DullShehan769
Identifying a Problem
When you choose you are going to think of a brilliant invention idea, you are planning an invention; this really is different from having an epiphany one day. Well, if you are interested in inventing, then you've arrived at the right place, here's articles to help you get started and generally show you with the invention process. The initial step in creating a profitable invention idea is identifying an issue in society.
Finding a Problem
First, you have to find a problem. Exactly what is a problem? I believe most everybody knows what a problem consists of, especially an issue when we are on the subject of inventing. A problem is anything that hinders one from reaching a desired goal or object. You will find problems all throughout society, as you know. You most likely encounter around 20 problems each day and many likely openly complain about 50 % of these. Up until now you haven't noticed when you did this, but going through life like a human is your number 1 supplier for good problems. Listen to yourself, whenever you complain think about whether it might be fixed having a nice invention. It's difficult to be focused enough to notice when you complain or see a problem; however, with a few practice, it starts to become more noticeable. Also, I suggest carrying a little journal or using a phone to document these ideas once they come your way.
When looking to identify a problem addititionally there is another resource that's easily available - people around you. This may incorporate your co-workers, friends, family, etc. People naturally complain, you hear this every day, and up so far you thought it was a lot of annoying non-sense. Everyone thinks it's stupid and unproductive; I have read many psychologists explain people complaining to be some kind of human emotional need for love as well as other bull crap. Well, I've developed my very own explanation for why people complain. People complain in order to make advancements. People locate problems and vocalize the requirement for the problem to become solved, thus there's an invention idea or advance in technology. So, pay attention to the folks who are around you, they will tell you problems they have within their lives. This is often even harder to complete then listening to yourself, because we have been conditioned to never pay focus on people complaining.
The web is a superb source for information, use it. Individuals have an issue; they post it on the internet. This really is similar to hearing people around you, it's just people that are farther away. There are thousands of blogs and forums where individuals have jumped on the internet and posted an issue they are having. Go on Google and search for household problems or something along those lines and you'll surely find something. Also, as I talk about later, an excellent problem to recognize is one that causes death; therefore, it may be beneficial to search online for stuff that are causing a death toll every year. If you start to master with such three resources for identifying problems, then you'll soon must many problems to remember.
Is the Problem Common?
Just so there isn't any confusion, you do want the issue you identify to be common. You don't want to be the only person having this problem, otherwise the invention idea generate to solve this problem are only useful to you. There are a couple of approaches to decide whether an issue is common:
1. Ask people you're friends with. Speak to your friends, co-workers, family, and just anyone you are aware of see regularly. Ask them if they have exactly the same problem. It's not necessary to let them know you are thinking about coming up with an invention idea to solve it, just ask, "Man, I personally don't like it when (blank) happens. You have that problem?" This can be a simple method to see if an issue is common without telling people about your inventing plans.
2. Again, search on the internet! If the issue is common, a thousand people have already posted about this on the internet. Perform a search on Google, and see if the problem happens to be extremely popular.
3. Last, you can hold a survey. Go to a place that includes a lot of people whose attention you can get, such as school, and get them to raise their hand if they have this issue. This can be a a bit more intimidating to some people, and it'll definitely reveal you're as much as something. That being said, it is a great way to get fully submerged in your project.
Do not take this step lightly; it is crucial that your problem is common. A profitable invention idea has to appeal to a lot of people.
Has the Problem Already Been Solved?
Obviously, this is also a really crucial aspect to recognize. Solving a problem is going to do you no good when there is already something which solves it. So, you need to do a little shopping around to ensure that your issue is free that you should solve. As you could possibly guess, a great place to begin is the internet. You now likely have already looked for your condition on the web, so hopefully if it's obvious that it has been solved, you would then have already noticed. I would perform a more in depth search to ensure that you didn't miss anything the very first time.
