Resources are anything. Japanese solution to pirates

April 25, 2012 · Posted in innovation, problem solving · Comment 

This Japanese solution for stopping pirates from boarding ships is an excellent example of using readily available resources to innovate.

Pirates make money by capturing people or property then either hold it for ransom or attempt to sell it. Either way they need to get on board the ship to achieve their goal. Sinking the ship or killing the passengers isn’t profitable so pirates avoid that.

Water is definitely a readily available resource to a ship. Ships also have pumps used for fighting fires, cleaning the decks, and removing unwanted water.

The Anti-Piracy Water Curtain uses what already exists on a ship including what the crew knows how to do. It also doesn’t require many people operate so existing crew can turn on the water curtain and still do their normal job.

Resources are 1 of the 7 Elements of an Outcome. Combining the 7 Elements with 15 Alternatives reveals 105 types of innovation for any Outcome. Learn the entire Predictive Innovation method.