AbsolutelyNew Blog

The latest open innovation winners: Netflix and Phillips

We were very psyched to learn that Netflix this week awarded a $1 million prize to a team of people who invented an algorithm that delivers a 10% improvement in predicting what movies customers will want to see. This ends an open innovation competition that took three years, with 40,000 teams from 186 countries, to break the critical 10% hurdle.

Netflix has already announced a follow-up competition.

Meanwhile Dutch light-bulb maker Phillips may be the winner of a U.S. Department of Energy’s $10 million “L Prize” open innovation competition—yesterday it was the first entry in the government’s contest to invent a more efficient 60-watt bulb. To win, government testing will need to confirm that it meets some very strict criteria including:

• Reproduces the amount and color of light from a 60-watt incandescent bulb, while using only 10 watts of power
  
• Lasts 25,000 hours, which is ~25x longer than a standard bulb
  
• 75% or more of the bulb is made or assembled in the U.S.
  
• Free of the negatives of today’s compact fluorescent bulbs—ie: no polluting mercury
  

Looks like the Dutch may soon get credit for lighting up something other than, well, you know.

More importantly, there are many, many more such contests and prizes out there. So as you’re inventing, especially if you’re working in more advanced or eco-friendly spaces, definitely do your homework on the contests out there. Invention success is a great light at the end of the tunnel… but oh, how much sweeter it would be if you could win big prize money too.

Here are links to newspaper reporting on the Netflix competition and Phillips submission.

The reinvented Amazon and your invention

Did you notice that amazon.com, the company that practically invented online bookselling, has reinvented itself?

The company’s not asking to be called “The online retailer formerly known as a bookseller.” But it’s quietly yet methodically put so much energy into broadening its offerings that, for the first time in its 15-year history, this year amazon’s selling more general merchandise than books, music and movies. In other words, it’s become something of a web Walmart… and more.

This matters to you the inventor for a few key reasons:

1. Walmart may not return your calls (or grant you an appointment), but it’s relatively easy to set up an online store and/or to sell your invention on amazon. In fact, amazon makes it easy to do all this because you’d then be helping bring more people to amazon.

2. Amazon’s become THE online destination shoppers go to for product reviews from real people. So if you believe in your invention and think it provides real value, don’t you want it out there where people can not only buy it but sing its praises very publicly?

3. We don’t recommend producing your invention before confirming there’s a market for it. But if you’ve gone ahead and built inventory, putting it on amazon can be a cheap way to help assess the selling proposition—if it sells well, you’re on to something; if not, you’ve still got work to do. All that said, putting your invention out there too early is risky, so you’d only want to go down this path after thoughtfully weighing the pros & cons.

So, how are you leveraging the reinvented amazon for your invention?

For more info on what amazon’s up to, you can click here for a recent overview in the NY Times (free registration required).

New in robotics

 

Our loyal readers have come to know that we love robots. No, that’s an understatement—we really LOVE robots. But what kind? This is an emerging question as scientists invent different types (and looks) of robots to handle different roles… and learn all the more the nuances of how people respond to robots.

So, which of the two above suits you? Or is the robot below?

 

Perhaps a little more detail will help. The new issue of Proto has a cool feature story on the latest in robots. Highlights of note:

• We’re apparently not the only folks who already go gaga for robots. A Georgia Tech study of Roomba (the breakthrough robotic vacuum) owners in 2007 found many named and decorated their devices.

• New advances and new algorithms are now enabling the development of robots that are “socially assistive” or “socially interactive” in their ability to change their behavior based on what they sense in the people around them.

• Children take quickly to robots, whereas adults are often a little slower to embrace them. (Clearly, we weren’t in that study!). People often get comfortable with a robot faster if it mirrors their personality – ie: an extroverted person responds well to a fast-talking robot.

• There’s now a lot of research on how robots should look… and the new conventional wisdom is that a robot should look somewhat but not entirely human. One Japanese scientist even coined the term “uncanny valley” to describe it – because once a robot bears an uncanny resemblance to a human, the rapport with it drops from a peak to a valley.

Cool stuff! And since we’re only scratching the surface here, you might enjoy reading more of the details in Proto. Here’s a link!

Speed and your invention

In Top Gun, Tom Cruise’s character Maverick smiles and says, “I feel the need – the need, for speed.” Now scientists say he was on to something... and their conclusions could help you in your inventing.

