Innovation by SIT

Spring has already passed and the lack of inspiration that accompanies the heat of July and August is upon us. Now is the time to internalize a principle that will help us pass the summer in peace: “Use resources that exist in your surroundings and make new things with them.” Why? Because it is efficient, respectful of the environment, and many times more likely to lead us to creative and surprising ideas.

 Take, for example, the Wind Light - a light source system designed by Lior Yisrael that was chosen to be used on promenades and beaches. The Wind Light does not rely on an external electricity source; rather, it makes use of wind energy in order to produce electricity. The energy that is produced by the wind is conserved and stored in the light post, and serves as the post’s sole source of electricity. By doing this, Yisrael found a creative way to harness a resource that exists in abundance – the breeze at the beach – and to assign it an additional task: that of serving as the energy supply for the light post. And if that is not enough, indeed there is another surprise latent in the product: the body of the light post produces light according to the intensity of the sun, so that after the sun sets, the intensity of the light increases.

 The same principle is also found at the core of Soccket – a soccer ball that serves as a portable charger. The soccer ball takes advantage of the energy produced when children play, and uses that energy as electricity for the community. In the reality of our lives, in which electricity flows abundantly and electrical appliances in the home are turned on non-stop, it is easy to forget that in many parts of the world electricity is still not available at all times. The Soccket, therefore, improves the situation in several ways. It provides enjoyment for children, portable and available electricity, and a sense that there is a stronger feeling of community (in places where the game played is providing the electricity).

 Behind these two ideas hides one shared principle: the principle of the “closed world”. This principle dictates that whenever possible, with new product development or with problem solving, one must use resources that already exist in the product itself, or in its nearest surroundings.

 
 The “closed world” principle is not a random strange thought; it is one of the thinking principles from the SIT – Systematic Inventive Thinking method for generating new ideas. This is a creative thinking method, at whose core stands the assumption that creative products and solutions share common patterns. Therefore, it is not surprising that a principle that has proven itself useful with one idea will repeat itself again and again in different applications.

 Many people believe that it is not possible to innovate and preserve the quality of the environment at the same time. This is due to the fact that when we attempt to innovate, we usually do so by adding: more functions, more buttons on the portable phone, a bigger television screen. This almost always requires more resources, bigger batteries, more electrical power, etc. Proper use of the closed world principle directs us towards solutions of a different type: instead of adding external resources to our product, we are encouraged to think anew about those resources that are already at our disposal, and to use them in a new way.

 The use of an existing resource for a new mission or task is not only more efficient and less expensive, and usually more considerate of the environment – it also expands our thinking capabilities.

So, put on your creative sunglasses and look thoroughly around you: what resources are at your disposal? For what other tasks can they be useful? By thinking this way, you, too, will be able broaden the range of your creative thinking and thus be able to develop new ideas more efficiently and resourcefully!

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