Innovation Plan

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Executive summary
There has been a continuous development and sell of small cell phones all over the world. This
has impacted the sales of personal computers as mobile devices are able to perform computer
tasks. However, the need for a full sized keyboard is still present. Input to small devices like
phone is now a crucial reason in the growth of even more influential marketplace. This
innovation report plan presents the innovative method to virtual keyboard Apple could bring for
consumers of iPone, Mac and industrial machines. It outlined an inexpensive technique for the
company to alter a regular piece of paper or floor into a touchscreen using a projectile infrared
camera.

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Table of Contents
Executive summary.......................................................................................................................2

Introduction....................................................................................................................................4

Discuss 3 hot topics about innovation related to your organisation.........................................4

Body of report................................................................................................................................5

Design thinking about your innovation- include a diagram depicting the innovation............5

User involvement...........................................................................................................................7

Fast integration..............................................................................................................................8

Prototyping and testing capabilities.............................................................................................9

Cross functional management......................................................................................................9

Conclusion....................................................................................................................................10

References.....................................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
The current business market is highly competitive and there is very slight brim for inaccuracy for
the companies. With the increase in the population and globalisation, every organisation is trying
to be innovative and to enter the niche of specific market (Cecotti, 2016). For this, it is important
for the companies to become innovative, respective of their industry. It is evident that the outline
and proper usage of the novel and advanced designs have always been able to deliver the
additional grip in the marketplace for explicit organisations, building improvement an important
fragment of the companies. Cecotti (2016) defines innovation is not a new or revolutionary idea
but is a arrangement of handling a work in a more effectual and predictable way. It could be seen
that most of the pioneering thoughts and innovation are well balanced system of prevailing
methods. It is important to mention that to uphold a stable flow of innovative ideas from time to
time, there should be transfer of knowledge that is coupled with suitable management so that
information and data are kept integral.

Discuss 3 hot topics about innovation

Apple, which is world’s most valuable company built its prosperity on the account of
innovations that transformed daily life, from its foremost role in revolutionising the personal PC
in 1970s to smartphone wave in the last decade (De Paz et al., 2020). Apple with its innovative
approach has not just sold well but has been accountable for the establishment of new
marketplaces, new businesses and even new lifestyle behaviours. According to the report
published by the company, more than 1 billion Apple devices are in lively use around the world.

One of the first innovative product launched by Apple is Apple II, designed by Steve Jobs and
Steve Wozniak. The computer castoff the simple programming language and a TV set for a
monitor. Soon, the company added a floppy disk drive and worksheet database ending up selling
between 5 million to 6million units (De Paz et al., 2020). Another hot innovative product
launched by the company was its first Mac, introduced in 1984. This product made Apple a
foremost corporation with its heirs being sold at more than 20million units, generating approx.
$26 billion of revenue. Though, the global marketplace share of the computer is only 7.8 percent
due to the fast swing of calculating tasks to mobile devices. The most innovative product
launched by the company is iPhone (Longe and Van Meurs, 2006). Apple launched its first
iPhone in 2007 taking people from mobile devices to mobile computers, completing changing

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the entire mobile financial system. From logistics to music to advertising, every business was
listed into its business model. Apple sold 231 million iPhones last year, making $155 billion in
returns.

On the basis of goals and portfolio management of company to change the world, one of the idea
for innovative product is the virtual keyboard. It is evident that full sized QWERTY keyboard is
the best way to go for long missives (De Paz et al., 2020). Though Apple have already launched
an Apple Wireless Keyboard, the product will be innovative if Apple can build an infrared laser
keyboard into the iPhone. The idea is possible as some companies like Cellulon are already
dabbling in this technological concept.

Apple is extensively measured as the best pioneering companies in the world. The innovative
plan of the company involves its awesome innovative commercial models and new products.
Though, virtual keyboards are available in the market, it is still not integrated into any mobile
devices (Meena et al., 2019). As Apple offers great software in fabulous hardware, the new
innovation will pioneer the company into new commercial spaces and will create new
marketplace niches. With game altering innovations like iPod, iPhone, Mac and iPad, Apple
could streamline its new iKeyboard with its current capabilities. The innovation leaders of the
company think in terms of pipelines and platforms relentlessly pushing the pace of novelty.
Rivals that chase Apple’s latest release find themselves behind when the company launched its
latest offerings.

