Five Open Innovation Initiatives that are Getting Us Moving

November 27, 2012 By IdeaConnection

crowdsourcing transport solutionsCrowdsourcing and open innovation are catalysts for innovative thinking that can be applied to anything from pharmaceuticals to packaging, and engineering to the environment.

Keen to maximize the opportunities afforded by engaging diverse experts, the transport industry has launched numerous competitions and initiatives to uncover new thinking about how we should be moving on land, sea and in the air.

Here are five approaches that have caught our eye over the years:

 

BMW’s Co-Creation Lab – this is a virtual meeting place for anybody interested in motoring who wants to share ideas and opinions about the future of automotive technology. The lab has also sponsored contests that have looked at the future of urban mobility and the interior design of cars.

Progressive Automotive X-Prize – this was a $10 million competition to foster and inspire the creation of highly efficient vehicles that could break our addiction to oil and lessen the effects of climate change. The winners have been selected and are now working on refining their ideas and bringing them to market.

Air Cargo Innovation Challenge by Lufthansa Cargo – competitions to help the global cargo airline reduce its environmental impact and to improve its services.

NYC BigApps Contest – large open government initiative allowing people to build apps from vast data sets. The 2011 winner was the ‘Roadify’ iphone app. The program aggregates city traffic data and allows New Yorkers to give on-the-spot updates about that information.  Therefore, users can be alerted to the latest road, bus, and subway conditions.

‘You Rail: Visions of Modern Transportation’ – open innovation contest sponsored by global rail transport giant Bombardier. It sought visionary ideas for train travel in the future.


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