Genrikh Saulovich Altshuller - Russian Inventor - Essay Example

GENRIKH ALTSHULLER – THE CREATOR OF TRIZ Genrikh Saulovich Altshuller was born on October 15, 1926 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (formerly the USSR) to a family of journalists. A few years later, the family moved to Baku, Azerbaijan (USSR). Altshuller was awarded his first author's certificate (the Soviet-era equivalent of a patent) for a diving gear when he was in the tenth grade. While in high school, he also built and tested a boat with a jet engine that used carbide as fuel. After graduating high school with honors, Altshuller was admitted to the AzerbaijanIndustrial Institute. In 1944, with World War II still raging, he enlisted in the army. Though he trained as a fighter pilot, the war was over before he had a chance to participate in combat. In 1946, Altshuller was assigned to the Commission on Innovation of the Caspian Navy Flotilla, where he continued to invent in various fields of technology. During this time, one of his inventions was a solution to an unusual challenge: How to neutralize, without using any lethal means, a large contingent of enemy troops? Altshuller’s answer: Use an extremely malodorous compound that can be easily concocted from ingredients found in a drug store. Decades later, such an “odor weapon” was reinvented (Troshinsky, 1999). Altshuller was 20 when he began the research that would later become TRIZ. He decided to develop a method for systematic invention that could transform engineering creativity from magic, attainable by few, into a logical discipline available to many more. He conjectured that the key secrets of inventiveness should not be sought inside the inventors’ minds, but rather in the logic of the inventions themselves. He realized that multiple industries and technologies used the same inventive principles. Altshuller reasoned that if it was possible to extract these principles, than the pace of innovation would greatly accelerate. In search of such principles, Altshuller began studying patents and the histories of inventions. Through 1946-1948, he made these key discoveries: 1) a breakthrough invention is the result of overcoming a system conflict, and 2) technological systems evolve toward increasing ideality. He also proposed the initial formulations of the law of transition to a higher-level system and the law of rhythms harmonization. In 1948, Altshuller and his schoolmate and associate, Rafail Shapiro, wrote a letter to the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. The letter stated that the country was in ruins after the war, and that the resources needed for its recovery were scarce. To help the nation, the authors suggested using TRIZ. The reply came in 1949: Altshuller and Shapiro were arrested, interrogated and sentenced to 25 years in the notorious Vorkuta labor camp, above the Arctic Circle. In the camp’s coalmine, Altshuller toiled along with many representatives of the academic and industrial elite, who were slowly dying in the camp’s brutal conditions. He realized that in order to survive, not only physically, but also spiritually and mentally, he had to continue his education and research. Altshuller opened a “One-Student University:” Every night, in the barracks, former university professors taught him physics, mathematics, art history, literature and foreign languages. These lessons taught Altshuller a great deal, and allowed the academics to endure far longer than they would have without him. In 1953, Stalin died. In 1955, Althsuller returned to Baku where he resided until 1990. A year later, the first article on TRIZ was published (Althsuller and Shapiro, 1956). TRIZ - Introduction TRIZ is a problem solving method based on logic and data, not intuition, which accelerates the project team's ability to solve these problems creatively. TRIZ also provides repeatability, predictability, and reliability due to its structure and algorithmic approach. "TRIZ" is the (Russian: Teoriya Resheniya Izobretatelskikh Zadatch) acronym for the "Theory of Inventive Problem Solving." G.S.Altshuller and his colleagues in the former U.S.S.R. developed the method between 1946 and 1985. TRIZ is an international science of creativity that relies on the study of the patterns of problems and solutions, not on the spontaneous and intuitive creativity of individuals or groups. More than three million patents have been analyzed to discover the patterns that predict breakthrough solutions to problems. Constructed around the findings of over 1500 person years of research, and the systematic extraction of knowledge from nearly 3 million of the world’s finest patents, the Russian Theory of Inventive Problem Solving, TRIZ, is the most comprehensive systematic innovation and creativity methodology available