Innovation Management

L'Audi ha deciso di proporre la nuova generazione della A2, piccola vettura monovolume attesa nel 2012, nella sola alimentazione elettrica. Rispetto alla precedente generazione, nata per far concorrenza alla Mercedes Classe A, manterrà la carrozzeria in acciaio, che permette un minor peso e minori consumi. Ci sono forti dubbi sul possibile successo dell'auto: proposta nella sola alimentazione elettrica e conseguentemente ad un prezzo elevato, riuscirà gli elevati volumi di vendita attesi dalla casa madre?

The battle between Adobe and Apple has an underlying objective: to defend their business model. The two corporations are fighting about the threat of the new standards into the video on-line market: Flash vs. Html 5. Adobe ensures that the choice of Apple will have no influence on its sales, but it's also true that new standards are appearing on the Web and are threatening Adobe one.

The automobile industry is in the midst of a huge transition. Consumers who were once lured into purchase decisions by iconic designs, strongbrands, or high performance ratings now want all that and more. The automakers that successfully make cars "do" more-in other words, deliver smart, personalized services to drivers on demand-stand the best chance of setting themselves apart from the competition. Here are a few of the early offerings to hit the market.

Talking to people is hard, and talking to strangers? That's, like, really hard. Nokia has a better way: the Nokia Instant Community. It relies on ad-hoc WiFi connections from (Finnish) smartphones to create dynamic communities into which people can join. Once connected, trendy but introverted festival-goers can chat, exchange photos, and even download each other's bootlegs of the very show they're attending!

Today, Yahoo! and Nokia, announced a worldwide strategic alliance to extend the reach of their industry leading online services and offer people rich experiences that keep them connected to their world and the world around them. Building on more than five years of collaboration, Nokia and Yahoo! will leverage each others' strengths in e-mail, instant messaging and maps and navigation services, to provide consumers with access to world-class experiences on both PC and mobile devices. As part of the alliance: Nokia will be the exclusive, global provider of Yahoo!'s maps and navigation services, integrating Ovi Maps across Yahoo! properties, branded as "powered by Ovi." Yahoo! will become the exclusive, global provider of Nokia's Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat services branded as "Ovi Mail / Ovi Chat powered by Yahoo!" Nokia and Yahoo! plan to work on ID federation between their services, beginning by making it easy for people to use their Ovi user IDs across select Yahoo! properties to easily access the online content and services they need.

Toyota's recent response to claims of unintended acceleration in its vehicles illustrates the potential pitfalls of today's technologically complex automobiles. Software development, however, is still largely stuck in a 1970s pre-kaizen mode, where the human-readable instructions are accessible only to those who write the code. This protects the intellectual property of the software developer, but it also limits the abilities of others in the value chain to "see something, say something, and do something" to correct flaws. The lack of visibility into the software in its cars stands in stark contrast to the openness of its management and manufacturing processes. The software hidden in Toyota's black boxes is the equivalent to having a car with its hood welded shut. Open source represents the most significant change and most disruptive force in software development in 20 years. In the open-source software model, the human-readable source code is distributed along with the computer-readable machine code. Users are encouraged to understand the code, find flaws, suggest fixes, and add functionality. Open source is about leveraging the power of participation to solve complex problems such as manufacturing, health care, and government. It may also be how Toyota can improve its vehicles and ultimately regain consumer trust.

Google made some waves yesterday when it announced the new Google TV platform, backed by major players like Sony, Logitech, Intel, Dish Network, and Best Buy. Built on Android and featuring the Chrome browser with a full version of Flash Player 10.1, Google TV is supposed to bring "the web to your TV and your TV to the web," in Google's words. It's a lofty goal that many have failed to accomplish, but Google certainly has the money and muscle to pull it off. But hold up: what is Google TV, exactly, and why do all these companies think it's going to revolutionize the way we watch TV? Let's take a quick walk through the platform and see what's what.

