Imagine using an artist's imagination to sketch out what a product might look like in 10 years, then handing that sketch to an engineer to actually build it. This project creates a structured way for tech companies to work with creatives to spot future trends before they happen. It's like a laboratory where art and science mix to design healthier food and better wellbeing tools.
Companies often struggle to innovate beyond incremental improvements because their R&D is too narrow. They lack a structured way to use creative thinking to anticipate market needs 5-10 years in advance.
A 'Factory Model Pack' containing the DFA method, training materials, mentoring guidelines, and a certification label for Digital Innovation Hubs.
If you are a food developer dealing with the challenge of creating 'Food as Medicine' products — this project developed the DFA method that helps you envision future scenarios 5-10 years ahead to create products that meet future humanity needs.
If you are a hardware company dealing with stagnant user interaction designs — this project developed UX interaction guidelines and a Factory Model that integrates artistic perspectives to create more human-centred health wearables.
If you are a robotics firm dealing with the difficulty of making machines feel natural in human environments — this project developed a collaboration model between artists and tech providers to design responsible, human-centred robotic solutions.
Based on available project data, the Factory Model Pack is provided as open-source on the STARTS MUSAE website, suggesting no direct purchase cost for the tools.
Yes, the project is designed for implementation within European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), with 11 hubs already joining the network to support industrial adoption.
The project has released a Factory Model Pack as open-source, though specific patent or licensing details for the individual residency outputs are not listed in the provided data.
The method focuses on envisioning future scenarios 5-10 years in the future, though the residencies used to validate the model took place over yearly cycles (e.g., 2023-2024).
Companies can adopt the Factory Model Pack, which includes training materials, mentoring guidelines, and stakeholder engagement tools to bridge the gap between creative and technical teams.
The consortium is a balanced mix of 9 partners across 6 countries, featuring a strong academic base (5 universities) paired with practical application through 2 industry partners and 2 other organizations. With a 22% industry ratio and 4 SMEs, the group blends high-level research in AI, robotics, and wearables with the agility of smaller firms to ensure the resulting tools are usable in real-world business settings.
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