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In the modern knowledge-based and digital economy, the value of knowledge is growing relative to other assets and new intellectual property is being created at an ever-increasing rate. Therefore, the ability to find non-trivial solutions, systematically generate new concepts, and create intellectual property rapidly become crucial to achieving competitive advantage and leveraging the intellectual potential of organizations.
Eco-innovations in chemical processes should be designed to use raw materials, energy and water as efficiently and economically as possible to avoid the generation of hazardous waste and to conserve raw material reserves. Applying inventive principles identified in natural systems to chemical process design can help avoid secondary problems. However, the selection of nature-inspired principles to improve technological or environmental problems is very time-consuming. In addition, it is necessary to match the strongest principles with the problems to be solved. Therefore, the research paper proposes a classification and assignment of nature-inspired inventive principles to eco-parameters, eco-engineering contradictions and eco-innovation domains, taking into account environmental, technological and economic requirements. This classification will help to identify suitable principles quickly and also to realize rapid innovation. In addition, to validate the proposed classification approach, the study is illustrated with the application of nature-inspired invention principles for the development of a sustainable process design for the extraction of high-purity silicon dioxide from pyrophyllite ores. Finally, the paper defines a future research agenda in the field of nature-inspired eco-engineering in the context of AI-assisted invention and innovation.
Enhancing engineering creativity with automated formulation of elementary solution principles
(2023)
The paper describes a method for the automated formulation of elementary creative stimuli for product or process design at different levels of abstraction and in different engineering domains. The experimental study evaluates the impact of structured automated idea generation on inventive thinking in engineering design and compares it with previous experimental studies in educational and industrial settings. The outlook highlights the benefits of using automated ideation in the context of AI-assisted invention and innovation.
Cross-industry innovation is commonly understood as identification of analogies and interdisciplinary transfer or copying of technologies, processes, technical solutions, working principles or models between industrial sectors. In general, creative thinking in analogies belongs to the efficient ideation techniques. However, engineering graduates and specialists frequently lack the skills to think across the industry boundaries systematically. To overcome this drawback an easy-to-use method based on five analogies has been evaluated through its applications by students and engineers in numerous experiments and industrial case studies. The proposed analogies help to identify and resolve engineering contradictions and apply approaches of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving TRIZ and biomimetics. The paper analyses the outcomes of the systematized analogies-based ideation and outlines that its performance continuously grows with the engineering experience. It defines metrics for ideation efficiency and ideation performance function.
Environmentally-friendly implementation of new technologies and eco-innovative solutions often faces additional secondary ecological problems. On the other hand, existing biological systems show a lesser environmental impact as compared to the human-made products or technologies. The paper defines a research agenda for identification of underlying eco-inventive principles used in the natural systems created through evolution. Finally, the paper proposes a comprehensive method for capturing eco-innovation principles in biological systems in addition and complementary to the existing biomimetic methods and TRIZ methodology and illustrates it with an example.
Sustainable design of equipment for process intensification requires a comprehensive and correct identification of relevant stakeholder requirements, design problems and tasks crucial for innovation success. Combining the principles of the Quality Function Deployment with the Importance-Satisfaction Analysis and Contradiction Analysis of requirements gives an opportunity to define a proper process innovation strategy more reliably and to develop an optimal process intensification technology with less secondary engineering and ecological problems.
The paper is addressing the needs of the universities regarding qualification of students as future R&D specialists in efficient techniques for successfully running innovation process. It briefly describes the program of a novel one-semester-course of 150 hours in new product development and inventive problem solving with TRIZ methodology, offered for the master students at the Beuth University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. The paper outlines multi-source educational approach, which includes a new product development project (about 50% of the complete course), theory, practical work, self-learning with the software tools for computer-aided innovation, and demonstrates examples of the students work. The research part analyses the learning experience, identifies the factors that impact the innovation and problem solving performance of the students, and underlines the main difficulties faced by the students in the course. It describes a method for measurement of education efficiency and compares the results with educational experience in the industry. The presented results can help universities to establish the education in new product development or to improve its performance.
