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SYSTEMS design, SYSTEMS development, STRATEGIC planning, MANAGEMENT information systems, COMPUTER software development, INFORMATION resources management, INFORMATION technology, INTEGRATED software, DATABASE design, and COMPUTER networks in business enterprises

With waiting time for new applications running into several years, managers as well as users have been casting about for more efficient approaches to systems development. Among the most promising, according to these authors, are use of software packages, prototyping, and systems developed by users. Evaluating projects by the criteria of commonality, impact, and structure can help managers choose the appropriate development strategy and get applications to users faster. In this way, more companies can close the gap between the promise and the reality in benefits from computer-based systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NEW product development, PROJECT management, STRATEGIC planning, RAPID prototyping, LABOR incentives, LEADERSHIP, CREATIVE ability in business, MISMANAGEMENT, MANUFACTURING industries, and BUSINESS success

The article reports on a study of three companies and how they manage their new product projects and quick-response new product development programs. Successful projects were characterized by high visibility, controlled product development, and leadership. Managers led projects to successful completion because they kept engineering within the product specifications. Project failure was blamed on the attitude that it was just another product introduction. Creativity is important to organizations that continually develop new products.

INNOVATION adoption, RESEARCH & development, STRATEGIC planning, ORGANIZATIONAL effectiveness, MANAGEMENT styles, BUSINESS success, CREATIVE ability in business, INTERGROUP relations, CORPORATE culture, and CUSTOMER relations

The most important invention that will come out of the corporate research lab in the future will be the corporation itself. As companies try to keep pace with rapid changes in technology and cope with unstable business environments, the research department has to do more than simply innovate new products. It must design the new technological and organizational "architectures" that make a continuously innovating company possible. In this article, John Seely Brown, director of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), describes the business logic behind this distinctive vision of research's role and the ways PARC researchers are prototyping new work practices as well as new technologies and products. They are designing new uses of technology to support the naturally occurring "local innovation" that takes place at all levels of any big company. And they are experimenting with new techniques for "coproducing" technological and organizational innovations--not only with other departments at Xerox but with the company's customers as well. Xerox's business is technology, but Brown argues that any company, no matter what the business must eventually grapple with the issues he raises. The successful company of the future must understand how people really work and how technology can help them work more effectively. It must know how to create an environment for continual innovation on the part of all employees. It must rethink traditional business assumptions and tap needs that customers don't even know they have yet. It must use research to reinvent the corporation. INSET: How Xerox Redesigned Its Copiers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RAPID prototyping, COMPUTER engineering, and COMPUTER networks

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including rapid prototyping in information technologies, the speed of development of computer technology, and networking at practical level.

COMPUTER software development, MANAGEMENT information systems, RAPID prototyping, CLIENT/SERVER computing, and TRAFFIC incident management

The article discusses the rapid prototyping of information systems (IS) software applications with attention paid to a program giving access to financial, engineering, and material data, developed by Cambridge Technology Partners for Hughes Space and Communications Co. Topics include comments from Cambridge Technology president and chief executive officer (CEO) James Sims, client/server environment, and a congestion management system (CMS) for the Michigan Department of Transportation.

MANAGEMENT, TECHNOLOGY, SIMULATION methods & models, MOORE'S law, COMPUTER networks, GROUPWARE (Computer software), and EXECUTIVES

The article offers information on management theory. Topics include the impact of technology on the demise of management theory, the concept of simulation and prototyping, and the management style of Microsoft's Bill Gates. It also discusses Moore's Law, the role of networks and groupware in avoiding bureaucracy, and the need for managers to have vision, conviction, and good judgment along with their utilization of technology to survive.

SURGICAL technology and TOMOGRAPHY

Reports on the use of computer models in surgical operations. Transformation of computer tomography scans into line drawings; Application of technology developed to make car components; Medical application for rapid prototyping; Prohibitive cost.

STEALTH aircraft and AIRPLANE design

Focuses on Lockheed Corp.'s secret brainstorming and rapid-prototyping division called Lockheed Advanced Development Co. or Skunk Works. Aircraft produced by Skunk Works; Ben Rich as former president of Skunk Works; Rich's account of the genesis of the stealth attack plane that performed during the Gulf War.

PROTOTYPES and TECHNOLOGICAL innovations

Reports on the development of desktop modelers by Ushio Inc. and Denken Engineering Co. that work with personal computers and can produce three-dimensional prototypes rapidly. Rapid prototyping procedure.

VIRTUAL reality equipment

Features the Phantom, a device invented at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory that enables a person to feel virtual objects with the fingertips. Duplication of all textures; Thomas Massie as designer; Use of the Phantom for surgical training, prototyping and drug design; Drawback.

NEW product development and TECHNOLOGICAL forecasting

Considers that rapid prototyping in companies means more and smarter products sooner, with fewer bugs. How a company's prototyping style also defines its metabolism; The strength of rough-prototyping; The politics of prototyping; Two approaches to increasing product development; How one's approach to prototyping is a much more powerful determinant of new-product success than imagined.

