ENG8011 Assessment of Future Specialist Technology

Synopsis

An overview is made of products and markets: Food and subsistence, travel, entertainment and spectator sport, health and healing, participation sport, conflict, functions of government, information and enforcement. Changes that shape our surroundings are traced back to their original invention - eg. the invention of the lift underpinned the possibility of the high rise building. Routes to innovation are considered, including product convergence, cross fertilisation - as with the effect of computing power on biotechnology, inventing by analogy - as with the 'spin' transistor. The nature of product stagnation is reviewed - as with the vacuum cleaner - and means whereby novelty can be introduced (eg. Dyson). Fashion in innovation is observed - the tendency for leapfrogging sequences of advances in a narrow field. Advantageous deficiency is mentioned - the deliberate introduction of defects to induce sales of replacements.

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