Not all technological innovations need to be super techy and “modern”. Sometimes clever application of knowledge to a problem which provides a basic solution can be very effective indeed. Sometimes simple is best. This is certainly the sort of innovation that attracts me, as often this type of solution is more “Ideal” to use a TRIZ term. Here is an example of an innovation which I think could be slap bang onto the sweet spot.

Professor Uphoff at Cornell University has pioneered a new method of planting rice which can double the size of the harvest. He rejects traditional methods of rice planting in flooded paddy fields and focuses on giving the seeds a good chance to grow. He also rejects the latest developments in genetic engineering. His “less is more” System of Rice Intensification is now in use by over a million farmers. Professor Uphoff predicts that as many as 10 million farmers will adopt the system in the next few years, feeding millions and saving many lives. See more in this recent NY Times article. A very simple and effective innovation.

Hmm… have you ever considered eating your chair, or perhaps using a deodorant which you eat rather than apply to your skin? These products and another 42 others are listed on the trendhunter website. Some other dishes you might be tempted by include:

an edible FIAT Panda car advert

an ingestible robot (yummy)

an edible menu

edible shoe cream (now why didn’t I think of that?)

and finally….

ingestible silver pills for 24 hours of sparkly poo

The Trendhunter website talks a good fight, but I got a sinking feeling when I started to review some of the content, you know the feeling, a bit like when you’ve eaten something which didn’t really agree with you. Anyone for cardboard bicycles and MP3 doorbells? Who said these were the start of anything apart from a headache? OK I won’t give up on it right away, you’ve got to give these things a chance, even though I object to the rumbly feeling I get when I try to digest something that has been hyped like Trendhunter has.

Right now though I would say that trendwatching is a far better place to find out about up and coming consumer trends. I’ll keep you posted.

Recently I had my leg in plaster and I had reason to encounter a very neat piece of technology. In order to cut off the plaster without cutting the patient an oscillating saw is used.

 

I had a personal demonstration of how it cuts plaster but not skin in a way which seems almost magical and it set me off down a TRIZ thinking path. Before the saw was invented, the problem, in TRIZ terms, could be stated as a physical contradiction:

In order to cut the plaster the saw must have movement relative to the cutting surface

In order to prevent the skin being cut the saw must have no movement relative to the cutting surface

The clever thing about the saw is that it separates the physical contradiction on condition of the surface contacted. For a rigid surface such as the plaster, the saw cuts due to the fact that the surface stays put and doesn’t move with the saw, creating the required relative movement. When the saw contacts skin, the flexibility of the skin surface is exploited and the saw and skin move together, eliminating any relative movement between the saw and skin. A similar principle is used in some fabric cutting table designs to prevent damage to the table. Simple, cool and clever.�

I’ve realised I’ve used the term “sweet spot” without explaining myself. What I mean by the term is the point where strong business strategy, compelling market insight and technology capability come together. IMHO, only if all three come together can you hope to have a product, business model and marketing concept which really delivers. If the technology underpinning the product, the business model and/or the marketing message is sufficently differentiated, you can deliver a true market breakthrough product. The bit which especially fascinates me is the technology bit, but if you believe Clayton Christensen, you can do a lot (maybe more) with business model and market positioning as well. I use the model to ask the right questions to ensure that technologies I develop are really bang on target. I think it helps a lot.

Hi there! I’ve started a blog specifically focused on technology innovation because, when you get down to it, that is really where my interests really lie. This doesn’t mean that I’m going to come across all techno-nerdy and baffle you with science, although I will try to highlight interesting  developments I discover along the way. It doesn’t mean I will adopt a “technology is everything” approach to innovation. In fact, I really believe that you can’t do effective technology innovation without proper reference to business strategy and market needs. The best technology based innovations I’ve seen have been all about getting strategically aligned growth for businesses through solutions which really answer compelling consumer insights. In short, solutions which really hit the innovation sweet spot. It just so happened that these innovations required some technological shift, insight or clever solution as well.

So…it’s Technology Innovation with a difference – it’s Technology Innovation which is viable and desirable. It’s Technology Innovation which at it’s highest level is transformational for businesses and consumers alike. It’s Technology Innovation so well targeted that it can truly change the world! I’m hoping to open up real dialogue about how to get to this type of innovation more rapidly, with greater certainty and far larger rewards. I’ll be talking about tools, techniques, processes, attitudes, trends, discoveries, the future and much much more. Why not get involved too?