MANUFACTURING processes

Focuses on a suite of manufacturing technologies collectively known as rapid prototyping. Product customization; Customized fabrication; Three-dimensional xerography.

DIGITAL signal processing

Focuses on accelerated digital signal processing design (DSP) algorithms which makes use of high-level algorithm simulation and rapid prototyping. Tools for faster DSP development; Strengths and weaknesses of tools for evaluating the implementation aspects of alternative algorithm design; DSP's code generation and rapid prototyping. INSET: The rapid prototyping application-specific signal processors...

PROTOTYPES and TECHNOLOGICAL innovations

Describes Gazelle Prototype's technique of creating prototype part out of nylon directly from the customer's computer-aided design (CAD) data, without tooling. Important aspects of the rapid prototyping technique; Advantages and benefits; Checking the accuracy of the finished prototype using laser digitizing technology.

ENGINEERS and CONFERENCES & conventions

Presents highlights from The Society of Manufacturing Engineers' (SME) fifth annual Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing (RP&M) Conference and Exposition held on April 22-24 in Dearborn, Michigan.

CORPORATE sponsorship, CONFERENCES & conventions, PRODUCTION engineering, ENGINEERS' associations, and SOCIETIES

Announces that The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) has teamed up with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) to sponsor `Rapid Prototyping and Tooling for the Automotive Industry' to be held on September 4-5, 1997, at the Hyatt Regency, Dearborn, Michigan. Comments from Philip Trimble of the SME.

FOUNDING and CONFERENCES & conventions

Presents highlights from the Castings Development Center's International Conference, which took place in York, United Kingdom, from April 28-30, 1997. Discussion on the automotive quality standard QS-9000, presented by Ian Riggs of Trico Limited; Highlights from a discussion on rapid prototyping; Other topics discussed at the event.

PROTOTYPES

Focuses on subtractive prototyping techniques being used in the foundry industry, querying the appropriate technology to build a prototype pattern. Approaches used to minimize time to the prototyping cycle; Information on significant prototyping advances. INSETS: Complex CNC prototypes.;Combining techniques for efficiency..

AUTOMOTIVE engineering and VIRTUAL reality

Discusses the advantage of using digital prototypes and virtual reality (VR) for automobile manufacturer. Goals of car makers in using digital technology; Stages of car design that make use of VR technology; Action taken by car makers to shorten the process and cut costs. INSETS: Virtual designs get cars to market faster, by Roger Frampton.;A (global) digital prototyping..

PROTOTYPES

Focuses on the iterative trial-and-error prototyping. Reference to the importance of timing; Information on the technologies for prototyping. INSETS: Complex CNC prototypes;An ancient process-A new approach;Commercial technologies.

PROTOTYPE design & construction and TECHNOLOGICAL innovations

Focuses on a technology called rapid prototyping (RP). Use of RP to produce industrial prototypes that used to take a long time to produce; Introduction of a prototyping machine by 3D systems in 1987 which could fabricate small plastic parts from computer aided design drawings in hours; How the process works; Development of a branch of RP that produces ceramic models using so-called 3-D printers; Companies involved in RP processes.

ENGINEERING, LEGO toys, TEACHING aids, and ELEMENTARY education

Reports that LEGO DACTA blocks linked to computers will be used to teach elementary students basic engineering principles as part of the LEGO Data Acquisition and Prototyping System funded by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Subjects included in the curriculum.

BBC Design Group (Company) and VICAL Inc.

Focuses on the use of a design and development technology called rapid prototyping (RP) by BBC Design Group and Vicale Corp. Mechanics of producing exact physical models or prototypes from computer-aided designs; Approval for RP systems by client base of BBC Design; Approval of technology by automotive and aerospace industries.

TECHNOLOGICAL innovations and INDUSTRIAL research

Features technological innovations and industrial research developments. Includes a fence that attracts and traps sand flies; Automatic darkening window glass; Hydroxyl-free fiberoptic cables; Rapid prototyping method.

PROTOTYPES, METAL castings, and AUTOMOBILE engines

Focuses on a computer-controlled metal construction system, called rapid prototyping from Daimler-Benz, which reduces the cost of an engine mockup. Determination of the process suitable for an engine mockup based on the requirements for product development; Information on the laminated object manufacturing process; How the rapid prototyping method is characterized.

PROTOTYPES, METAL castings industry, MANUFACTURING processes, and COMPUTER-aided engineering

Points out the benefits of rapid prototyping in the metal casting industry. Importance of timing in the launch of a casting into the market; Use of lasers and computer technologies to fabricate three-dimensional models, prototypes, patterns, tooling and production parts; Speed of desktop manufacturing methods; Rapid prototyping from sheet materials. INSETS: Rapid tooling for functional prototypes;Make sure dollars make sense;Combining techniques for efficiency.

