The romance had long gone out of invention. The tremendous excitement that overwhelmed the senses when one read about geniuses like Edison and Einstein working in their labs, surrounded by all sorts of otherworldly equipment, putting together gadgets and ideas which were straight out of fantasy fables for those times. However, ironically, in the age of information technology with such fascinating progress taking place on an everyday basis, the inventor has long faded into oblivion giving way to researchers and R&D labs and images of men and women in white coats working precisely, mechanically in white clinical environments. A naked Archimedes running through the streets is just out of question.
Great ideas do fail and the best products may not always find takers. So ideas, and consequently the inventor, over a period of time became a relatively insignificant bloke, overshadowed by balance sheet requirements of huge corporations. They needed to pump money into the development of their product lines. Focus shifted on innovation and marketing.
But life moves in cycles and change is in the air. The small guys, the inventors are making a comeback, slowly, but surely, because the big ones, the giant corporations have grown too large, too have fun and invent things just for the heck of it. Invention at such places happens mostly as an accident or maybe as a bonus.
This is where the “little guys” of today come in. Their motto is invention for its own sake. Unlike the mentality of big corporations who have to justify their inventions with their core services, these inventors come out with products which end up satisfying variously different needs and purposes.
Firms are popping up, whose sole purpose is to encourage and support people with ideas for inventions, from concept to production to final execution. Some such inventions include cardboard cans for carbonated drinks, robotic arms hands for specific uses and stair climbing wheelchairs.
Even big firms are waking up to their significance. They have realized that there are significant emerging areas like biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical electronics-fields where smaller firms have a substantial number of patents. These corporations have also begun focusing on short-term product cycles which could have long term impact. Plus venture capitalists have become vary of the so called “brilliant schemes” that eventually flop and demand to see important patented inventions which would protect their investments.
The boom in information technology is helping inventors like never before. The internet has played a major role with the reach, access and tools it allows inventors to have, communicating with like-minded people, accessing patent databases, and above all, the internet treats everyone equally which has made invention a far more level playing field than before.