Fig 1.
Hierarchical technology ecosystem and trickle-down effect in technology evolution.
a, A typical technology ecosystem includes three layers, system layer, component layer, and fundamental layer. The grey arrows represent the trickle-down effect, while the white arrows denote the trickle-up effect in technology evolution. b, If trickle-down effect is significant in technology evolution, the improvement of system technology will drive and grow the performance of component and fundamental technologies.
Fig 2.
A simplified Lotka-Volterra ecosystem model for passenger aircraft ecosystem.
a, We include only one technology in each layer of the technology ecosystem and denote the trickle-down effect by grey arrows. b, The model fitting results indicate limited trickle-down effect in the passenger aircraft ecosystem. Among the four technology interactions denoted by the grey and white arrows in the figure, only the impact from the component technology (turbofan aero-engine) on the system technology (passenger aircraft) is significant.