A Changing Model: Moving technologies from research to applications

A Changing Model: Moving technologies from research to applications Mark Bernstein, CEO PARC (Palo Alto Research Center)

What I’ll share in this keynote
Context for PARC’s perspectives in flexible electronics
… From conducting fundamental research to forming businesses and addressing customer applications
Moving technologies from research to the market
… What happens to the classic ecosystem when faced with technology or market disruption?
Addressing disruptive innovation
… Lessons learned, and our vision for flexible electronics
©2010 PARC

Background: PARC & flexible electronics 1975 1980 1990 2000 2010 a-Si poly-Si organic OLED on flex (with UDC) sensor tape (DARPA) oxide carbon nanotube DoD & startups … long-term investments building on deep expertise ©2010 PARC silicon nanowire laser & inkjet printing expertise for flex many collaborations

The “classic” lab-to-market ecosystem ©2010 PARC research development product design commercial production external assets - IP, etc. core technology bank internal prototyping capability minor role established vendor network
WHAT WORKS :
Market signals the desired incremental features and functions
Can be “tuned” for rapid development cycles (e.g., cell phones)
Focuses internal expertise around core technologies
Flexible for non-disruptive change, “core” innovation
market feedback

The challenges to the classic model
What happens when (not if…) the technology or market changes disruptively?
Remember loading film into a camera? Faxes? Encyclopedias?
How do you anticipate or discover the new markets?
Be more selective of which R&D projects to invest in?
Get feedback from a market that doesn’t exist yet?
Engage appropriate external resources? Which ones?
How do you develop new competencies and capabilities?
How do you select the critical competencies you develop vs. the ones you source?
How do you get to know the “competency network” – centers of excellence, etc.?
©2010 PARC

Disruption is truly disruptive – things break! ©2010 PARC external assets - IP, etc. minor role market feedback
The ecosystem is undone –
Missing the essential pieces for system development
Tuning is no longer sufficient…reset on what’s even possible
Pieces of internal expertise will no longer be relevant
Rapid & effective infrastructure innovation is needed
research development product design commercial production core technology bank internal prototyping capability established vendor network

PARC’s lessons from disruption – be aware
Anticipate the inevitable - ensure your early warning system
Embed business development people in your research projects
Create scientist and engineer awareness of market changes and validate your investment assumptions
Motivate/enable technical staff to keep abreast of external technologies and business trends
Keep current with external speakers, including customers and competitors
Actively explore for market and technology disruptions
Social science techniques applied to identify unmet needs and understanding customer behavior for adoption vectors
(Help) drive it or be driven somewhere else!
©2010 PARC

PARC’s lessons from disruption – be prepared
Respond quickly: leverage external resources/networks
Engage visiting technologists and entrepreneurs to get the real (unpublished) story and access other networks
Look to adjacent markets and value chains to gain perspective
Connect to and work with partner institutions
Customers, suppliers, centers of excellence, investor networks
Create ecosystem structures that lead to new competency acquisition
Think about what critical skills you’ll need in-house for this new environment
Are you changing as fast as the world around you?
©2010 PARC

PARC’s key lessons from disruption - change
Be flexible: know your goals but don’t get trapped into one set of tactics or approaches
Plan on losing and gaining key resources – people and assets
This is part of the price (and reward) from disruption
Don’t be afraid to import visions along with the people
Keep on top of progress and be ready to do things differently if you’re not gaining ground on your strategic goals
Change is the constant, no longer a variable. Be responsive…
©2010 PARC

Example case: Open innovation partner
Expertise in printing conductive lines using a unique printhead and inks
For energy/cleantech application
Brought in outside expertise + created network
Opportunity identified with help of visiting technologist
Hired in key personnel to acquire critical skills not in-house
Validated technology through a major customer
Discussed with our VC network to shape commercialization path
Flexibility in the end-game
Energy funding climate soured for new business creation
Opportunity to license to the strategic customer as part of early business analysis
Negotiated deal with customer to complete validation and then license – activity still in progress toward commercialization
©2010 PARC

Example case: Creating a new business
Significantly invested in a-Si and TFT technology
Identified the disruptive potential of thin-film electronics
Identified market-disrupting application – digital cameras for X-rays!
Strong technical team + major outside collaborations with UC Berkeley, University of Michigan
Helped shape business through a spin-out –
Significant PARC technical talent went with the spin-out
Now an expanding company serving the digital radiography market
Serving medical, industrial, military, security industries
©2010 PARC

We’ve been in disruption for a while now!

Options for handling disruption
Regrow/repurpose internal capabilities?
Takes time (hiring, training, etc.)
Conflicts with keeping existing products competitive
Risky (investment, time, competitive pressure)
Acquire a company?
Very difficult to find one with all the pieces you need
Costly, plus transactions take time
Acquisition integration isn’t easy – it’s risky
Think differently about the ecosystem
Begin outside the “box” – not just a cliché!
Partner to co-develop and/or acquire assets
Right partners add experience, network; unlikely to be competitors
Build a temporary structure to get through transition
Enable internalization/transfer of capabilities over time
©2010 PARC

How to reconstruct a new ecosystem? universities ©2010 PARC research development product design commercial production patents, know-how, characterization prototyping capabilities circuits to systems emergent vendor network opportunity discovery printing companies specialized research institutes startups market research companies materials companies

PARC’s Role: Connecting across the spectrum universities ©2010 PARC patents, know-how, characterization prototyping capabilities circuits to systems emergent vendor network opportunity discovery printing companies specialized research institutes startups market research companies materials companies PARC network direct services research development product design commercial production

PARC capabilities and services ©2010 PARC materials/device physics circuit prototyping full-scale prototyping (complete system) materials and device characterization service application development/prototyping service
ink-jet printing
conventional lithography
sensor development & lamination
100+ patents available for licensing
full system prototyping service poly Si a-Si organic oxide nanowire CNT Core TFT & sensor technologies PARC client services

Snapshot: Applications & prototypes all additive inkjet printed AM backplane all additive printed organic CMOS inverter flexible blast sensor tape flexible image sensor full system prototype of X-ray camera for DoD ©2010 PARC V in gate Bilayer dielectrics p-type n-type dielectric

Summary
Traditional “lab-to-market” ecosystems work best in predictably changing technology and market scenarios
They have difficulty in responding effectively to market or technology disruption – like now
Flexible electronics represents both a major technology disruption and a major market disruption
Companies will need to transform their technology ecosystems to respond to the opportunities created by these disruptions
©2010 PARC
Session 10.2 Printed electronics
Session 12.1 Flexible sensors
Meet PARC in booth 204
Slides: http://www.parc.com/flextech2010

One view of PARC’s ecosystem MSWord now part of www.parc.com

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A Changing Model: Moving technologies from research to applications

by PARC, a Xerox company on Feb 02, 2010

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A Changing Model: Moving technologies from research to applications — Presentation Transcript