Concept-Oriented Research and Development in Information Technology

Part III

Fusion of Technologies

Yinong Chen

Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA

Research and development (R&D) is a problem-solving methodology. R&D has been oriented largely toward technology and problem solution. With the advancement and fusion of technologies, technology- and solution-oriented R&D approaches are shifting to the new concept-oriented approach, which is based on higher-level, more abstract approach.

Such a paradigm shift is necessary, as business (commerce) and the marketplace are becoming increasingly dynamic. Technologies are constantly changing, which makes it impossible to focus on the technologies in the R&D process.

On the basis of the autonomous decentralized system (ADS) concept, this part of the book proposes a new approach, that focuses on the end-to-end concept and presents a number of examples of technology fusion, including the following, discussed in Chapter 6:

• Fusion of business, society, and technologies
• Fusion of virtual and physical reality technologies in the form of identifiable (tangible) objects and their virtual representations in an Internet structure
• Fusion among computing technologies, including computer hardware, software, and applications
• Fusion of computing and communication technologies
• Fusion of computing, communication, and control technologies

Chapters 6–10 are written by experts in the area of R&D who have been practicing the concept-oriented approach. They each contributed a chapter to share their latest research and ...