Further to my previous posting on the BMW GINA concept car, I’ve just been reading an article in New Scientist about an example of increasing flexibility of form in vision systems. Going back many years, the first light sensitive devices were composed of a single photo-transistor (1 point detection). Later, charge coupled devices (CCDs) were developed, initially in single row, line form (1 dimension or line). Later still CCDs were developed in a two dimensional flat array. Over time this basic format has been developed so that the number of devices has greatly increased, leading to far better image resolution. Until now, however, the CCD has remained two dimensional, bringing increased complexity in the lens and focusing system and restricting field of view (compared to the human eye). According to the article, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign have created a hemispherical CCD. They have done this by slicing off the detection portion of a normal CCD and cutting fine holes in it to form an ultra-thin mesh. This mesh is then formed over a special elastic hemispherical former and then placed in a hemispherical support to create an artificial retina. A very neat example of theTRIZ law of increasing flexibility applied to shape and surface.

 

I’ve just come across the BMW GINA concept car, see this video and it made me wonder if it could be the next step on the line of increasing flexibility for the automobile body. According to the TRIZ laws of technological system evolution, you can predict potential next steps for technological system evolution. The line of increasing flexibility for any technical system starts with a “stiff” system, then moves onto a one joint system, a multi-joint system, an elastomeric system, a fluid based system and finally to a system based on a field interaction. If you refer back to my example of aircraft control surfaces, you can see many of these at play. In the case of the car body, originally the car had a rigid one-piece body. Very quickly this evolved into a segmented body with an opening to access the engine. Later further hinged sections were introduced for doors, truck, roof, windows and lights. The GINA appears to emply an elastomeric outer shell on a rigid skeletal structure. The full line of evolution can be show as follows:

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I was recently asked to answer a few questions on the Innocentive Open Innovation blog Perspectives of Innovation. As someone who shamelessly enjoys talking about myself, I thought it would be a good use of resources if I published it on my own blog too, so here goes…

1) Tell us a little bit about your background.

Originally I trained and was educated as a Mechanical Engineer. I’ve worked in the innovation area all the way through my career starting on design and projects and gradually moving further up to the front end. For the last 21 years I’ve worked for Mars Inc. until in May this year when I left to set up my own Innovation Consultancy, CoCatalyst Limited, helping clients who need market breakthrough products to target and implement new technologies. I have recently started a blog on this topic (http://www.CoCatalyst.com/blog) and I intend to use this to promote the latest thinking in the area. In my last role at Mars my team was responsible for identifying and bringing in new technologies for the Mars Drinks business, covering a very broad scope including packaging, food science, functional ingredients, electronics and control as well as mechanical engineering. I continue to be very passionate about innovation and I have expertise in a number of key innovation tools, probably one of the most relevant to solving Innocentive challenges being TRIZ.

2) How did you come across InnoCentive?

I came across InnoCentive as a potential solution seeker at Mars. At that time the cost of entry was too high for me to pursue. From what I’ve learnt recently about InnoCentive the business model has since changed significantly. I came into closer contact with InnoCentive more recently when preparing to present to a UK Government body on Open Innovation marketplaces.

3) What kinds of Challenges are you most interested in?

I am most interested in challenges which require a significant breakthrough. I am attracted to problems which, from a TRIZ perspective, jump out at me as analogous to problems I have solved before (upwards of 150 and counting with 50+ patents to my name) or where I can clearly understand the limitation (contradiction) of the current state of the art. This helps me to get a feel for the sort of benefit I might be able to deliver if I can resolve the problem. The other factor I will consider almost immediately is do I know someone in this area who I could team up with. I have a big network with contacts in many industries. For this reason, I do not restrict myself to a specific technological field - I think the “Disciplines” menu gets in the way a bit for me although I appreciate others will find it helpful. Also, for the same reason, I would like to be able to see all the challenges in the regular weekly updates I get. Another thing that can put me off a challenge is when the seeker constrains the solution to a potentially non-optimal outcome (e.g. to specify that something new should be added to the problem rather than resolve the root problem). I’ve seen this happen a number of times on Innocentive and, in fairness, on Nine Sigma too - it bugs me when I come across this sort of solution limiting thinking.

4) You recently wrote on your blog, “I haven’t actually answered any Innocentive Challenges although I have recently seen one that I might have a go at.” Can you tell us about the Challenge you want to answer, and what piqued your interest?

I’ve had a look at a couple of the ideation challenges, one for more energy efficient air conditioning (INNOCENTIVE 6237014) because a breakthrough solution could have a big impact, another one around reducing the energy needed to fire ceramics (INNOCENTIVE 6446157) and one to do with increasing the cooling effect of clothing in hot conditions (INNOCENTIVE 6470343). This one appeals because I’m a cyclist! I guess a common theme here is they all are to do with heat transfer.

5) What do you think are the biggest opportunities for Solvers in this new era of Open Innovation?

For individual solvers I need to start my answer with a caveat: if solver’s rights can be protected through the Open Innovation processes then their biggest opportunities are in being able to bring their capabilities to the attention of big companies, in ways which can be properly mutually beneficial. For larger companies acting as solvers the opportunity is to grow the market for their technologies by making cross-industry connections.

Just to let you know that a paper I’ve recently written, detailing how I used TRIZ some years ago to create a hassle-free cappuccino system, has just been published in the TRIZ Journal. In the paper, I outline the key stages of my analysis and show how I applied some of the key thinking tools of TRIZ. You know what you need to do - just go to the website, look through the article and give it a score of 5 out of 5 at the bottom.

I am often asked to cite examples of where TRIZ has helped to identify Market Breakthrough Products. Obviously, even when TRIZ is used, it often only plays a small but critical part in the total implementation of the product. So with that caveat, here are a few examples where I’ve heard that TRIZ played a critical part in identifying the final concept:

P&G White Strips

This is a revolutionary tooth whitening product. The non-dissolving strip format holds a whitening gel in close contact with the teeth throughout the recommended whitening time of 30 minutes. This one has been a major success for P&G

 

P&G Swiffer

This one is another big hit for P&G. This time it’s a floor cleaning product. The way it works is that as you sweep it across the floor, an electrostatic charge develops on the cloth, attracting dirt to the cloth. The cloth is designed to retain the dirt until it removed and disposed of at the end of the cleaning. The basic principle has now spawned a whole host of variants

 

Sanyo detergent-free washing machine

This washing machine makes use of an ultrasonic field to remove dirt on clothing and an electrolytic action to create a short lived antibacterial and antifungal effect. This product has been very successful in Japan but has yet to transition into the west. With the increasing emphasis on the environment, there are signs that this or something similar will make inroads into the western market too, Look out Tide!

 

One factor which unites these products, apart from the use of TRIZ, is the profound nature of their impact in their respective markets. True Market Breakthrough.

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