Body of report

Design thinking about your innovation- include a diagram depicting the innovation
As the request for the computing environment evolves, new human computer edges have been
applied to deliver multiform interfaces amid users and machineries. Yet, the foundation for most
human interfaces with the binomial control panel or mouse (Obermaier et al., 2003). Apple could
present an expertise for the next compeers, which is virtual keyboard. As the name proposes,
there will be no bodily presence of the keyboard. It could be demarcated as the touch typing
technology that doesn’t have any physical form for detecting areas. Detecting area here acts as a
button but is programmed to act as one (De Paz et al., 2020). The recent advancement in
information technology and artificial intelligence has opened up a possibility for computing in

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dissimilar languages (Griffin et al., 2017). It is not possible to fit a hardware keyboard in current
available cell phones. Virtual keyboard will be helpful in alleviating this problem.

Virtual Keyboard will enable the user to type on several surface, comprising a plain paper at the
writing desk. There are some different virtual keyboards available in the market. Some gives
vibrations as the in feedback, some are projected while others giving dissimilar kind of graphic
feedback (Creager et al., 2017). However, none of the current virtual keyboard is compatible
with mobile phones. Text entry task is not conceivable with the conservative hardware keyboard
due to their size and hardware restrictions. The Apple innovation team can use this problem to
intend a virtual infrared keyboard model which can emulates the hardware keyboard eminence
(Dudley et al., 2019). Moreover, the utilisation of virtual keyboard seems in the space saving
situation which can also be extended into requirements of virtual programme of keys. Apple can
also design its virtual product for public kiosks. The current problem faced by people shows that
innovation in virtual key board has become an essential needs in every area.

Figure 1: block diagram for virtual keyboard (Chow and Hsu, 2020)

The above diagram shows the block diagram for virtual keyboard. Apple could install a camera
based virtual keyboard in its iPhones. However, the main problem that Apple will face is how to

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define if the finger hits the surface or not (Chow and Hsu, 2020). Though, touch detections could
be built on 3D model built on stereoscopic camera that could provide more detailed and accurate
picture of user activity.

User involvement
For users, virtual keyboard will be non-physical keyboards that will product text on the screen of
an electric device with the device user tapping the virtual keys either showed on the device’s
screen or projected through a laser on a flat surface.

Figure 2: Innovative ikeyboard projection (Chow and Hsu, 2020)

The laser projection will rely on the computer vision processing the algorithms to work. A
camera laser system will be used to perform the distance measuring task (Meena et al., 2019).
The hardware for the keyboard is really simple, with requirement of only three parts, namely one
camera, one laser to protect the keyboard pattern and a line laser for the key input detection.

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Figure 3: working of virtual keyboard (Chow and Hsu, 2020)

When the user will press the virtual key showed in the surface, the imitated laser light will be
apprehended by the camera. After the light is captured, a signal processing software installed in
iPhone will do all the critical jobs from recognising the user’s finger top, performing the distance
measurement and mapping the position of the user finger for the related key value.

Fast integration
Project integration management is defined as the information area in the project management
that confirms good management between the project actions. For the fast integration, it is
important for Apple to develop a project charter. It is vital that each and every plan has a project
charter. For the proper integration, Apple need to include all the planning documents for the
project, such as resources, budget, and schedule and scope testimonial. It would help Apple to
prepare a baseline and would be helpful in change management.

For the directing and managing the project of virtual keyboard, the works and actions needed to
accomplish the project are completed. Through this, the innovation team of the company plan

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and implements the approved innovations so that the concept of virtual keyboard objectives are
met.

The system of virtual keyboard will require resource such as soft input method. For providing the
best experience, Apple can specify characteristic about the input expected. It is also important for
Apple to optimise the user experience for the interaction that might happen with an attached
keyboard.

Prototyping and testing capabilities

Many organisations first specify all the features of their product from beginning to end and then
product it. This process is very beneficial for large companies like Apple as they gets the chance
to produce the latest versions of their product. With this, they understands about the basics of
what they can sell and how much they know their customers.

In the virtual keyboard, user will interact with it through software. It is important that Apple
introduces a good software that has a high usability level. User interface is currently based on the
Graphical User Interface. For the prototyping and testing capabilities, Apple could first introduce
a usability testing. It includes certain types of user in certain types of task. The amount and types
of mistakes by the software and user needs to be noted simultaneously.

Testing could be also done through field studies. With this study, Apple can acknowledge the
complications of developing such software. It will also help the company to understand how user
will do the activity and how the product could help the user’s activity. Apple can also bring
knowledgeable and expert users who have stable concept of what virtual keyboard is and how it
works. It will help the company to develop a program providing neat and consistent structure,
protection from any specific danger and clarity of the interface. Professionals and experts can
help Apple to meet the aims of usability, namely, effectiveness, efficiency, safety, utility,
learnability and memorability. For being radically innovative and achieve strategic business
success, the innovation team of Apple should be entrepreneurial and cross functionally excellent.

