Science to Product

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© Ian Phillips 2018
https://ianp24.blogspot.com
From Science to Product ...
... How Science Enables Products
Seminar at ...
Centre for Robotics and Neural Systems (CRNS)
University of Plymouth, UK.
30nov18
Prof. Ian Phillips
CEng. BSc(hon), FIET, FIMA, SMIEEE. (Retired Dec16).
Formerly: Principal Staff Eng’r. @ ARM Ltd, UK
Visiting Professor with ...
1v2

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Science & Its Exploitation is an Economic Problem ...
§ Gov. Agencies make Research Investment and expect Economic ROI ...
§ Put lots of money into support of ‘good’ research programs (EPSRC ~£1Bpa)
§ Sees highly regarded papers and scientific outcomes
§ Anticipating exploitation in local (UK) Industries to contribute to (UK) Employment and thus (UK)GDP
§ But is disappointed at (UK)Industries ‘disinterest’ in these outcomes
... Agencies need to see exploitation evidence to justify the ongoing budget! ... Or it will be cut!
§ Why? ... is (UK) Industry so slow to pick-up Highly-Rated Research Outcomes
§ Great world leading Science and Universities ... But other Economies benefit from it?
§ Is lack of investment money holding them back ... Or lack of imagination?
... The Catapult Centers in the UK were created to improve this ... But can they work?
§ Why? ... is (UK) Industry only ‘mildly interested’ in Supporting this Research?
§ EPSRC has lots of ways that Industry can get involved ... But only a few take them up.
§ Most Industries are very short-term focused ... Isn’t that naïve of them?
§ Some do provide a small amount of financial help ... But little technical involvement!
... Seem to treat Research as a sort of Charitable/Social responsibility ... Not a necessary part of business?

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Example of Tech. Products Today ...
Customers buy Function not Technology

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Not All Tech. Products are Visible ...
Invisible; but still deliver an End-Customer Value

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Products Contain Components ...
Components
Sub-Systems
System Product
HW/SW/
Optical/etc
Virtual Physical
Support
Finance
... There are many layers, disciplines and suppliers in the typical High-Tec End-Product

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Virtual Components in an End-Product
ØAnalogue and Digital Design
ØR.T. Software Design
ØSignal Processing (Mathematics)
ØMechanics, Plastics and Glass Tech.
ØMicro-Machines (MEMs)
ØDisplays and Transducers
ØManufacturing
ØRobotics and Test
ØSpecialist Knowledge and Know-How
ØResearch, Education and Training
ØMetrology, Methodology and Tools
... Only Physical Components appear on the BOM
… But Virtual Components are also in there and
must also be Architected, Designed and Supplied!

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Many Component & Sub-System Suppliers ...
159 Tier-1 Suppliers ...
§ Thousands of Design Engineers
§ 10’s of thousands of Engineers
§ Globally !
... Hundreds more Tier-2/3 suppliers
(Including ARM)

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Working Definitions
§ End-Products:
§ Are things an End-Customer is prepared to pay for out of their own pockets, for its Personal Functionality.
End-Product cash-flow funds all of the System, Sub-System and Component; Research, Development and
Production that precedes it. They are a Commercial entity.
§ Systems:
§ Are complete in an End-Customer context. They deliver a (desirable) function at their interface to the End-
Customer. They are black-boxes. Systems can also be Sub-Systems, when they are used in ‘larger’ Systems.
§ Sub-Systems:
§ Are also complete in their context. But they deliver a function at their interface which meets the need of their
Customer; but is more technical than the End-Customer wants to see. They frequently expose something of
their operation to the level above, and are thus frequently grey-boxes.
§ Components:
§ Are incomplete in their context. They encapsulate desirable characteristics at a technical level, but need
significant intervention from their use-context for that to be useful at a Sub-System or System level.
... Any can be a Product if it is sold within the life-cycle of an End-Product!

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Technology is Never an End-Product ...
§ But Technologies are a part of every product
§ New Technologies may enhance the performance over alternatives
§ End-Products have to interest a Human Customer enough for them to
commit their Personal Work-Effort (£/$/€)to get them!
§ And all Products also have to be Economically Viable
§ They have to have a viable Business Model!
§ They have to cost less to develop, make and support than they earn
§ At level and timescale that satisfies the investors expectations
... A New Technology has to be ‘sold’ to a Business for the Increased Profit it offers
... And Supported for the Context in which they want to use it!

