Issues for Technology-Humanities Convergence : Patent Keyword Analysis

Abstract

As the limitation of the existing convergence is pointed out, technology-humanities convergence which highlights the enhancement of the quality of life of humans, is focused as a solution to facilitate sustainable technological innovation. Technology-humanities convergence has already occurred in various industries, of which a considerable number of successful cases can be noted. However, few efforts have been made to investigate technologyhumanitiesconvergence as an independent academic field.Therefore, this paper aimed to identify the status of technology-humanities convergence. To do this, first, a definition of technology-humanities convergence was proposed. Second, based on Maslow’s theory, the types of human needs and related key words were extracted. Third, patents related to human needs were collected from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (2000～2014). Fourth and last, the status of technology-humanities convergence was analyzed in terms of “convergence trends” and “convergence areas.” This research is expected to promote more creative and human-centered performances of innovation as well as to support decision-making when the innovation strategy-as attempted by the quantitative analysis of technology-humanities convergence in the perspective of sustainable competitiveness-is established.