BUSINESS research, BUSINESS planning, ENTERPRISE resource planning, RISK management in business, RISK sharing, GOING public (Securities), PROTOTYPES, INTERNET software, PRODUCT design, and CONCURRENT engineering

The article presents reports on new and notable management research from the academic world. A study reveals that 65 percent of executives believe enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have at least a moderate chance of hurting their businesses because of the potential for implementation problems. A better way to approach ERP implementation is as a new business venture, which involves investment in stages, risk sharing, and team composition. Meanwhile, an analysis of the survey results of companies that have completed an initial public offering (IPO) was also discussed. The survey results conclude that many managers have to rethink the purpose and process of the IPO. Reports relating to Internet prototyping and risk reduction in concurrent engineering are presented.

SOLID freeform fabrication and MANUFACTURED products

Focuses on solid-freeform fabrication (SFF). Analogy between printing and manufacturing; How a computer is used in the manufacturing process; Capabilities and costs of SFF processes; Benefits of solid freeform fabrication; Information on some SFF methods; Medical and prosthetic applications. INSET: NIST's support of rapid prototyping, by Kevin K. Jurrens.

MODEL railroads

Provides information on the techniques of prototyping railroad models of Seaboard Coast Line. History of the locomotives of Seaboard; Replacing the sideframes and tanks; Working on the body details.

BUSINESS enterprises

Reports on the prototyping business of Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Unique Model Inc. Ownership of the company; Mechanism of the prototyping machine.

FOUNDRY equipment and MOLDING (Founding)

Reports on Emerge Inc.'s installation of a two fused deposition modeling systems to expand its rapid prototyping services for industrial design and toolmaking professionals. Use of the technology in creating models or molds in ABS plastic.

PRECISION casting, X-ray crystallography, and COMPUTER-aided design

Discusses the use of rapid prototyping in producing investment cast tooling. Importance of the availability of suitable tooling; Integration of x-ray CT, computer-aided design, stereolithography and investment casting in production tooling. INSET: Rapid Prototyping Provides Rx for Investment Casting.

NEW product development, COMPUTER interfaces, PROTOTYPES, COMPUTER software, CONSUMERS, ADULT education workshops, and METHODOLOGY

The article focuses on the fact that as the nature of usability testing changes, techniques of third party vendors also changes. For the past 15 years, American Institutes for Research (AIR) has been providing usability services as a third party vendor to industry and government. Its services include analyzing user needs, designing and prototyping user interfaces, usability testing, performing expert reviews and conducting workshops. At the heart of these activities is a user-centered design process. The firm encourages its clients to involve a product's end-users at the beginning, during and in the final stages of their product development efforts in an iterative manner. While smaller companies continue to discover the need for usability engineering and usability testing, many large companies have established their own usability groups. While the firm still assists companies with their first usability tests, its relationship with other companies that have established usability groups has changed.

PROTOTYPES and CERAMIC to metal bonding

Focuses on robocasting, a rapid prototyping technique designed to weld ceramics and metals developed at the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Sandia National Laboratories. Features of the robocasting process.

PROTOTYPES

Reports on the decrease in the rapid engineering prototyping sales market in 1998 in the United States published by the Wohlers Associates Inc. Statistics.

TECHNOLOGICAL innovations, SCIENCE, GENE therapy, and INSULIN pumps

The article reports on several key innovations in the fields of science and technology in the U.S. in 1999. Key issues discussed include experimental gene therapies for patients with hemophilia, miniature helicopters developed by Fritz Prinz from the Rapid Prototyping Laboratory of Stanford University and research on improving implantable insulin pumps for diabetes patients conducted at the University of Delaware.

INVESTMENTS, MICROSOFT software, and COMPUTER software

Part IV. Suggests applications of the program Microsoft Excel on building trading systems. Planning of organization of necessary workbook components; Prototyping the application; Exploration of event sequence. INSET: Basics of VBA Editor.

METAL castings, INJECTION molding of metals, FOUNDRY equipment, and PROTOTYPES

Features technological innovations in the casting industry. Oxygen injection method developed by Messer Grieshiem GmbH; Machine for casting production process efficiency developed by CMS SpA of Italy; Powder Injection Molding technology; MIM process's catalytic debinding; Rapid PatternMaker System for prototyping developed by Sanders Design International.

PRODUCT management

Presents an excerpt of Michael Scharge's book `Serious Play: How the World's Best Companies Simulate to Innovate.' Design challenges that confront cultures of prototyping; Companies' need to upgrade and enhance their modeling, prototyping and simulation cultures.

TECHNOLOGICAL innovations and CREATIVE ability in technology

Discusses information on rapid prototyping as an essential tool for accelerating innovation. Definition of rapid prototyping; Why it speeds up innovation; How to do rapid prototyping successfully.

