Forward to: R&D Team

R&D & Innovation
Workflows

Ten agent workflows for R&D — technology landscape monitoring, research institution tracking, innovation pipeline analysis, emerging material intelligence, university collaboration discovery, standards evolution monitoring, open innovation sourcing, technology readiness assessment, R&D investment benchmarking, and breakthrough detection — fueling innovation with domain intelligence.

1Technology Landscape Monitoring

AI agent scans the global technology landscape by monitoring research institution, startup, and corporate R&D domains — mapping emerging technologies, maturity levels, and commercial readiness for strategic R&D planning.

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Map Technology Maturity Landscape
/products/press/blogIAB CategoriesDomain Ages
TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE — MANUFACTURING INNOVATION ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ MATURITY MAP: PRODUCTION-READY (adopt now): Digital Twins — 45 vendor domains with /products pages Machine Vision QC — 32 vendors, proven ROI data published Predictive Maintenance — 28 vendors, mature ecosystems EMERGING (pilot phase): Generative Design AI — 12 startups (avg domain age: 3 yrs) Autonomous Mobile Robots — 18 vendors, rapid iteration signals Edge AI for Manufacturing — 15 vendors, growing fast EARLY RESEARCH (monitor): Quantum optimization for supply chain — 5 research domains Self-healing materials — 8 university research pages Neuromorphic computing for process control — 3 startups RECOMMENDATION: Pilot generative design AI and edge AI this quarter

2Research Institution Tracking

AI agent monitors leading research universities and institutes for manufacturing-relevant breakthroughs — tracking publications, patent filings, technology transfer opportunities, and research partnerships.

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Track Academic Research Breakthroughs
/press/about/blogOpenPageRankIAB Categories
RESEARCH INSTITUTION INTELLIGENCE ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ HIGH-IMPACT RESEARCH DISCOVERIES: mit.edu — PR: 9.2 /press: "New aluminum alloy — 3x strength at same weight" Technology transfer: Available for licensing OPPORTUNITY: Revolutionary for our lightweight product line fraunhofer.de — PR: 8.4 /press: "Laser-based additive manufacturing at 10x current speed" /about: Industry partnership program accepting applications OPPORTUNITY: Could transform our prototyping and production processes stanford.edu — PR: 9.4 /press: "AI-driven materials discovery platform" /blog: Generated 23 novel materials in 6 months WATCH: Could accelerate competitor material innovation too RESEARCH TREND: 34 university /press pages referencing "sustainable manufacturing" Trend aligns with our ESG strategy — engage research partners

3Innovation Pipeline Analysis

AI agent analyzes the industry innovation pipeline by monitoring startup ecosystem, patent filings, and corporate R&D announcements — predicting which technologies will impact manufacturing in 2-5 years.

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Forecast Innovation Pipeline
/products/press/aboutDomain AgesIAB Categories
Innovation Pipeline
Manufacturing Innovation Pipeline — 2026-2030 — 78 new manufacturing technology startups detected in past 12 months (domain ages under 2 years). Largest clusters: AI-powered quality (18 startups), sustainable manufacturing (15 startups), robotics/automation (14 startups). Corporate R&D spending signals rising: 12 major manufacturers increased R&D headcount on /careers pages by 20%+ YoY. Patent filing signals accelerating in: solid-state batteries (34% increase), advanced composites (28%), and process AI (45%).
Innovation pace accelerating — investment in process AI and sustainable tech critical

4Emerging Material Intelligence

AI agent tracks emerging materials by monitoring material science company domains, research publications, and supplier product launches — identifying next-generation materials for product innovation.

