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Technology scouting activities proposed by CRIT represents a powerful aid for enterprises in the selection of both technologies and technology partners most suitable for develop innovation of products and processes and to define an enterprise strategy consistent with the leading trends of the sectors in which the enterprises operates.

A technology scouting is:

• An organized collection of scientific and technical documentation obtained by research, analysis and elaboration of information process carried out using professional and highly specialized research instrument tools, web resources, CRIT proprietary databases and through the direct contact with research centres, companies and internationally recognized experts.
• A tool which can be used by large scale enterprises, SMEs and organizations
• A modular and customized product, which can be personalized according to the needs of clients
• A services representing the result of a process structured in diversified and concerted steps, mutually agreed with clients, in order to provide them with accurate and punctual responses to their needs

Different types of technology scouting address different needs of enterprises:

• State of the Art → is a scouting research leading to deliver a complete picture of a specific technology context or a comparison between best technologies available
• Problem Solving → is a scouting which aims to solve a specific technological problem
• Suppliers/Competencies/Key Players → is a scouting responding to the request to the identification of suppliers or center of excellence for cooperation
• Patent Analysis → is a scouting that analyzes the engagement in patenting activity of selected competitors or of a specific technology sector
• Technology Foresight → a scouting in which a survey of the major trends of technology sectors is carried out to identify the most promising or suitable available technologies in the sector
• Quick Search → a collection of technical and scientific documentation on technologies of interest

During years, CRIT developed a significant experience in this context, realizing more than 300 technology scouting activities for various clients, such as for example:

• Large scale enterprises: Tetra Pak, Ferrari, Sacmi, GD, CNH, Barilla, Electrolux, Beghelli, Carpigiani, CEFLA, CPL
• SMEs: Tellure Rota, Curti, Chimar, Imal, Sefa Acciai, Cavicel, …
• Organizations: ACIMAC, Unioncamere ER, Confindustria Ceramica, Treviso Tecnologia…

State of the Art

When facing an innovation process, enterprises may need detailed information on a new emerging technology or to verify the possibility to replace an existing technology with alternative solutions.

Technology Scouting – State of the Art provided by CRIT is based on a focused research and analysis process of scientific-technical documentation regarding a particular technology of interest of the client company.

Through this scouting research, the enterprise can:

• Access to a clear description and exhaustive scenario on the technology of interest
• Identify the most innovative and active companies in the relevant technology sector
• Identify and compare the most innovative products available on the market or at a development stage
• Identify the most important center of competence operating in the sector

Technology Scouting – State of the Art by CRIT provides a service researching and analyzing technical and scientific documentation regarding a particular technology of interest of the client company. The Scouting – State of the Art comprises a systematic study of the know-how and the technical documentation based on specialized data bases such as Thomson Innovation® or DIALOG®, proprietary information (data base CRIT Research™) and information available from internet resources. This kind of scouting activity can be complemented by integrating patent information, consultancy services by research centers and/or experts from the sector, market data, etc.

The results of Technology Scouting – State of the Art are provided in form of a personalized report and/or a multimedia CD. With respect to the client’s wishes the document can be written in Italian, English or Spanish. The Technology Scouting – State of the Art may be combined with other kinds of scouting such as Technology Scouting – Key Players, Suppliers and Competencies and Technology Scouting – Patent Analysis.

During the latest years, clients of CRIT received support in the realization of the following scouting researches:

• additive manufacturing
• tecnologie wearable
• tecnologie head-up display
• internet of things
• Plasma assisted microwave technologies
• Sterilization technologies
• Co-generation systems
• Technologies for density detection
• Polymeric materials high temperature resistant
• Batteries for automotive and monitoring systems
• Testing technologies for automotive sector
• Optical-fibre sensors
• E-maintainance for machines and industrial plants
• Functionalized treatments and coating systems
• Wireless protocols
• Energy harvesting
• Packaging materials
• Charging systems for batteries
• Power electronics for vehicle sector
• Waste to energy
• Welding technologies
• Simulation technologies
• Actuator systems of various types
• Sensors for different industrial context
• Non-destructive testing using radiofrequencies technologies
• Internet of things and relevant applications in the industrial sector
• Research of competences/resources in the field of augmented reality for remote sensing
• Survey of suppliers in the field of metal replacement
• Utilization of biopolymers in the beverage sector
• Energy harvesting solutions for the automotive sector
• Air treatment technologies
• Patent survey for competitor analysis in mechatronics