Next, it would be a good idea to do a patent search. That you can do a patent search online in the USPTO's website or having a patent attorney. I would suggest just searching on the internet because it is going to be cheaper and easier. Searching for a problem rather than an invention is fairly difficult, so it may take a while. Also, you can try searching an obvious invention concept that pertains to this problem for better results.
Also, I find it will help a lot to check around. Frequently someone will say something like "I think I've learned about something which does that," or something along those lines. Remember the value of people.
Is Solving the Problem Viable?
The best question: is the problem likely to be profitable to resolve? There isn't any definite response to this. There are lots of things to consider after you have went to this question.
- Will it save people money? This can be a big one. People love products that can pay for themselves. We are also in the midst of the economic decline, so individuals are always researching ways to save money. If you are shooting to save people money, there's one important thing to think about; your invention needs to be very inexpensive. Individuals don't wish to hear that the product covers itself in 5 years, they need fast results.
- Will it save people time? An average joe hates spending some time on things they don't enjoy. People want to get back to their free time, so saving them time can be very appealing. Through the years time has become quite important to us for a lot of reasons.
- Will it create comfort or entertainment? This is a very hard thing to consider, because it is very opinionated; therefore, it takes you to definitely make a judgment call. Some people get comfort or entertainment from various things, so if you take this route, you have to be sure your invention will apply to many individuals. If you are going to attempt to tackle this, I would recommend doing extra research, online and in surveys.
- Does it save lives? This is another big one, and leads to very profitable invention ideas. There's always going to be a great way to market an invention that saves lives. I'd definitely recommend heading down this path.
- Will it help people who are hindered? This can be a broad category and almost goes with saving lives. There are many stuff that hinder people such as allergies, diseases, physical limitations, etc.
- Would people pay for this issue to be solved? To actually answer this take some thought. You need to consider many variables. You have to type of start to consider how much an invention to solve this issue would cost and when that amount of cash may be worth solving the issue. You need to also consider the economic state of your consumers. For example, in today's economy individuals are spending much less money, but you can perform some investigation and find articles to discover what people are still investing in. The scariest thing is to have a great invention, but not cover the cost of money as a result of insufficient research at this step.
You now should have a favorable problem to resolve; you are on your way to a profitable invention idea.
Research
At this point you should have an issue that you're interested in solving. You've hopefully already done some research on your problem; however, the study has just begun. This is an easy key to skip or not fully invest in, but it's very important for a couple of reasons. You need to research your project thoroughly to become equipped to start to resolve it. Make sure you know everything about your problem; read books, read magazines, browse the internet, and anything else that could possibly educate you about your problem. I recognize many people don't enjoy reading, and want to skip right to pioneering the very best invention from the last 10 years, but inventing is really a tedious process if it is done properly. Most great inventions took years to completely develop, and that i don't think we are able to even fathom how much research these inventors did, since i guarantee you they didn't just sit and think for ten years. Doing research will help you to engineer a solution, it serves another purpose. Doing research helps you to completely submerge you inside your invention; it causes you to think constantly about your problem and increases your urge to uniquely solve it. If you're truly thinking about inventing I'd strongly advise you to complete lots of research.
Uncovering an Invention Idea
Use Problem-solving
All problems require problem solving; however, some are easier to solve then others. An invention needs a higher level of problem-solving; this is why it's a hardship on many people to come up with a unique invention. Some people are naturally proficient at problem solving plus they can solve problems with ease, but there are lots of people who have developed methods to teach people how to solve problems. There are lots of great sites and books that give full lessons in problem solving and I would recommend checking some out. I am going to outline a few things which i believe are important to problem-solving in inventing.
- Completely simplify the problem. It is easy to look at the problem and obtain distracted by the complexness of solving it, and this can discourage you. Take the problem you have identified and discover the underlying cause. You need to possess a simple condition in order to possess the simplest solution. Simple inventions are generally very profitable.