Using patent information for identification of new product features with high market potential
(2014)
The process of establishing an industry standard for TRIZ has been initiated: VDI Guideline 4521 will cover TRIZ. Work is going on on the first part of the standard which will define and explain basic TRIZ vocabulary and notions. A first draft of a list of terms has been compiled by V. Souchkov and is currently being discussed at MATRIZ. The standardization committee consists of TRIZ specialists of various degrees together with TRIZ users from industry. It is working in close connection with MATRIZ. In parallel, translations for the elements of TRIZ terminology into several languages are being sought. According to schedule, work on the first part of the standard may be finished by July 2014 and may go into print by the end of the year.
Systemic Constellations are a phenomenological approach to resolving personal, professional and organizational issues. They offer a way of mapping a present reality, working at the source of the hidden dynamics and moving to a resolution. This systemic approach often delivers surprising and unexpected insights while also offering the possibility to analyze and solve organizational problems. Rational analysis provides the whole picture of the problem which often turns out to be too complex for a decision making. Systemic constellations can help to simplify and clarify the situation and inform what has to happen next [8], [17]. The outcomes of systemic constellations as an additional resource for solving comprehensive technical problems have not yet been sufficiently investigated. In structural constellation work dealing with technical problems, the individuals who are involved in the problem situation are used to represent different system components, substances or fields. A moderator voices the feedback from the representatives concerning their feelings or intuitive movements, and points to possible solutions. For example, a moderator places the representatives somewhere in the room, develops a three-dimensional picture of the constellation of the analyzed situation and tries to expose the factors empowering or blocking the way towards constructive solutions [13]. This paper explores the theoretical background and practical outcomes of the systemic constellation method for technical problem solving. It presents some case study work which has been conducted in recent years, and then discusses its findings and implications. The research outlined in this paper demonstrates that the noteworthy contribution of structural constellation work for problem solving is typically the result of a combination of functional analysis and the feeling-as-information principle. The constellation work helps, at first, to reveal the subjective experiences, such as feelings, moods, emotions, and bodily sensations, and then to accept them as a source of objective information relevant to the decision making process. In accordance with the latest research [19], the use of feelings as a source of information follows the same principles as the use of any other information. This paper provides the structures of some standard templates and types of constellation work for technical problems, and discusses the preconditions for their application.
TRIZ Innovationstechnologie
(2023)
The increasing diffusion of rapidly developing AI technologies led to the idea of the experiment to combine TRIZ-based automated idea generation with the natural language processing tool ChatGPT, using the chatbot to interpret the automatically generated elementary solution principles. The article explores the opportunities and benefits of a novel AI-enhanced approach to teaching systematic innovation, analyses the learning experience, identifies the factors that affect students' innovation and problem-solving performance, and highlights the main difficulties students face, especially in interdisciplinary problems.
In der Wertanalyse ist die Methodik TRIZ (Theorie der Lösung erfinderischer Problemstellungen) seit vielen Jahren als Werkzeug zur Kostensenkung oder zur Steigerung der Funktionalität von Produkten bekannt. Seit ihrem ersten Bekanntwerden in Westeuropa hat sich auch TRIZ weiterentwickelt. So wurden Methoden zur Modellierung von Systemen inzwischen erweitert und um Werkzeuge zur schnellen Lösungsfindung, zur Fehlervoraussage und zur Produktplanung neu entwickelt. Durch den weltweiten wissenschaftlichen Fortschritt, die Verwendung unterschiedlicher Sprachen und neue Literatur ist andererseits auch die verwendete Terminologie angewachsen und nicht mehr eindeutig. Die neue VDI-Richtlinie 4521, von deren erstem Teil nun der Gründruck vorliegt, zielt deswegen auf eine Standardisierung der Terminologie und eine vereinheitlichte Beschreibung der Methoden ab. Mit ihrer Hilfe sollen das Studium der Methodik erleichtert, die Benutzung von Literatur vereinfacht und Inhalte der TRIZ klarer darstellbar werden.
CONTEXT
The paper addresses the needs of medium and small businesses regarding qualification of R&D specialists in the interdisciplinary cross-industry innovation, which promises a considerable reduction of investments and R&D expenditures. The cross-industry innovation is commonly understood as identification of analogies and transfer of technologies, processes, technical solutions, working principles or business models between industrial sectors. However, engineering graduates and specialists frequently lack the advanced skills and knowledge required to run interdisciplinary innovation across the industry boundaries.
PURPOSE
The study compares the efficiency of the cross-industry innovation methods in one semester project-oriented course. It identifies the individual challenges and preferred working techniques of the students with different prior knowledge, sets of experiences, and cultural contexts, which require attention by engineering educators.