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Discover Next-Gen Materials
/products/press/docsIAB CategoriesDomain Ages
EMERGING MATERIALS INTELLIGENCE ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ BREAKTHROUGH MATERIALS: graphene-mfg.com — Domain age: 5 years /products: Industrial-grade graphene at $50/kg (was $200/kg in 2023) /press: "Mass production facility operational — 100 tons/year" /docs: Thermal conductivity 10x copper, 5x lighter READY: Price point now viable for thermal management products metamaterials-corp.com — Domain age: 7 years /products: Acoustic metamaterials for vibration dampening /press: "First commercial manufacturing-grade products shipping" PILOT: Request samples for noise reduction application bio-composites.fi — Domain age: 3 years /products: Wood-fiber reinforced bioplastic — structural grade /press: "Automotive OEM certification achieved" OPPORTUNITY: Sustainable housing material — replaces glass-filled nylon MATERIAL COST TRENDS: Graphene: -75% in 3 years | Carbon fiber: -30% in 3 years SiC substrates: -15% but still premium

5University Collaboration Discovery

AI agent identifies university and research lab collaboration opportunities by analyzing academic domains for relevant research programs, industry partnership models, and available facilities for joint R&D projects.

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Find Research Collaboration Partners
/about/press/partnersCountriesOpenPageRank
UNIVERSITY COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ TOP COLLABORATION CANDIDATES: rwth-aachen.de — PR: 7.8 | Germany /about: Institute of Production Engineering /partners: Industry consortium model — 12 manufacturing members Research focus: Digital twin for manufacturing, adaptive machining MATCH: Aligns with our Industry 4.0 roadmap — apply for consortium gatech.edu — PR: 8.6 | USA /about: Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility /press: "$30M NSF grant for smart manufacturing research" /partners: Sponsored research agreements from $150K/year MATCH: Pilot facility access for new process development tsinghua.edu.cn — PR: 8.1 | China /about: National Key Lab for Advanced Manufacturing /press: Breakthroughs in micro-manufacturing and precision assembly NOTE: IP protection framework needed for China partnerships ACTION: Engage top 3 universities for sponsored research proposals

6Standards Evolution Monitoring

AI agent tracks evolving industry standards by monitoring standards body domains, technical committee updates, and draft standard publications — ensuring R&D designs meet future requirements.

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Track Standards Development
/products/press/complianceIAB CategoriesOpenPageRank
Standards Evolution Timeline
Feb 16
IEC 62443 (Industrial Cybersecurity) — New edition draft published. Mandatory security-by-design requirements for all connected manufacturing equipment. Final publication expected Q4 2026. Impact: All IoT-enabled products must be redesigned for compliance.
Feb 9
ISO 14067 (Carbon Footprint of Products) — Updated methodology for calculating product carbon footprint. New lifecycle assessment requirements including Scope 3 upstream emissions. Impact: Product documentation and labeling changes needed.
Feb 2
JEDEC JEP186 (Reliability Standards) — New reliability testing standard for wide bandgap semiconductors. Clarifies testing methodology — reduces our qualification time by 30%. Impact: Accelerates SiC product development timeline.

7Open Innovation Sourcing

AI agent sources external innovation by monitoring startup accelerators, innovation challenge platforms, and technology marketplace domains — finding solutions to specific R&D challenges from the external ecosystem.

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Source External Innovation
/products/about/pressDomain AgesOpenPageRank
OPEN INNOVATION — THERMAL MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ CHALLENGE: Reduce thermal resistance by 50% in compact form factor EXTERNAL SOLUTIONS FOUND: phase-change-tech.com — Domain age: 4 years /products: Nano-phase-change thermal interface material /about: MIT spinoff, $12M Series A funding /press: "3x thermal conductivity of conventional TIM" BEST MATCH: Directly addresses our thermal challenge vapor-chamber.tw — Domain age: 8 years /products: Ultra-thin vapor chambers for electronics cooling /about: 200+ patents, OEM partnerships with major electronics brands OPTION B: Proven technology, less novel approach jet-impingement.io — Domain age: 2 years /products: Micro-jet impingement cooling system /about: University of Michigan spinoff OPTION C: Promising but early-stage — higher risk ACTION: Engage phase-change-tech.com for evaluation partnership

8Technology Readiness Assessment

AI agent assesses technology readiness levels by analyzing vendor domains for product maturity signals — production volumes, customer references, certification status, and support infrastructure to guide build-vs-buy R&D decisions.

