What’s likely to be the next big thing? What might be the most fertile areas for innovation? Where should companies invest their limited research funds?
By providing a visual representation of where universities, companies, and other organizations are protecting intellectual property produced by their research, patent maps can help answer those questions. But finding real trends in these maps can be difficult because categories with large numbers of patents — pharmaceuticals, for instance — are usually treated the same as areas with few patents.
However, through the new patent mapping system that Porter and his team envisioned, researchers now have better insight into the interaction between technologies and the way in which they merge to cause new forms of innovation.
“What we are trying to do is forecast innovation pathways,” said Alan Porter, “We take data on research and development, such as publications and patents, and we try to elicit some intelligence to help us gain a sense for where things are headed.”
Porter's academic research focus concentrates upon technology forecasting and assessment, including future-oriented technology analysis, policy analysis, science and technology policy, and technological change.
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