Toyota has agreed to invest $50m in Tesla, the Californian builder of battery-powered cars, as it seeks to extend the dominance it has built in petrol-electric hybrids into the next generation of green vehicles. The deal announced on Thursday makes Toyota the second big global automaker to invest in Tesla, a six-year-old startup founded by Elon Musk, creator of the internet payment service PayPal, and backed by other Silicon Valley luminaries such as Google's founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin. The deal could help Toyota repair its reputation in the US after a series of safety problems that have forced it to recall millions of its cars, pay a $16.4m fine and endure multiple investigations by Congress. Toyota has built a big lead in low-emission cars with its Prius hybrid, which went on sale in 1997, and is by far the best-selling alternative to standard petrol-only vehicles. But some other carmakers are preparing to try and leap-frog Toyota by introducing battery-only cars.

Google has finally announced its long-rumored TV efforts at Google I/O. The experience will be search-driven, which is unsurprising given that, well... it's Google we're talking about. Users can enter search terms and get results from the Web and what's currently being broadcast on TV, as well as videos from YouTube and other sites. There will be a "home screen" where you can add bookmarks to your favorite channels, shows, websites, music, photo albums, and so on. Users are forced to choose between accessing the Web or TV, which is a loss for users. Google wants to combine the two into a "single seamless experience" by allowing users to turn their TV into an interactive experience with the Web As usual, Google is not making any of the hardware itself. In typical Google form, the company has instead implemented a remote control protocol that will allow third-party developers to build their own software for controlling Google TV from other devices.

Lo scorso mese è stato presentato il Product Plan di Fiat. Alcune interessanti informazioni che si possono ricavare dalle slides della presentazione sono le seguenti: - nel corso degli ultimi anni il tempo di sviluppo di una nuova vettura è notevolmente diminuito, passando dai 26 mesi della Stilo (2003), ai 18 mesi della Grande Punto (2005) ai soli 15 mesi delle recenti Mito e Giulietta, grazie ai risparmi temporali nelle fasi di "Tecnological Development" e "Pre-series". - il tempo di sviluppo è notevolmente sceso anche nel campo della movimentazione terra (trattori in primis), passando dai 24 ai 18 mesi - il tempo di sviluppo nel campo dello sviluppo di nuovi motori si attesta in 30 mesi, in grande calo. - il numero di modelli è aumentato, pur basandosi su un sempre minor numero di architetture, passate da 19 (2006) ai soli 5 ipotizzati per il 2014. - il numero di modelli basati su un'architettura cresce da 1,7 ai futuri 7,6. - il volume di vendite di vetture basate su un'architettura aumenta da 150.000 a 800.000. - le sinergie sono diventate sempre più rilevanti, tra vetture del gruppo FGA, sia tra vetture con la stessa architettura, sia tra automobili con differente architettura. - si tende ad un aumento considerevole della standadizzazione dei componenti, in modo da ottenere significativi risparmi di scala. - le vetture sono diventate sempre più leggere, passando da una generazione all'altra.

Riguardo il Product Plan Fiat è interessante notare anche: - la modularità delle architetture di prodotto utilizzate, che comprendono parti in comune (parte del pianale, vano motore), parti intercambiabili (sospensioni, pianale) e parti modulari (sospensioni). In tal modo è possibile ottenere rilevanti risparmi; - FTA ha deciso di sviluppare 3 sole architetture di prodotto, realizzate, entro il 2014, in oltre 1 milione di pezzi ciascuna; - riguardo i sistemi telematici c'è stato lo stesso approccio, attraverso il quale si è giunti all'utilizzo di medesimi sistemi per vetture di stesso e/o simile segmento di appartenenza; - l'elevata standardizzazione, la diminuizione di architetture e famiglie di componenti ha permesso elevati risparmi, con una riduzione di costi variabili, costi di investimenti e costi di R&D; - la standardizzazione delle architetture ha comportato chiaramente una riduzione di costi, ma spesso anche del peso dei componenti, e conseguentemente delle vetture, raggiungendo una dimuzione di consumi ed emissioni; - le sinergie con il Gruppo Chrysler permetterà di scambiare know-how ed aumentare le vendite per le architetture, permettendo un'ulteriore risparmio.

