Innovation By Combination

[Buffy]

Sitting here waiting for the Mid-Ohio Indy Car race to come on, I'm watching the British Open, and they have this really nifty thing wandering around on the links:

 

Its a Segway with a Steadicam on top of it.

 

What a great idea!

 

Googling the two terms shows a bunch of people who have done this by simply welding them together, so from the legal side, there's a question of whether this was "obvious" or not, but that's not my point.

 

So many "innovations" really aren't new technologies, they're combinations of existing ones.

 

Can you think of others?

 

Freedom to combine stuff,

Buffy

[InfiniteNow]

Remote controlled surgical tools and arms for better control in tight areas.

High-speed internet connections.

 

Telepresent surgeries. :D

 

 

:zip:

 

 

"We're losing her, doctor!"

"Quick! Hit left, right, left, right, down, up, down, up, B, A, B, A, select, start!" :hihi:

[InfiniteNow]

Moving past the need for quill and ink, technology offers the ability to type words for communication via digital media.

Text-to-Speech synthesis via computer software.

 

The ability of people who have lost their power of speech to continue communicating verbally.

 

 

Evaporating blackholes in the sharing of information. :hihi: :zip:

[Eclogite]

So many "innovations" really aren't new technologies, they're combinations of existing ones.

Can you think of others?

To be honest I haven't been able to think of any that weren't.

Perhaps I'm just in an unimaginative mood today. To set my mind at ease could someone suggest just one innovation that was not an adaptation/amendment/combination/extension of existing technology.

[Buffy]

To be honest I haven't been able to think of any that weren't. :) Perhaps I'm just in an unimaginative mood today.

This is definitely not an exercise in absolute typological definitions: relax and enjoy it!

 

To set my mind at ease could someone suggest just one innovation that was not an adaptation/amendment/combination/extension of existing technology.

You piled on 3 other words that I didn't include: I'm aiming at pure combination that doesn't require much work.

 

An example I wouldn't put in this bucket: the Transistor: sure, electronically vacuum tubes work the same way, but it took a lot of experimentation and creativity to come up with the notion that you could get the same effect by doping silicon in two different ways.

 

I'm also not including "alternate uses" in this category, like the microwave oven, and the wonderful story of its "invention" via melted chocolate bar (yum!)....

 

Just plain ol' throw two things together and have something really cool!

 

There are no prizes or great insights to be had here though, so don't be disappointed if you don't get anything out of this thread! :hyper:

 

Iron + Curlers = Curling Iron,

Buffy

[Turtle]

Sitting here waiting for the Mid-Ohio Indy Car race to come on, I'm watching the British Open, and they have this really nifty thing wandering around on the links:

...

So many "innovations" really aren't new technologies, they're combinations of existing ones.

 

Can you think of others?

 

Freedom to combine stuff,

Buffy

 

the electric starter for automobiles.

 

freedom from crankiness,

:)

[Tormod]

How about Internet telephony? Text messaging via cellphones? Social networks? Use of CCDs on space probes! USB powered coffee heaters.

 

And Buffy, the steadicam itself is an excellent example of product of combination.

 

Oh, and anything thought up by David Kelley Design (now Ideo).

 

As for "innovation by combination" it is a key concept in the field of innovation. Am I boring enough now?

[Tormod]

Cameras + cellphones is a brilliant idea. And non-drive MP3 players (digital audio + flash storage).

 

My daughter has a brilliant gadget: A pencil with a battery powered fan on it. Excellent for writing postcards on warm summer days.