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Technology Readiness Level
§ A Capability is a TRL 9 Technology Installed in a Businesses and is
Ready-to-use in the creation of a Mission-Critical Product.
(Release-Status TRL 9: Shown to Reliably Work as Expected, Ready for mission-critical use)
§ A Technology or Methodology is a Packaged science or method
supported by reliable models; with adequate performance to allow
it to be assessed for use in a Product context.
(Beta-Status TRL 7-9: Mostly Works as Expected)
§ A Science is an observed (physical) phenomena with a basic model
(Method) that predicts its properties
(Alpha-Status TRL 1-6: Demonstration; Shown to be Possible)
NASA Technology Readiness Levels

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Business; The Appliance of Science (Zanussi c1984)
§ Business is about making Money, not Using Technology (or Employment)
§ Technology is never a product in its own right ... Technology(gies) only enable Products!
§ Businesses adopt New Tech. where doing so gives its Products a market edge
§ Not just ‘in-the-item’, but also ‘around-the-item’
§ And their Investors are nervous ...
§ They have ‘lent’ the business money because they believe the vision they have been sold
... But will take it away if they feel the business is changing too much; or is failing to deliver to plan
§ Often the money they have lent is from your pension fund!
§ Company Directors are Legally Responsible for looking after the monies lent to them (Limits risk)!
... A Technology may be Game-Changing to some Businesses, but Not-Relevant to Most!
... Even when it is; Businesses may have ‘safer’ ways to achieve the same outcome!

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The Four Phases of Business£/€/$
... Most Businesses are unaware of the Phase they are in, and the way it changes them
Time
Startup Growth Maturity Demise
P1: Startup ... Company is formed to deliver something to a Customer or Market.
Everybody is irreplaceable. Everybody focuses on the Product Deliverable (not just engineering). Everybody knows the risk; has
an identified roll in the ‘machine’; and is critical to the companies survival. Background Science, Technology and Knowledge
came with the group; No time for ‘new investigations’ or what-if’s.
P2: Growth ... Follows success of the First Phase.
Founders move to Marketing, Sales and Business roles, to support the product. New people come in to replace their technical
roles. Organization starts to rationalize; reduce vulnerability to individuals. Procedures are introduced in some areas to help
newcomers fit in, but don’t work everywhere (Why some roles need Engineers not Technicians). May scan the Technology
horizon ... But mostly adapt what is already known (Least risk)
P3: Maturity (Cruising) ... Following success of the Second Phase
Business has too many Families, Mortgages, Dependents and Investors to take significant risk any more. Caution and logic
prevail; evolution in products. Procedures make Everybody Replaceable; but stymie change, flexibility and revolution.
Re-Invention may be required, but the Status-Quo always resists change ?
P4: Demise
All Business Die when a Disruptor (Disruptive Technology1) finally enters their main market. Panic search for new
Technology to refresh the business ... but really clutching at straws!
[1] The Innovators Dilemma (1997) Clayton M. Christensen.

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DisruptiveTech.
Competition
The Four Phases of Business£/€/$
... There are only limited times when a company is open to External change
... And they need different things at those times!
Time
Flexibility (Openness to New Tech/Methods)
Reinvention!
Revenue

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Flexibility (Openness to New Tech/Methods)
Investors Like Startups to Focus ...
Time
Revenue
Net-Worth
1:20
19:20
Break-Even
Years!
... So they like you to have ‘Skin in the Game’
£/€/$

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Successful Businesses Supply what their Customers Need
§ And that must be in the supply-chain or life-cycle
of an End-Customer’s actual need!
§ A Product includes its Virtual (Invisible)
and Physical Components
§ The Factory and Production Lines
§ Software
§ The Support Team and Training
§ Documents, Tools and Methods
§ The cost of installation (NRE!)
... If a customer doesn’t actually need it, or if it fails to deliver
as promised, then the relationship is spoiled forever!
Sales

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What do End Customers Need ?
§ Pioneer 10 (1972) Carried this message about humanity to the stars ...
§ That we have big brains, dexterous fore-limbs, a perception of time ... and are Natural Consumers!
... We need ‘extensions’ to our bodies to enable us to do almost anything!

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End-Products Satisfy Human Needs ...
§ We are under-equipped for survival off-the-land ...
§ Animals are much better at this than we are!!
§ The ‘Naked Human’ needs almost everything just to live ...
§ Provided from their own ingenuity or from other humans
§ Maslov’s captured this in his Hierarchy Of Needs (1943)
§ 5-Stages from the basics of Warmth, Food/Drink, Rest
§ To Self-Actualization ... “Achieving your potential”
§ That Human Weakness became our Strength ...
§ To survive, we need technologies to help us ...
§ Our brains became Ingenious (to conceive of solutions) and we
developed the hand/eye Coordination to create and use Tools
§ And we could Imagine how life would be better in the Future
§ That gave us the flexibility to thrive in All Earth’s environments ... And some beyond!
... Beneath our protective shells, we are still vulnerable animals.
... We need Technologies to live and Products satisfy those needs!

