The video discusses the role of Yantra Thaksin Technologies Limited in transforming traditional manufacturing systems, specifically in the apparel sector, by redesigning basic machinery into more complex and efficient systems. The host delves into their approach to new product development, focusing on meeting gaps in the market by producing innovative solutions in automation, labor improvement, and sustainable energy consumption.

The video further explores different types of innovation, including vertical, horizontal, open, and disruptive innovations, emphasizing that Yantra Thaksin primarily engages in horizontal innovation. The conversation shifts to the importance of understanding customer expectations, such as personalization, quality, fast delivery, and environmental impact, and the need for unique selling propositions (USP) to stand out in the market.

Main takeaways from the video:

Please remember to turn on the CC button to view the subtitles.

Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. augmenting [ɔːɡˈmɛntɪŋ] - (verb) - Increasing the value, amount, or effectiveness of something by adding to it. - Synonyms: (enhance, increase, expand)

The second time, type is horizontal. So what you're doing is you're taking a product that is already there or a system that is already there and augmenting it to be used in another set of circumstances.

2. bridging the gaps [ˈbrɪdʒɪŋ ðə gæps] - (phrase) - To connect or bring together different elements or stages that are seen as separate. - Synonyms: (connecting, linking, uniting)

Are you going to design something which is more towards bridging the gaps?

3. novelties [ˈnɒvəltiːz] - (noun) - Items that are new, unique, or different, often designed to amuse or interest. - Synonyms: (innovations, curiosities, oddities)

Now, the third category there, which goes into novelties, you can understand novelties, and a lot of the fashion brands operate in novelties where we, we tend to sort of create things that are not very common.

4. Usp (Unique Selling Proposition) [juː-ˈɛs-pi] - (noun) - A distinct factor or characteristic that makes a product or service unique and preferable to customers. - Synonyms: (unique feature, distinct feature, selling point)

What is it that is unique that you are putting up to the market, it can be a service product, can be anything. But what makes what you're thinking more unique than everybody else's.

5. horizontal innovation [ˌhɔːrɪˈzɒntəl ɪnəˈveɪʃən] - (noun) - The process of applying an existing product or technology to a different context or audience. - Synonyms: (lateral innovation, cross-industry adaptation, parallel innovation)

So we call that horizontal innovation

6. open innovation [ˈoʊpən ɪnəˈveɪʃən] - (noun) - A collaborative approach to innovation where companies and individuals freely share information, technology, and expertise to advance together. - Synonyms: (collaborative innovation, inclusive innovation, shared development)

open innovation, the opposite of open innovation is where you put a lot of patents and things and you lock it up and you say, like, only myself or my company or this particular set of individuals can have it.

7. disruptive innovation [dɪsˈrʌptɪv ɪnəˈveɪʃən] - (noun) - Innovation that significantly alters or disrupts an existing market or industry. - Synonyms: (revolutionary innovation, breakthrough, game-changing)

But disruptive is like a massive change overnight, change where a complete industry is destroyed with this new product that comes out.

8. subtractive manufacturing [səbˈtræktɪv ˌmænjuˈfæktʃərɪŋ] - (noun) - A traditional manufacturing process where material is removed from a solid block to form a desired shape. - Synonyms: (machining, cutting, material removal)

So the three pictures there, okay, the first one is what we call subtractive manufacturing

9. additive manufacture [ˈædɪtɪv ˌmænjuˈfæktʃər] - (noun) - A process of manufacturing by adding material layer by layer to create an object, typically using 3D printing. - Synonyms: (3D printing, incremental manufacturing, layer-by-layer fabrication)

The one in the middle where you see, I put those pictures of bones and things that we've 3d printed, that is additive manufacture

10. bioprinting [ˈbaɪoʊˌprɪntɪŋ] - (noun) - The use of 3D printing technology to create cell patterns and functional living tissues. - Synonyms: (biofabrication, tissue engineering, 3D biomanufacturing)

And increasingly we are looking at also bioprinting to do with more complex things like liver and so on and so forth.

Innovation in the New Age - Ashan Amarasinghe - TEDxYouth@GCNegombo

In Sri Lanka. I've been back in Sri Lanka since 2013. And as part of being with McLarens, we have also created a new company called Yantra Thaksin Technologies Limited, which is slightly different from the norms of McLarens, which is over 70 years presence in Sri Lanka to do with shipping and logistics. So this company is somewhat different. So what is it that we do? So, okay, so you can see this on the screen. On the left hand side, you have some machines, manufacturing machines that are there two types, and we take these things and study the processes and things and come up with new systems.