to mankind. From a distance, the various tools and methods contained in TRIZ can appear, particularly to occidental eyes, to be somewhat unnatural and non-instinctive. The paper examines TRIZ in the light of ongoing work at the University of Bath teaching the method and actively using TRIZ tools to solve problems across a wide range of industry sectors. TRIZ provides means for problem solvers to access the good solutions obtained by the world’s finest inventive minds. The basic process by which this occurs is illustrated in Figure 1b. Essentially, TRIZ researchers have encapsulated the principles of good inventive practice and set them into a generic problem-solving framework. The task of problem definers and problem solvers using the large majority of the TRIZ tools thus becomes one in which they have to map their specific problems and solutions to and from this generic framework. By using the global patent database as the foundation for the method, TRIZ effectively strips away all of the boundaries which exist between different industry sectors. The generic problem solving framework thus allows engineers and scientists working in any one field to access the good practices of everyone working in not just their own, but every other field of science and engineering. TRIZ – List of Books There are hundreds of titles of books in many languages in the TRIZ field. The complete titles are given in the later part of this report.We are going to discuss the reviews of three most discussed titles in the field of TRIZ. 1. G.Altshuller: 1996, AND SUDDENLY THE INVENTOR APPEARED: TRIZ, the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving. Worchester, Massachusetts: Technical Innovation Center. ISBN 0-9640740-2-8 This legendary book was first translated and published in English in 1990. The translator, Lev Shulyak an accomplished inventor, engineer and TRIZ expert published the book at his own expense to bring it into American classrooms. This new edition has been revised extensively by Shulyak and editor Steve Rodman, who have added valuable information not found in the original. Topics include an introduction to the development of the TRIZ theory, and a wide range of problems and the solutions that TRIZ helps produce. In this book the reader can work through 78 real problems that have a range of difficulty. An invention is needed in each. In the process of solving the problems the reader learns to apply 27 practical thinking tools and techniques. Answers to the problems are provided in the appendix, along with a summary of the Inventive Problem Solving Theory. This is the first practical book on the innovative approach to the process of inventing and solving technical problems published in the United States on the subject of technical creativity. The author shows that the process of solving technical problems, while easily learned by anyone, can be an important tool on the job--and also be a lot of fun. In a humorous manner and layman's terms the author presents basic elements of the Inventive Problem Solving Theory. TRIZ is the Russian abbreviation. The theory was developed by the author in the former Soviet Union, and during the last 40 years has evolved into the Science of Technical Creativity. It is being taught in more then 300 schools and learning institutions to people of various ages and backgrounds abroad. Now, it is finally available in the USA. Today Wayne State University in Detroit is the first American institution to offer courses in Technical Creativity using Altshuller's methodology." Some Excerpts From The book... "We live in an Era of Technical Revolution. The main point is that this revolution lies not in the appearance of new machines, they have appeared before. The method of developing new machines is changing. An organized way of thinking replaces the old chaotic one. Every step in the thinking process should be as accurate as the movements of a pilot flying an airplane." "So far we have talked about simple physical effects that everybody in school knows. However, there is a more complicated physics, the physics that college students learn. The knowledge of this physics gives an inventor more powerful tools. ... This time, we will study a problem that requires only the knowledge of elementary physics. Later I will explain what we can achieve if we use just a little physics from college. ... Problem #32: Ice On The Electric Power Lines ..." 