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Technologies ONLY Enhance End-Products
§ Only thing that is created without the use of ‘technology’ are Food Crops & Humans !
§ Technologies enable solutions to human need that people are prepared to ‘pay’ to have
§ A new technology may improve a ‘valued aspect’ of an Existing Product ... It may not!
§ Houses > Safety and Warmth
§ Gortex > Waterproof Clothing
§ Tele-Vision > See over Distance
§ Tele-Phone > Talk over Distance
§ Pen & Paper > Communication & Memory
§ Camera > Communication & Memory
§ Gun > Security & Hunting
§ Bicycle > Running faster and further
§ Lorry > Carry heavier, farther and faster
§ Filofax > Personal Organization
§ Internet > Belonging and Love
§ Mathematics > Predicting the Future (Modelling)

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Advancement; One Small Competitive-Step at a Time ...

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So Who Needs New Products Anyway?
§ If you are in the Mature Phase of your business ...
§ Then you Know What To Do and and are doing it
§ Then your Customers are stable
§ Then your Competitors are stable and tolerable
§ Then you are making enough Money for all your Stakeholders to be happy
... Then why do you need a New Product?
§ Business exists to Make Money out of what is already known! (not promised) ...
§ The Industrial Revolution (1750), was the Commercialization of all-that established Science Base
§ Making More Money is still about establishing Advantage ..vs.. Cost (Including Risk)
§ Not about using a specific or New technology ... Nor about employing more people
§ Innovation is finding novel ways to use what you already have
... New Products are done primarily to Disrupt your Competitors Market
... And to get on top of the game, businesses need a Competitive Edge
Eg: Hairdressers, Bakers, Petrol
Stations, Convenience Stores, etc

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Business Does Need Research
§ To "Establish the path, before it has to walk down it"...
§ It can be near term (Using Internal Resources)
§ It can be long(er) term (Using Internal & External Resources)
§ Needs Technical Research to Establish the Technologies,
Tools & Methods it will need to use for the Technical
Aspects of and around its Next Product Design...
§ And lay the framework for introduction of NEW Technologies in the longer-term
§ Considerations include: Performance, risk, cost (initial and ongoing), staffing; Also manufacturing, test,
conformance, support and maintenance; and Legal and Regulatory aspects
§ Needs Non-Technical Research to establish the other Business related aspects; in particular
the introduction of NEW Technologies to support Business Operations (Development of which
may be asynchronous to Technology Development)

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Selling Your Research Outcomes
§ Because End-Products incorporate several (many)
technologies then introducing a New Technology
must deliver a visible benefit to the End-Product
§ When you are ‘selling’ your Science or Technology
to a Business you have to be able to visualize how it
would Transform their End-Product ...
§ Even if Your Customer is not an End-Customer, you must
consider its deployment and value right up the food-chain!
§ And be prepared to help him/her sell it’s advantages to
his/her customer; and so on up the chain.
Lithium-ion Batteries
Rare Earth Magnets
DC Brushless Motors
Prof.

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Business Exploitation of Research Outcomes
§ Its not easy for Established Business to Radically Change what it does ...
§ It adds a big unknown into the business
§ Investors don’t like uncertainty ... Current ones can run away; forcing Bankruptcy.
§ Employees don’t like it either ... They like job security
§ Small change (2-5% new) can explained as development and evolution; but still has to be consistent ...
§ Increased End-Customer Value ..vs.. Risk of Failing to Deliver
§ To get ‘your’ research into Any Business they need to convince their Stakeholders ...
§ Persuade existing Investors/Employees not to run-away; and new ones to join.
§ In-house projects no different; because they displace something else that would have been done!
§ And the nature of the ‘Sell’ depends on where in the business ‘Phases’ you are targeting
... Businesses don’t change the status-quo without a very good reason
... You want that research accepted, then you have to help produce the case!
... It has to be complete in the context in which it will be used