- Alter the setting of your problem. This can be difficult to understand, and so i will give you an example. Let's say your problem gets within the shower and then realizing you forgot to get then new shampoo bottle and now you are all wet. Alter the setting from a shower to your car; remembering to get a new pack of gum to set up your before you leave to go on a hot date. Doing this will allow you to look at the problem from multiple angles. You shouldn't be afraid to do this many times for several different settings. Problem solving is all about solving an issue by utilizing logic and using techniques to increase your logic. However, logical problem-solving isn't the only way to go about solving your condition; opt for the abstract side of pinpointing ideas, that we will discuss next.
Imagination
Imagination is made almost completely around vision. Vision contains two elements, one of which is often overlooked. The first part of vision is the retina receiving light rays and sending them to the brain, this really is this a part of vision that everyone knows. The 2nd part, what happens following this, may be the part that relates probably the most to imagination. The part of vision where the brain interprets the information in the retina varies from individual to individual. How the brain perceives the information it receives in the retina relies mostly on past experiences, and there are experiments that prove this. Therefore, if imagination happens when the brain perceives the data, and the way the mind perceives information is based on past experience, then imagination is limited by experience. That may have appeared like a stretch, but think about this. When you are a kid your imagination is free of charge flowing and untamable, but when you grow older and gain experience your imagination begins to dwindle.
So how exactly does this affect inventing?
Most of the great inventions that wind up generating a large profit or changing the world derive from an invention concept that is completely ludicrous towards the average person. This means the important thing ingredients to some successful inventor really are a loose imagination and also the capability to creatively solve an issue. In the current inventing world many inventors have a background in engineering. I have been in engineering classes where they've educated me in "how to invent". They do this by rolling out 12 steps of methods to generate a perfect invention idea, each step instructs you just how to proceed and think. Well, I believe if inventing might be designed in 12 steps to a perfect invention idea, then everybody could be coming up with outstanding inventions. We both know everyone isn't inventing the next smartest thing. This is because to be the next Disney world isn't achieved by following a 12 step equation.
How you can break down the barriers on imagination
As mentioned above, the mind perceives information according to past experiences. It will this because it must conserve energy; therefore, the longer you live and the more experiences you encounter, the greater your brain uses past experience to conserve energy. This conservation of energy is the enemy when you are attempting to stretch your thoughts and become creative. Forcing your brain to rely less on consider your experience is a very tough task or everyone could be really creative.
A terrific way to start thinking differently would be to do new things - go to new places, participate in new things, and make new friends. Flooding the brain with all these something totally new causes it to collapse categories created by consider your experience. To get rid of conventional thinking, you have to also notice that conventional thinking limits you and also there are different ways to perceive things while you have experienced it exactly the same way for thus long. Last, the most obvious way to try and break down ordinary thinking is as simple as literally taking a look at things differently. This seems easy and broad, however it can definitely be hard to accomplish. An example of this would be should you be a painter you could take pictures of the artwork, or maybe look at your art in a mirror. Increasing your imagination is really a difficult job to complete, however when you do the results can be very rewarding.
Evaluating Your Invention Idea
If you're thinking about generating income together with your invention idea, then you aren't done. If you wish to earn money, you are going to have to spend a considerable amount of money to patent and perhaps advertise your invention. You need to be certain you're thrilled with your invention which is going to be profitable when it is put on the marketplace. This involves more research. I know you may be tired of research right now, but it is important. There are three main methods to evaluate your invention.
1. Study past inventions. Take a look at successful past inventions and check out failed ones. Study the way the economy was once the invention was launched and just how the economy comes even close to today's economy. History is the best prediction for your success or failure.
2. Ask people you're friends with. Speak with people about your idea and get their take on it. Speak with people that is going to be honest with you; false support can lead to make a bad decision. Don't worry about the subject stealing your idea; many people are way too lazy to try that.
3. You will find inventor organizations made to help out inventors with ideas. To be honest I have never used them before, I've only read about them online. I'd advise giving them a shot though, In my opinion they are trustworthy.