2. Y.Salamatov: 1999, TRIZ: THE RIGHT SOLUTION AT THE RIGHT TIME. Insytec B.V. 256 pages. ISBN 90-804680-1-0 It is an excellent addition to the growing literature of TRIZ in English. It is a multi-purpose book—it could be used as a university textbook, as a self-study textbook for those with no previous exposure to TRIZ, or as advanced study for those who have had some introductory exposure to TRIZ and want to learn more. Dr. Salamatov was a colleague of Genrich Altshuller’s and has written other TRIZ books and generated over 50 inventions in the last 20 years. He and his collaborators have produced a remarkably easy-to-read book, free of most of the problems of translations, and aimed at the general reader, including specialists in the arts and humanities, as well as those in engineering and product development. The forward includes his instructions to the reader on how to use the book to become a "keen and active participant in the learning process." The problems and examples invite reader participation. There are over 100 problems, most with at least one answer at the back of the book, and there are dozens of examples throughout the text. Frequently, Salamatov provides the answers to the examples several pages later, or even several chapters later, to give the reader time to work with the example and to struggle with the concept being demonstrated, rather than giving the answer immediately. This technique is very effective, and the examples cover a very wide range of technological subjects and other subjects, including the fine arts. For example: An artist wanted to show that his patron was a cruel, intimidating tyrant, but did not want to lose his commission (or his life!) An architect wanted to express his spirit and optimize the function of a building using straight lines, but his client wanted curved lines that would express local culture. These are quite different from the usual TRIZ examples using machines and mechanisms! Salamatov’s historical examples cover a wide variety of countries, technical disciplines, and methods of solutions. I would encourage all readers to study the historical sections of this book, since Salamatov uses the examples to show the precursors to TRIZ, and the ways that TRIZ-style thinking was used, or could have been used. His stories of Edison, Archimedes, Goodyear, Eastman, Semmelweiss, and Michelangelo are excellent teaching tools as well as being fascinating stories. The order of presentation of the technical topics of TRIZ is different in TRIZ: The Right Solution at the Right Time: A Guide to Innovative Problem Solving from that used in most other books. For example, Chapter 4 includes physical contradictions, the 5 levels of invention, and the "laws" of system definition, and the technique of the STC (size, time, cost) operator. Chapter 5 starts with the "law of energy conductivity" and includes the methods of fantasy/science fiction and the initial introduction to ARIZ. This combination of subjects does not produce the chaos that such a list suggests. Rather, it guides the reader very subtly from one level of understanding to the next, so the reader is ready for the more complex subjects when they arise naturally in the solution of more complex problems. Thus, when the concept of ideality and the ideal final result are introduced in Chapter 7, the reader is able to apply the Many Miniature Dwarfs method (introduced in Chapter 6) to achieving ideality. This is a demonstration of creative thinking in the way to organize a book! Salamatov does use the conventions of other TRIZ books regarding patents. Many examples are illustrated using patents, and the country, number, and date are usually given for those who want more information, but there is no information on whether or not the device described in the patent was ever built, used, or was successful in application. This question is frequently asked by TRIZ students, and has not been addressed in any of the texts that we have reviewed. The brilliance of this book is due in part to the translators’ and editor’s efforts. They have taken a Russian best-seller and created an English book that is more than a textbook or reference book. The language problems are minor ("or" and "of" are frequently, mysteriously interchanged) and do not interfere with understanding the didactic material or the examples. With Dr. Salamatov, they have created a book that is easy to read, and easy to learn from, and useful at many different levels of TRIZ education. Some of the problems and solutions stated in this book from chapter 25 Problem 6. While drilling deep boreholes in the earth it is essential to monitor the condition of the teeth of the instrument that digs into the rock, for the teeth will break off sometimes. Unaware of the condition of teeth, a technician has to work blindly, regularly replacing the working instrument with a new one (just in case). To do this, the entire column of pipes is pulled out of the borehole which is often a few miles deep. However, replacing consumes too much time and labor. It is necessary to find a simple way to control the condition of the working instrument. Together with the problem, a number of possible