Product research typically represents a tiny part of an overall development and marketing budget. But at what cost do manufacturers ignore this fundamental part of product delivery. Anna Mitchell explores the subject with Daniel Beer, head of Electroacoustics at Fraunhofer IDMT.
Daniel Beer is head of Electroacoustics and a product manager at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology in Ilmenau, Germany. He is passionate about the role of research in shaping the world of the future and a proponent of investing time, money and manpower on creating products that meet specific needs.
However, Beer is realistic about the constraints of research in industry and whilst he notes certain failings argues that, given these constraints, there is a big role for dedicated research institutes in product development.
Much of Beer’s experience comes from his work on developing a new type of planar loudspeaker that maintains sound quality while allowing a unit to be placed close to a wall.
Read The luxury of research in InAVate Active to learn more about Beer’s influences, achievements and the balance between freedom in research and financial pressures.