PROTOTYPES, METAL castings industry, and AUTOMATION

Focuses on the use of rapid prototyping systems to increase the `speed-to-market' of metal casting products. Lead time required by metalcasting processes; Examples of rapid prototyping systems in commercial use; Benefits of using such systems; Applications in sheet-metal production; Direct shell production casting. INSETS: Rapid Tooling for Functional Prototypes;Combining Techniques for Efficiency;Rapid Prototyping Provides Rx for Investment Casting.

RAPID prototyping, PROTOTYPES, and CONFERENCES & conventions

Announces the Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Conference and Exposition, with the theme `Let Your Ideas Take Shape'.

ENGINEERING models and PROTOTYPES

Discusses several techniques for reducing time spent in making engineering models and prototypes. Use of high-end computer-aided design technology; Rapid Prototyping methods such as one that produces plastic prototypes that can withstand higher temperature, making them suitable for physical testing.

MACHINERY industry

Reports on the rise in rapid prototyping (RP) machine sales in 1999 according to a report by Wohlers Associates Inc. Number of RP systems sold for the year; Participants in the development of the Wohlers report.

TITANIUM castings, PROTOTYPES, METALS in medicine, and BONES

Reports on the combination of aspects of rapid prototyping and titanium casting to produce titanium replicas of human bones. Limiting factors in titanium processing; Steps in processing; Metallographic preparation of titanium castings.

PROTOTYPES, FOUNDING, NEW product development, and MANUFACTURING processes

Highlights the importance of rapid prototyping in a successful launching of a casting into the market. Efficiency of the product development; Flexibility of manufacturing processes; Role of computers in expediting time-to-market for cast parts; Direct shell production casting.

LABORATORIES, INTERNET in education, and COMPUTER network resources

Presents virtual educational laboratories available over the Internet. Virtual and Rapid Prototyping Laboratory; BioInteractive; The Virtual Hospital; Virtual Frog Dissection.

RAPID prototyping and METAL castings

Focuses on the benefits of using rapid prototyping in the U.S. Ability to save time in product development process; Reduction in potential human errors caused by misinterpretation; Enhancement to the casting process of the machines.

JAVA programming language, PROGRAMMING languages, ELECTRONIC data processing, INTERNET, SOFTWARE compatibility, and SYSTEMS design

This article focuses on Java programming language. Java has become increasingly popular as a general purpose programming language. Java implementations focus mainly on the portability and interoperability required for Internet centric client/server computing. Key to Java's success is its intermediate bytecode representation, which can be exchanged and executed by Java virtual machines on almost any computing platform. According to the author, a major Java advantage is that it provides communication mechanisms inside the language environment, whereas other languages, such as Fortran and C++, require external mechanisms like message passing. With efficient implementations Java represents an unprecedented opportunity for exploiting a widely accepted general purpose language for high-performance computing. Moreover, Java provides a unique way of rapidly prototyping parallel applications. Multithreaded Java programs can then be converted into programs making explicit use of shared objects and replicated objects. INSETS: Remote Method Invocation.;Java Multithreading..

FOUNDING, JUST-in-time systems, and CAD/CAM systems

Discusses the advantages of rapid prototyping (RP) systems for metal casting operations. Just-in-time production; Computer aided design; Direct shell production casting; Cost effectiveness with RP systems.

FOUNDRIES and PRODUCTION management (Manufacturing)

Discusses factors to be considered in order for foundries to benefit from rapid prototyping (RP). Specific functions for each prototypes; Design and development of prototypes; Testing of prototypes; Improvement and shortening of product development using RP.

TITANIUM castings and ORTHOPEDIC implants

Discusses the rapid prototyping of titanium casting for application as titanium bone implants. Creation of complex and exact replicas of human structures; Stages to the production of titanium implants; Limitations to the implant production via rapid prototyping.

USER interfaces, PROTOTYPES, INFORMATION technology, COMPUTER software development, SOFTWARE validation, and SOFTWARE verification

The article presents some suggestions related to user interface prototype work product description for an information technology project. A user interface prototype is a representation of the user interface that is built early in the development cycle with the express purpose of being changed and improved. A user interface prototype doesn't necessarily need to be working software. The purpose of such a prototype include training users on the system before it is released and improving the user interface. The user interface allows the employees in the administrative department to enter customer orders, verify the availability of the requested loads in the warehouse, and make an assessment of the expected delivery time. Recommended approach for development is to define the prototype objectives, choose the prototyping tool, build the prototype, and investigate the prototype. Validation and verification process is to ensure that the user interface prototype should be good enough to enable user interaction and useful feedback, detailed and complete enough to support some kind of evaluation, and based on available Requirements Analysis.