search directions were suggested. They included a dozen stereotyped solutions (making teeth unbreakable or self-replaceable, creating a device to dismantle the pipes quickly, installing electronic sensors, etc.) and a few ‘bizarre’ ones (consult a perfumer, study the system of household gas supply, refer to the branch of chemistry that studies esters). Mental experiments would always go along the same path: the ‘bizarre’, absurd ideas were discarded offhand and gave way to dispute on microprocessors and micro-robots shuttling inside the pipes. Meanwhile, only the ‘bizzare’ ideas could furnish the clue (see Soviet patent # 163 559). They suggest supplying the teeth with micro-capsules containing fragrance (hence perfumery, ester) or some stinky substance (e.g. Methylmercaptan, a substance with foul smell at concentration as low as 1 mg in 10,000 m3, which is admixed with town gas). Therefore, inventive problems can be of two kinds: simple and complex. The former can be solved by everyone. Problem 7. Everyone knows how the incubator works. But can incubation be carried out in space? Space station provides all the necessary conditions for incubation (atmosphere, heat), except one: gravity. That is why chickens simply won’t hatch! An idea for the space incubator is wanted. What would you recommend for creating artificial gravity? Most likely, the solution occurred to you before you finished reading the problem. Yes, one should make the incubator revolve around its axis. Isn’t that too simple? Maybe, it is not an invention at all? Yes, it is. It is a genuine invention and it was granted Soviet patent 1 020 098 in 1983. Problem 14. When tanks appeared at the start of our century, there was an acute need to counteract them. What could be used against tanks? Aircraft? But in a duel between a tank and an aircraft the latter was obviously weaker, for it could easily be destroyed by the tank’s machine-guns. What could be done? Designers in many countries attempted to construct armor-plated aircraft (such as German U-1 designed by Junkers) but these were heavy and slow and might be easily shot down from below. Many pilots during the World War II put cast-iron pans under their seats! After the war Americans tried to solve this problem. Many variants were examined: using powerful engines, avoiding extra weight, bearing fewer weapons on board. Similar research was carried in Russia by development laboratories of Tupolev and Polyakov, but with poor results. The problem contained a paradox: the armature is vitally important only at certain short moments during the fight; and for the rest of time it is dead weight. In other words, the armature should be present to shield the aircraft and its crew from being shot down, but at the same time it should not be present, because it adds extra weight to the aircraft. The problem acquired primary importance when the Great Patriotic War started: the situation did not allow poor solutions. What could be done? In summary, in the ‘aircraft-armature’ system, better defense results in lower speed of the aircraft. And vice versa, higher speed requires thinner armature and consequently weaker defense. Such conflicts found between parts or properties of a system are called technical contradictions. A problem containing technical contradictions can be solved either by seeking a compromise between the conflicting properties (to what extent is it appropriate to lose in certain properties in order to gain in other properties?), or by trying to resolve the contradiction (obtaining the desired result without much sacrifice). The first way is typical of engineering solutions, the second way characterizes inventive solutions. Soviet aircraft designer Iliushin came to a brilliant solution to the ‘aircraft – armature’ system: he realized that armature should at the same time serve as a load-carrying structure of the aircraft, not only defending it, but also bearing the forces that occur when the plane is air-borne. Armature should strengthen the aircraft and thus there will be no ‘dead weight’. The famous IL-2 attack plane (IL-10 since 1944), known as ‘the flying tank’ is recognized as the best in its class. The benefit of Iliushin’s invention was great (the advantage of these planes over enemy’s planes, more chances of victory) whereas the sacrifice was incommensurably small (alterations in the construction of the plane and in the production technology). The essence of inventive creativity is to find a technical solution where the sacrifice for the result is either zero or nil as compared to the benefit achieved. 3. G.Altshuller: 1997, 40 PRINCIPLES: TRIZ Keys to Technical Innovation. Translated by Lev Shulyak and Steven Rodman. Worchester, Massachusetts: Technical Innovation Center. 