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How to understand the innovation pathways of emerging technologies emerge from technology to market and identifing the future changes and trends in innovation pathways is crucial for enterprises’ research and development (R&D) strategic planning, and new production development decision making. The technology roadmapping (TRM) is considered as an effective method to study innovation pathways, and provides a structured approach to map how emerging technologies have evolved from technology to market, and visualize the development relationships among markets, products, and technologies. However, the traditional TRM methods to visualize the innovation pathways, and identify the relationships among markets, products, and technologies mainly relied on experts’ opinions, which are considered as time consuming and costly. The technology-relationship-technology (TRT) semantic analysis can semiautomatically extract technology information and the relationships among products, functions, and technologies from patents, which can significantly reduce the bias due to using experts’ opinions that are based on intuitive knowledge when roadmapping the innovation pathways from technology to market activities. Therefore, this article integrates TRT semantic analysis and TRM method to propose a framework for monitoring the innovation pathways of emerging technologies and identifying future changes and trends in innovation pathways of emerging technologies. In this framework, first, we use the TRT semantic analysis to extract the TRT structures containing various structural relationships from the patents, and determine the analytical dimensions of TRM based on the TRT structures’ characteristics and experts’ knowledge. Second, we analyze the various structural relationships in-depth to explore their particular contributions in the process of TRM construction, and construct the technology roadmap to monitor the innovation pathways. Finally, after completing the construction of the TRT-based technology roadmap, we in-depth analyze the technology, function, product evolution paths in the TRM to identify the future changes and trends in innovation pathways with the help of domain experts. To illustrate the implementation of the research framework, we employ the elderly smart wear technology as the case study. This article will contribute to the TRM methodology, and will be of interest to elderly smart wear technology R&D experts and new production development experts.

Governments and industries continuously engage in large-scale projects aiming to unlock economic potential for commercial and social benefits of a country and its people. In the case of developing countries, where the dynamics of innovation ecosystems differ from those in developed countries, the need for sociotechnical transition projects are often quite high. The aim of this article is to propose a standardized framework suitable for developing countries for the technology roadmapping of large projects aimed to bring about systemic sociotechnical transitions. The framework is developed through the integration of existing generic technology roadmapping approaches with transition management theory and complex systems theory and was illustrated against a successful sociotechnical transition program that is characterized by Big Fast Results (BFR) requirements. Data were collected from qualitative interviews as well as from the critical analysis of relevant documents. The proposed sociotechnical transition technology roadmap accurately captured the key elements of the BFR project it was benchmarked against and even identified key elements that were not included in the BFR methodology. An advantage of the proposed sociotechnical transition technology framework is the fact that it makes use of a standard technology roadmapping process with few customizations that are ideal for use in developing countries.

Data become critical in the recent business environment, especially in the smart service where value is generation via data analytics to support self-reconfigured, instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent characteristics. Thus, data have been recognized as important assets for planning to ensure a firm's competitiveness. However, the literature is surprisingly sparse in integrating data for the technology roadmap (TRM) which has been widely used to support strategic planning. In response, this article suggests a concept of the data-integrated TRM and proposes relevant structure, typology, and roadmapping process to show how to integrate data into the technology roadmapping. First, types of data integration are defined based on the literature review and practical business cases. Second, the concept and structure of data-integrated TRM are suggested, adding a data layer as an intermediate and functional link for planning corresponding smart services. Third, the typology of data-integrated TRM is also suggested considering types of data integration. Based on the typology, this article also illustrates roadmapping processes for practical examples. An in-depth discussion of the suggested data-integrated TRM is expected to be of high value in terms of practicality in the near future.

This article aims to introduce a case study of application and upgrading exercise of technology roadmapping to be introduced for the implementation of industrial science and technology policy. Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) under the supervision of METI cooperated to develop and use technology roadmaps (TRM 1.0), which were conducted during 2005–2010. Based on this first attempt, we propose TRM Kaizen method to improve our methodology from the viewpoint of achieving the goals of industrial technology policy in a more effective and efficient way. Next, we extract the points to be reassessed in the technology roadmapping process based on our experiences of the application of the method. We consecutively propose an amendment, new technology roadmapping (TRM 2.0), with improvements to cope with the points mentioned above after 2014, and implement the technology roadmapping methodology for actual policy. Finally, the results of our practice are tested using TRM Kaizen method, and it is confirmed that issues of (TRM 1.0) have been almost fully resolved. The TRM Kaizen method illustrated in this article can be used as a practical methodology for more sophisticated technology roadmapping from the viewpoint of achieving the goals of industrial technology policy.

The rapid growth and widespread availability of technology has allowed enemies to dynamically develop countermeasures to military systems. Therefore, it is imperative that military systems be designed to account for these countermeasures. As such, technology roadmapping should be a critical activity in the acquisition of defense systems. Technology roadmaps provide a strategic vision for a system that accounts for the operational context, including evolving needs and technology changes. However, the operational context can be difficult to predict. This article suggests using wargaming coupled with combat simulation to better understand the operational context to allow for testing and refining technology roadmaps. Wargaming requires teams to roleplay friendly and enemy units to determine how each side adapts with the implementation of a new military system. Computer-based simulations can then convert the qualitative results from the wargame into quantitative metrics that further inform the roadmap. A case study is presented for a technology roadmap associated with an armored exoskeleton. Wargaming forecasted the countermeasures implemented by the enemy and the associated responses. The wargame results were coupled with models to quantitatively forecast the change in the warfighter's survivability and lethality. The wargame was then used to inform the technology roadmap.

Science and technology (ST ST enhancing communications among researchers, technologists, product managers, suppliers, users, and other stakeholders; identifying gaps and opportunities in ST and identifying obstacles to rapid and low-cost product development. S&T managers also use roadmaps to help identify those S&T areas that have high potential promise, and to accelerate the transfer of the S&T to eventual products. However, there has been little attention paid to the practice of roadmapping in the published literature. This paper is a first attempt to bring some common definition to roadmapping practices and display the underlying unity of seemingly fragmented roadmap approaches. The paper begins with generic roadmap definitions, including a taxonomy of roadmaps that attempts to better classify and unify the broad spectrum of roadmap objectives and uses. Characteristics of retrospective and prospective roadmaps are then identified and analyzed, as well as summary characteristics of bibliometric-based S&T mapping techniques. The roadmap construction process, including fundamental principles for constructing high-quality roadmaps, is presented in detail.