Le case automobilistiche e gli analisti del settore hanno idee contrastanti riguardo il successo delle vetture elettriche: Honda punta tutto sull'ibrido, così come Toyota, mentre Renault sta investendo molto sull'elettrico, siglando anche accordi con Stati per lo sviluppo di punti di rifornimento per l'energia elettrica. Tra gli analisti invece alcuni pensano che l'elettrico potrebbe arrivare nel 2020 al 10% di quota di mercato, mentre altri le attibuiscono solo l'1%.

Il gruppo VW ha annunciato di aver acquisito l'Italdesign di Giorgetto Giugiaro, azienda che si occupa di industrial e transportation design. Il famoso designer automobilistico, che ha disegnato famosi modelli come Fiat (Grande Punto, Uno, Panda, Croma), VW (Golf, Passat), Alfa Romeo e Seat, passerebbe quindi ad occuparsi esclusivamente dei modelli del Gruppo VW (VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Lamborghini, Skoda, Bugatti e Suzuki). L'Italdesign si occupa di studi stilistici e soluzioni ingegneristiche nel campo automobilistico, grazie all'utilizzo di sofisticati software come CAD, CAM, CAE e CAS: è quindi un'importante azienda a livello internazionale che motlo know-how.

La Mercedes ha recentemente deciso di avviare un'indagine di mercato negli USA per valutare l'esportazione della prossima classe B: attualmente questa è un monovolume medio derivato dal pianale della classe A, ma la prossima serie sarà molto diversa, con diverse varianti, con in primis l'immancabile versione crossover. In questi anni la Mercedes ha esportata solo vetture di grosse dimensioni (la più piccola è la Classe C, berlina di medie dimensioni) perchè il mercato USA ha sempre privilegiato vetture con dimensioni notevoli, con motori molto prestanti. Nei prossimi anni sembra che ci sarà un'inversione di tendenza, con la richiesta dei consumatoru vetture di dimensioni ed emissioni minori, quindi Mercedes sta valutando questa ipotesi riguardante la nuova classe B.

Dopo 5 anni di joint-venture, la Renault ha deciso di divorziare dalla Mahindra, della quale deteneva il 49% delle azioni. L'accordo era stato fatto dalla casa europea con il costruttore asiatico in modo da poter esportare la propria vettura low-cost, la Logan. La vettura è stata lanciata sul mercato nel corso del 2007, ma le vendite del modello sono calate gradualmente, facendo fallire l'accordo. Renault ha comunque deciso di concedere l'uso del logo e fornire ancora i motori alla Mahindra. Alcuni analisti affermano che la Renault, dopo il fallimento di questa joint venture, abbia deciso di stabilire una presenza indipendente in India attraverso il partner Nissan, con il quale ha intenzione di lanciare sul mercato la Micra.

Google on Tuesday said it will acquire Global IP Solutions Holding, which makes processing software for voice and video over IP, for $68.2 million. The deal means that Google will own the voice and video conferencing engine behind its competitors' instant messaging systems. Global IP Solutions (GIPS) provides best-in-class voice and video processing in IP communications. GIPS enables its customers to deliver unmatched quality, with a faster time to market and less risk than alternative solutions. Its customer list includes Nortel, Oracle, Samsung, WebEx, Yahoo!, AOL and other key players in the VoIP market. The purchase of GIPS comes a day before Google's I/O conference. Given Google's acquisition of Gizmo5 and its existing Google Voice service, the search giant appears to be collecting enough assets to give Skype and others competition on the consumer and business fronts. GIPS's software can also be layered into Google Apps in multiple areas as a business collaboration tool.

