Nothing is more obscure than the obvious--Oscar Wilde
1. Contacting colleagues or professional peers, inside or outside your organization, including vendors, using the phone, fax or e-mail.
2. Accessing and searching the literature and databases inside or outside your organization manually or electronically.
3. Contacting additional individuals, organizations or sources based on results of 1 and 2 above.
These actions are well described in Professor Thomas Allen's classic book "Managing the Flow of Technology - Technology Transfer and the Dissemination of Technological Information within the Research and Development Organization" (Allen, 1977).
The scientific, technical and marketing literature describes solutions to other people's problems. Citations and abstracts are published in the Applied Science and Technology Index, Engineering Index and its Compendex, the Business Periodicals Index and Current Contents of ISI, etc.. The Federal Government has spent billions of dollars on R&D, which is reported on by the National Technical Information Service, and is offering and promoting many research results to the public as solutions looking for problems to solve. This information represents a large part of what we may call the "supply side" of technology. Some of it may be relevant to your problem but takes time to search and evaluate.
However, this plethora of "supply side" information and technology does not have a counterpart on the "demand side." The need - the demand - for relevant information about applicable cost-effective technology and materials to improve production processes does not express itself well and is constrained because it is not communicated on a comparable, comprehensive, widespread and accessible basis throughout industry, the R&D community, and the technology market place.
Every factory, assembly line and sub-process in industry has a continuous stream of technical, financial, and managerial problems, most of which are solved on an ad hoc basis as a part of ordinary day-to-day operations. But there are other problems of importance that are not immediately solvable by production staff and management. They usually have no easy access to a communication channel to search for potential solutions. Of course, the external action steps outlined above can be taken, but they take time and effort to start and to systematically follow-up on.
These constraints on immediate action can be removed with the application of electronic tools available on the Internet, such as electronic mail, bulletin board, listserv, Mosaic, and World Wide Web (WWW). The Virtual Technology Market is being developed with these technologies. With the help of technical facilitators, VTM uses the electronic mail system and WWW to provides a dynamic link between the demand side and the supply side of the technology market equation by advertising specific problems looking for solutions. It offers access to an alternative approach to problem solving in industry and in many other kinds of activities.
When presented with a specific query or problem, any one of thousands of human brains are potentially capable of responding usefully to the query, or of requesting clarification of the problem statement and then answering it constructively. The issue is connectivity - how to contact these brains, how to make them aware that their knowledge and know-how is needed and could be put to use in real time and in the real world. Given a definite problem, what forms could their responses take?
A response or constructive answer to an industrial problem statement could take one or more of these forms:
1. A statement or description of a direct appropriate solution to the problem.
2. A request for clarification of the problem statement and its context so the respondent will have a better understanding of the problem situation and be in a better position to supply a relevant and appropriate answer.
3. Information only: a citation to a relevant technical article, report, book, journal, patent, manual, handbook, standard, reference, or referral to a an organizational source, publisher, clearinghouse, Information Analysis Center or database; or a copy of any of the preceding or a catalog, brochure, specification, or an offer to supply, perhaps for a price, any of the preceding.
4. The identification or name of a relevant product, material, equipment, device, system, process (hardware) or service that is on the market. These may not be known to the person with the problem.
5. The identification or name of a relevant technique, method, computer software, standard, test, test results or work in progress.
6. The offer for sale or license or joint venture of a material, process, product, technique or computer hardware/software system, subsystem or component.
7. The offer or proposal for specific technical assistance to solve the problem, perhaps including R&D.
8. The offer of diagnostic technical assistance service in order to better identify the basic nature of the problem/situation and potential approaches to solutions.
How do we connect the brains with problems to the brains with solutions?
1. Any company, manager or researcher in the field of particulate matter or multiphase process engineering that has a specific technical problem describes it in concise form and transmits it to the VTM Facility via the Internet or WWW.
2. The VTM Facilitator registers the problem and stores it with its serial number and problem type. The identity of the Problem Provider is also registered and is kept confidential until its release is authorized by the Problem Provider. The VTM Facilitator may check with the Problem Provider for clarity and to assure meaningfulness and understandability of the problem to potential sources of solutions. The Facilitator then posts the problem statement in its proper category with its serial number on the VTM homepage ( See the VTM Homepage in the Appendix ).
3. Any interested individual or organization that is a potential source of solutions to the problem with access to the Internet (WWW) can contact the VTM Facility and search for problems relevant to its interests and expertise without revealing its name. The search currently will be by category listed in click box ÒTo Submit PTMP Problems for SolutionÓon the VTM Homepage. Later on searches can be conducted by keywords, problem type, SIC#, etc. Some solutions to the problem may be existing products, materials, processes, systems or services that are not known to the Problem Provider and thus offer a sales or collaborative market opportunity to manufacturers, distributors, researchers, inventors, venture capitalists, etc.
