Fab Lab: a digital fabrication laboratory. Nice self-explanatory play on words right? But what happens in these labs, and are they actually more than just rooms with 3D printers? Well, they are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, which aim to popularize and expand access to personal (and collaborative) manufacturing, and invention. These are the labs where this ever-growing generation of “makers” can create something extraordinary.

Each year, an international Fab conference is hosted to bring together the worldwide network of Fab Labs. This year, for Fab10 (the tenth annual meeting), the conference theme is “From Fab Labs to Fab Cities” and will be hosted from July 2-8 in our fab city of Barcelona at the Disseny Hub. The theme is centered around the idea that Barcelona will be the final chapter of annual Fab Lab Conferences, and a Fab City cycle will be implemented. There will be an emphasis placed on advanced research of digital fabrication, in addition to discussions on the role of industry, corporations, and society in this changing technological world.

A look at some of the Fab Labs around the world

The goal of Fab10 is to bring productivity and innovation to one central location in a city. There will be a combination of workshops, demos, and talks spread throughout the weeklong symposium and festival, with over 250 labs from over 40 countries all working to foster creativity and innovation. Everyone in the Fab Lab community will have the opportunity to share tools, projects, programs, and processes in an open and experimental environment.

This year, the festival workshops allow you to work on everything from honing your entrepreneurial skills to making animatronic Indian puppets. Even children can participate in the festival for Fab Kids to learn how to digitally fabricate things. There will be talks, discussions and tours of Fab Labs, oh my! During the symposium, participants will have the opportunity to hear from the likes of Nadeem Mazen, CEO of nimblebot.com, Paul Eremenko, Director, Project Ara, Advanced Technology & Projects from Google, and Vicente Guallart, Chief Architect for the city of Barcelona.

Thanks to Fab Lab Barcelona, IAAC, the Barcelona City Council, MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms, and the Fab Foundation for allowing attendees to explore the exciting future (and present) of digital fabrication!

To learn more about Fab10 Barcelona and register, visit fab10.org

Photos via Shutterstock