BMW is trying to change the American way to buy cars. The German carmaker has to deal with a cultural issue and it's finding lot of skepticism by U.S. consumers. The issue is a built-to- order vehicle worths the wait, challenging Americans' penchant for instant gratification. BMW effort to change this trend may run into cultural barriers and it's a big gamble, hardly a new business model.

Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic on Monday moved towards investigating Google following the internet group's disclosure that it had recorded communications sent over unsecured wireless networks in people's homes. Peter Schaar, the German commissioner for data protection, called for a "detailed probe" by independent authorities into the practice by Google. He said the group's explanation of the collection of data as an accident was "highly unusual". "One of the largest companies in the world, the market leader on the internet, simply disobeyed normal rules in the development and usage of software," he said. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission was expected to launch an inquiry as well, according to people who spoke to agency officials. Privacy advocates said an inquiry could look at whether the collection of data breached rules on unauthorised access to computers and private communications. "This may be one of the most massive surveillance incidents by a private corporation that has ever occurred", said Marc Rotenberg, leader of the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Centre in Washington. "It is unprecedented vacuuming of WiFi data by a private company. Can you imagine what would happen if a German corporation was sending cars through Washington sucking up all this information?" Google reiterated its statements from late Friday in Europe, when it reversed earlier denials that it had collected personal activity. It said it had been using a fleet of camera-equipped Street View vehicles, which take pictures for the group's imaging services, and had been at the same time using the cars to assemble a database of electronic WiFi addresses intended to improve the functioning of its maps and other location services. Google said the project leaders ignored that the vehicles were also taking in snippets of activity on the WiFi networks. "We didn't want to collect this data in the first place and we would like to dest

Google and Intel are expected to announce a significant breakthrough into consumer electronics and the broadcast industry this week with the launch of a "Smart TV" platform. Top executives from the Silicon Valley companies are reported to be ready to reveal a deal with Sony, bringing web services to its televisions, during Google's annual developer conference in San Francisco. Intel's Atom microprocessor and Google's Android operating system are spearheading their assault on set-top boxes and TVs featuring integrated internet services. Intel pioneered internet "widgets" on TV screens with Yahoo in 2008 but while many other players have entered the market since, it remains fragmented and has been slow to take off.

Between Nokia, Apple and HTC now the fight for supremacy in the smartphone to play on another field, the courts' one. HTC has sued Apple for patent infringement. Earlier this year, Apple sued HTC, focussing on the Taiwanese phone maker's Android devices. HTC has now responded with a patent suit of its own. It has submitted an official request to the International Trade Commission (the American agency that supervises the competition) to block U.S. sales of the iPhone, iPod and iPad, which infringed five patents. In a statement released by HTC says that the action against the house in California was undertaken "to protect intellectual property, partners and users who use our devices."

It's rush hour, and you're headed due West on your evening commute -- the sun burning holes in your eyes. You could flip down a window visor, trading your field of view for visibility. Or, with a prototype shown off at Intel's 2010 International Science and Engineering Fair, you could simply let the windshield darken on its own. Two San Diego students (both accustomed to copious amounts of sunshine) rigged a Toyota Prius to do just that by stringing up electrochromic panels, which dim when voltage is applied. The trick is figuring out when and where to apply it, because when the sun is shining the panels themselves all receive the same amount of light. So instead of gauging it at the glass, Aaron Schild and Rafael Cosman found that an ultrasonic range finder could track the driver's position while a VGA webcam measured the light coming through, and darken the sections liable to cause the most eyestrain. We saw a prototype in person, and it most certainly works... albeit slowly. If you're rearing to roll your own, it seems raw materials are reasonably affordable -- Schild told us electrochromic segments cost $0.25 per square inch -- but you may not need to DIY. Having won $4,000 in prize money at the Fair, the teens say they intend to commercialize the technology, and envision it natively embedded in window glass in the not-too-distant future. Here's hoping GM gives them a call. See pics of the Prius below, or check out a video demo of their prototype right after the break.