R&D cluster quality measures and technology maturity |
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Authors: | Robert J Alan L |
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Institution: | a U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Advanced Vehicle Technologies, Warren, MI 48397-5000, USA;b Search Technology, Inc., Suite 230, 4960 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Norcross, GA 30071-1580, USA;c Technology Policy and Assessment Center, Georgia Tech., Atlanta, GA 30332-0205, USA |
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Abstract: | “Innovation indicators” strive to track the maturation of an emerging technology to help forecast its prospective development. One rich source of information is the changing content of discourse of R&D, as the technology progresses. We analyze the content of research paper abstracts obtained by searching large databases on a given topic. We then map the evolution of that topic's emphasis areas.The present research seeks to validate a process that creates factors (clusters) based on term usage in technical papers. Three composite quality measures—cohesion, entropy, and F measure—are computed. Using these measures, we create standard factor groupings that optimize the composite term sets and facilitate comparisons of the R&D emphasis areas (i.e., clusters) over time.The conceptual foundation for this approach lies in the presumption that domain knowledge expands and becomes more application specific in nature as a technology matures. We hypothesize implications for this knowledge expansion in terms of the three factor measures, then observe these empirically for the case of a particular technology—autonomous navigation. These metrics can provide indicators of technological maturation. |
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Keywords: | R& D cluster quality measures Technology maturity Innovation indicators |
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