Syntagm (pronounced "sintam") is a small, Oxford-based consultancy providing user-centered design services, including new product development, prototyping, usability evaluation, usability testing and accessibility (see Figure 1). Customers have included Reuters, Digital Equipment Company, Dorling-Kindersley Multimedia, Xerox UK, and the Oxford Metrics Group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COMPUTERS, INTELLECTUALS, ALGORITHMS, and SOCIAL psychology

The article presents information about candidates for members at large for the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). Scholar Roscoe C. Giles's formal education is in theoretical physics. He received a Ph.D. from Stanford in 1975 and graduation honors in 1970. His dissertation focused on extended string-like models of strongly interacting particles and was titled "Quarks and Bubble: A Field Theory Model of Hadron Structure." His research focuses on the application of high performance and parallel computing to physics and materials problems. He has developed parallel algorithms for large scale micromagnetic modeling and molecular dynamics simulations. As an outgrowth of these computational science research efforts, he has become committed to prototyping and building computational and educational infrastructure that will enable broad participation of scholars, students and communities in computing. James Jay Horning from Inter Trust Technologies Corp., California, believes that 35 years of academic and industrial computing research have prepared him to help guide ACM programs that serve the research community, without neglecting needs of ACM's other members. ACM is currently doing many things right; several initiatives are making things better. ACM's publications have always been one of its greatest strengths.

MILITARY vehicles, RAPID prototyping, COMPUTER simulation, and PROTOTYPES

The article reports on the Mobile Parts Hospitals (MPH) of the U.S. Army. MPH is a futuristic, smart-manufacturing platform that uses cutting-edge computerized tools in making replacement parts for disabled weapons and broken vehicles. The U.S. Army's National Automotive Center and FOCUS:HOPE worked together in developing the $16-million project. Key technologies of the MPH are rapid prototyping and high-speed computer modeling. The U.S. Army is also planning to build an infrastructure that will make replacement parts too big or complex for the MPH to handle.

RAPID tooling and METAL castings industry

Reports the rapid tooling in the metal casting industry in the U.S. Application of the sterolithography, laminated object manufacturing, solid imaging modeling, and 3D printing technology; Concept of the rapid prototyping with three-dimensional CAD design data; Application of the rapid tooling methods in the industrial manufacturing.

COMPUTER software development, APPLICATION software, MANAGEMENT information systems, SYSTEMS design, BUSINESS enterprises, and PROTOTYPES

This article discusses several reasons for the failure of Rapid Application Development (RAD) paradigm to set the software world alight. Generally speaking, few organizations claim to have benefited from RAD techniques. Traditional software development is based on the specific-design-build-use paradigm. The basic premise of this paradigm is that once a system is specified and designed it can be built and implemented without major remodeling. It has been apparent for many years that this paradigm has major drawbacks when applied to business-oriented software development. Increasingly, systems were delivered that met user requirements at the time they were specified but failed to meet user needs at the time of implementation months or years down the line. RAD is accused of being anti-quality! It is commonly believed speed and quality are incompatible in software development. Other major concerns with RAD include the costs of maintaining clean rooms and of funding the extensive user involvement required for prototyping.

PETRI nets, OBJECT-oriented programming, PROGRAMMING languages, MATHEMATICS, and SYSTEMS engineering

This paper presents several research issues associated with the PNtalk language that is based on a certain kind of object-oriented Petri nets (OOPNs) and intended mainly for modelling, prototyping, and verifying concurrent and distributed applications. The paper reviews the main concepts of PNtalk and OOPNs followed by a proposal of a system allowing prototypes based on PNtalk to be run in a distributed way. Furthermore, the first step made towards state spaces-based formal analysis and verification over PNtalk OOPNs are also briefly mentioned in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RAPID prototyping, FOUNDRIES, and MARKET share

Focuses on the advantages of rapid prototyping technologies for product development in the foundry industry. Increase of market share; Factors to consider in the correction of design errors; Enhancement of the manufacturing processes. INSET: Rapid Prototyping Advances Medical Bone Implant Technology.

TEXTILE fibers, SURFACE chemistry, and TEXTILE machinery

Reports on a novel method for the manufacture of yarn contacting surface. Rapid prototyping of surface topographies developed by the Institute for Textile Technology in Aachen, Germany; High carbon steel as a substrate and diffusion coating with chrome; Advantages offered by the method.

UNITED States. Technical Support Working Group, COUNTERTERRORISM, GOVERNMENT agencies, NATIONAL security, PROTOTYPES, and IMPLEMENTS, utensils, etc.

This article reports that the U.S. Technical Support Working Group, a U.S. agency, is growing in size and stature as a seeker of antiterrorism gadgets. The Wall Street Journal calls the group the U.S.'s talent scouts for finding and funding novel devices to combat terrorism on behalf of homeland security. The goal is to promote rapid prototyping of products by making grants available to companies, laboratories and universities working on potentially viable gadgets; thus speeding the way to the marketplace. A decade ago, it had barely $8 million to offer; today it could have over $200 million.

FOUNDING, RAPID prototyping, and INJECTION molding of metals

Reports technical developments in the founding business in the U.S. as of June 2003. Introduction of the rapid freeze prototyping technique to improve rapid prototyping process; Details of a research program to develop an advanced metal injection molding design and manufacturing process by Polymer Technologies Inc.; Analysis of metal forming methods.

