The ongoing contributions of Bell Labs are numerous, to say the least. Imagine a world without -- the fax machine, various lasers, the first satellite, the semi-conductor, and various computer languages. Moreover, imagine a world without Intercept Technology™.
They have made all of these a reality. Their history remains unrivalled in productivity and patents, averaging a patent a day since their inception.
Although innovative technology has been present since ancient times, our focus for this post is on World War 1 Technology.
The Atlantic Magazine just posted a page of pictures of World War 1 Technology, find it here.
Many of these pictures show old designs that paved the way for the future.
For example, the first picture (in the article link), called an "acoustic locator" -- was a predecessor to sonar.
Once known as disruptive technology -- the fresher term alludes to an advancement that uproots a previous development. Said advancement can create a new market or value network. The term innovation gives the idea that it needn't be a brand new technology, only an improvement for a prior one.