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Technology Problem Solving

Innovation processes applied to products always require search of new technologies, processes and always high performing materials. During its initial stage, technological problems apparently unbearable can be encountered. Nevertheless, in most of cases it is not necessary to invent a completely new idea: sometimes solutions are already available, they are only applied in different environments.

The activity Technology Scouting – Problem Solving has been designed to respond to the needs of companies encountering technological hurdles in the development of new innovative process and products. CRIT gained expertise and competence over the years in the research and identification of all the possible solutions either already existing or under development (in research centers, universities, enterprises, start-up, etc.) which potentially show capability to solve technical problems and formulating a preliminary feasibility study for their application in the elimination of gaps. The activity is supported by the utilization of other specific tools formulated for the solution of technical problems, such as TRIZ methodology.

This type of Scouting allows enterprise to:

• Access information on solutions ready to be used and to be applied in their own product or process
• Identify a wide spectrum of alternative innovative ways to adopt and to develop
• Verify a preliminary technical feasibility of the technical solutions identified

During the latest years, CRIT assisted client enterprises in the solution of problems relevant to the following thematic areas:

• Process technologies for the beverage sector
• Functionalizing treatment and coatings
• Sensors and energy harvesting
• Air treatment
• Hygienization and sanitation of surfaces
• Validation processes
• Optical-fibre Sector

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Suppliers/Competencies/Key Players

The search of technology partners for the realization of innovation processes can be crucial for an enterprise in order to be able to have a clear and complete picture of the most important actors operating within a specific technology sector: for this reason it is important also to carry out a preliminary analysis of products and relevant characteristics.

The Technology Scouting – Key Players/Suppliers/Competencies is a service specifically dedicated to the identification and collection of all the information on the main players and technological competencies in the framework of a specific technology sector of interest for clients (competencies centers, enterprises, experts in the sector, etc.).This type of Scouting allows enterprise to:

• obtain a clear picture and a deepening knowledge about the main players in a defined technology sector
• obtain public information on financial and corporate data
• evaluate the degree of innovation of selected identified players and their relevant positioning in the market
• be informed on the state of a technology sector before starting a commercial dialogue
• carry out a preliminary identification of products and relevant characteristics which can be furtherly analyzed through a direct contact

During the latest years, CRIT assisted client enterprises in the solution of problems relevant to the following thematic areas:

• additive manufacturing
• process technologies for the beverage sector
• coating and trieatment of functionalized surfaces
• communication technologies for automotive sector
• microassays pumps
• analysis and validation services
• testing technologies for automotive sector
• ventilation systems
• actuator systems of various types
• sensors and energy harvesting
• polimeric materials high temperature resistant
• systems for radiology
• filtration systems
• components for machines and industrial plants
• sterilization technologies
• algorithms for optimization
• welding technologies
• packaging materials

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Patent Analysis

During their process to innovation, enterprises can experience the necessity to monitor the research and development activities of their competitor or to better understand the dynamics of patenting processes and patent search for a specific technology thematic area.

The Technology Scouting – Patent Analysis developed by CRIT is a service based on the research and analysis of patents, aiming at the positioning of one or more competitors (competitive intelligence) and/or the examination of the competitive dynamics within a technological area of interest for the enterprise (technology intelligence).

On the basis of the specific requirements defined by clients, CRIT is able to design a focused search strategy, performing the relevant queries on professional tools able to guarantee an high quality standards of the information collected as well as a wide coverage of topics. The analysis phase is also supported by advanced text mining kits and tools which allow the examination of large amount of documents (i.e. thousands of records), eventually originated by the proprietary sources of the client company.

