I came across Realsight in an online forum and thought they had a very interesting and potentially powerful new way to identify innovation ideas in the Front End of Innovation.

 

Realsight uses a patent-pending technology system and a process they call quantitative anthropology to generate new ways to grow brands from everyday consumer behavior. They provide consumers cameras to film their own behavior while talking to them through online “blog” diaries about product decisions they have made over 3-4 weeks of “behavioral monitoring.” Then Realsight uses analytical tools to discover common product experiences from the thousands of observations of product usage events they capture. So, not only do they have a more complete consumer view than interview-based approaches (which, while useful in themselves, can miss 90%+ of behavior), they quantify opportunities during the Front End of Innovation. Many of the product experiences they uncover are hidden deep within the everyday routines we all have to manage our lives, ones we can’t recall since we’re usually on “auto-pilot” trying to get through each day. These are the experiences that are difficult to uncover with existing Front End approaches, but valuable for companies as they happen almost every day!

 

Looks to be a good way to help take the “fuzzy” out of the Front End of Innovation.