TuTech Innovation (Germany)

This paper presents a consensus view on Responsible Innovation by a group of industry practitioners, each with high level management experience in driving innovation from within industrial companies operating in different sectors. The authors argue that, while a substantial body of academic research on Responsible Research & Innovation (RRI) of potential interest now exists, it is failing to have impact in the industrial community, where it is understood to be partially targeted, because many of the concepts, tools and methodologies are not aligned with current industrial practices. This is leading to a misconception as to where industry stands on topics addressed by RRI and difficulties in forwarding a dialogue that is meaningful to both parties. The need to distinguish between processes relating to research and innovation is argued, together with the view that research into RRI should encompass more of the on-going work being carried out in related fields such as the role of companies in society, the debate around Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Shared Value (CSV), responsible digital innovation, the elements of ethical leadership, sustainable investment policies and work on establishing social impact factors as well as public concerns on innovation. Directions for an alignment of the terminology and concepts are also proposed. This paper is to be viewed as an attempt at bridging perspectives with the aim of finding common ground to develop the field of RRI further so that it provides effective concepts, tools and methodologies to guide industrial innovation towards better societal outcomes.

Heat-treatable Al-Zn alloys are promising candidates for use as structural lightweight materials in automotive and aircraft applications. This is mainly due to their high strength-to-density ratio in comparison to conventionally employed Al alloys. Laser beam welding is an efficient method for producing joints with high weld quality and has been established in the industry for many years. However, it is well known that aluminum alloys with a high Zn content or, more precisely, with a high (Zn + Mg + Cu) content are difficult to fusion weld due to the formation of porosity and hot cracks. The present study concerns the laser weldability of these hard-to-weld Al-Zn alloys. In order to improve weldability, it was first necessary to understand the reasons for weldability problems and to identify crucial influencing factors. Based on this knowledge, it was finally possible to develop an appropriate approach. For this purpose, vanadium was selected as additional filler material. Vanadium exhibits favorable thermophysical properties and, thereby, can improve the weldability of Al-Zn alloys. The effectiveness of the approach was verified by its application to several Al-Zn alloys with differing amounts of (Zn + Mg + Cu).

Abstract Here we present three interactive artworks that showcase the abilities of active textured surfaces to enable new qualities of surface interactions. Giving the surfaces different sensing abilities, ways to act and behaviors, then allows us to explore emotional attributes and character perceived by an observer. The three designs reflect artworks emotional perception of the observer and the resulting effects on behavior. The surfaces sense it’s surrounding in terms of physical presence by proximity and emotional state based on facial expression. The surface can express its emotion with a change in movement and sound. The three surface designs explore further combinations of textile surfaces, sensors and reactive actuation to draw on the emotion of observers.

What makes eParticipation sustainable? This special issue of JeDEM summarises existing evidence and introduces some authoritative viewpoints on a theme that is gaining relevance and furthering discussion among theorists and practitioners alike. This Issue comprises three invited papers and six refereed articles, the results of which will be briefly presented in this note.