FabLabs: Learning digital competence and promoting participation

People with disabilities often need personalized products. This means items have to be custom-made or adapted because disabilities are unique to each person. And sometimes the affected person is the only one who comes up with great ideas that are truly helpful in daily life. But not everyone has the knowledge or equipment to create their very own custom auxiliary aid. This is where so-called fab labs come into play.

At these "high-tech workshops" engineers interact with programmers, tech-savvy do-it-yourselfers and ordinary people. Fab labs promote the exchange of ideas, foster creativity and problem-solving and thrive on the unique expertise and special skills of their visitors. The labs emphasize experimentation, exploration, and learning. The boundaries between so-called hackerspaces, the maker scene, and fab labs are overlapping. And needless to say, 3D printers, laser cutters and the latest virtual reality technologies are fundamental parts of this setting.

Fab labs are not exactly a new phenomenon. The first fabrication laboratory was set up at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2002. Since then, more than 1,000 fab labs have been created around the world. Fifty of these high-tech workshops are located in Germany. One of these learning and demonstration laboratories is the "Emscher Lippe hoch vier" project. It aims to let people experience technical innovation and digitization first hand, thereby promoting social development. Another goal is to teach digital skills and test digital fabrication processes, as well as get companies excited about digital innovations. The "high-tech hobby space" is funded by various colleges, technical universities and several regional companies and is sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Digitization affects many areas of life today and will continue to do so in the future – both in the private and the professional realm. Lukas Hellwig, operations project manager of the University of Applied Sciences Ruhr West oversees the Emscher Lippe hoch vier FabLab and agrees with that sentiment. "That’s why our ultimate goal is to involve all sections of the population in this process and ensure accessibility. It’s the only way to make sure that digitization is not perceived as a threat, but as a great opportunity for everyone. I am firmly convinced that the new technological possibilities can benefit all of us – we simply have to all work as a team to create these benefits." That's the goal of the project. The FabLab enables "different target audiences to truly experience and understand digitization and quickly learn how to use 3D printers and 3D scanners and successfully implement their own small projects."

To introduce as many people as possible to today’s digital possibilities, Emscher Lippe hoch vier offers different event formats. These include simple FabLab introduction or Open House events, special events for companies, unique technology training and joint implementation of projects. The project also entails a mobile FabLab that’s designed to get schools and companies excited about digitization on site and teach digital skills. Hellwig reports that people respond positively to this outreach: "We get a lot of positive feedback during our events. We often see participants who return on Open House events (every first and third Wednesday of the month) or project evenings (every first and third Tuesday of the month) to continue their work on an ongoing project. This shows us that we are on the right track."

Several projects show quite promising results. This includes ideas such as a smart remote control electrical outlet that turns into a smart home device at the push of a button to simplify life at home and cut energy costs, a desktop blood glucose monitoring system, which displays the latest status in color and sound via LED display and a reading device that scans text and reads it out loud to people with visual impairment.

Some prototypes have already turned into comfortable and convenient daily living aids for some users. Some companies have already shown interest in several FabLab ideas. Hellwig says there are even several startups in the making. He adds that the project tries to offer assistance wherever it is possible. In the spirit of open source, the FabLab makes all ideas and developments freely available to anyone interested.

Since the Emscher Lippe hoch vier project is funded by several universities and colleges, all FabLab projects are under scientific supervision and validation, "ensuring that we can provide a sound blueprint for similar projects at the end of the project and solidify these approaches in the long-term and beyond our regional borders."

At the moment, the FabLab is being expanded in terms of scope and accessibility for all interested guests. "We also plan to expand our mobile FabLab to make it even easier to reach our primary target audience because not everyone is able to visit our lab premises," explains Hellwig.

The Emscher Lippe hoch vier team is also a frequent guest at trade fairs in their quest to get a large audience excited about the technological possibilities of 3D scanners, 3D printers, and laser cutters. REHACARE 2019 visitors were able to meet the Emscher Lippe hoch vier FabLab experts and learn about their latest projects and even test several of the prototypes.