There are a million and one ways to make something. So far in the Digital Making course I have used TinkerCad to make a logo for my team. In the last class we were introduced to Fusion 360 by Jeff Smith, and instructor for Autodesk. We were instructed on how to go from the basics of Fusion 360 to creating more complex things. You could use that software to make everyday things very easily. I tried making a cake spatula. It has two components to it, a scoop part and a handle. After some more practice i should improve my skills with Fusion!
Fusion is used in many areas of life today. For things in our world and even out of our world! Autodesk had a “Space Challenge” where students competed in to design a 3D model of a cube satellite. This software can help solve real world problems.
Another speaker we had was Dot Silverman. She spoke to us about Biohacking. Biohacking by definition is the activity of exploiting genetic material experimentally without regard to accepted ethical standards, or for chemical purposes. Biohacking has changed the way of life for some people. The vegan lifestyle involves not eating any animal products. It is mostly a plant based diet. So just think of never eating ice cream, having a steak, or enjoying cheese on your pizza. Except biohackers have made a breakthrough that allow vegans to enjoy cheese. They have created a vegan cheese. They are essentially “writing” genes for plant proteins that are mimicking milk proteins and putting them in yeast. Once it is put into the yeast it does something similar to when people make beer. When people make beer it is developed by the yeast excreting alcohol. Except with the modified plant proteins the yeast excretes milk. This is how the “Real Vegan Cheese” is made. This has changed the diet of a vegan and opened many doors for further exploration. Now that there is a vegan cheese, can there be a vegan chocolate or butter. This restrictive diet has become less restrictive. Many people believe the vegan lifestyle is the way to go, but do not think they could make it work with their current lifestyle.
There is no boundary for innovation and design. Today we have the software like Fusion 360 and TinkerCad to let us explore the “what ifs” in life. Today we have found ways to create a 3D modeled satellite cube for space and a way for vegans to enjoy cheese. Who knows what the future has to hold for innovation.
Hello Olivia, I also found Dot Silverman’s presentation on Biohacking very interesting as well. The Biohacking movement along with the maker movement have overlapping similarities in that they both tackle real world issues through innovation and problem solving. The article on creating vegan cheese was insightful, and I feel that people will have more convenience to switch to veganism.
Hey Olivia, I also thought the biohacking presentation was super interesting. This will definitely help making the Vegan diet more mainstream, and possibly lead to more scientific discoveries as well. I agree that Fusion 360 and TinkerCad are going to allow us to create almost anything we want in life. This will hopefully open the door to many new discoveries, as well as an overall improvement of life. I like the Space Challenge link you showed too, as this could definitely help solve real world problems and it allows anyone to get involved as well.
Olivia, I enjoyed your interpretation of the bio-hacking and how you related innovation as well as Fusion 360. This week in class we learned a lot of things, from software to innovative biohacking experiments. I, being lactose intolerant, means that I can not digest lactose and so new and robust biohacking ideas have allowed me to eat dairy free cheese or dairy free milk. I think bio-hacking will soon become a piece of everyday life and Fusion 360 is a step in the right direction.