Cross functional management

Innovation in a team is pervasively a cross-functional procedure. When thoughts meet and info
comes organised, a company can bring improvements to market in a faster and smarter way.
Innovation is the primary source to gain competitive advantage for most of the companies

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(Andre et al., 2010). It depends on the individual and collection skill of the workers. In the
current era of systematic innovation, it is crucial for Apple to be an organisation of excellent
cross functional team. Along with formal preparation at the commercial level, Apple could use
cross-cutting initiatives on main matters to test the expectations and open of new thinking to its
innovation team. Organisations that are successful in realising the full returns for their
machineries and innovations are efficient in matching to their technical growths (Creager et al.,
2017). For leading the expertise development efforts, it is important that cross functional team is
formed. These teams will help in pointing out different issues, problems and its solutions for the
development of virtual keyboard.

For the effectiveness of cross-functional team, Apple need to bring together the correct team.
There are a set of skill mandatory to have an operative cross functional team. Along with having
a right team, there should be a leader to handle the smart people working together (Marsden and
Westerman, 2020). Everyone in the team should take accountability and there must be a leader
who can take the accountability of the team activities and actions. There should also be clearly
defined goals and shared success in the team.

Conclusion
The future forecasts for the mobile sector business be contingent on different factors and the
processes of current tendencies of the political and economic strategies. Taking Apple Inc. to be
specific, it could be observed that the company is one of the leading company in the world.
Having a home marketplace where the buying capacity of the consumers is high have benefitted
it to emphasis more on its class of service rather than being a budget phone developer (Shetter,
2005). The lack of competition and sheer popularity of the company has helped it to strengthen
its foundations and made possible to create a legacy for itself. However, it could be seen that the
increasing competition and globalisation allows competitors to come up with better ideas
impacting the preservative standards of the Apple.

With the rising acceptance of small devices, there is a requirement for suitable data entry units
that could be easy to use and hold. Though many alternative data inputs keyboards are available
they lacks the convenience and accuracy of a normal full size keyboard. The virtual keyboard
will provide users a simple touch typing style with the use of webcam and paper blueprint. In
future, the idea of virtual keyboard might feel a threat if the system’s complexity is improved

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and added with some extra purposes, like more idioms, multi-touch typing and more. Virtual
keyboard or simply ikeyboard from Apple can come up with solving certain challenges,
becoming a milestone for future outcomes.

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References
Andre, B.K., Ording, B. and Christie, G., Apple Inc, 2010. Activating virtual keys of a touch-
screen virtual keyboard. U.S. Patent 7,844,914.

Cecotti, H., 2016. A multimodal gaze-controlled virtual keyboard. IEEE Transactions on

Human-Machine Systems, 46(4), pp.601-606.

Chow, J. and Hsu, J., Hewlett Packard Development Co LP, 2020. Virtual keyboard. U.S. Patent
10,585,584.

Creager, G.D., Tijerino, A.R. and Henry, S., Hewlett Packard Development Co LP,
2017. Virtual keyboard. U.S. Patent Application 15/325,528.

De Paz, A., Gimpl, M. and Schrock, R.W., Z124, 2020. Presentation of a virtual keyboard on a
multiple display device. U.S. Patent Application 16/545,839.

Dudley, J., Benko, H., Wigdor, D. and Kristensson, P.O., 2019, October. Performance Envelopes
of Virtual Keyboard Text Input Strategies in Virtual Reality. In 2019 IEEE International
Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR) (pp. 289-300). IEEE.

Griffin, J.T., Hamilton, A.R., Bocking, A.D. and Lazaridis, M., BlackBerry Ltd, 2017. Virtual
keyboard display having a ticker proximate to the virtual keyboard. U.S. Patent 9,557,913.

Longe, M.R. and Van Meurs, P., AOL Inc, 2006. Virtual keyboard system with automatic
correction. U.S. Patent 7,030,863.

Marsden, R.J. and Westerman, W.C., Apple Inc, 2020. Virtual Keyboard Animation. U.S. Patent
Application 16/410,990.

Meena, Y.K., Cecotti, H., Wong-Lin, K. and Prasad, G., 2019. Design and evaluation of a time
adaptive multimodal virtual keyboard. Journal on Multimodal User Interfaces, 13(4), pp.343-
361.

Obermaier, B., Muller, G.R. and Pfurtscheller, G., 2003. " Virtual keyboard" controlled by
spontaneous EEG activity. IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation
Engineering, 11(4), pp.422-426.

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Shetter, M., Microsoft Corp, 2005. Virtual keyboard for touch-typing using audio feedback. U.S.
Patent 6,882,337.

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