Analysis on Technology Convergence Mechanism using Weighted Gene Co-expression Network

Technology convergence is a hot research topic within a challenging field. It is of great significance to analyze the fusion mechanism and mine the key technologies that affect technology convergence, which can guide the development of technology fusion and improve the independent innovation capability of enterprises. It is a novel idea to introduce genetic engineering into the process of technological innovation and convergence as the similar recombination process they both have. In this study, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), which is based on the similarity measure of a topological overlap structure, was utilized in the analysis of the International Patent Classification (IPC) of patents. In this analysis, the gene with a high correlation was identified as a "technical gene module" using the dynamic tree cut algorithm. Furthermore, hub technology genes, which are highly related to technology fusion and have high connectivity in the module, could be obtained. This study revealed the internal relationships present in technologies and provided novel ideas for researching the fusion mechanism of technology convergence.