Specifically, they’re talking about a study that found bursts of accelerated thinking can improve your mood. They drew this conclusion after sparking quick thinking in a variety of ways: asking research participants to brainstorm fast for 10 minutes, to read fast for short periods of time, even to watch I Love Lucy video fast (on fast-forward). The speedy activities led people to feel elated, creative, a touch more energetic.

The folks in lab coats at Harvard and Princeton don’t quite understand the Why here. But they do have some additional thoughts:

• The speedy behavior likely triggers dopamine, an adrenaline-like chemical our bodies produce.
• Some of the happiness is likely a self-fulfilling prophesy: you think speediness is a sign of being happy, so being speedy puts you in a happy place.
• This effect applies to the sprinter, not the marathoner – the researchers found fast and repetitive behaviors sparked anxiety instead of elation.

You can read more at Scientific American. How can this learning help you with your inventing? Perhaps in one or more of the following ways:

1. Can’t figure something out? Try speeding up with very short problem solving sessions.
2. Feeling a little down because immediate invention success eludes you? Literally, take a quick break—spend a few minutes very quickly doing something else to kick-start the endorphins
3. Watch some I Love Lucy, even at normal speed, because it’s just plain funny. Our fave episode: Lucy and Ethel working at the chocolate factory.

How else might you apply these new learnings?

What inspires you?

One of the many cool things about invention is that you can find inspiration anywhere, any time, in just about any thing.

That’s why we enjoyed reading about a coffee-drinking doctor (of metallurgy) who looked at the oily film atop yesterday’s coffee and was inspired to develop a new form of biodiesel.

Really. Yesterday’s joe inspired the University of Nevada at Reno’s Dr. Manoranjan Misra, along with two colleagues, to ponder, then explore, and ultimately figure out how to convert used coffee grounds into fuel. Real fuel. To power real cars. And as if that weren’t cool enough, there’s more:

• This new fuel burns with a faint coffee scent (decaf coffee, we guess), compared to other biodiesels and regular gasoline that don’t always smell so nice.
• Whereas other plant-based biodiesel sources like soy use up land and the actual plant, the coffee biodiesel only uses the leftovers that would otherwise be thrown out.
• The coffee biodiesel performs well – no sacrificing on quality here – and would likely cost an estimated $1/gallon to make at a medium-sized processing facility.

Does this mean you'll be able to fill 'er up in more ways than one when you visit your local Starbucks? Only time will tell. We do know that the Starbucks folks in Reno were happy to give the docs used grounds for their research.

To learn more, click here to read The Economist coverage of this story.

Innovation lessons from The Depression

Harvard Business School is one of the world’s top business programs.  And McKinsey & Co. is one of the top U.S. consulting firms.  So when their folks get together to talk innovation, we listen.  And we thought you might want to hear a few highlights from their recently published take on “Innovation lessons from the 1930s”:

1. During the economic downturn, many shied away from inventing. As a result, patent applications decreased in the 1930s vs. the 1920s.

2. There was a one-year lag between economic news and patent activity – patent applications dropped one year after the Depression started, and didn’t go back up until one year after the Depression ended.  Even small fluctuations from one year to another during the Depression correlated with the economic news, as inventors took notice and changed their behavior accordingly.

3. A few innovation leaders did continue to innovate through the Depression... with some well-known births coming from this committment to invention.  Dupont, for example, invented synthetic rubber.  Now known as Neoprene, the new material very quickly made its way into just about every motor vehicle on the roads.  During this same time, Hewlett Packard and Polaroid were started by inventors with great ideas and optimism that there would be a light at the end of the tunnel.

4. The authors conclude that innovating during deep downturns can be very wise – doing so is the key to realizing good as soon as the economy gets better, and can also give a jump-start vs. likely competitors.  They say this is especially important for more advanced inventions that could take longer to get to market.

You can click here to read the full article.

What sparks you?

When my head’s clogged with ideas or I can’t seem to figure something out, nothing does me more good than a nice 8-mile run.  Twelve to 14 miles if it’s something really complicated, like curing world hunger or figuring out what my wife really wants for her birthday.