141 pages, ISBN 0964074036 Lev Shulyak, translator of the popular And Suddenly the Inventor Appeared has translated, edited, and published a new book, 40 Principles: TRIZ Keys to Technical Innovation, by Genrich Altshuller, with drawings by Uri Fedoseev, and additional material by Lev Shulyak. Mr. Shulyak based the book on a brochure published by Altshuller in 1974 as part of the course notes for his seminar on TRIZ. The 40 principles and the contradiction matrix that guides the user from the contradictions that define a problem to the principles recommended for its solution are in the public domain thanks to Altshuller’ s generosity. (See the July, 1997, issue of The TRIZ Journal for one version available for downloading.) The additional material explains the use of the 40 principles, reconstructs the drawings by Mr. Fedoseev for the class, and provides some example problems and worksheets from Mr. Shulyak’s classes. The Contradiction Matrix is presented in a multi-page format, with a list of the 40 principles on each page, and highlighting to make it easier to find the rows and columns of interest. The introductory essays put the work in context. Mr. Shulyak’s overview of the tools of TRIZ is helpful, since it shows the reader who is new to TRIZ the power of the 40 principles, and also introduces the reader to some of the tools (ideality, ARIZ, S-field analysis and the standard methods, the patterns of technical evolution) that are outside the scope of this book. The "three steps for solving a technical contradiction" and the worksheets for applying the method will be very useful to TRIZ beginners. They provide a very detailed method for analyzing the problem, deciding which elements of the problem require improvement, and choosing which methods to apply to developing a solution. The core of the book is the translation of Mr. Altshuller’s original work on the 40 principles. The cartoon illustrations are excellent. Examples from a wide variety of technologies are used, and the illustrations make it easy for the non-specialist to understand the examples. Since the purpose of the examples is to help the reader learn how to apply the principle to his/her own technical problem, this non-specialists’ approach is very helpful. The translation is very good. There are very few grammatical or typographical errors, and those that are there do not interfere with the understanding of the points that are being made. A few readers may object that there are very few examples from modern electronics or biotechnology (the original book was written in 1974), or chemistry, and none from service industries. Another objection might be that there is no information on whether the inventions shown were ever produced, and, if so, were they commercial successes. This book was intended to show the universality of the 40 principles, and their application to problem solving in a wide variety of technical fields, not to be a compilation of industry best practices for specific industries, or a text on the application of TRIZ to all types of situations. With this understanding, 40 Principles: TRIZ Keys to Technical Innovation should be a worthwhile addition to any library of TRIZ books. TRIZ 40 Principles Each and every principle has its own sub categories. For e.g, Principle 1. Segmentation A - Divide an object into independent parts B - Make an object easy to assemble or disassemble C - Increase the degree of fragmentation or segmentation Principle 3. Local Quality A - Change an object's structure from uniform to non-uniform B - Change an external environment (or external influence) from uniform to non-uniform C - Make each part of an object function in conditions most suitable for its operation D - Make each part of an object fulfil a different and/or complementary useful function. Principle 17. Another Dimension A - If an object contains or moves in a straight line, consider use of dimensions or movement outside the line B - If an object contains or moves in a plane, consider use of dimensions or movement outside the current plane C - Use a multi-storey arrangement of objects instead of a single storey arrangement D - Tilt or re-orient the object, lay it on its side E - Use 'another side' of a given area. Etc., Book References 1. G.Altshuller: 1996, AND SUDDENLY THE INVENTOR APPEARED: TRIZ, the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving. Worchester, Massachusetts: Technical Innovation Center. ISBN 0-9640740-2-8 2. Y.Salamatov: 1999, TRIZ: THE RIGHT SOLUTION AT THE RIGHT TIME. Insytec B.V. 256 pages. ISBN 90-804680-1-0 3. G.Altshuller: 1997, 40 PRINCIPLES: TRIZ Keys to Technical Innovation. Translated by Lev Shulyak and Steven Rodman. Worchester, Massachusetts: Technical Innovation Center. 141 pages, ISBN 0964074036 Web References http://www.triz-journal.com/ http://www.trizminsk.org/ Read More