Collective Innovation

About a week ago, when i watch TVOne, a local news channel, i see something unsual that day. That time, they had a interview with some college student who build a small car (about 1:5 of normal car). And there is something special about this car, it use..i dont know it in English..bleach? that solvent that we use to whitening our clothes..? ya, that one.. They use it as a fuell of the car.

image courtesy of okezone.com

I personally salute them for what they've achieve..then, it makes me thinking..

Maybe i don't understand completely the concept behind the car..but, i can't imagine the practical use or even the future direction behind this innovation.
Why would we use bleach as a fuel?..well, i sure they know why..

Then again, this makes me think again..this time about innovation and our understanding about the future direction.

Today, one of the fastest innovation happens in mobile devices industry. I like to take some example, Android. Android innovation goes so fast, very fast..this year alone we've seen 2 major release, the honeycomb and tomorrow Ice Cream Sandwich.

But, if we look deeper, Android is actually made from other separate innovation. There are parts that (maybe) in the beginning develop separately. Android is build on top of other innovation like Linux kernel, Dalvik virtual machine, some Java and many other.

So, what is this Android has to do with the car a tell you before?

Maybe "Smaller" innovation, if we, as a society can figure it out whats next, can be use to build a "bigger" one in term of complexity and impact.

In case of cars..or maybe we can say automotive. "Smaller" innovation can be better hydrogen container, social traffic system, foam from natural fiber and so on. This can help us achieve whats next in automotive industry - in this case cheaper, smarter and more green personal transportation.