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How Big An Edge?
§ How much Improved (Gross) Performance does it need to offer before it will be incorporated
into a Product evolution or Design?
1. 1-2yr from Customer Use : ~2x – Frequently In-House research/development
§ Reliable, available, supported by commercial grade tools, api’s and models (TRL9)
2. 3-5yr from Use: >10x – Frequently In-Supplier research/development
§ Demonstrated with prototype tools, api’s and models (TRL 7-9)
3. 5+yr from Use: >100x – Should be the focus for Academic Research
§ Model shown to agree with implementation, such that its potential can be assessed (TRL 3-6)
... Performance Gain over the status-quo, includes functional and non-functional aspects
(like cost, power, productivity, size, quality, etc)
§ Bear in mind higher promised-figures will be diluted as they get closer to being Reliable
§ Gains will be assessed against the Cost of Deployment
(Training, Risk (quality, time, money), License, Cash-Flow, Resource Availability, Marketing, Sales)
... Bear in mind that most Businesses already have a list of things they would like to do,
so your ‘offering’ has to compete with them for budget and resource.

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Scientific Roles ...
§ Scientists Discover ... Discover and Quantify Fundamentals of Nature
§ They work with the Unknown
§ They Explore the Universe to Identify Novelty within it
§ They use Imagination, Knowledge, Knowhow and Ingenuity (Theoretical bias)
§ They Quantify and Numerate it, and Demonstrate its Predictability (Technology)
§ Engineers Create ... Create Products or Solutions
§ They Specify, Architect & Detail Solutions, using their theoretical knowledge of Science, Technologies and
Methods, to meet the needs of their Customers (May be Dept. Head ..to.. the End Customer)
§ They Overcome the Unknowns they encounter, with their wider Knowledge, Knowhow and Ingenuity
§ They Deliver Prototypes of what they Architected by applying those Technologies and Methods
§ Technicians Apply ... Are Expert Practitioners in Areas of the Known
§ Use their technical skills to replicate what other (Engineers) specified
§ Use their technical skills to operate Tools and Equipment (to a high degree of proficiency)
§ Use their technical skills to Debug and Reinstate Product, and implement Prescribed changes
§ Use tools and equipment to implement Prescribed Methods
Scientists Investigate That
Which Already Is; Engineers
Create That Which Has Never
Been.
Albert Einstein

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Employee Profile Across Business Life ...Heads
... When Reinvention is required, there can be insufficient ‘right’ people around to do it!
Time
Revenue
Reinvention!
Scientists &
Engineers
Engineers &
Technicians
Technicians &
Operatives

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The Wise-Words of Politicians ...
§ So are (UK)Industries slow to take opportunities that EPSRC-£M offers?
§ Companies are not charities; they live the ‘Compete or Die’ scenario daily (Which Gov. organization do not)
§ If a technology is not relevant to them (no matter how ‘sexy’) ... Then Move-On!
§ Stable Businesses seldom listen to ‘The wise business guidance of Politicians’
§ Exception are Businesses, who depend of Gov. Funding to exist (including focused startups & academia)
§ They don’t need Politicians to guide their business ... Though Laws restrict them!
§ Stable Businesses usually have a list of what they would like to do next
§ They limit what they do, by financial availability and staff availability; plus investor confidence
§ Money is seldom the only limit; and more money seldom releases a log-jam.
§ They don’t need good ideas for their business from Politicians
... Businesses hate Competition; whilst Politicians love it!
... So can Business ever believe the guidance of a Politician?

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Knowledge is Power; But Partnership Breeds Success.
§ Know your Technologies and Methods
§ Know what they can do of great value to what type of Business
§ Look for at least x2 but ideally x100 for longer term delivery
§ Detached Research is commercially useless!
§ How far are they away from ready for use in a mission-critical role for such a Business?
... Be realistic about their readiness for use
§ Know your Customer(s)
§ Do you understand what they do?
§ Do you really understand what they want; Do they really understand what they will get?
§ Are you talking with the appropriate person? (It’s a 2-way process)
... Conning them out of money for short-term gain is not sustainable
... They may be more fragile than you can imagine; it may well kill them & the relationship!
... Partnership: Help your Customer understand their Future; and let them Guide You in yours!

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Conclusions
§ Sciences/Technologies Enable Products; but are never End-Products in their own right!
§ Businesses Exist to Profit from the Exploitation of Know-How
§ Employees are necessary to achieve this
§ They cease to exist when they fail to profit
§ They are more fragile than you can imagine
§ To get a Science into a Product it has to offer a significant End-Product advantage
§ To keep a Business out of a Competitive Downward-Spiral
§ It has to be ‘complete’ for the context in which it will be used (and you are selling)
§ Keep your Research in the life-cycle of a future End-Product (Detached Research is useless)
§ Find Partner(s); guide them and be guided by them
§ Make them your Customer(s)
... Remember its what the End-Customer buys that pays for the whole life-cycle

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