Web AssistantBernd Müller uses a toy car to demonstrate his latest invention. Circuit boards are attached to it, creating a link to a computer. Sophisticated software controls the model car and makes sure that it completes the specified paths despite having to deal with deliberately built-in errors. The demonstration was a success. “The car helped us show that our solution actually works,” says the 40-year old researcher. His invention essentially makes sure that computers can handle errors and thus facilitates more reliable computer performance.
It is an electronics module with potential to be used worldwide. Even the normal, permanent cosmic radiation is enough to interfere with a computer’s information flow for the inconceivable period of less than a billionth of a second. Müller and his six-man team worked for two years on the project. Inventors like Müller ensure that Bosch remains one step ahead of the competition in a range of areas.
“Bosch makes it really easy for researchers,” Müller enthuses. “The bureaucratic hurdles for submitting invention reports are minimal.” Working in this environment, which combines broad scope for innovation with incentives for coming up with profitable and practical solutions suitable for series production, the physicist has succeeded in developing more than 50 new inventions in his 11 years at Bosch.
Inventors at Bosch - Bernd Müller
Good preparation equals good ideas
Tell us...
... what is your recipe for success? Why are you inventive?
First, recognize what the problem is, and understand what the actual requirements are. Once you’ve done that, the solution is often obvious.
First, recognize what the problem is, and understand what the actual requirements are. Once you’ve done that, the solution is often obvious.
... what is characteristic of research work at Bosch?
The drive to find economically relevant solutions for technically interesting problems.
... where do you have your best ideas?
The best ideas come to light when you try to reduce a problem to its essence.
... who is your role model, and why?
I have always been especially inspired by people who are able to combine depth of knowledge and theoretical sophistication with a broad perspective and a sense of economic realities.
