{
    "componentChunkName": "component---src-templates-customer-stories-article-js",
    "path": "/customer-stories/bringing-emerging-technology-futures-to-life/",
    "result": {"data":{"prismicCustomerStory":{"_previewable":"ak-MtBEAACoA3-E-","id":"ce9a1890-b616-5152-b5f4-3ac1657287d0","uid":"bringing-emerging-technology-futures-to-life","lang":"en-gb","type":"customer_story","url":"/customer-stories/bringing-emerging-technology-futures-to-life/","tags":["Case Study","Futorial"],"data":{"title":{"text":"Bringing emerging technology futures to life for defence engineers"},"subtitle":{"text":"Customer Story"},"summary":{"text":"Outsmart Insight turned horizon scanning insight into a hands-on workshop that inspired and connected technologists, helping them imagine the future and translate it into internal entrepreneurship"},"meta_title":{"text":""},"meta_description":{"text":""},"share_image":{"url":null},"body":[{"id":"0b4dfb3f-c4db-53f9-9656-941867b90dec","primary":{"richtextcontent_content":{"raw":[{"type":"image","url":"https://images.prismic.io/outsmartinsight/ZpFQF21KpAvNz0vB_0_1-3-.png?auto=format,compress","alt":null,"copyright":null,"dimensions":{"width":1456,"height":816},"id":"ZpFQF21KpAvNz0vB","edit":{"x":0,"y":0,"zoom":1,"background":"transparent"}},{"type":"heading5","text":"The Challenge\n","spans":[{"start":0,"end":13,"type":"strong"}],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"A large defence engineering firm’s CTO team wanted to turn the insight from their horizon scanning publications into something more active, engaging and useful for technologists and stakeholders across the business. The publication was already helping teams stay informed about early-stage technology developments emerging outside defence, and giving them a clearer view of what those signals might mean for future programmes and capabilities.","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"\nThe challenge was that awareness alone was not enough. The CTO team wanted to use the material as the basis for a full-day, in-person workshop that would energise and inspire engineers, while also helping them think critically about the strategic relevance of emerging technologies. The session needed to move beyond interesting examples and create a meaningful connection between imagined futures, technology roadmaps and near-term decisions.","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"\nEven if the workshop could capture attention and spark discussion, there were further challenges to address. The content needed to work for a diverse group of technologists and stakeholders, encourage knowledge-sharing across business units, and translate broad external signals into implications that felt tangible, credible and relevant.","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"If successful, the workshop would help build shared understanding, strengthen cross-business engagement and support better-informed decisions about emerging technology opportunities.","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"image","url":"https://images.prismic.io/outsmartinsight/EypeQwKLzUxwrk9l_Screenshot2026-07-09at12.52.35.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&rect=247%2C87%2C2571%2C1450&w=2880&h=1624","alt":null,"copyright":null,"dimensions":{"width":2880,"height":1624},"id":"EypeQwKLzUxwrk9l","edit":{"x":247,"y":87,"zoom":1.12,"background":"transparent"}},{"type":"paragraph","text":"","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"heading5","text":"The Solution","spans":[{"start":0,"end":12,"type":"strong"}],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Outsmart Insight designed and delivered a full-day Futorial for 50 technologists, engineers and stakeholders. Working with the client team, we selected the signals that were most likely to spark useful discussion: technologies that were early, interesting and relevant enough to challenge the group’s thinking about future applications.","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"We opened the day with a “real news or fake news” icebreaker, using technical signals that sat at the edge of plausibility. This quickly got the room engaged and encouraged participants to question their assumptions about what felt credible, what felt speculative and what might soon become possible.\n","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"We then introduced the selected signals through short, focused presentations. Each one gave the group enough technical context to understand the development and begin connecting it to their own areas of expertise. Brief Q&A sessions allowed participants to explore the signals in more detail and hear directly from the authors.\n","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The group then voted on the signals they most wanted to explore. In the afternoon, participants split into teams and mapped the first-, second- and third-order implications of the top-voted technologies. This helped them move from “interesting signal” to a clearer view of how that technology could affect future systems, capabilities and decisions.\n","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Each team then divided into two. One group used generative AI to create short videos showing the imagined future in action. This made the future state more tangible, more memorable and easier to discuss. The other completed a backcasting exercise, working backwards from that future to identify the technology developments, dependencies and decisions needed to get there.\n","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The result was a workshop that connected imagination with engineering logic. Participants could explore ambitious futures, but also translate them into roadmaps, constraints and next steps.