Liftware Spoon Background
Lift Labs is a company founded by Anupam Pathak which developed a spoon called Liftware Stabiliser (Rushe, 2014) which is designed to counteract the the physiological tremor and shaking associated with Parkinson’s disease (Neckar, 2014). The company was acquired by Google in September 2014 and integrated into the life sciences division of Google X (Dougherty, 2014).
The Liftware stabilising handle (which can attach spoon, fork and soup spoons) contains motion sensors (an accelerometer) (Gruneisen, 2013) that detect hand motion, and a small onboard computer distinguishes unwanted hand tremors from the intended movement of the hand. The computer directs two motions in the handle to move the utensil attachment in the opposite direction of any detected tremor, therefore counteracting any tremors, stabilising the utensil (Liftware, 2014) and reducing the shaking by up to 70% (Mashable, 2013).
Google launched the spoon in November 2014, costing $295 USD (Rushe, 2014).
Opportunities identified in the Market
When developing a new product or service it is important to consider the opportunities in the market. In delivering new or innovative products into the market, firms must employ a series of activities that are outlined in the New Product Development process (Koen et al, 2007). Peter Koen et al. provides a five-step front-end activity called front-end innovation: ‘opportunity identification, opportunity analysis, idea genesis, idea selection, and
The second objective is to find disruptive innovations that threaten the product roadmap and which, ideally, can be incorporated into corporate strategy to yield a competitive advantage [3].
placed in the earth to record the rhythms, patterns, strength and duration of tremors and
Innovation and innovation strategies are critical to keeping companies competitive in their chosen fields of endeavor. Consumers benefit significantly from the availability of and access to the latest in technology. This paper
This is the first case study report for the course ED5317: Strategies for Managing Innovation that is based on the Harvard Business School case titled ‘Design Thinking and Innovation at Apple’. The report consists of the following question:
While beautiful and potent, Tibetan and crystal bowls are often expensive, fragile and difficult to transport. And while each uses vibration, sound waves from bowls washes over the body whereas tuning forks are precise, concentrated sound, McKenzie explains. And they’re easy to pack up and take with you.
This company has clients spanned across more than 35 different country. With over 1,500 clients, Status Labs has worked with public figures, international brands and Fortune 100 companies. Through their work, the Austin-based firm helps clients achieve their marketing and public relations goals. Status Labs '
As our world changes faster and we face more unexpected challenges than ever before, we need to approach these challenges with innovative ideas and solutions. The process of
Providing sharper images at slower shutter speeds, image stabilization (IS), also known as vibration reduction (VR), may offer a photographer increased flexibility; however, when it comes to handheld use, technique, and yes, even one's posture are the most important factors. This amazing tool called the handheld rule, also known as the reciprocal rule, will undoubtedly greatly improve your photography. Although advertised as a rule, I encourage using it as more of a guide; conversely, as with many rules, some may be bent while others can be broken. I do, however, suggest utilizing this valuable “rule’, but under no circumstance should a “rule” stifle one’s creativity. When intentionally introduced into an image, camera shake can add stunning innovative
Also, the process of preparing a new dish includes many trials and errors that requires the use of problem solving. Samuelsson uses hand dexterity and thumb opposition when holding utensils, such as spoons, pans, and knives. Bipedalism and upright position allows him to stand on two feet, move around the kitchen, and have free movement of his hands. Stereoscopic vision allows him to move his eyes to different locations. Therefore, he can look directly at tasks in front of him, and he can use peripheral vision to see what is happening in different stations.
To use the gadget you lay a pair of the foot step trackers on the ground from there you place each foot onto a tracker set. On each tracker set are millions of tiny suction cups activated by the press of a finger that is scanned so only you can use it.
iving with degenerative diseases is very disheartening and may get more challenging as time passes. One of the major challenges often associated with diseases like Parkinson's or Essential Tremor is not having the ability to control trembling hands which makes everything difficult. People with tremors in many cases are uncomfortable and often embarrassed giving them reasons to isolate themselves from occasions or get-togethers especially when eating is involved.
Google represents a company that has relied on innovation to drive success. Innovation is an essential part of the corporate culture (Nussbaum, 2011). The company has built its innovation capabilities on the eight pillars of innovation that help foster this practice and make it an integral part of the organizational culture (Wojcicki, n.d.).Gregersen and Dyer (2012) note that having innovative senior management is a critical component of having a strong innovative culture in an organization. The company fosters innovation by providing the resources (especially time) to its employees to pursue their own projects, trusting that these projects will be more creative than if the company directed the process centrally. This approach has delivered the company a stock price of $700 and an EPS of $31.92 (MSN Moneycentral, 2012).
These R&D labs usually concentrated on bringing out new technologies for self-commercialisation. This process can be viewed in the form of a funnel, where a large number of varied ideas and concepts can be trimmed down to few of those concepts and ideas that best meet the requirements of the company. (OECD, 2008) In recent times, companies have become more open with their innovation process, leading to revolution described as “Open Innovation” by Chesbrough (2003). This ‘open innovation’ model is a more dynamic model when compared the traditional model as there is much more interaction between knowledge assets outside the company as well as inside. Henry Chesbrough (2003) in his book “Open Innovation: New Imperative for creating and profiting from technology” defines open innovation as a concept in which companies must use ideas from inside as well as outside sources and find internal and external ways to reach the market in order to advance their technological capabilities. Open innovation combines these 3
The second stage is selection. It is well known fact that innovation is risky. In order not to fail, firm has to thoroughly assess the opportunities, so innovation will be held within the frame of company’s technological and marketing competences and will be coherent with overall business strategy (Tidd, J., Bessant, J., 2009). There are three components in this phase. The first component comes from previous stage and implies the analysis of opportunities, both marketing and technological, procurable for the firm. The second component includes the distinctive features company possesses, which are knowledge base, employees, equipment and experience (Prahalad, C., Hamel, G., 1990). The third component is suitability to the overall business strategy. This implies the fact that proposed innovation should be beneficial for firm’s performance, in other words, be in company’s competence base, otherwise it could lead to the failure (Cooper, R., 2000).
Starting a new product is never easy for a company. The difficulties they face are diverse in nature, and often they lack initiatives so that customers are not interested in the product.