R & D
Jakarta 20th August 2013
Product development is generally a direct result of R&D; Research and Development. As it happens I read in a Dutch Newspaper this morning (while waiting for my flight to Jakarta) an article on how much time and money Is spent by the “Big” boys when it comes to R&D and not surprisingly Philips, which in Holland is still often referred to as the incandescent lamp factory (de “gloeilampen” fabriek), leads the way in money spent and most of all in patents applied for! While it did not break down the patents in categories one can assume quite a number are in lighting and in the LED lighting technology specifically. Philips is said to have lodged close to 1000 patents last year at an average of about 3 patents a day! If that does not show the unbelievable speed of the technology development I don’t know! With reported R&D budgets being in the billions of dollars one can only wonder what is cooking in the kitchen and what has yet to see the actual general public’s daylight!
In my early days at Philips I have been involved with some of these innovations, notably the PL (compact fluorescent) and QL (Induction) lamps. At the time they already had products in R&D that even now have not yet seen the daylight. Some of these concepts are either not (yet) suitable for commercial release due to prohibitive costs or are so advanced and futuristic that it will need some time for the general public is ready to accept and appreciate it. But R&D is the root of all new development. In R&D departments around the world nothing is impossible, creative thoughts are explored to the limit and eventually all these creative thoughts and innovative concepts result in something new, revolutionary or something so simple and practical that you think: “why did nobody think of that before?”…That so many patents are lodged only shows the enormous potential of R&D. Though I don’t know how many patents relate to LED lighting I can only assume that there must be quite a few.
Light Watch 4-136: Innovation and innovative developments…
The long awaited book compilation of Martin's first year of blogging is available. Order now.
Feedspot Top 100 Lighting Blogs