Based on the analysis of the patent literature it is possible to:

• Analyze one or more competitors (already identified by the client company or to be identified by CRIT)
  • Definition of Patents portfolio
    
  • Monitoring of technology trends
    
  • Identification and analysis of the existing correlations between technologies developed by competitors
    
  • Identification of Research and Development strategies
    
• Analyze technological areas
  
  • Analysis of entire technical areas and relevant details on their articulation, dynamics and evolution
    
  • Identification of key players and their respective strategies
  • Identification of possible networks of key players
  • Identification of competencies

During the latest years, CRIT supported its clients in Patent Analysis carried out in the following sectors:

• Packaging
• Machine automation
• Materials transforming processes
• Automotive sector
• Additive Manufacturing
• Mechanical components

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Technology Foresight

Technology progress is nowadays exponentially spreading; due to the always increasing demanding of technology innovative solutions, enterprises need to make a difference from competitors and place on the market novel successful products, adopting the new competitve dynamics, emerging trends and alternative scenarios generating from all these disruptive constraints.

The Technology Scouting – Technology Foresight offered by CRIT are based on activities of research and analysis of technical-scientific documentation, aiming to assist enterprises in their needs to be always updated and tuned on the latest technology progresses. The starting point of Technology Foresight Scoutings is a tight and focused monitoring of the most promising and emerging innovative technologies, either on periodical basis and on fixed term.

The outcome of Technology Foresight Scouting is a synthetic report, mainly focused on geographical visualization (conceptual maps, graphs, tables, matrices, etc.) which is intended to introduce the final user to an unknown technology, for which not necessarily should exist an immediate application: clients can evaluate the impact of the proposed study on their business with a short or long term plan of adaptation. At the same time, the Technology Foresight Scouting is useful to provide an overview on the possible alternative technological solutions relevant to a selected thematic area, rather than a vertical and deepen study like the format of other Scouting research activities carried out by CRIT, which explore in details technological solutions already known by clients and acting as a support to validate choices of enterprises with objective informations.

Research and analysis activities are carried out exclusively through special patent search engines or on specialized technical and scientific literature information available on professional platforms for documental research, of property of CRIT.

The report presented at the end of the research activity is characterized by the following simplified structure:

• Objectives of the activity
• Executive Summary
• Analysis Methodology
• Results
  • Temporal trends and geographical areas
  • Analysis Assignees/Authors
  • Documents whit high content impact (citation analysis, multilateral analysis, ecc.)
  • Technology Scenario (“who and when the technology is used, adopted, dismissed”)

During the latest years, CRIT supported its clients with Technology Foresight activities focusing in the following sectors:

• Transports
• Energy harvesting
• Wireless communication
• Green technologies

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Quick Search

During the various phases characterizing an innovation process, Research & Development Departments of enterprises may need to have rapid access to a targeted collection of technological information to be used, for instance, for a first rapid survey on a specific thematic area.

The Scouting – Quick Search service of CRIT is based on a research and collection of technical and scientific information, with the aim to deliver in short times a very fundamental report, containing essentially high quality information gathered through the use of specialized databases.

The activity is carried out through an analysis or elaboration of a collection of information associated to the activation of contacts with selected subjects identified during the research work and operating in the field of interest.

The Quick Search Scouting presents the following features:

• Simplicity: Quick Search™ is the result of an accurate search on specialized technical scientific dadtabases and is formed by the following sections:
  • An introductory abstract containing the presentation of results (1-2 pages)
  • A collection of selected documents, available for consultation by the client
  • A collection of summarizing analytical data (in case of further interest or useful to better understand the content of the report

• Quality: Quick Search™ is produced through search queries exclusively carried out on database of property of CRIT and used upon registration and relevant payment and license, containing only specialized and highly selected sources of information.
• Rapid delivery: Quick Search™ results and report are normally delivered within 5 working days.

Quick Search can be also requested to support enterprises in the identification of documents which may be used for the demonstration of IP or patents infringements.

• During the latest years, CRIT supported its clients with Quick Search Scoutings focusing in the following sectors:
• Sensors
• Automation
• Sterilisation Technologies
• Materials
• Process technologies for the beverage sector

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