Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entity realizing or redistributing value". Others have different definitions; a common element in the definitions is a focus on newness, improvement, and spread of ideas or technologies.
Sophia Antipolis is a 2,400 hectare technology park in France, and as of 2021 home to 2,500 companies, valued today at more than 5.6 billion euros and employing more than 38,000 people counting more than 80 nationalities. The park is known to be Europe's first science and technology hub. The technology park is also a platform, cluster and creation-hub for start-ups.
A technopole, commonly referred to as a high-technology cluster, refers to a center of high-tech manufacturing and information-based quaternary industry. The term was coined by Allen J. Scott in 1990 to describe regions in Southern California which showed a rapid growth in high technology fields. This term now has a broader scope to describe regions worldwide dedicated to technological innovation. Such regions can be centers of rapid economic and technological growth as a result of agglomeration effects.
Open innovation is a term used to promote an information age mindset toward innovation that runs counter to the secrecy and silo mentality of traditional corporate research labs. The benefits and driving forces behind increased openness have been noted and discussed as far back as the 1960s, especially as it pertains to interfirm cooperation in R&D. Use of the term 'open innovation' in reference to the increasing embrace of external cooperation in a complex world has been promoted in particular by Henry Chesbrough, adjunct professor and faculty director of the Center for Open Innovation of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, and Maire Tecnimont Chair of Open Innovation at Luiss.
A business cluster is a geographic concentration of interconnected businesses, suppliers, and associated institutions in a particular field. Clusters are considered to increase the productivity with which companies can compete, nationally and globally. Accounting is a part of the business cluster. In urban studies, the term agglomeration is used. Clusters are also important aspects of strategic management.
The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence is one of the world's largest nonprofit contract research institutes for software technology based on artificial intelligence (AI) methods. DFKI was founded in 1988, and has facilities in the German cities of Kaiserslautern, Saarbrücken, Bremen and Berlin.
A smart city is a technologically modern urban area that uses different types of electronic methods, voice activation methods and sensors to collect specific data. Information gained from that data is used to manage assets, resources and services efficiently; in return, that data is used to improve operations across the city. This includes data collected from citizens, devices, buildings and assets that is processed and analyzed to monitor and manage traffic and transportation systems, power plants, utilities, water supply networks, waste, crime detection, information systems, schools, libraries, hospitals, and other community services. Smart cities are defined as smart both in the ways in which their governments harness technology as well as in how they monitor, analyze, plan, and govern the city.
A smart object is an object that enhances the interaction with not only people but also with other smart objects. Also known as smart connected products or smart connected things (SCoT), they are products, assets and other things embedded with processors, sensors, software and connectivity that allow data to be exchanged between the product and its environment, manufacturer, operator/user, and other products and systems. Connectivity also enables some capabilities of the product to exist outside the physical device, in what is known as the product cloud. The data collected from these products can be then analyzed to inform decision-making, enable operational efficiencies and continuously improve the performance of the product.
A living lab, or living laboratory, is a research concept, which may be defined as a user-centered, iterative, open-innovation ecosystem, often operating in a territorial context, integrating concurrent research and innovation processes within a public-private-people partnership.
The Skolkovo Innovation Center is a high technology business area at Mozhaysky District in Moscow, Russia. Although historically Russia has been successful with development of science and technology, its lack of entrepreneur spirit led to government intervention of patents and nonproliferation of Russian tech companies beyond the scope of regional service. As corporations and individuals become "residents" of the city, proposed projects and ideas receive financial assistance. Skolkovo was first announced on 12 November 2009 by then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The complex is headed by Viktor Vekselberg and co-chaired by former Intel CEO Craig Barrett.
Robotnik Automation S.L.L. is a Spanish company that specializes in robot product development and robotics R&D projects. Robotnik is based in Valencia (Paterna) in Spain.
The Ile-de-France has eight clusters among 71 approved by the Comité interministériel d'aménagement et de développement du territoire. The first four were approved by the CIACT 14 October 2005. Two others were validated in July 2007: the cluster Finance Innovation and ASTech. Each of these clusters is intended to create jobs and increase the attractiveness of the region in a given area at national or international level. Three of them were selected as "worldwide clusters" : Finance Innovation, Systematic Paris-Region and Medicen. Three have been identified as "clusters which will become worldwide" : Cap Digital and MOV'EO. Advancity is a "national cluster".
AfriLabs is a pan-African network organisation of over 300 Innovation centers across 50 African countries. Each hub serves as a meeting point for entrepreneurs, technologists, investors, tech companies and web/mobile engineers in its community. AfriLabs provides a network for technology and innovation centers across Africa to network, collaborate and share knowledge.
Maurizio Carta is an Italian urban planner and architect. He is full professor of urban and regional planning at the Department of Architecture at the University of Palermo, he teaches urban design and planning and he is the author of several scientific publications.
ASLERD, the Association for Smart Learning Ecosystem and Regional Development, is an interdisciplinary, democratic, professional association open to institutions and individuals. It was founded in 2015 by academics, researchers and scholars, mostly from European Institutions, with the intention of developing the work previously carried out by the Observatory on Smart City Learning (2012–2015). ASLERD is registered as a not-for-profit organisation under Italian law.
Clusters of Innovations (COI) have been defined in 2015 as "global economic hot spots where new technologies germinate at an astounding rate and where pools of capital, expertise, and talent foster the development of new industries and new ways of doing business."
Science and technology in Kazakhstan outlines government policies to develop science, technology and innovation in Kazakhstan.
Smart tourism is an important component of a smart city. Tourism is one of the major components of economic growth for communities worldwide. A key requirement of tourism has been to attract more and more tourists from different parts of the world. Smart tourism refers to the application of information and communication technology, such similar to the smart cities, for developing innovative tools and approaches to improve tourism. Smart tourism is reliant on core technologies such as ICT, mobile communication, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. It supports integrated efforts at a destination to find innovative ways to collect and use data derived from physical infrastructure, social connectedness and organizational sources, and users in combination with advanced technologies to increase efficiency, sustainability, experiences. The information and communication technology tools used for smart tourism include IoT, mobile communication, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. It combines physical, informational, social, and commercial infrastructure of tourism with such tools to provide smart tourism opportunities. The principles of smart tourism lie at enhancing tourism experiences, improve the efficiency of resource management, maximize destination competitiveness with an emphasis on sustainable aspects. It should also gather and distribute information to facilitate efficient allocation of tourism resources and integrate tourism supplies at a micro and macro level ensuring that the benefits are well distributed. They are observed to be effective in technologically advanced destinations such as smart cities.
Sidewalk Toronto is a cancelled urban development project proposed by Sidewalk Labs at Quayside, a waterfront area in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This project was first initiated by Waterfront Toronto in 2017 by issuing the request for proposal (RFP) on development of the Quayside area. Sidewalk Labs, which is a subsidiary of Google, won the bid in 2017. The Master Innovation Development Plan (MIDP) was created in 2019 through conversations with over 21,000 Torontonians and aimed to be an innovative reinvention of Toronto's neglected eastern downtown waterfront.
The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) is an Abu Dhabi government funded research institution that operates in the areas of quantum computing, autonomous robotics, cryptography, advanced materials, digital security, directed energy and secure systems. The institute is a part of the Abu Dhabi Government’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC).
