A dialectical approach to solve inventive problems using Genetic Algorithms and TRIZ: Searching for a Computer aided Innovation Shell

Inventive problems need creativity to be solved, which is usually believed to be beyond comprehension and, thus, methodology. TRIZ and Genetic Algorithms (GAs) have shown that this is at least debatable. TRIZ (Russian acronym for Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) has proven its usefulness as a problem-solving method, as shown in the many practical applications and publications that have increased its presence in the product innovation process. With regard to GAs, these mimic the laws of natural selection to optimize technical systems. With the patentable results using GAs that some researchers have been able to generate, expectations about their possible contribution to enhance and accelerate the product innovation process are on the rise. This article offers an analysis of the possibility of how both tools (TRIZ and GAs) may converge under the Laws of Dialectics, creating a new conceptual computational framework for aiding and enhancing problem solving and, thus, innovation. Relevant studies and potential opportunities are analyzed for the purpose of proposing a research approach towards a Computer-aided Innovation Shell.