PROTOTYPES, VIRTUAL reality, and TRANSPORTATION

This article focuses on the prototyping through virtual reality. Increasingly, companies like Deere & Co. are recognizing the potential for virtual prototyping, using manufactured worlds to test new models before they're built. The National Advanced Driving Simulator recreates driving experiences ranging from jam-packed highways to wide-open farms.

PLASTICS, BONES, ORTHOPEDIC implants, ARTIFICIAL implants, BIOMEDICAL materials, RAPID prototyping, and BIOMEDICAL engineering

This article explains that the U.S. Office of Naval Research pioneered rapid prototyping methods for making ceramic, metal, and plastic parts from computer-aided designs. Biomedical engineers followed the trend to build plastic replacements for bones wrecked by disease or injury. Plastic bones could received U.S. federal approval in three or four years.

RURAL development, ECONOMIC development, PUBLIC-private sector cooperation, BUSINESS partnerships, INTERNATIONAL business enterprises, BIG business, COMMUNITY development, NEW product development, INDUSTRIES & society, and SOCIAL responsibility of business

More than 100 miles from Bangalore, India, there's a rural area called Kuppam where one in three citizens is illiterate, more than half of the households have no electricity, and there's a high rate of AIDS. It's exactly this challenging atmosphere that prompted Hewlett-Packard to choose Kuppam as one of its first "i-communities" initiatives. Through the program, HP creates public-private partnerships to accelerate economic development through the application of technology while simultaneously opening new markets and developing new products and services. HP brings to these initiatives the management disciplines of a successful technology business. For example, it unearths customer needs using an iterative cycle that involves prototyping products and services and then closely observing residents' experiences with them. It fields a diversely talented team that brings many skills to the initiative, including deep technical ability, management acumen, and market knowledge. It takes a systems approach, simultaneously examining all the elements that must come together to create a working solution to a given problem. It establishes a "leading platform" on which other players-companies, nonprofits, and government agencies-can build technologies and applications. Practices like these help ensure that HP's investment yields real, sustainable results for the community in question. But HP also sees returns to its own business. In Kuppam, the company is discovering the need for (and developing) new products like a solar-powered digital camera, with printer, that fits in a backpack. By engaging the community and its leaders and working with them to design valuable new tools and capabilities, HP is gaining the knowledge it needs to be a stronger competitor in other developing regions. INSETS: An Hour in the Life of an Information Center;A Focus for Global Citizenship Efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MARKETING research, INDUSTRIAL research, NEW product development, RAPID prototyping, MARKETING research companies, MARKETING, and SALES

Don't worry about who your customer is. Make something he can "hire" to do a job. How do you create products that customers want to buy--ones that become so successful they "disrupt" the market? It's not easy. Three in five new-product-development efforts are scuttled before they ever reach the market. Of the ones that do see the light of day, 40% never become profitable and simply disappear. Most of these failures are predictable--and avoidable. Why? Because most managers trying to come up with new products don't properly consider the circumstances in which customers find themselves when making purchasing decisions. Much of the art of marketing focuses on identifying groups or segments of customers that are similar enough that the same product or service will appeal to all of them. Managers need to realize that customers, in effect, "hire" products to do specific "jobs". That's one reason why retail formats like Home Depot and Lowe's have become so successful: Their stores are literally organized around jobs to be done.

RAPID prototyping, MANUFACTURING processes, INDUSTRIAL engineering, SYSTEMS engineering, LICENSE agreements, PATENT licenses, and NEW product development

Reports on the development of a new rapid prototyping technique, which is said to be faster and cheaper than previous methods. Background on how rapid prototyping works; Details of a new approach to rapid prototyping developed by Behrokh Khoshnevis, a professor of industrial and systems engineering at the University of Southern California; Licensing of the process.

RAPID prototyping, PROTOTYPES, MANUFACTURING processes, FOUNDING, JUST-in-time systems, and PRODUCTION control

Provides information about rapid prototyping systems. Mechanics of the rapid prototyping system; Advantages of rapid prototyping methods; Significance of the rapid prototyping systems in metalcasting processes. INSET: Rapid prototyping advances medical bone implant technology.

BIOTECHNOLOGY industries, BIOTECHNOLOGY, NEW product development, COMMERCIAL products, PRODUCT management, PRODUCT acceptance, INVESTORS, RAPID prototyping, SALES, and FORECASTING

Looks at the biotech industry and projects a comeback in the new year. How bad 2003 was for the industry; Good news in the form of new product approvals and promising results for experimental drugs; Caution that the recovery is still fragile; Contention that there won't be a boom unless new products hit the market and sales rise; Investors who are seeking solid bottom lines; Thought that there will be some spectacular company failures during the year; Belief that new FDA Commissioner, Dr. Mark B. McClellan is friendly to the industry and quicker to approve drugs than his predecessor.