APPROACH
Two parallel one-semester courses were offered to the mechanical and process engineering students enrolled in bachelor’s and master’s degree programs at the faculty of mechanical and process engineering. The students from different years of study were working in 12 teams of 3…6 persons each on different innovation projects, spending two hours a week in the classroom and additionally on average two hours weekly on their project research. Students' feedback and self-assessments concerning gained skills, efficiency of learned tools and intermediate findings were documented, analysed, and discussed regularly along the course.
RESULTS
Analysis of numerous student projects allows to compare and to select the tools most appropriate for finding cross-industry solutions, such as thinking in analogies, web monitoring, function-oriented search, databases of technological effects and processes, special creativity techniques and others. The utilization of learned skills in practical innovation work strengthens the motivation of students and enhances their entrepreneurial competences. Suggested learning course and given recommendations help facilitate sustainable education of ambitious specialists.
CONCLUSIONS
The structured cross-industry innovation can be successfully run as a systematic process and learned in one semester course. The choice of the preferred working teqniques made by the students is affected by their prior knowledge in science, practical experience, and cultural contexts. Major outcomes of the students’ innovation projects such as feasibility, novelty and customer value of the concepts are primarily influenced by students’ engineering design skills, prior knowledge of the technologies, and industrial or business experience.
The comprehensive assessment method includes 80 innovation performance parameters and 10 key indicators of innovation capability, such as innovation process performance, innovating system performance, market and customer orientation, technology orientation, creativity, leadership, communication and knowledge management, risk and cost management, innovative climate, and innovation competences. The cross-industry study identifies parameters critical for innovation success and reveals different innovation performance patterns in companies.
Accelerated transformation of the society and industry through digi-talization, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies has intensified the need for university graduates that are capable of rapidly finding breakthrough solutions to complex problems, and can successfully implement innovation con-cepts. However, there are only few universities making significant efforts to com-prehensively incorporate creative and systematic tools of TRIZ (theory of in-ventive problem solving) and KBI (knowledge-based innovation) into their de-gree structure. Engineering curricula offer little room for enhancing creativity and inventiveness by means of discipline‐specific subjects. Moreover, many ed-ucators mistakenly believe that students are either inherently creative, or will in-evitably obtain adequate problem-solving skills as a result of their university study. This paper discusses challenges of intelligent integration of TRIZ and KBI into university curricula. It advocates the need for development of standard guidelines and best-practice recommendations in order to facilitate sustainable education of ambitious, talented, and inventive specialists. Reflections of educa-tors that teach TRIZ and KBI to students from mechanical, electrical, process engineering, and business administration are presented.
Economic growth and ecological problems have pushed industries to switch to eco-friendly technologies. However, environmental impact is still often neglected since production efficiency remains the main concern. Patent analysis in the field of process engineering shows that, on the one hand, some eco-issues appear as secondary problems of the new technologies, and on the other hand, eco-friendly solutions often show lower efficiency or performance capability. The study categorizes typical environmental problems and eco-contradictions in the field of process engineering involving solids handling and identifies underlying inventive principles that have a higher value for environmental innovation. Finally, 42 eco-innovation methods adapting TRIZ are chronologically presented and discussed.
Economic growth and ecological problems motivate industries to apply eco-friendly technologies and equipment. However, environmental impact, followed by energy and material consumption still remain the main negative implications of the technological progress in process engineering. Based on extensive patent analysis, this paper assigns more than 250 identified eco-innovation problems and requirements to 14 general eco-categories with energy consumption and losses, air pollution, and acidification as top issues. It defines primary eco-engineering contradictions, in case eco-problems appear as negative side effects of the new technologies, and secondary eco-engineering contradictions, if eco-friendly solutions have new environmental drawbacks. The study conceptualizes a correlation matrix between the eco-requirements for prediction of typical eco-contradictions on example of processes involving solids handling. Finally, it summarizes major eco-innovation approaches including Process Intensification in process engineering, and chronologically reviews 66 papers on eco-innovation adapting TRIZ methodology. Based on analysis of 100 eco-patents, 58 process intensification technologies, and literature, the study identifies 20 universal TRIZ inventive principles and sub-principles that have a higher value for environmental innovation.