"Innovation as a Service"
In the early 1900s, the arrival of the Wright Flyer and the Ford Model T created the most incredible modulation in U.S. transportation history. Less than 30 years after the Wright Brothers' first powered flight with a fabric-wooden glider and the introduction of the first production Model T, commercial aviation became real, and Ford rolled out the 15 millionth Model T to usher in the age of mass mobility. A host of aviation and automotive technologies from self-inspired innovators across all spectrums of society continued to make flying machines and cars better, more robust, and more reliable. An army of "People Innovators" powered the U.S. innovation engine. The invention of the Wright Flyer or the Ford Model T did not come through the institutional channel. Institutionally funded Samuel Langley's Great Aerodrome failed to take off, and the design was deemed unflyable. To be sure, the Wright Brothers and Henry Ford had access to much prior knowledge and data from institutional research. But it was a democratic innovation ecosystem in the early 1900s that created the two most incredible machines invented by seemingly "(extra)-ordinary" individuals.
As the Federal Government outsourced most of its Research and Development and Innovation Businesses to universities and a few federal labs, the post-World War II innovation ecosystem became more exclusive and extensively driven by institutional and corporate interests. Many innovations and ideas funded by taxpayers' dollars died in the valley of death and never made it outside the university laboratories to create value for the public good. Extreme Institutional bureaucracies prevalent in American higher education choked the flow of innovation to the masses. Innovation and commercialization are viewed as something that can only happen in fancy university laboratories and highly manicured incubators. As a nation, we failed to create a public innovation infrastructure that can support innovators every day. We have built innovation prosperities in only a few American cities. As a result, we are no longer the most innovative nation in the world. It is time again to bring the early 1900s back and rebuild our army of People Innovators, and it is time again to democratize our Innovation Engine.
#nsfengines #BuildBackBetter #EDA
Image Source: AI Engine-generated image.
Disclaimer: Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Texas at El Paso. I am not an institutional spokesperson. Any number or figure mentioned in my post is planned, estimated, or approximated by me and is not verified or endorsed by the University of Texas at El Paso. Please contact my employer for any official number.
Supporting Robotics Founders 🤖 at the MassRobotics Accelerator
4wThis is an incredible program!