SBIR Phase I: An Ergosemantic Analogy Problem Solving Platform

Innovation Accelerator, Inc., West Brookfield MA

Investigators

Abstract

This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a novel software platform for conducting analogous search to enhance innovation. The technology is based on the observation that as much as 90% of new innovations are really adaptations of existing solutions. Currently, engineers responsible for innovating new products generally rely on basic brainstorming tools and a hit or miss strategy. This makes innovation more art than science. Analogy Finder is designed to address this problem. It is based on patent pending semantic search technology that locates highly relevant patents containing adaptable ideas for unsolved problems. The technology, originally developed under NSF funding at the University of Massachusetts, enables engineers and scientists to move beyond keyword search and instead conduct analogous search to identify relevant technologies and solutions from other disciplines. The proposed phase I project will enhance the relevancy of analogous search results, while developing a suite of benchmark metrics to measure improvement. The objectives of the project are to implement two ways to group search results and one way to order search results by a semantic uniqueness metric, and to complete the indexing of all digitized patents of the U.S. Patent database. The broader/commercial impact of this technology will be seen by companies that are actively engaging in and investing in their R&D process to increase innovation. Obvious industries benefiting from the technology include automotive, electronics, aerospace, defense, energy, infrastructure and chemical where they rely heavily on engineering design. The new technology fulfills a distinct and crucial need for the industry. According to a 2007 McKinsey study, 70% of Corporate Leaders say innovation is among their top three priorities for driving growth, indicating a prime opportunity for our technology. But as outlined in the Booze & Allen 2012 report, few companies have perfected the innovation process. According to the survey, 46% of respondents said their companies are only marginally effective or average at generating commercially viable ideas and few succeed at innovation without having an established process that is followed in a disciplined fashion. Adding science to the art of innovation will greatly increase the discovery of new, innovative solutions for a myriad of engineering problems. When a company can more accurately predict the time needed to solve a problem it will allow them to save time, innovate faster and speed the time to market for new and innovative products.