\n","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The day closed with each team presenting its future video and technology pathway to the wider group. Their peers challenged the assumptions and explored how the ideas could apply elsewhere in the company. The company’s internal entrepreneurship team also showed participants how promising ideas could be taken forward, helping turn workshop energy into a route for further development and potential business impact.","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"heading3","text":"\"[The futorial] generated more discussion and ideation than I expected. I can see how an extended session could lead to real business value\"","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"— Futorial attendee","spans":[{"start":1,"end":19,"type":"strong"}],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"heading5","text":"The Impact","spans":[{"start":0,"end":10,"type":"strong"}],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The workshop created clear value by bringing together people who would not usually have the opportunity to explore emerging technologies in the same room. The format helped connect senior technologists with next-generation talent, while the templates gave participants a practical structure for moving from discussion to ideas. The day also showed the value of building entrepreneurial thinking into technical communities, giving engineers a clearer route to develop promising ideas beyond the workshop.","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"},{"type":"image","url":"https://images.prismic.io/outsmartinsight/D6PoLJwb97Hk4lLW_bae3-2-.png?auto=format,compress","alt":null,"copyright":null,"dimensions":{"width":5116,"height":3836},"id":"D6PoLJwb97Hk4lLW","edit":{"x":0,"y":0,"zoom":1,"background":"transparent"}},{"type":"paragraph","text":"\n","spans":[],"direction":"ltr"}]}},"slice_type":"rich_text_content"},{"id":"82c3454e-c937-59ca-975d-6f541abc19ed","primary":{"cta_button_link":{"url":"/contact/"},"cta_button_text":"Contact us","cta_description":{"text":"Our team is ready to help you navigate the deep tech ecosystem and find the partners to help your organisation gain a competitive edge."},"cta_title":{"text":"Contact us"}},"slice_type":"call_to_action"}]}},"allPrismicCustomerStory":{"nodes":[{"data":{"summary":{"text":"Outsmart Insight helps NEOM’s ocean science and solutions applied research institute inspire scientists to join the cause"},"title":{"text":"Launching a research institute with a future-focused event"},"listing_image":{"alt":null,"url":"https://images.prismic.io/outsmartinsight/KER94ZrO9JeFhHI7_0_1-1-.png?ixlib=gatsbyFP&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&q=50"}},"url":"/customer-stories/future-of-ocean-sensing/","tags":["Case Study","Futorial"]},{"data":{"summary":{"text":"How Outsmart helped a G20 coral restoration initiative identify and engage industry partners to scale up globally"},"title":{"text":"Building the global innovation ecosystem for coral restoration"},"listing_image":{"alt":null,"url":"https://images.prismic.io/outsmartinsight/dk13_a29H0kayQdd_outsmart_httpss.mj.runo9fS6hvL9HY_httpss.mj.runwUaxs4GMBds_co_022ca0c1-85f7-4061-9d22-e8b7ba04f84b_0.png?ixlib=gatsbyFP&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&q=50"}},"url":"/customer-stories/coral-restoration/","tags":["Case Study","Ecosystem Scouting"]},{"data":{"summary":{"text":"Outsmart Insight helps a defence engineering company’s sustainability and manufacturing teams join forces to discover frontier robotics and automation technologies"},"title":{"text":"Harnessing robotics to scale up production and reduce emissions"},"listing_image":{"alt":null,"url":"https://images.prismic.io/outsmartinsight/PdZ-KTBygHf64msT_0_1-2-.png?ixlib=gatsbyFP&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&q=50"}},"url":"/customer-stories/harnessing-robotics-to-scale-up-production/","tags":["Case Study","Tech Foresight"]},{"data":{"summary":{"text":"How Outsmart Insight scanned the world's leading innovations across industries to help deliver a performance edge for Team GB at the Olympics"},"title":{"text":"Keeping a high-performance sports institute ahead of the field"},"listing_image":{"alt":null,"url":"https://images.prismic.io/outsmartinsight/XLz_v9jJsJO7Y7_X_outsmart_include_the_flag_for_great_britain_--ar_9151_--v_8.1_fcd16b25-eb4b-4291-aec0-4663a4f445d9_2.png?ixlib=gatsbyFP&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&q=50"}},"url":"/customer-stories/high-performance-sports-institute/","tags":["Tech Radar","Case Study"]},{"data":{"summary":{"text":"How Outsmart Insight helped an aerospace and defence consortium understand how AI tools can be used to assist with the design, development and testing of critical software"},"title":{"text":"Hearing insider viewpoints on AI for high-assurance software"},"listing_image":{"alt":null,"url":"https://images.prismic.io/outsmartinsight/JXrr1Ph-ibSr6NJf_0_3.png?ixlib=gatsbyFP&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&q=50"}},"url":"/customer-stories/hearing-insider-viewpoints-on-ai-for-high-assuranc/","tags":["Case Study","Insider Viewpoints"]},{"data":{"summary":{"text":"How Outsmart helped a G20 coral restoration initiative identify industry partners, and understand out what it would take for them to engage to scale up globally."},"title":{"text":"Helping coral restoration find the partners it needs to scale"},"listing_image":{"alt":null,"url":"https://images.prismic.io/outsmartinsight/ajvL7FbRV8_Qf0Fs_0_1.png?ixlib=gatsbyFP&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&q=50"}},"url":"/customer-stories/helping-coral-restoration-find-partners/","tags":["Case Study"]},{"data":{"summary":{"text":"How Outsmart helped a G20 coral restoration initiative identify industry partners, and understand out what it would take for them to engage to scale up globally."},"title":{"text":"Helping coral restoration find the partners it needs to scale"},"listing_image":{"alt":null,"url":"https://images.prismic.io/outsmartinsight/ajvL7FbRV8_Qf0Fs_0_1.png?ixlib=gatsbyFP&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&q=50"}},"url":"/customer-stories/cordap-case/","tags":["Case Study"]},{"data":{"summary":{"text":""},"title":{"text":"Next 50 years of science-driven innovation"},"listing_image":{"alt":null,"url":"https://images.prismic.io/outsmartinsight/05880896-34b3-468c-8fd5-252e558c868c_AdobeStock_44904176.jpeg?ixlib=gatsbyFP&auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=50"}},"url":"/customer-stories/next-50-years-of-science-driven-innovation/","tags":["Futorial","Nonprofit & NGO","Government & public bodies"]}]}},"pageContext":{"id":"ce9a1890-b616-5152-b5f4-3ac1657287d0","tags":["Case Study","Futorial"]}},
    "staticQueryHashes": ["786883057","957096962"]}