Future gazing
Inventor Sir James Dyson on How He Sees the Future
Great inventions are the key to a better future, says Sir James Dyson, who has started his own university to create a new generation of changemakers
I’m wary of making predictions. I am, however, an optimist and think the world will be a better place thanks to innovation, science, engineering and radical thinking. Rather than simply throwing up our arms and complaining about problems, we need to solve them – and that task inevitably falls to engineers and scientists.
Some things are clear: robotics, sensing technology and automation will play an increasing role, reducing repetitive tasks and encouraging healthier lives. Also, rather than accept compromise, the engineer’s instinct of ‘doing more with less’ will become increasingly important – higher-performance technology while using fewer precious resources.
None of this will be achieved without the fearless problem-solving and experimentation of young engineers and scientists. We need many more. The UK currently lacks around 60,000 engineers and only has 38,000 graduates a year, compared to 1.2m in China, 880,000 in India, 200,000 in the USA, 144,000 in Korea and 87,000 in the Philippines.
I developed our first vacuum cleaner – the DC01 – with four mechanical engineers and two engineers working machines. Things are different today; the latest Dyson vacuum, the V15, with laser and sensor technology, involved 400 engineers and scientists working in acoustics, AI, connectivity, energy storage and motor control skills, and expertise drawn from all over the world.
This is just Dyson. Now imagine how many engineers and scientists it will take to tackle the very significant problems that the world faces! We need an army of independent-thinking, risk-taking scientists and engineers. For children entering primary school today, 85% of the jobs they will go on to pursue don’t yet exist.
IDEAS NEED TO BE NURTURED
In school and at every stage afterwards, we should encourage creativity and an attitude that we never stop learning. We also need young people to experiment and fail at every stage, since the path to success is not linear. History has shown, again and again, that people are quick to doubt and criticise an idea – doubting Thomases – so you need to be resilient.
Though they are not modern stories, three of my heroes make this point in an apt way – they are stories of setbacks, risk-taking and often failure, proving, I suppose, that invention requires great perseverance and resilience.
The first, Frank Whittle, changed the face of aviation with the brilliance of his jet engine. In one invention, an engine of countless moving parts was reduced to one single moving component. The jet age was born, and a hero was made – you would think.
