Innovation Examples
Welcome to the examples of innovation section of the site. On this page I will list some of the more famous/important innovations over the years.
You can determine some of the most important innovations by considering whether the innovation had a positive effect on the quality of life, solved a big issue or problem, created an entirely new market, increased efficiency or simply was a breakthrough idea that had that “Wow” factor.
Examples Include:
- Glass (3500 BC)
- Abacus (2700 BC)
- Windmills (200 BC)
- Paper (105 AD – Europe 10th century – Germany 1400)
- Printing Press (1450)
- Steam Powered Vehicle (1672)
- Mechanical Vehicle (1769)
- Camera Photography (1820)
- Telegraph (1837)
By Cardiff Council Flat Holm Project – Cardiff Council Flat Holm Project, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4012156
- Modern Public Library (1850-1945 depending on the country)
- Vacuum Cleaner (1860)
- Telephone (1876)
- Modern Automobile (1878)
- Solar Cell (1883)
- Wind Turbine (1888)
- Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or Drone (1916)
- Commercial Radio (1920)
- Electronic Television (1926)
- Disposable baby diapers (1930’s)
- Commercial Television (1936 UK, 1948 US)
- Computer printer (1938)
- Microwave oven (the 1940’s)
- Transistor (1947)
- Video Games (1947)
- Video Tape Recorder (1951)
- Laser (1957)
- Electronic calculator (1961)
- Spreadsheet software (1962)
- Light Emitting Diode (1962)
- Personal and laptop computers (1965)
- Microprocessor chips (1968)
- Word processing software (Late 1960’s)
- Mobile phones (1973)
- Global Positioning Systems (1973)
- Digital cameras (1975)
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (1977)
- E-Commerce (1979)
- Calculator Watch (1980)
- 3D Printing (1984)
- DNA Profiling (1986)
- World Wide Web / Internet (1989)
- Email (1993)
- Social networking (1994)
- Nintendo’s D-Pad and Analog N64 games controller (1996)
- Google search (1997)
- WiFi (1999 but the technology originates from approx 1985)
- Wikipedia (2001)
- iPod and iTunes (2001)
- Personal Drones (2002)
- Facebook (2004)
- YouTube (2005)
- Twitter (2006)
- Kindle (2007)
- Uber taxi (2009)
- iPad (2010)
- Crowd-funding (2010)
- Google self-driving car (2012)
- Multi-use space rockets (2015)
- Drone delivery (2016)
This is of course not a definitive list and new breakthrough innovations will continue to emerge.
Submit Your Example Of Innovation
Do you have your own example of innovation? If so would you like to share it with the innovation-creativity.com community?
If yes then simply submit your innovation below and I will do my best to publish it on this page as soon as possible.
Many thanks, Martin.
Your Examples Of Innovation
World Wide Web / Internet (1989)
by Armend Jashari(Kosovo, Prishtinë)It was important mainly because it helped people to get the information they needed much easier and also connect with each other despite the distance.The internet is an excellent innovation because it allows for communication and information sharing on a scale that was previously unimaginable. It enables connection with others across the […]
Vegemite
Because it was made out of waste and made an economic boom in Australia.by Dean Reynolds(France)
The World Wide Web / Internet
In one simple sentence – It made it possible for one to go around the world with just one click.by Ogechi Oyem(Lagos, Nigeria)
The First Light Bulb
Because without the light bulb then we would still be using candles and candles are dangerous around young kids also they could start fires which are highly dangerous. by Jemma Marie Gallon Puhara(Masterton, New Zealand)
The 1968 Olympic Gold winner in the high jump – Dick Fosbury
The 1968 Olympic high jump innovation of Dick Fosbury revolutionized this particular event.It may be a relatively minor example but, nevertheless, it demonstrated a totally unique development that led the competing world athletes to 100% adoption of a technique; it rendered the previous “Western roll” approach obsolete; it raised the standard of performance via world […]
Steel
Steel is a form of refined iron that contains a small percentage of carbon and other elements. It can be forged, hammered, tempered, and annealed to become harder and more ductile.Steel is very strong and has increased resistance to rust when compared with iron. It is also relatively easy to weld pieces of iron together.It […]
Smart Devices e.g. iPhones, iPads, Galaxy S
I am writing a report where I have been asked to list the innovations of a paramedic.My thinking is that smart devices such as the iPhone, iPad, or android based devices are great examples of innovations that improve the ability of paramedics to do their job.Instant Internet, communications, and a host of applications that give […]
Plastic Braces For Teeth
Wire braces can be painful and reduce the personality of a person so Zia Chishti first introduced plastic braces with the Santa-Clara-based medical device company Align Technology as an alternative to the traditional metal dental braces.One of Align Technologies’ core tooth-aligning products is invisalign. Along with being less painful to wear, this has advantages over […]
iPhone
This innovation is important because nowadays we use it so much and it is one of our most precious values. Many people have them and they use the applications available on them to assist and entertain people in many and various ways. By Anonymous Return To Innovation Examples
Cars
They’re a great way to travel and a great way to get much faster from place to place. People used to walk everywhere but now we just drive, no more leg pain!
Cell Phone
by Joty Sidhu (Caledon, Ontario, Canada) Because everyone in the world uses cell phones these days. Return To Innovation Examples