Research Labs and Demos
Research Labs (labs short for laboratory → lat: laborare = to work) have the purpose of advancing the knowledge of mankind. There are two main research environments:
- Academic Research Labs are pushed by universities and colleges. These labs don't work for an agenda and mainly conduct their research for the expansion of human knowledge.
- Industrial Research Labs are pushed by companies. Their goal is to enhance the company's own development so that they can prevail in the global market.
Today, however, other research environment besides the two are become more and more popular. More often are community based research areas founded. Examples include hacking spaces, makers spaces, etc. Are mores specifically: Genspace in Brooklyn, USA, or FabLab in Zurich, Switzerland.
Research can also be conducted from home and not in external locations.
Every object with which we've surrounded us, has a history of research behind it. This highlights the importance of research in our everyday life. In other words: no research, no progress.
It is also important to note that there's no innovation without the foundation of a predecessor. This refers to how participatory design is essential for the success of any project.
Publication is often the end form of a research process. This is where peer review (the act where people form the same field, review the papers) occurs. In certain research areas, such as medicine, it's essential to complete a Double Blind Peer Reviews which ensures that the results are correct and not faulty. Double Blind Peer Reviews happen totally anonymously - both reviews and research don't know of each other - so to prevent any manipulations of the findings.
However, before publishing research papers, one would complete a demo (demo short for demonstration → lat: demonstrare = to show). Live Demos are commonly used methods to effectively portray ideas and technologies to the public. They allow an immersive experience and a better understanding of the researcher's concept.
Live Demos can also be used by designers and artists - they allow them to portrait their ideas to a broader audience. Often Live Demos try to create a wow-effect.
All research teams rely on funding - without funding a research can't be done. For the reason of convincing potential investors Storytelling has become an essential tool.