So what you see there on the right hand side are these machines. So you have pretty basic ones that people have been using for so long. And in this case, the two examples are from apparel. And then our engineers and myself, we work on these and then create what you have there on the right hand side from where your stand is sitting. Okay, so how do you get from a fairly basic system there? You see, like with these are all molding machines, some fairly basic looking machines, into something that looks more complex. And it's a, you know, a significant step jump from what they've been using for, let's say, 20 years, and then we've come along and just basically spun it around upside down.

Okay, so what is it that you're going to be doing? Like, how do you start off the new product development process? Okay, so you might connect this to innovation as well. The first thing I would always advise my designers and engineers is to look at what is it that we are planning to cater for? Is it that we are going to make more of things that are already there because there is insufficient supply, not enough to meet the demand? So are you going to do something that is more of the same, increasing capacity? Are you going to design something which is more towards bridging the gaps? So you got product a and product b, but you find the customers are missing something in between where nobody is supplying. So you can also create solutions for that in form of products.

Now, the third category there, which goes into novelties, you can understand novelties, and a lot of the fashion brands operate in novelties where we, we tend to sort of create things that are not very common. And is that then the space that you're going to be designing things or systems for? Okay, so the next one down, are you just going to follow trends and fads? Okay, so based on the trends and fads that you see, can you create something which will match up with a gap or extend the capability, or cater to something that is missing there.

And the final one is you can study certain markets and groups of people or customers and create something which is very specific for them. Okay, so if I ask the question then in terms of these machinery and systems that we create, where do you think we would fit in? Do you think we are niche? Do you think we are novelties? Are we making more of the same? Or do you think we are meeting those expectation gaps? So the answer is actually we are fitting into the gaps. Okay, so we find that the clients or customers need, they have product a and b. They can't really find that middle ground where it makes a big difference. So in this case it's related to automation, labor improvement, improvement in sustainability, energy consumptions, things like that.

Okay, so that's where we operate in terms of then the voice of the customer. What are we looking at? What are the expectations? So a lot of the time it's to do with the, you will find that the newer generation and, you know, the likes of you guys, you wouldn't necessarily want something that is always there, right? Like the same thing. Like even if you take your mobile phone, for instance, a regular product, but with the apps and what you put in there, every mobile phone is somewhat unique to the person who's using it. Okay, so we like personalization. We don't want to buy things that are commonly available. We also demand higher quality.

So if you look at some of the older stuff that your grandparents used, great grandparents use maybe in the sixties or the seventies, the quality and what comes out of it, they kind of, they were okay with it. Okay. Like they would accept if something was functional. Okay, great, we'll work on it. But. Or we buy it, but now there is so much to do with, you know, the quality. Like you look at the label, where it's coming from, the standards, all these things matter, how long it lasts and so on and so forth.

The next one is we need it fast. That is why Amazon and all these guys have made a business out of it. How do you get products very fast to the customers? And finally, the impact on environment. So I don't need to go into details of that. But you know about the global warming, the energy, water crisis, all these things. When we buy a product, we also look at what is the impact on the community and the globe and so on and so forth. So these are things that you have to consider.

So then once you consider all that, you will have to ask yourself the question, what is your USP? What is it that is unique that you are putting up to the market, it can be a service product, can be anything. But what makes what you're thinking more unique than everybody else's. Okay, so what are the types of innovation then? So when you look at innovation, people keep talking about lots of different types of innovation. But I've listed out there four of the main types of innovation. So four buckets that we can easily put things into.

Number one is you can talk about vertical innovation. So vertical innovation is more like that. First thing that I said, like incremental. It's more incremental where you're building on something that is already there and you're taking innovative steps to improve it. The second time, type is horizontal. So what you're doing is you're taking a product that is already there or a system that is already there and augmenting it to be used in another set of circumstances. So we call that horizontal innovation.

Now, the fourth type that people generally talk about is open innovation. open innovation, the opposite of open innovation is where you put a lot of patents and things and you lock it up and you say, like, only myself or my company or this particular set of individuals can have it. So you don't share information and things, and it's all locked up. Okay? So the open innovation opens the doors, combines with different companies and different aspects of that. Whatever it is that you're trying to create, the USP, bring them in and jointly do the research so that all of these guys benefit. Okay, so building the International Space Station and all these things fall under open innovation because they have to share the technologies. And as a group, then you progress into making something unique.

The final type is disruptive. So the disruptive ones are the equivalent of what happened with, like, for instance, a mobile phone. Okay? So when the mobile phone through the iPod came in, initially the iPod with Apple, if you guys are familiar with it, when it came out, it disrupted the music industry and Sony and all these guys are dominating with Walkman and all that. All of a sudden, you got, like, this tiny little device which could store thousands of songs and you could carry around that. Then evolved into the smartphone, which then started bringing in the camera, the recordings, you know, your computer, personal computer, all that combined into that phone.

Okay? So all those guys who were doing individual cameras and individual Walkmans and so on, they very quickly ran out of business. Okay? So it's. It's very disruptive. Same thing happened in the car industry with the carburetors going into electric field injection. So there are lots of examples. But disruptive is like a massive change overnight, change where a complete industry is destroyed with this new product that comes out.

Okay, so when you start thinking creatively, I'm going to run through this slide quite fast. You need to look at everything holistically. Okay, so when I'm designing something, I don't start designing something in the office. We go and go into the environment, we go into the factories, we go into the shops, and we look at what is actually available, what is going on, what are the interconnects, how does it all connect up? What is a holistic system and what is the overall situation that we're trying to change?

Okay, then perspective is important. So you need to look at the situation from a different viewpoint. If you're looking like everybody else, then you're going to end up with the same thing, right? So you need to use slightly different way of looking at things and that way you can find solutions. And we use abstract approach. It's not the path regularly traveled where we manage complexity into something simple. Like for instance, let me give you an example. If you take Google Maps. When you're using Google Maps, you're not interested in all the terrain and everything around it. So what Google does is it simplifies everything and gives you a path which you can then use and go on. So this is a level of abstract thinking that we are using. Simplify things and do it.

And then finally you have structure where all the different elements, how do you bring it together? So these are the lines we are thinking on. And the first bit that I spoke about, it's also there on the right hand side. So these are the areas that collectively connect to give you that unique selling point or that unique product that we're looking for.

Okay? So just for you to then also understand, generally in the technology world we look at, we have to have a means of assessing our progress in terms of product development. So we use something called technology readiness levels. So there are nine levels. And this is originally developed by NASA for the space program. And everybody else has now taken it up. At least the top notch companies, the blue chip companies have taken it on where we use this to assess our projects and where we stand. So there is a scale of one to nine, and one being you coming up with an idea, and three, four being something like an experimental thing that is happening in a lab, into nine, which is a commercially available product.

And in between, you then run through a research lab phase, a simulated world that you do with limited proof of concept, and then on to the real world. And it's there that you hear about accelerators and incubators you might have heard about. This is where that comes in, between TRL level four and seven, that is a transition point. And that is also what we call the valley of death, where lot of new ideas and products never make it to the commercial market for various reasons.

So, to enable all this, we need manufacturing, right? If you can't manufacture things efficiently, then it's not really going to work out. We can't take a million years to get to the next stages. So the three pictures there, okay, the first one is what we call subtractive manufacturing. So this is a regular thing that you see with robots and so on. But essentially, in a nutshell, what it is, is you get a block of material, you keep cutting it off until you get the product you want.

Okay? So we call it subtractive manufacturing. The one in the middle where you see, I put those pictures of bones and things that we've 3d printed, that is additive manufacture. So part of what I did at Rolls Royce and Boeing, we got involved with additive manufacture back in 2000, and we did a lot of fancy stuff that we couldn't manufacture through subtractive manufacturing. So now you guys are familiar with 3d printers and things. We were using it back in 2000.

Okay? So that is additive manufacture. So you create the material as you make the product. There is no real waste because everything you create, you use. Okay, so it's additive, okay. And it's faster, and it's also digital. That means we can draw something on the computer, transit into the machine without people interfering. It just builds it.

Okay, the final one, why would I put that saying? Are we going to grow things, or is manufacturing going to be agricultural? So why I put this is that little blade you see up there with this one? That is a Rolls Royce blade, turbine blade, which operates at high temperature. And that doesn't crack when you hang a double decker bus on that. So you can see how small it is. You can hang a double decker bus and swing it around. That blade won't break. Okay, and what is important in this? It's grown from a single crystal. It's grown, okay. It's nothing using cutting technology like subtracting. It's not really using additive, but it's a single crystal, metal crystal that we grow into this blade and then we finish it off. But because it's. There's no cracks and things inside, it's very, very strong.

Okay? So what I'm getting at is we can also grow things. We're learning to grow things. And in my world. I look at, for instance, trees like factories. Trees are like nature's factories, which we use to get all kinds of products. So it's a very efficient way of doing things. So a lot of the pharmaceuticals and things now we become more and more to derive of natural plants and things. We can also 3d print missing parts like your ears and things. If you lose your ear from, God forbid you can actually get it printed now. And increasingly we are looking at also bioprinting to do with more complex things like liver and so on and so forth. So that is why I'm talking about manufacturing becoming more agricultural.

Innovation, Technology, Sustainability, Engineering, Global, Manufacturing, Tedx Talks