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Assess Technology Readiness Levels
/products/case-studies/docs/supportOpenPageRank

Technology Readiness Assessment

TRL ASSESSMENT — CANDIDATE TECHNOLOGIES FOR PRODUCT ROADMAP ──────────────────────────────────────── GaN Power Devices (gallium-gan.com): TRL Signal: 9 — Production Ready /products: Full product catalog with datasheets /case-studies: 45 production deployments referenced /support: 24/7 FAE support, global distribution /docs: Complete application notes and reference designs DECISION: Adopt — technology is mature and de-risked AI Process Optimization (process-ai.io): TRL Signal: 6 — Prototype Validated /products: "Beta" label still present on 3 of 5 modules /case-studies: 3 pilot projects, no full production refs /support: Business hours only, limited documentation DECISION: Pilot — promising but not production-hardened Quantum Sensing (quantum-mfg.com): TRL Signal: 3 — Proof of Concept /products: "Coming soon" on most product pages /case-studies: None — only lab results on /blog DECISION: Monitor — too early for R&D investment

9R&D Investment Benchmarking

AI agent benchmarks R&D investment levels across the industry by analyzing competitor financial disclosures, hiring patterns, and technology partnership announcements — ensuring appropriate R&D budget allocation.

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Benchmark R&D Spending
/investors/careers/press/aboutOpenPageRank
R&D INVESTMENT BENCHMARK — MANUFACTURING PEERS ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ R&D SPENDING SIGNALS (% of revenue estimate): Competitor R&D % R&D Headcount Patent Activity Score competitor-a.com 8.2% 1,200+ 89 filings/yr 95 competitor-b.com 5.8% 680 45 filings/yr 72 Our company 4.5% 450 32 filings/yr 62 competitor-c.com 3.2% 280 18 filings/yr 45 GAP ANALYSIS: vs competitor-a.com: -3.7% of revenue (~$185M shortfall) R&D headcount: 2.7x fewer engineers Patent output: 2.8x fewer filings per year TREND: competitor-a.com R&D hiring up 28% YoY (accelerating) RECOMMENDATION: Increase R&D to 6.0% of revenue (+$75M) to remain competitive Focus: AI/automation (largest competitor investment area)

10Breakthrough Technology Detection

AI agent detects potential breakthrough technologies early by monitoring signals across startup, research, and corporate domains — using domain age, content velocity, funding signals, and partnership announcements as early indicators.

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Detect Early Breakthrough Signals
/products/press/aboutDomain AgesOpenPageRank

Breakthrough Detection Radar

POTENTIAL BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGIES — EARLY SIGNALS ──────────────────────────────────────── HIGH CONFIDENCE — Room-Temperature Superconductor Applications Source: 3 startup domains (ages 1-2 years) + 5 university /press pages Signal strength: $340M combined funding, 2 major corporate partnerships /products: First commercial products in power transmission Potential impact: 10x efficiency in power conversion products ACTION: Establish monitoring partnership with leading startup MEDIUM CONFIDENCE — Biological Manufacturing Source: 8 biotech-manufacturing domains (avg age 3 years) Signal strength: Growing academic citations, 2 pilot plants operational /products: Enzyme-based manufacturing of industrial chemicals Potential impact: 90% energy reduction for certain chemical processes ACTION: Attend BioManufacturing Conference, evaluate relevance MEDIUM CONFIDENCE — Atomically Precise Manufacturing Source: 4 research domains + 2 startups Signal strength: DARPA funding signals, early-stage but accelerating Potential impact: Manufacturing at molecular scale — long-term paradigm shift ACTION: Monitor quarterly — 5-10 year horizon
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