Pictures of the Future Spring 2007
In Brief
How Innovations Are Really Born
Flames of innovation. The paths to market success are as varied as the innovators themselves
Could it actually take 20 years for an innovation to develop from an initial idea to a marketable product? How are innovations that revolutionize entire industries developed? And how do developers deal with innovations that are promising, but also threaten to make their companies’ long-established products obsolete? Is there a way to avoid the "not invented here syndrome?" Can slow-moving evolutionary developments be just as successful as ingenious innovation breakthroughs?
What makes innovators tick, and what drives them? How are they able to overcome a broad spectrum of challenges? What’s the secret of their success—bold visions, motivated teams, or having the freedom to apply their creativity? How important are internal and external networks and close ties with customers?
The answers are found in a new book, Innovative Minds—A Look Inside Siemens’ Idea Machine. It takes readers behind the scenes at Siemens laboratories, highlighting the stories of 30 innovators from all of Siemens’ business areas and regions. These are people who have developed some of the most successful innovations of recent years, ranging from piezo injector technology for automobiles to new computer tomographs and magnetic resonance tomographs, from the halogen lamp to industrial automation, and from the gas sensor for building technology to the gas turbine for power generation.
Many management books describe the ideal way to generate innovations—by using the right strategies, tools and processes, for example. But reality is almost always more complicated, and the roads to innovation are more intricate than management theories indicate. Innovative Minds tells the true and exciting stories of innovators and their innovations. It will inspire innovators to try out new things—and encourage companies to create environments that promote innovation, helping them attract today’s best minds. The book is a useful resource for all involved in the complex processes that transform an initial idea into a successful product—for readers working in R&D, marketing, production, sales, strategy and innovation management units, or corporate organization and management departments. The book can be ordered from: www.siemens.com/innovation/book
Jack of all Trades
Easy to use. AySystem has a large display that can also be programmed for use as an emergency call button
It’s a mobile alarm system, fitness trainer, and monitor of persons in need of care, all in a single product. The versatile AySystem presented by Siemens this spring contains a mobile communications module and sensors that detect noise, temperature changes and movement. But that’s not all. The device can be equipped with a camera and GPS unit. Users can also remotely control AySystem via the Internet. The alarm feature is suitable for use in cars, weekend homes, or with baby phones. The owner simply sets threshold values for temperature or noise. Should actual measurements deviate from the predefined range, the device will send a text message or initiate a call via the mobile communication network. The device’s motion sensor can be used to monitor persons who are in need of care, whereby AySystem notifies a specified caregiver if someone has fallen or is no longer able to move. And because AySystem is linked to the Internet, it can also be used to track the movements of taxis, joggers or people on mountain bikes. The system will be offered on the basis of a mobile communications contract or a prepaid card.
Vegetable Oil as Fuel
Environmentally friendly and safe. The BSH vegetable oil stove is well-suited for use in emerging markets
A vegetable oil stove specially designed for developing countries is making the preparation of meals safer and more environmentally friendly. The portable stove is the first to use conventional—and renewable—vegetable oil as a fuel. And, unlike setups that burn wood and other fossil fuels, it produces hardly any pollutants. The device, which has been successfully tested, costs about 30 €, making it affordable for most people in emerging markets like the Philippines. There, production of the stoves is well under way, and tests in Tanzania and several other countries will follow. More than one-third of the world’s population currently cooks meals over open fires. In emerging markets especially, people often use wood, exposing themselves to dangers in the process. According to a study by the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 1.6 million people die of respiratory ailments associated with cooking each year. Cooking with wood involves inhaling large amounts of pollutants and can cause fires and burns. The "Protos" stove, which was developed by BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, works like a camping stove. The owner uses an air pump to generate pressure of up to three bar in a tank filled with vegetable oil, at which point the oil flows through a channel into a vaporizer tube at the burner. There, the cooking flame heats it up, whereupon it vaporizes and ultimately burns. In the development of the stove, BSH was supported through a public-private partnership involving the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the German Investment and Development Company.
