Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) and VTT opened today an InnoHub in the city of Espoo, close to Helsinki to generate innovative ideas and translate these into profitable businesses. Focus areas for the InnoHub are health, life-style and well-being. The centre is a melting pot of people from different backgrounds and experiences, who work closely together in an inspiring and real-life setting that includes a hospital room, a nurse's station as well as a home environment. The InnoHub is a one-stop shop for the entire innovation process, from generating ideas, to concept development, prototyping and testing of products and services. The real-life setting enables testing of products between various locations and stakeholders. Both multinational companies and SMEs can engage with InnoHub's experts and support services. All Nordic and Baltic companies are able to tap into Philips' and VTT's innovation experience for entire innovation projects as well as additional specialist support in certain phases of a project that has already started.
The InnoHub is situated in the Active Life Village (a non-profit company catalyzing innovations). This enables easy access to experts in other innovation organizations in the same building as well to the whole region, supporting strongly an open innovation environment concept.
The innovation process steps will be executed in short-cycles. The insights of the various specialists operating in the different stages of the innovation process will be continuously fed back to the parties involved. InnoHub is focused on tangible deliverables that can be tested on their performance. By doing so, every specialist will be challenged to show the added value of his or her contribution, to confront others with their own constraints, and to cope with the limitations of others. This kind of result-oriented approach also leads to respect for each others disciplines in a learning organization.
InnoHub has already attracted interest and attention. Current discussions concern projects on interconnectivity of products and services and a number of SMEs have shown their interest in conducting part of their innovation work in the InnoHub.
Companies can benefit from the InnoHub by becoming members and paying a yearly contribution to obtain services or by commissioning ad-hoc projects. User-centric development and end-user validation testing prior to product release will help the companies to reduce the time to market, development costs and field call rates.
In the first InnoHub project student teams compete in creating applications from Intellectual Property owned by VTT. Five parallel student teams from the Helsinki University of Technology TKK and University of Art and Design Helsinki will be competing in creating prototypes. The teams are led by Prof. Lauri Repokari from the Helsinki University of Technology.
The first Philips InnoHub was founded in Singapore in 2004. Philips Applied Technologies decided to establish its second InnoHub in the Helsinki region as it recognized as one of the worlds innovation hotspots offering various business and research activities in the fields of well-being and healthcare. These are important focus areas for Philips as well as for the Finnish government.
"We have selected VTT as a preferred partner because of its extended network in the Nordic and Baltic countries, and its reputation as a respected R&D partner", says Senior Innovation Consultant Rob Kommeren from Philips Applied Technologies.
Philips Applied Technologies and VTT have an equal role in the cooperation.
Related news articles:
- Philips Healthcare's Profile
About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified Health and Well-being company, focused on improving people's lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of "sense and simplicity". Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 128,000 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 27 billion in 2007, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in flat TV, male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.
As part of Royal Philips Electronics, Philips Applied Technologies is a contract R&D organization that supports the development of products, applications and technical solutions. Its customers are market leaders, fast growing companies and start-ups. For every phase of the innovation process, it offers integral solutions, consultancy and specialist services. With over 1000 in-house experts, it can draw on a wide range of competences. For further information, visit www.apptech.philips.com.
About VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is an impartial expert organisation. Its objective is to develop new technologies and create new innovations and added value, thus increasing customers' competitiveness. With its know-how, VTT produces research, development, testing and information services for public sector and companies as well as international organisations. For more information, visit www.vtt.fi.