4. If a potential Problem Solver believes that it can resolve the problem, it notifies the VTM which problem is of interest and identifies itself. The name of the potential Problem Solver is kept confidential until the Problem Solver authorizes its release.
5. The VTM Facility advises the Problem Provider of interest from a potential Problem Solver and only identifies the Problem Solver by type of individual or organization, such as university, Federal Lab, patent holder, corporation, etc. This is done to protect the Problem Provider from direct competitors or other possible sources of conflict.
6. With the consent and choice of the Problem Provider, the VTM Facility reveals the name and address of the Problem Provider to the particular Problem Solver selected.
7. If it desires, the Problem Solver contacts the Problem Provider directly to discuss resolution of the problem in whatever manner they deem appropriate. The VTM Facility is not a party to this dialogue and any transactions that may evolve. The VTM is to be notified, however, of the generic results of the dialogue. If the dialogue indicates that the problem statement needs revision and clarification in order to be more amenable for resolution, the VTM should be so notified. A revised problem statement may then be posted on the VTM.
8. Any problem statement may be modified or removed from the VTM Facility at any time by its Provider.
It should be noted that the VTM Facilitator and George Washington University will make every effort to protect and preserve the confidentiality of Problem Providers and potential Problem Solvers. However, they cannot be held liable for breaches of trust by individuals or corporations involved in the VTM process. The University reserves the right to analyze and use generic descriptive data and information about problems, solutions, the VTM process and its results for academic and research purposes.
After discussing the Virtual Technology concept with several people at the National Science Foundation, it was decided that the field of particulate matter could be developed as a test bed. At first glance the field of "particulate matter" may seem esoteric, but a moments thought will indicate that we all are in contact with particles on a daily basis, from our breakfast food to soaps and powders, cosmetics, drugs, aerosols, inks, photocopies, smoke, dust, automobile exhaust, etc. (The 1992 edition of the McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology summarizes the field well under "Particulates.")
The breadth of the particle technology field, its multi-billion dollar market, and its importance for the environment, energy use and many manufacturing processes led to the creation in 1993 of the Particle Technology Forum (PTF) within the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. The PTF has over 400 members in industry, academia and government and was especially interested in participating in the Virtual Technology Market Project because its primary purposes are the promotion of information exchange, research and education. The need for new and improved production processes is indicated by estimates that the proper handling of particles in industry rarely reaches sixty percent of design capacity thus raising a host of manufacturing problems requiring effective solutions.
A small fax survey of a sample of PTF members showed keen interest in the VTM and that e-mail, fax and the WWW are preferred means of receiving technical information. The survey provided a sample of problems areas in particle technology and multiphase processing such as: dispersion is not stable - why?; transport phenomena and design of reactors for powder production; grinding to superfine particles; mixing, batching and feeding of highly cohesive powders; process control verification through feedback loops of defect-free processes; on-line measurement and control of particle size distribution; and measuring particle concentration in a reactor. A further mailing to some 600 possibly interested parties about the VTM and its Homepage initially produced over 260 visits to the VTM Homepage. Additional responses to a press release in May continue to come in. The impact of the VTM on the Particle Technology Forum is significant in that its membership, as well as that of its 54,000 member parent, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, represent both the demand side and the supply side of technical information and know-how germane to solving production problems in particle technology and multiphase processes. The VTM Facility establishes an electronic link for information transfer and possible follow-on technology transfer between the two sides of the particle technology market.
The indirect benefits of the VTM will result from the analysis and assessment of the information transactions involved in the problem solving process. The nature of the problems and of proposed solutions, whether successful or not, may indicate areas of weakness in our industrial economy such as the availability and costs of needed technology or materials, in the levels of education and training in the manufacturing sector, and in the use of relevant production techniques and management practices, specifically in the fields of particulate matter and multiphase processes. This analysis may also provide guidelines for future industrial, educational and governmental research and development policies, planning and programs.
The VTM Project also provides a pragmatic paradigm that can be used by any organization or association to improve operations and stimulate the flow and exchange of constructive information between its members and with outside groups.
Finally, the VTM approach eliminates the need to identify, locate, and directly contact specific sources of information and potential problem solutions and should also reduce the time needed for problem solving efforts in almost any field. One does not have to know where the answer is or who has it.
Virtual Technology Market (VTM) Homepage
© 1996, American Society for Information Science. Permission to copy and distribute this document is hereby granted provided that this copyright notice is retained on all copies and that copies are not altered.