produce what he calls “flying smartphones.” His latest invention is the ArduCopter 3DR Quad D. The drone is designed to carry a camera and is capable of moving at speeds of more than 50 mph. Anderson hopes that in the future, he’ll be able to incorporate smart course correction software to his drones, helping them to avoid trees, people and planes.
High-Tech Bike Lights
These days, most tech-minded entrepreneurs are cycling to work. Not only is it good for the environment, but it’s also good for their bodies too and a rare chance to catch a bit of exercise.
But two entrepreneurs, Ben Cohen and Stuart Heys, decided that they needed to do something about cycling at night. They came up with the idea of the blink-steady bike light, a bike light that only turns on at night and while you’re moving.
Cyclists have been waiting for a light like this for a long time. For decades, they’ve been leaving their bike lights on after tying their bike up to a railing, only to come back later to find their battery has gone dead. These new lights by the pair of entrepreneurs from San Francisco have essentially solved this problem, leaving bikers with one less thing to worry about.
Through their company, Mission Bicycle, the pair managed to raise more than $35,000 on Kickstarter to get the project underway.