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The aim of this paper is to suggest a redefinition of the functional product value calculation in lean product development (LPD). The proposed method integrates emotional customer value into the traditional model, which is based on minimizing operating costs and reducing time‐to‐market.

Perceptions of customer value among employees at a Norwegian boat manufacturer, customers, and competitors are investigated through a case study. Results are compared with principles for promoting value and minimizing waste in LPD.

Findings from the case study suggest that a less‐than‐perfect match between customer needs and product offerings sometimes improves customer satisfaction. Furthermore, how customers perceive product value depends on experience that may be at variance with current needs. It is also suggested that deep understanding of customer‐defined value does not imply an ability to satisfy that value.

Understanding the position of meaning‐driven and technology‐driven innovation in different types of industries represents a challenge for further research, as does the issue of whether these two are the only dimensions driving a sustainable innovation strategy. Actionable knowledge on how emotional value can be maximized is also needed.

Maximizing customer value is a core principle in LPD, but the value definitions used tend to be based on logical reasoning rather than real‐life observations. This article presents empirical insights concerning different stakeholders' perceptions of customer value, and the resulting implications for the present lean framework.

An accident of architecture has placed Pisa upon the tourist map along with such evocative names as Rome, Florence, Galileo and Fibonacii, to say nothing of Buozzi and Giovanni. As the venue for the 5th International Conference on Advanced Robotics, ICAR, Pisa has an atmosphere that is as far removed from sensor fusion and mobile robotics, as Los Angeles is from Italian Renaissance art. Yet this contrast serves only to emphasise the technological steps made, and being made, in many areas of robotics.

A new artificial intelligence (AI) project in Israel. A national centre for artificial intelligence, which covers the fields of computer science, neurosciences and psychology, has been founded at the Weizmann Institute at Rehovot in Israel. The research team hopes to understand some of the facets of the human thought process and apply their results to the creation of machines which “can learn from experience”, “understand and speak a natural language”, and “assess situations”. The aim is to produce a machine with “Common sense”. Initially work will be carried out in vision capabilities (Professor Ullman), and the development of hardware and language for parallel processing. The institute will also conduct research into advanced robotics (Dr Flash) with a particular interest in manipulator kinematics and dynamics as well as trajectory planning.

Investigates ways in which computer technology can enable people with a hearing and/or speech impairment to communicate. These range from telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDDs) to software designed to teach deaf children how to read and write in English (often their second language!). Other new technology includes software that converts English into American Sign Language vocabulary, and under development is a system which will facilitate communication between a hearing person and a person with a combination of hearing/visual or hearing/speech impairment.

An extensive survey of over 300 reports worldwide shows that the state‐of‐the‐art in tactile sensing — defined as continuously variable touch sensing over an area where there is special resolution — is primitive. Only now is a new level of sophistication beginning to appear. However, for industrial systems the simplest may prove to be the most reliable.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how knowledge management systems can support the adoption of the servitization strategy in a manufacturing firm.

In order to reach the paper aim, an inductive single-case study has been adopted. The analysis focuses on the IBM Corporation.

In spite of the paucity of studies that simultaneously address both servitization and knowledge management topics, the case study findings show five connections points between the two streams of research, proving not only that they are closely connected to each other, but also how the adoption of a good knowledge management system can facilitate the implementation of a servitization strategy.

As far as the adoption of a single-case study is concerned, this could create biases that can affect the final product in terms of reliability, validity, and generalizability. However, as stated by Erickson (1986), the general lies in the particular and, as argued by Flyvbjerg (2006), the strength of a single example is underestimated in its contribution to scientific progress. Thus, even though this paper is based on a single-case study, it is reasonable to believe that it could be considered as a representative case of companies of the time and its findings sufficiently generalizable.

Case study findings could guide managers towards understanding if their knowledge management tools and practices are appropriate, or if they need to be modified in order to successfully implement the servitization strategy adopted.

This study represents the first attempt to fill the paucity of studies contemporaneously addressing both servitization and knowledge management topics, and could be used as a pilot case for future research works.

This chapter reviews student engagement and learning over of a six year study period (>500 students) in a technology rich learning environment. The technology rich learning environment in this project consists of tablet PCs for each student (1:1 environment), visually immersive multiple projection screens, and collaborative digital inking software. This chapter reviews the education problem being addressed, and the learning theory used as a lens to focus specific active learning pedagogical techniques to address the educational problem. From this problem-based learning theory grounded approach, the features desired in a technology rich learning environment were developed. The approach is shared in this chapter with specific detailed examples to allow others to implement technology rich learning environments with active learning pedagogical approaches to address specific education problems in their institution. The technology rich learning environment implemented and studied includes multiple hardware/software pieces to create a system level solution versus a single device or single app solution.

In order to emphasize in-depth analyses of individual life stories, seven informants were selected. Since breadth of experience will contribute to a more detailed contextualization of the consumer's use of products in identity negotiation, diversity across informants was emphasized. Interviews generally followed the format as suggested by Thompson, Locander, and Pollio (1989). A comfortable setting was chosen and pseudonyms were used to ensure anonymity. Interviews were audio-taped and lasted anywhere from one to just over two hours. Grand tour questions (McCracken, 1988) focused on the meaning of the tattoo design, the experience of being tattooed, perceptions of the body, words the informants used to describe themselves, and other biographical information important for understanding the informant's personal myth. Every effort was made to present a natural front, keep the informant on track without being too directive, demonstrate active listening, and prompt the informant as a way of probing for details (Spradley, 1979). To ensure accuracy, an experienced and trained transcriptionist transcribed each of the seven interviews. The final text totaled 450 typed double-spaced pages.