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Introduction:
The Dilemma of Inventions
Inventions have always interested people. Well-known inventors such as Leonardo da
Vinci, Graf Ferdinand von Zeppelin, Thomas Alva Edison, Alfred Nobel and Werner
von Siemens are still marveled for their creativity and uncanny ability. Their ideas
and inventions, from the first sketches of a flying craft to everyday light bulbs,
contributed to our prosperity and standard of living. By admiring all these great
innovators and inventions, one question always remains: How did the inventors do
it, how does innovation work?
“Innovation’ isn’t what innovators do....it’s what customers and clients
adopt.” (Michael Schrage)
This statement incorporates that inventors will never be successful by themselves,
they always depend on the users’ acceptance. Paraphrasing this statement to the
research field of ubiquitous and wearable computing could result in: ubiquitous and
wearable computing is not satisfactory per se, but it is about applying on-the-edge
technology in compelling applications that make sense for users.
The following sections will review some of the history of major inventions and de-
rive issues from innovation research that provide helpful development guidelines for
ubiquitous and wearable computing research.
1.1 Invention and Innovation
Generally, inventions can be either step-by-step improvements or radical innovations.
Step-by-step improvements represent incremental changes to an existing product,
service or process. Theses refinements are mainly based on users’ needs and added as
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