For many years companies have been focusing their offerings to end users on their products. Today we see companies are realizing they can increase the value they deliver by also adding service innovation to their portfolio. This trend is often associated with business model changes that enable companies to transform their proposition and better compete…
I’m back on the West Coast this week and it turns out that by coincidence while I am here there is going to be an impressive solar eclipse. Not only are solar eclipses uncommon, but when they do occur, they can only be seen from the few places on Earth where the actual path of…
Gold dust day gecko licking nectar from Bird of Paradise flower. The image was taken at Kona, Hawaii. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)I continue to have a keen interest in the emerging area of biomimicry. The exploration of nature and its processes to yield innovative solutions to complex problems is an interesting and novel approach that not…
I’ve been spending a lot of time on the road this year, and although it is sometimes difficult to be away from home, it allows me to learn more about different cultures and different approaches to everyday life. Beyond the major things like language, food and people, sometimes it’s the little things that make an…
I came across this interesting iPhone app today from the Innovation Engineblog, and thought I’d share. This is the future of mobile communications! An astonishing app uses an iPhone’s accelerometer to sense the location of a tap on any surface and translate it into typed letters on a keyboard. We have virtual keyboards, clip-on keyboards,…
The next generation of turbine wind blades may someday come from natural fibers and plant-based plastics from soybean, linseed, and other vegetable oils, instead of oil-based polymers. Here is the story from Fast Company: A world powered by wind sounds super clear, until you start having to replace football-field-sized turbine blades. But what if they…
Toys are getting a lot more sophisticated these days, and many of them have been innovated to solve a consumer challenge. Take the Hug and Dream Minnie Mouse toy from Japan, for instance. This new toy lulls little ones to sleep by simulating their breathing patterns. The dolls were made available worldwide from Japan Trend…
If you’ve ever liked a photo online and wondered how and where you can find that must-have item, now there’s a new online tool to help people do that. It’s called CrowdSend, and it encourages users who find an item they like to “ask the crowd” where to buy it. Users need to set up…
Did you know that 150 million of people worldwide live in remote areas without any access to safe drinking water? A company in France, Eole Water, has pioneered a wind turbine able to create drinking water from condensed air. According to its website, the Eole Water’s mission is to provide these isolated communities with safe…
I frequently talk to clients and business associates who don’t speak English, and that’s why I am very excited to see technology remove language barriers. A Japan-based company, NTT DOCOMO, has launched the Hanashite Hon’yaku app that allows speakers of two different languages to carry out a phone conversation by translating their speech in…
