The DiDIY Project
The DiDIY Project proposal addresses the call ICT 31-2014 Human-centric Digital Age of the Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies, Information and Communication Technologies Horizon 2020 work programme. This page synthesizes the definition of DiDIY from which the Project starts and its objectives, as well as the Project Partners and roadmap.
Definition of DiDIY
Digital Do-It-Yourself (DiDIY) is a new socio-technological phenomenon which stems from the widespread availability of digital devices that support the convergence of physical (“atoms”) and informational (“bits”) components (ABC), as well as the growing accessibility of related knowledge and data through open online communities. This can lead to the emergence of new scenarios in the roles and relations among individuals, organizations, and society, in which the distinction between users and producers of physical artefacts is blurred, and new opportunities and threats emerge accordingly.
DiDIY-related technologies and social practices enable the low cost prototyping and manufacturing of physical artefacts from digital specifications. These tools and practices are emerging as effective amplifiers for the creativity and the skills of individuals, who can affordably develop “digitally self-made” objects, including such diverse options as extreme customization (“unique-by-design” objects) and context-aware, networked interactivity (“smart” objects that can sense and respond to their environments).
Objectives of the DiDIY project
The Project intends to develop a human-centric and multi-perspective approach to the scientific study of Digital DIY, in order to:
- better understand its impacts on all areas of society
- support both education and policy making on Digital DIY, through models and guidelines driven by social and cultural strategies, not technology
A more detailed description of the Project Objectives is in a separate page.
Roadmap, workflow and Partners
The DiDIY project started on January 1st, 2015, and has a duration of 30 months. All the activities of the Project are structured in several Work Packages, are carried out by an international Consortium of seven Partners, through a multidisciplinary team, coordinated by Professor Luca Mari, of LIUC.
