Product development involves many element technologies, so methods that analyze the integration process are important for R&D management. This paper proposes a new method to analyze technology architecture: i.e., a method for determining how to combine element technologies, which takes into account relations between product function and element technologies, and the complementary or substitutive relations among these element technologies. We applied this method to the case of development of car navigation systems, where the combination of element technologies changed several times. From this example application of our method, we obtained important insights into the analysis of technology architecture.

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Oxidation is an important component in over 30 % of chemical processes. However, oxidation typically creates environmentally damaging waste products. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is a good candidate for environmentally benign oxidation because the only by-product is water. By integrating key technologies for halogen-free, organic solvent-free processes, and designing suitable metal catalysts, we succeeded in the development of H₂O₂ oxidation. This achievement is the first concrete example of Green Sustainable Chemistry (GSC). Based on this new technology, we further attempted to establish H₂O₂ oxidation as a practical method for the formation of fine chemicals of high performance. Novel catalysts optimized for practical usage were developed by resolving key issues such as cost reduction and scalability through joint research between AIST and various chemical companies.

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The RoHS directive had a significant impact on Japanese industry. Complying with this directive requires evaluating the raw materials, especially plastics, that are used in electrical and electronic equipment. However, few plastic reference materials (RMs) were appropriate for evaluation. In response to industry requests, we undertook rapid development of plastic RMs. First, we considered the development of RMs that were needed. To assign property values to candidate RMs, methods important for the homogeneity evaluation, digestion and determination were developed by various trials and errors. We aimed to register our calibration and measurement capabilities to the key comparison database in order to make our CRMs acceptable worldwide. In this paper we introduce our activities up until now including the distribution of CRMs inside and outside Japan.

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Reducing resource consumption and carbon dioxide emission are recognized as urgent issues. One way of addressing these issues is to reduce product weight. Magnesium alloys are considered promising candidates because of their lightness. To manufacture products using magnesium alloys, we requires forging technology that afford higher size accuracy and strength. This paper introduces the results of joint research with a company for the development of a new forging process for magnesium alloys continuous cast bars. We describe the research background, goals of the project, fundamental technologies employed to address these goals, and the integrative/synthetic process.

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