Fields of innovation
What drives the future of technology? Groundbreaking innovations and discoveries are just as important as socio-economic trends. That’s why Bosch has such a clear mission: to meet current and future needs with technology that is “Invented for life”.
Developing innovative solutions is one of our very top priorities. That’s why we decided to define specific areas of innovation in which we apply our research activities to accelerate the pace of technological progress. How do you go about developing innovations that will make people’s lives easier? We choose to rely on competitive know-how and carefully selected resources. We invest in various areas of innovation, all of which feature an interdisciplinary approach and international networking. That makes sense because developing something new and successful requires global collaboration between all Bosch research locations plus alliances with first-rate partners.
How we drive innovative research
One way we strive to anticipate global needs and demands for new products is by keeping a close eye on megatrends and innovation trends. That said, we are always conscious that any developments and innovations we pursue need to be compatible with the Bosch corporate mission. The sheer scale of the infrastructure that supports our areas of innovation requires us to manage all the steps in the process carefully – from the idea right through to the finished product.
The path to an innovative development starts with the scouting process. This involves cooperating with leading researchers in key areas of interest in order to sift through and evaluate the most important information. The next stage is a brainstorming session in which we consider what the benefits could be for end customers and industry. If an idea shows promise, it moves on to the concept study. At this point, the research team gets developers involved from whichever divisions have expressed an interest.
Once the design study has been completed successfully, it’s time for advance engineering of the future solution or product. This is carried out in close collaboration with the divisions. They act as transfer partners, who develop the as yet unfinished solution into a commercially viable proposition that can be produced and ultimately sold.
