硬件革命时代到来

    仅仅几年前，要想设计、制造和推广像苹果（Apple）iPhone这样改变了游戏规则的产品，可能得需要一个庞大的商业帝国群策群力。而在今天，更让人兴奋的是，小人物也更有希望创造这种奇迹。

    许多人已经注意到了硬件领域近年来出现的一种变化，同时也注意到一批新型、小型的公司正在崛起。克里斯•安德森在他的新书《制造者：新工业革命》（Makers: The New Industrial Revolution）一书中以大量篇幅写到了所谓“制造者运动”的兴起。保罗•格拉罕姆最近的论文《硬件复兴》（The Hardware Renaissance）也提到，在风投基金Y Combinator最近一轮投资的８４家创业公司中，有７家都在做硬件，数量有一定提高。艾里克•斯科恩菲尔德在他的博客中写道，“硬件是新的软件，”并称风投机构也在更加积极地寻找做硬件的创业公司进行投资。

    硬件领域的这些发展，有一部分是由于科技的价格和性能的改善。像３Ｄ打印机、数控镂铣机和激光切割机等工业设备原先只有高端的设计团队才能使用得到，而现在它们已经变成了消费性产品。一款入门级的３Ｄ打印机的价格已经降到不到１,０００美元。另外像，马达、控制设备以及像Arduino（一种帮助计算机与实体世界进行互动的工具）等硬件产品的零部件的功能也变得越来越强大，同时价格却越来越低廉。

    软件方面，我们也有了价格低廉甚至完全免费的ＣＡＤ制图软件。甚至还有一款移动应用可以通过手机摄像头来捕捉物体的３Ｄ图像，以便进行３Ｄ打印。

    基础设施领域出现的一些新元素也有助于使一些新硬件产品走出业余爱好者的地下室，进入创业公司的设计室。比如在以前，要想获得合约制造商的关注，就得保证你能下一个大订单（比如生产５万个以上的产品）。但是随着一批新型工厂的出现（其中的大多数在中国和墨西哥），就算每批只有５,０００个产品的小订单也有人愿意接。如此一来，这些工厂填补了市场的一个重要的结构性空白，使企业家可以以较小的投资，推出某些面向较小众消费群体的新产品。另外像Kickstarter等新型融资平台以及愿意销售数量较低的产品的新型在线推广渠道也降低了行业的门槛。

    以上这些新发展为经典的颠覆式创新模式提供了正确的要素。而所谓经典的颠覆式创新模式一般是指从向某个尚未被开发的小众市场提供商品开始，然后渐渐将生意做大，直至取代一个规模更大的竞争对手。同时这些新的发展也为一些新型企业打开了一扇门。它们不必把规模做得很大，就能做到非常盈利。个人或小型设计团队可以专门针对市场的某个有利可图的领域设计产品，同时还可避免高额的店面费用和生产成本。

    不过科技和基础设施并不是推动硬件进步的唯一因素。“制造者运动”的兴起也离不开人才的兴起。我们已经关注到了所谓“创造空间”的出现。“创造空间”指的就是能够支持和鼓励学习与进步氛围的社群、网络与文化。我们在从艺术到职业电子竞技再到极限运动等很多领域都发现了这种现象，人们在这些领域中努力做着以前从来没有人去做的事。而且我们发现，在这些创造空间里还存在着某些共性元素：

    Just a few years ago, it would have taken a corporate empire to design, build, and market a hardware game-changer like Apple's (AAPL) iPhone. Today, there's far more hope -- and excitement -- surrounding the little guy, and for good reason.

    Many people have noted a shift in the hardware landscape and the emergence of new, smaller companies. In his book Makers: The New Industrial Revolution, Chris Anderson writes extensively about the rise of the "Maker Movement." Paul Graham's recent essay "The Hardware Renaissance" mentions the recent uptick (7 out of the latest class of 84) in hardware startups at Y Combinator. In his blog, Erick Schonfeld wrote that "Hardware is the New Software," and that VCs are pursuing hardware startups more aggressively as well.

    The developments in the hardware space are in part driven by the improving price and performance of technology. Industrial tools, such as 3-D printers, CNC routers, and laser cutters, which were previously only available to high-end design teams, are becoming consumer products. An entry level 3-D printer costs less than $1,000. The components for hardware products, such as motors, control devices, and Arduinos (tools to help computers interact with the physical world), are all increasingly powerful and affordable as well.

    On the software front, there are intuitive CAD programs available for modest prices or for free. There's even an app that uses a cellphone camera to capture 3-D images of objects so they can be 3-D printed.

    New infrastructural elements have also helped new hardware products move from the hobbyist's basement to the startup garage. Before, to get a contract manufacturer's attention, you had to commit to producing high volumes (say 50,000 or more units). But a new class of factories -- mostly in China and Mexico -- will manufacture batches as small as 5,000 units. By filling low-volume orders, these factories have filled an important structural hole in the market: They allow entrepreneurs to launch new products for small consumer groups with little investment. And new funding platforms such as Kickstarter and online distribution channels (also amenable to selling products at low volumes) have decreased barriers to entry.

    These developments have provided the right ingredients for the classic model of disruptive innovation: Start by providing a new product to a niche, underserved market and then scale to displace a larger competitor. They have also opened the door for new businesses that can be highly profitable without scaling. Individuals or small design teams can design niche products to cherry-pick profitable sections out of a market while avoiding the high overhead of storefronts and manufacturing.

    But the advances in hardware haven't been driven by technology and infrastructure alone. The "maker movement" has been driven by a flourishing of talent. We've watched the emergence of what we call creation spaces: communities, networks, and cultures that encourage learning and improvement. We've observed this phenomenon in many fields, from the arts to professional gaming to extreme sports -- fields where people are striving to do things that have never been done before. Here are some of the common elements we've found among these creation spaces: