Contradictions are part of our daily life and sometimes it is difficult to solve a problem due to three main factors: we do not know the real problem, we do not know the root cause of the real problem and finally we do not have the right tools to solve the contradictions of the problem.
The Japanese in their Buddhist tradition indicate that wisdom is achieved once knowledge of the problem is had, and then it is solved with experience and with suitable tools.
The three factors together are strengthened and are essential to arrive at an optimal solution.
Contradictions are everywhere and are solved many times without our realizing in depth that they exist.
It is useful to detect when solving the contradictions where the operative zone is, which is the main contradiction and solve it with TRIZ.
For example, the sliding doors of airports and supermarkets are automatic but they can hurt a child who wants to play with them, so as the operating area where the problem occurs is at the edge where it crushes the hand, and there is where rubber or a soft material that does not hurt the person.
Another example is in the landing gear of aircraft that is used in takeoff but is hidden when the aircraft is already in flight.
Another domestic example is with toothbrushes that if they are too soft, they do not remove the dental bacteria and if they are too hard they hurt the gums, so it is common for there to be areas of soft bristles at the ends and other areas of hard bristles to be used in the teeth. necessary places.
This basic scheme posed is the backbone of TRIZ.
Let's do some history. TRIZ is systematic innovation, and it is the acronym in Russian for "Teorija Rezbenija Izobretatelskib Zadach" or, in Spanish, the Theory of Innovative Problem Solving.
This was born in Russia in the 40s at the end of World War 2 at the hand of Genrich Altshuller.
The TRIZ name is preserved because it began to be recognized quite extensively with these acronyms in 1995.
In the United States and Europe, people began to talk about Systematic Innovation, terminology that is more attractive from Marketing, but only after 2000.
Let's clarify that the words: Problem, Creativity, Invention and Innovation, are related but have very different meanings.
A problem for TRIZ is when one or more contradictions arise in a process, while creating is thinking about something new, innovating is manufacturing what is thought, and inventing is widely surpassing what is known to what is thought.
Intuitively we know what a problem is, it occurs mainly when contradictions are found, but then, what is the solution? Usually the goal of the problem is the state we want to achieve.
Altshuller classified the problems into routine and inventive problems. The latter are those whose solution is not obvious and forces the person trying to solve it to "investigate and think". TRIZ is an efficient application for this type of problem.
On the contrary, routine problems are easily solved with routine solutions and do not lead to innovation.
An invention is nothing but the finding of a creative solution to a given problem. It is important to note that there is no invention without problem, since nothing can be found if you are not looking.
Sometimes, however, you find something different than what you were looking for, and we find a novel solution to a different problem.
But until that moment the invention is still an idea. Only when this idea becomes a reality through its implementation and massive acceptance is an innovation achieved.
The industry is only interested in these innovations, since those creative ideas that are difficult to realize will be discarded and would die in oblivion.
TRIZ is thus a methodology for problem solving, analysis and product evolution derived from the study of thousands of patents for worldwide use.
TRIZ initially only dealt with inventions but later it deals with workable inventions that later become innovations, be they radical or disruptive.
Altshuller was born in Russia in 1926 and already made his first invention at the age of 14. He was always passionate about inventions and from a young age he started creating his small database of inventions.
After obtaining the title of naval mechanical engineer, he worked in the patent office of the Russian navy. His job was to help navy engineers solve technical problems by searching for solutions in the patent database.
It is necessary to verify that the USSR and later also in Japan, had the largest patent databases in the world in 1955 and it was common for them to research and copy designs from Western countries. From his research work, the first premises of TRIZ were born in 1960.
He published 14 books and worked as a science fiction writer to survive, under the nickname Henry Altov. All his books were only translated into English in 1992 and since 1995 it has become popular in Japan, the US and Europe.
Altshuller analyzed patents, classified them, and then studied a method to help Russian navy engineers solve problems.
Of approximately two million patents he chose only about 40 thousand, the exact number is not known, which he considered truly inventive.
Altshuller asked himself the following question: Why do some people invent and others don't?
At first he thought it was something psychological, but later he approached the subject in a scientific way. He was convinced that the inventors followed a method even if it was in an intuitive way. And he realized that most of the problems that we face have already been solved before in another discipline.
Continuously analyzing all patents helps to find solutions to our problems, but it is tedious, impractical and requires a lot of research.
Today, looking for patents similar to the problem being analyzed is even more difficult and they are not of much use since most of these patents are protected.
This is the reason that a good part of TRIZ developments are confidential and protected by patents.
Returning to the issue of contradictions and their resolution by TRIZ, today we know that the elimination of contradictions without accepting compromises or intermediate solutions is one of the basic tools of TRIZ.
In addition, three types of contradictions are defined:
Administrative: they are problems or situations that require a solution in time and form, not accepting disadvantageous alternatives.
-You can increase the productivity of the company with better training (positive) but employees will not work while they are training (negative).
Techniques: they are the constraints of engineering or design problems where the final ideal result is to prevent with the solution found having other problems with the system. In general, you have:
-A container can withstand high pressures (positive) but at the cost of greater weight (negative)
-A computer may have a screen with more brightness (positive) but will consume more electricity (negative)
-A plane or a car can take more speed (positive) but will produce more noise (negative)
In the case of the container, the compromise of resistance to higher pressure can be respected and not carry much weight if we change the material of the container to aluminum or reinforced plastic.
Physical or inherent: they are problems or situations where the system has opposite requirements for the same parameter or design attribute, for example:
-A pot should keep food warm (positive) but its exterior should be cold to prevent burning your hands
-a bicycle must be large for comfort (positive) but not so much that it bothers when stored (negative)
-the plastic will be resistant (positive) and economical (positive) but also biodegradable (higher negative cost)
-The street lights will be powerful (positive) but will not cause light pollution (negative)
In the case of the bicycle it will be large but it can be disassembled and reduced to smaller dimensions for storage.
With this scant knowledge of the history of TRIZ and the contradictions that cause problems, be they administrative, technical or physical, let's see how they have been resolved in the design of daily consumer products.
It is worth clarifying that TRIZ is made up of more than twenty tools each dedicated to a specific use, among the most used are: the matrix of contradictions, the root cause of problems, the System Operators, the separation principles, the inventive principles, Solution Standards, ARIZ, Invention levels, Resource Analysis, Ideality, Scientific Effects and Databases, Substance and Field Model, Tools to overcome mental inertia, etc.
But first, let's see how the separation principles and product evolution are applied as an inexhaustible source of improvements and innovations that are widely requested and recognized by the market.
The separation in time, the separation in space, the separation between the parts and the whole, and the separation in condition, are four simple strategies for solving annoying contradictions.
There is an interesting historical case of a separation in time that was used intelligently by the Spanish of the conquest and it was the Balmis expedition.
The Royal Vaccine Philanthropic Expedition, known as the Balmis Expedition in reference to the Spanish doctor Francisco Javier de Balmis, was a philanthropic expedition that went around the world and lasted from 1803 to 1814.
Its objective was in principle that the smallpox vaccine would reach all corners of the then Spanish Empire, since the high mortality of the virus was causing the death of thousands of children. It was estimated at 40% mortality.
King Carlos IV supported and financed with public funds the court doctor Dr. Balmis in his idea of a massive vaccination of children throughout the empire, since his own daughter the Infanta María Luisa had suffered and died from this disease.
The expedition left the port of La Coruña on November 30, 1803 and this is considered the first international health expedition in history.
Carlos V was the only sponsor of the expedition that tried to take the vaccine to Mexico, where it is assumed that the disease entered some of the sailors that Hernán Cortés took on his way to the Aztec gold.
The problem involved in the journey was simple, if the smallpox virus was inoculated to a person who was vaccinated, in the time that the trip lasted, they would develop the disease but would also overcome it before reaching port.
For this reason, the doctor Javier Balmís made a controversial decision since he used a separation in the time of the disease. He embarked 22 foundlings and inoculated two of them with the virus. When this had its effect in the form of notorious pustules, some children passed it to another in a staggered way by contact with their bodies.
Two transmitted it to other children, who did the same with others, until they were 22. Thus, when the María Pita docked off the coast of Puerto Rico, the vaccine, taken from samples of the 22 children it was ready to be handed over to the local doctors.
The expedition was then divided into two groups that brought the much desired vaccine to the coasts of Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala and Argentina.
Then twenty groups left for the Philippines and China.
This is how 22 children without parents were the bearers of life expectancy for an estimated 10 million people in Latin American countries alone.
Regarding the evolution of products, Altshuller established eight evolution patterns of technical systems, namely:
1. Life cycle with birth, adolescence, maturity and death.
Example: Turbines replaced boilers and these replaced sails and these replaced oars.
2. Tendency to increase Ideality.
Example: Laser printers replaced inkjet and these to ballons.
3. Uneven development of subsystems results in contradictions.
Example: aero turbines developed faster than wing design.
4. Assemble the parts first, then disassemble the parts (to benefit).
Example: Cut pen with one blade, many blades, and then scissors, screwdriver, can opener, nail clipper, bottle opener, file, key ring, etc. (Cut Swiss feathers).
5. Increase in complexity followed by simplification with integration.
Example: plastic reinforced computer panel with many integrated components.
6. Transition from the macro system to the micro system.
Example: Blindex glass of common flat glass. Small diameter bearings make multilayer glass with greater rigidity and safety.
7. Technology increases dynamism and controllability.
Example: wooden pointer, telescopic pointer and laser pointer.
8. Decrease in human activity and increase in automation
Example: Controls of airplanes, ocean liners, industrial plants and satellites
Let's see then some applications of triz in consumer products.
1-Israeli designer engineer Kobi Levi manufactures his own shoes, copying nature or domestic elements, eliminating the contradiction of balance in each particular case, using counterweight materials and high adherence to the ground.
See the page http://kobilevidesign.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results = 9
2-Polyethylene was discovered by DOW Co. and has excellent properties against water and dust but very limited resistance to the passage of oxygen through its dense fibers.
It was Johnson & Jonson who, with a team from TRIZ, selected this material, bought the patent from DOW and the way they found to package their children's products was to wrap nine plastic bags inside a final bag, and in this way eliminated possibilities of contamination in the nine packed bags.
3-For years the shirts have had attached to the neck a segment of fabric or label indicating manufacturer and size, but recently several Indian and Chinese manufacturers have replaced this with a print on the same fabric of the shirt, reaching the ideal final result established by Altshuller.
In other words, they have eliminated the label, which is sometimes annoying to the user, and they have used a component of the context, that is, the shirt itself.
4-The new laptops from
And they have applied various TRIZ concepts from eliminating contradictions to greater Ideality and product evolution.
5-For more than 3000 years, humans have needed toothbrushes.
A summary of verifiable improvements of a toothbrush can be seen at
But at the Belgium Fair 2011 the Philips Sonicare Diamond was presented, which is an electric toothbrush especially for travelers, which includes a glass of mouthwash that can also be used as a battery charger for the electric toothbrush.
Rinsing with a hot product tends to improve the solubility of foods and optimizes tooth cleaning.
The evolution of brushing from a mechanical manual action to a chemical action in the toothpaste to a pulsating electromagnetic action is a verifiable fact today.
The glass works with wireless inductive loads and connects directly to the electrical outlet, but the batteries can also be recharged via the USB port of a computer, according to http://www.gizmag.com/philips-sonicare-diamondclean-toothbrush/19533/ ? utm_source = Gizmag + Subscribers & utm_campaign = 0cda2f8c92-UA-2235360-4 & utm_medium = email
6-Recently there has been a contest for the alternative use of books among adolescents and these are the winners
7-There are even custom clocks like the ones on the page
8-Another design of great innovation is found in automobiles not only in their exterior but also in their electronics, such as recognition by the user's key and the necessary adjustment of the seat and mirror configuration, which implies a separation in the preexisting condition and time.
Even temperature separation of the driver from the passengers is a separation in space.
Goodyear has patented tires with layers of different colors that distinguish on tire wear.
And not only can the location of a stolen car be detected, but also in intelligent engines, remote diagnosis and repair can be found quickly.
Self-cleaning surface windshields are common in Mercedes Benz and Honda making windshield wipers unnecessary.
Even Mercedes Benz includes radar in high-end cars that helps prevent collisions, closes open windows and positions the seats in an upright position. If the brakes are held tight then the system causes all wheels to brake at equal speed and adjusts the tension of the seat belts.
But in the case of windshield wipers there are those that adjust to the speed of the mobile and even to the amount of rain. On the other hand, the radio adjusts to high speeds, covering up external noise.
Hybrid cars are a reality using combinations of mechanical, chemical and electromagnetic parts in a single system.
9-Eveready has marketed flashlights, pointers and radios that easily adapt to batteries of different sizes.
10-There are golf balls that emit an electromagnetic signal and by GPS detect the place where the ball is lost, even under water. Those same balls are made of biodegradable material and in a matter of days they become fish food.
11-Apple has commercialized smart touch keyboards that use the energy generated by the pressure on the keys to recharge the batteries of the PC and even emit a portion of light on the keyboard for poorly lit areas.
3M markets its Notebook Privacy screens where only the person who is operating it can see the characters and the vision at an angle is disfigured according to the principle of separation in space.
12-The evolution of communications has gone from a thermal field with smoke signals, to a chemical field in the inks of newspapers and magazines, to telexes where chemical and mechanical fields are combined, to the telephone with an electric field and reaching our days with electromagnetic fields with e-mail and cell phones.
Little by little, hybrid cell phones with television and the Internet are gaining followers day by day.
13-In homes and offices, the integration of components is felt not only in swimming pools with countercurrents of water for the exercise of swimmers and professionals, but also in cellular equipment, copiers, printers and even in fire and alarm systems.
Bar code identification via electromagnetic fields is already a fact in all stores.
14-The integration of foods according to tastes, calories, fat and nutrient content has gone towards an individual level, leaving aside mass products.
There are countless questions that can be asked to detect consumer preferences such as the need to cook at home without using gas or electricity or have roofs that open depending on the time outside the home.
Other manufacturers prefer to film the behavior of the customers or the inconveniences in the use of their products, for example in the mayonnaise pots how to adjust the application of mayonnaise to a meal or how to adjust the use of a detergent to a washing machine.
Note: Regarding the principles of separation, the reader can try to solve these exercises.
We saw that a contradiction exists when, trying to improve one attribute, "A", of a technological system, another attribute "B", of the same technological system, deteriorates.
For example, if you want to manufacture a more robust and durable product (desired attribute), it automatically becomes heavier and more expensive due to the material required for it (undesirable attribute).
The following exercises show several standard contradictions.
a-When firefighters face a large fire in a building, they need to apply large amounts of water, at very high pressure, to smother the fire (desirable attribute), but at the same time, a lot of water causes serious damage to the property, to the household goods and office equipment (undesirable attribute), in other words water is needed but not needed, there is a physical contradiction between the water and itself.
b-When training divers from the 10 meter high platform, a bad dive, at an inappropriate angle, can cause serious damage to the athlete due to the considerable speed they reach in the fall. It is required to have water in the swimming pool to cushion a "good" dive (desirable attribute) but water is not required for a poorly executed dive due to the damage it can cause (undesirable attribute). The positive characteristic of water is confronted with its negative characteristic, so that water must be present and at the same time absent.
c-In a special glass factory, a client requests hundreds of sheets of this product, which are one millimeter thick, with rounded corners. During the cutting and polishing of these corners, a large number of sheets break, with the monetary loss for the company. The physical contradiction is that the sheets must be thin as the client requires them (desirable attribute) but at the same time they must be thick so as not to break (undesirable attribute).
d-An iron conduit conducts small steel spheres (pellets), together with air, at high speed, to be transported to another department of the same company. The elbows of the pipe undergo a high degree of erosion, which causes that such elbows have to be changed up to twice a week, with the loss of time and money that this produces. It is suggested to install protectors made of ceramic or some other material resistant to the impacts of the metallic spheres, however the cost of doing so is very high. The physical contradiction is that: the pellets are required to travel at high speed within the pipeline (desirable attribute) but at the same time that produces a high degree of erosion (undesirable attribute).
e-In any restaurant it is desirable to have many diners (desirable attribute), however with a greater number of clients it is necessary to hire more waiters (undesirable attribute). The contradiction is having many clients but at the same time not having them.
How would you solve these problems?
Physical contradictions are relatively easy to resolve as they can be addressed using one of the following Principles of Separation:
Separation in space.
Separation in time.
Separation between the parts and the whole.
Separation according to a condition.
For the application of TRIZ, defining the contradictions that are intended to be eliminated is the key element in any problem of inventiveness or technological innovation.
Once these are identified, the solution is relatively simple, however it requires practical experience that is gained over time.
The solution to the problems raised is:
a-Firefighters use a water sprinkler that produces very small drops, which have great covering power but do not cause serious damage to the property and other objects.
b-In the case of the pool, high pressure air is injected, through diffusers, into the bottom of the pool and then the air considerably reduces the density of the water and thus the damage that the diver could suffer is minimal if he falls badly already high speed.
c-The glass sheets are stacked, increasing their thickness and therefore can be cut and polished without breaking or splintering.
d-The problem is solved by means of a magnet, which is placed on the outside of the elbow, with which some steel spheres are retained, momentarily, inside the duct, serving as shock absorbers and thus avoiding the erosion of the wall metallic. If the transport speed is high, then the spheres are rotating and therefore they do not suffer permanent damage nor the elbow.
e-In the case of the restaurant, diners become their own waiters during the popular self service buffet.
I made it difficult for him to understand the principles of separation. No.
That is the interesting and important thing about TRIZ, that it is easy, fast and highly applicable to specific cases.