Safe Blood Donations
RFID blood bag. Temperature sensors monitor processing
Siemens and several partners have developed an RFID-based solution for the comprehensive monitoring of blood donations. The achievement will make blood transfusions even safer in the future. For one thing, blood identification via radio chips will practically eliminate the possibility of mix-ups. The system is also equipped with a temperature sensor that makes it possible to consistently monitor the temperatures a sample has been exposed to. Blood often has to be discarded because its temperature is either insufficiently monitored—or not monitored at all—throughout its processing. The RFID chips with temperature sensors are affixed to blood bags, whose temperature can be determined at any time using radio-based reading devices. The chips are tough enough to withstand extreme stresses, including a sterilization and pasteurization process when they are manufactured, and being subjected to centrifugal force of up to 5,000 g while being processed. The system is expected to be ready for use in 2008 following approval by regulatory authorities.
Small Wonder
Powerful illumination. Ostar Lighting can be used for general applications
Osram has developed a light-emitting diode (LED) spotlight that achieves an output of more than 1,000 lm for the first time. That’s brighter than a 50-W halogen lamp. The power consumption is also substantially lower. In other words, the device is suitable for a broad range of general lighting applications. The Ostar Lighting LED can, for example, provide sufficient light for a desk from a height of two meters, while its small size will also enable completely new types of lamp design. The market launch of Ostar Lighting is scheduled for summer 2007. To achieve a 1,000 lm output , experts at Osram employed a sophisticated system for high chip-packing density, whereby the researchers managed to integrate six high-performance light emitting diode chips into the unit’s small housing. Each chip has an area of only 1 mm². Ostar Lighting also achieves extremely high efficiency, delivering up to 75 lm/W, depending on the operating current.
New Turbine Coating
Stamm with turbine blade. He has submitted 52 inventions
Using a mixture of exotic metals, Dr. Werner Stamm of Siemens Power Generation in Mülheim an der Ruhr has substantially improved gas turbine blades. Using a ceramic coating, he improved the components’ combustion temperature, efficiency and service life. Turbines fitted with these blades use fuel more efficiently and thus help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In gas turbines, the hot combustion gas strikes the blades in an environment whose temperatures are in excess of 1,000 °C. In order to protect these blades, Stamm developed a protective coating that is much more stable than those previously used. Here, he used various metals, including rhenium, which is relatively unknown. The optimal mixture of the materials produces a coating that not only provides protection against oxidation but also serves as an adhesive for layers of thermal insulation. Rhenium, with its extremely high melting point of approximately 3,200 °C, improves various properties, particularly the heat resistance.Stamm was one of 12 Siemens Inventors of the Year in 2006. He has been working for the company for 15 years and has submitted 52 inventions. The thing he likes most about his work is that he can see the entire life cycle of his products—in this case from the basic material to the coatings and the blade itself—all at a glance.
Cardiac Catheter in 3D
A look into the body. Fast and safe catheter interventions
To assist doctors in conducting minimally invasive procedures, Frank Sauer, a researcher at Siemens Corporate Research in Princeton, New Jersey, has developed a system that provides them with a view inside the body during operations. The new method not only makes it easier for cardiologists to conduct catheter procedures, in which a small instrument is inserted into the body through a vein; it also makes such procedures safer and easier to learn. Until now, physicians have had only a very limited view during interventions, being unable to directly see the organs in question. The new procedure, however, gives doctors a general overview of the target organ, helping them to guide the catheter. By using images from CT or MR scanners, Sauer creates a 3D depiction of the patient. The system then uses built-in position sensors to display the catheter in the image during the procedure, allowing the doctor to see the exact position of the instrument’s tip at any time. Sauer and his team developed the new system in cooperation with the Angiography, Fluoroscopy, and X-Ray Systems division of Siemens Medical Solutions and partner company Biosense Webster. And its potential is far from exhausted. Sauer plans to link the devices’ position indicators with images generated during the operation, enabling doctors to intervene immediately if any problems occur.