NEW product development, PRODUCT costing, PRODUCT management, BUSINESS enterprises, BUSINESS budgeting, and PRODUCT differentiation

Determining whether a new product idea is the right one to take to market can be an expensive and lengthy undertaking. In the journey from concept testing through prototyping to product trials, organizations must elicit feedback from within the organization; from your the partners in design, research, and elsewhere; and, most importantly, from the existing or prospective customers-or both. Firms are under pressure to come up with new products more quickly even as the budgets available to test such ideas shrink.

EXECUTIVES, COMMERCIAL products, PRODUCT management, INVENTORS, NEW product development, RAPID prototyping, CORPORATE divestiture, MERGERS & acquisitions, ECONOMIC development, and EMPLOYEES

Highlights Jeff Immelt the CEO of General Electric who is following a time-honored GE tradition of abandoning the most treasured ideas of his predecessor; How he differs in style and vision from Jack Welch; Businesses Immelt has bought into the GE family and those he is spinning off; Comment from Immelt that GE must make its own economic growth; Reinstatement of the "House of Magic" where GE inventors can pursue new goals and new products; How the continuity of the business feeds the courage of its leaders.

RESEARCH institutes, COMPUTER scientists, COMPUTER software developers, COMPUTER industry, RAPID prototyping, and EMPLOYMENT

Focuses on the research laboratory started by Microsoft in 1991 in Redmond, Washington. The recruiting of computer scientists by theoretical physicist and corporate executive, Nathan Myhrvold, during the start-up phase; Problems with Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC); How bureaucracy was kept to a minimum at Microsoft Research; Comments of first-hire, Richard F. Rashid; Example of new products incorporating programming code or engineering designs that were developed at Microsoft; Skepticism of John Seely Brown, former director of Xerox PARC, about Microsoft's software technology; Microsoft's status on the "science linkage" index; Work of Jim Blinn, a MacArthur "genius award" winner at Microsoft. INSET: WORK ON ANYTHING (BUT NO JETÉS).

CASE studies, CONTRACTING out, and RAPID prototyping

The article focuses on IBM with excerpts from an interview with CEO Palmisano and a case study of Schwab. Last year Schwab found itself struggling with a piece of software that was annoying customers and thwarting sales. That is the kind of problem Stuart Lieblich, a senior sales manager, gets paid to troubleshoot: His job is to make sure that all the stuff Schwab buys from IBM works. Steve Grove, who heads all of IBM's work with Schwab, got Ed Harbour together with IBM consultant and strategy expert Anthony Karimi and Willy Chiu, a software vice president. Chiu spearheaded construction of a "grid" in which all Schwab's computers function as one, giving programs access to the horsepower they need. In two wide-ranging interviews, IBM CEO Palmisano talked about the new IBM, outsourcing, and the changing tech world.

BUSINESS planning, NANOSTRUCTURED materials, INSTALLATION of equipment, ELECTRONIC materials, and SEMICONDUCTORS

Reports on the plans of Photronics Inc. for the installation of advanced reticle manufacturing and process technology necessary to support semiconductor manufacturers in Connecticut. Expansion of Photronics Inc. on its investments in a disciplined fashion; Engagement of the company in early prototyping for 65-nanometer node since early learning activity was initiated by several strategic customers.

METAL castings industry, FOUNDING, RAPID prototyping, COMPUTER software, TOOL design & construction, NEW product development, and QUALITY standards

Ashland Casting Solutions is the world's leading supplier of metal casting chemicals and specialty products including sand-binding resin systems, refractory and ceramic coatings, mold release agents, engineered sand additives and riser sleeves. The group has continually expanded its product offering to serve its customers throughout the entire casting process, including design services such as core design software and rapid prototyping capabilities through to emissions analysis and environmental services. Ashland has recently introduced improvement to its Arena-flow software. This software optimizes core and tooling design. Arena-flow is the most accurate computational fluid dynamic modeling software for core and tooling design. Ashland Casting Solutions has focused on operational excellence to ensure it continually provides value to its customers. The majority of the group's 18 worldwide manufacturing facilities are QS-9000 and ISO 9001 certified and have ISO 14001 registered environmental systems.

NEW product development, COMMERCIAL products, PRODUCT management, INDUSTRIAL research, and RAPID prototyping

This article presents information regarding new products launched by Mizuno USA. The company has introduced five new products. Expect Mizuno to keep up the accelerated pace, said Dick Lyons, VP and GM of Mizuno USA's golf division. The investment is a "strategic one that recognizes that speed and the U.S. market influence the world" in terms of golf products, he said. Of the products, the company is most proud of the MP-32. Taylor and his team used computers to design the "cut muscle," which varies from club to club, and advanced fabrication to squeeze the steel into the correct shapes to create what it terms a "game enhancement" club.