What works for you?  A few weeks ago I wrote about how napping and sleep are proven to help people connect thoughts and get to solutions that had proven elusive.  Ever since, I’ve heard of many different approaches, from running and walking to cooking (one inventor said chopping vegetables helps him clear his head) and ironing (no joke).

I’ve even heard from two of our licensed inventors – two guys who live in different states and don’t know one another – saying they were struggling to develop their respective invention... and then the design came to each of them when they were driving on the freeway.  Hmmm.

So, could it be that monotony sparks innovation – freeing the brain to think but taking up just enough brain power to keep you from getting too distracted?  I don’t know... but my driving’s pretty bad so I’ll stick to the running.

We’re number… six?

Do you know what nation is most receptive to innovations?

If you’re thinking the U.S., try again – a new study, published by Marketing Science, has concluded that the Japanese people are the fastest to adopt new technologies. Norway, Sweden, Holland and Denmark citizens follow... with Americans coming in 6th of 31 counties studied for their timely embrace of 16 products over 50 years.  Other interesting, and intuitive (with hindsight), tidbits from the study:

1. More affluent nations adopt innovative products faster than less affluent nations.

2. Newly developed or developing countries adopt innovative products faster than established nations that industrialized earlier. This point and the above should weigh in to where you launch your invention.

3. People adopt “fun” products like digital cameras faster than “work” products like home appliances… with an implication being you should launch your “fun” invention in many places at once, but your “work” invention in more limited geographies over time to reduce your risk.

Surprising?  I’m not the least bit shocked by the #1 – last year in Tokyo, I watched people using their cell phones to buy Cokes from vending machines – but the IKEA nation topping the U.S.?  Why do you think this is?

Friendly reminder: On this election day, make sure your voice is heard -- vote!

 

Notes from the Zoo

SuperZoo took place a few weeks back.  It’s THE tradeshow for anyone & everyone in pet products, so we of course sent a member of our team to work the floor.  He got his fill (figuratively) of dog foods, fur trimmers and pet clothing so stylish that it puts my wardrobe to shame, and then gave me a few high level takeaways that I wanted to summarize for you:

• The convention hall was really humming, as broader economic turmoil appears to be having little impact on consumer spending towards pet products.  Even more positive for inventors: manufacturers appear fully committed to new products, but they’re also intent on avoiding upfront investment that can require years to pay back… so they’re increasingly looking outside their company walls for new products to license.
• The vast majority of exhibitors’ new products fell into two categories more often associated with humans than with animals: clothing and nutrition. I’m wishfully thinking this is a function of people lovingly viewing their pets as family members, but I suspect that the Paris Hilton / Legally Blonde Elle Woods / Accessory Pet trend is also having an effect.
• It would appear that there’s an emerging trend towards broader “pet health” – going beyond nutrition to exercise equipment for pets, as well as products that gauge the amount of exercise a pet gets each day.  Who knew that those metal gerbil wheels were so ahead of their time?  Only time, and innovation, will tell if we’ll be seeing cats sporting pedometers and the emergence of dog gyms.

So, were you at SuperZoo too? If so, and you saw some other cool stuff, don’t hold out on us.

Shop, shop til you drop

Our Senior Research Analyst Jonathan Ogan stands at a cool 6’7”.  We think his work stands out too – he and his research team dig in to the consumer and market dynamics of just about every invention we work on.  From his vantage point – and yes, he’s biased – the most common pitfall inventors fall into early on is in their research.  Often, there is none.

So what does the research guru recommend?  Here are a few steps to take from the start:

1. Go shopping. Make sure your product doesn’t already exist.  Find out what similar products are out there, and consider how your product is different from the rest.  In addition to visiting lots of stores, search engines like google and yahoo can be great resource for basic information.

2. Get a grasp of the of your product’s industry. How big is the market?  Is it growing or shrinking… and why?  Is your product ahead of the curve… or already near obsolete?  Familiarize yourself with Standard Industry Codes (SIC) to aid your research.  Government websites, like that of the U.S. Census Bureau, are another excellent resource.  Your local library may also subscribe to other services that provide more extensive industry data.

3. Survey people. Find out how people react to your product, including how many need it and will truly buy it.  You can start with friends, acquaintances and colleagues.  Larger surveys using a randomly selected, representative sample population can of course give you much more accurate information.

Have you found any other sources or techniques especially helpful to you?