Best of both worlds The University of Wisconsin has been working on what they call a Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition engine. This system uses a port injector and a direct injector two introduce two fuels into the combustion chamber, such as gasoline and diesel (port and direct, respectively). Both SCAMPER – Combine and Principle 5…
Why do I want to fit Principles into SCAMPER approaches? In a recent post (check it here first) I explore how SCAMPER can embrace the 40 Principles of Inventive Problem Solving. The goal is to wrap the complexity of the Principles in the approachability of SCAMPER. Combine defined in Applied Imagination Under the category of…
Amazon is a dominant player now, but its birth was plagued with doubt and financial weakness, reveals the book The Everything Store by Brad Stone. Amazon started as an online book seller, and this was a canny move by Jeff Bezos, the company’s founder. Books were true commodities – all the same, no question of whether…
Making running shoes faster Not necessarily making faster running shoes. Adidas brings together components from around the world to make its shoes. Each component may have been around the world having separate steps of manufacturing to it before ending up the final assembly of a running shoe. This process can take up to two months…
MultiPro Tailgate I’ve had occasion to talk about a tailgate once before, with the unique flip or turn tailgate on the Honda Ridgeline. GMC’s exclusive MultiPro Tailgate is another innovation aimed at increasing the functionality of a pickup. The operator can fold the primary tailgate, the inner tailgate, and the load stop into a total…
Incredible response This Kickstarter project received $1,330,293 in pledges and 6,480 backers, far exceeding its original goal of $100,000. The product The primary innovations here are the merging (Principle 5 – Merging) of a down jacket with a battery-operated heating system. Principle 6 – Universality is also at play, as the same battery can be…
Lunar lifeboat An electrical short in an oxygen tank caused an explosion in Apollo 13’s service module. This cylindrical module was tipped with the command module, the bell-shaped capsule that plunged through the atmosphere to return astronauts to earth. Docked to the top of the command module was the lunar module with its spindly landing…
One. Billion. Dollars! Smart doorbell maker Ring just got acquired by Amazon for over $1 billion. This is after Shark Tank turned down the deal on their show in 2013. “Why cry over spilled milk when you know there’s another great idea coming through the Shark Tank?” Kevin O’Leary. Amazon’s new milk run Amazon is…
The musket: “Brown Bess” The British Army’s Land Pattern Musket, nicknamed the “Brown Bess” was a smoothbore muzzle-loader. Smoothbore Smoothbore refers to the finish of the inside of the barrel of the musket. A smooth bore does not impart any rotational forces to the fired projectile. Muzzle-loader Loading a musket was an involved process. First,…
A simple idea This project merges (Principle 5 – Merging) the do-anything screen (Principle 6 – Universality) with a watch band, making a smartwatch the year before the release of the Apple Watch. It’s another example of a Kickstarter project that met with great success with $942,578, pledged of $15,000 goal and 13,512 backers. What else? One of the…