Interaction design requires many forms of externalization. At certain points in the process, there is a need for design representations that (1) explore the intended use situation in some detail, and still (2) appear tentative enough to afford participation and engagement by intended users and other stakeholders. The designer's task is often to create ideas on the not-yet-existing. The envisioned use situations increasingly involve complicated technology, mobile use and demanding physical environments. Under these conditions, a third requirement on the representation technique is that it (3) allows for expression of ideas and use situations that would be impractical or impossible to create in conventional prototyping techniques. (An obvious example is the observation that lo-fi paper prototypes are of limited use for virtual reality design.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WEBSITES, WEB development, ELECTRONIC records, RAPID prototyping, FILTERING software, and SALES promotion

This article briefly reports several new developments for Web sites of several companies. The company, Blanco, reportedly, have updated their Web site. The most important part of the upgrade is the inclusion of over 50 new products that have been launched this year. Visitors to the site are facilitated to check out the new trade showroom, download brochures and read the latest news on new products. Polypipe Civils Ltd. have relaunched their Web site which now includes divided product sectors. Hillaldam Coburn Ltd.'s range of sliding and folding door gear is now, reportedly, accessible through their new Web site. Visitors can complete a specification request form, so Hillaldam Coburn can send them recommended products and a quotation.

NEW product development, COMMERCIAL products, PRODUCT management, RAPID prototyping, BRICKWORK, POINT-of-sale advertising, and MARKETING

This article introduces "TDP Mortar Fleece," a brand new product, manufactured by the company, TDP, to protect newly-laid brickwork against frost, heavy rain and strong sunlight. Preventing damage to mortar, overnight in particular, is a priority on building sites and Mortar Fleece is specifically designed to help combat this common problem. The company claims that merchants will benefit from a stockist support package which includes features such as colourful display boxes and a stand-alone merchandising unit.

HUMAN-computer interaction, COMPUTER software development, ERGONOMICS, and HUMAN-machine relationship

The article discusses usability engineering methods for software practitioners. The human-computer interaction community aims to increase the awareness and acceptance of established methods among software practitioners. Ease of use affects the users' performance and their satisfaction, while acceptability affects whether the product is used. Thus, it is of great importance that every software practitioner not only be aware of various usability methods, but be able to quickly determine which method is best suited to every situation in a software project. One of the basic lessons we have learned in human-computer interaction is that usability must be considered before prototyping takes place. It is generally accepted that the following five essential usability characteristics should be part of any software project: learnability, so the user can rapidly begin working with the system efficiently, enabling a user who has learned the system to attain a high level of productivity; memorability, allowing the casual user to return to the system after a period of non-use without having to relearn everything; low error rate, so users make fewer and easily rectifiable errors while using the system and no catastrophic errors occur and satisfaction, making the system pleasant to use.

MODEL railroads, PROTOTYPES, RAILROAD trains, COMMUNICATIONS industries, LOCOMOTIVES, and ROLLING stock

This article focuses on railroad prototyping. To fit into the prototype modeler category is simply a matter of building accurate models of rolling stock and structures for a given railroad at a given location in a given period, and running them in scenery that reflects the appropriate region. When the operator isn't copying or delivering train order's, that person often functions, as in real life, as the railroad's local agent. The agent scouts the industries in an assigned territory and calls the yardmaster to request the needed empties.

PRODUCT management, NEW product development, RAPID prototyping, MARKET share, INDUSTRIAL concentration, BUSINESS planning, TELECOMMUNICATION systems, POCKET computers, CELL phone design & construction, and HOUSEHOLD electronics industry

Examines the efforts of Nokia to regain its market share and develop new products to create growth. CEO Jorma Ollila who is spending on research and development to come up with must have consumer products such as his phone/camera/music player/television; Risks of the business strategy which puts Nokia up against Microsoft and Apple Computer, Inc.; Lukewarm success of Nokia's version of a PDA and its wireless game console; Reorganization of the company which has helped boost sales; Development of new modular hardware and flexible software which makes it easier for the company to respond to consumer desires.

VIDEO games, APPLICATION software, ELECTRONIC games, TECHNOLOGICAL innovations, TECHNOLOGY, and HEADPHONES

This article presents information on computer-augmented tabletop games. It is informed that computer-augmented tabletop games assume a special role within the pervasive gaming paradigm. To research the opportunities of hybrid computer-augmented tabletop games, an experimental platform called STARS uses wireless communications to integrate dedicated interaction and sensing devices with a smart game table, providing various means to bridge the gap between the real world and the virtual world, supported by a software platform that facilitates prototyping different tabletop games. Several applications based on the STARS platform are in development to demonstrate different opportunities for computer-augmented tabletop games. The KnightMage game implements a basic set of rules for medieval hack-and-slash style role-playing adventures. Players explore and ransack dungeons and landscapes filled with horrifying monsters in a typical pen-and-paper playing style, including a human game master. Due to the mixture of cooperative behavior when fighting monsters and the competitive interests when searching for treasures, KnightMage profits by the platform's capability to convey game information via public and private communication channels, including large public displays, earphones, and PDAs.