Important Innovations

  Singapore Ranks #8 on Global Innovation Index                                               Source: Singapore Stock Image City-State Investing Heavily in Technology and Innovation Singapore is investing heavily in technology and innovation,  It hopes to become the world's first smart nation.  And, its investments are paying off.  The funding it put into digital innovation helped it to continue to do business during the COVID pandemic.  COVID has devastated its tourism business.  So, Singapore is using AI to help bring tourists back safely to its MICE economy.  Singapore is a global leader in meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions otherwise known as MICE. AI "Chat Bots" on Duty From Vouch Tourism and business travel to Singapore this year took a very hard hit.  From January - July 2020, it was down 76%.  In July alone, visitor arrivals were down 99%.  Now reopening its borders after months of restrictions, Singapore is using advanced, innovative technolo

  New Travel Innovation: E-Urban Mobility Vehicle                                                  Source:  KOMMA Part Car and Part MotorBike KOMMA is a brand new electric vehicle for city travel from innovators in Switzerland. The startup says it is an alternative to conventional means of city transportation.  The KOMMA Urban Mobility Vehicle (UMV) is a crossover between a conventional car and a motorbike.  It's electric, has the comfort and safety of a car but with a much smaller footprint.  It's being billed as a brand new means of travel around and between urban areas. KOMMA's Approach and Mantra Could Be Transformative KOMMA's mantra is to create better ways to move around cities than by cars and vans.  The approach of their new technology is by blurring the lines between travel vehicles as we know them.  Their brand new KOMMA UMV is planned for production in 2022.  They believe the small size of their vehicle, the light construction, aero design and its electric p

DARPA'S Impressive Tech R&D Project for US Navy Super:  DARPA Linked Autonomous Ships This is a highly impressive and innovative new project by DARPA, the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency. DARPA is developing unmanned surface ships (USVs) that would physically link together like train cars to cross the ocean as a sea train.  Linking the ships together lets them overcome wave resistance and make much longer trips with much greater efficiency.  The Sea Train concept envisions many unmanned ships physically linked together to traverse oceans and grow the US Naval fleet.  Naval Force of Unmanned Vehicles The Navy is investing in all sizes of USVs, including large 300 ft. ones and medium sized ones of 39 to 154 feet.  DARPA's Sea Train project is focused on the medium sized USVs that are more efficient, more difficult to detect but less capable of making long journeys.  The Sea Train concept should extend their travel distances across

New Driver Assist Technology Source:  Ford Driving a Ford with Tech Breaking, Steering, Accelerating Ford surprised many business journalists and investors this week by unveiling its new drive assist technology.  The tech is called Active Drive Assist and it can control a vehicle's speed, breaking and steering.  It contains a driver monitoring system to determine the driver's level of distraction, for instance, if texting.  And, at the moment, it works on 100,000 miles of divided highways that Ford has mapped out over the US and Canada.  That certainly will be expanded by Ford. Launch in 2021 The system will be available in the second half of 2021.  It will start with Ford's much anticipated electric Mustang Mach-E SUV.  Another likely candidate is the redesigned Ford F-150 truck.  The F-150 is the best selling vehicle in the US and an all-electric version will roll out in 2022. Intense Autonomous Competition Ford faces a lot of stiff competition in

Technology At the Cutting Edge Source:  Robot Lawn Mower Robot, Mow My Lawn! Don't want to mow your lawn during summer heat waves?  Let your robot lawn mower do the job for you!  A growing number of people are doing just that.  According to Worx, the company that manufactures the highly rated Landroid robot mower, autonomous robot lawn mowers are growing in popularity. Loaded with Technology There are a growing number of robot lawn mowers on the market.  Among the top rated are Flymo, Worx's Landroid, Lawnmaster, Robomow, Honda's Miimo and Husqvarna Automower.    The robots use artificial intelligence and sensors to avoid hitting obstacles.  A special perimeter wire installed around the lawn keeps the mower on the owner's property.  The mowers are battery operated, quiet and run automatically, based on the schedule that the owner customizes in an app.  And the companies say they are safe with children and pets. Buy or Rent Still, the robot lawn mowers a

New Book "Smart Devices for the 2020's" by Edward Kane Source:  Amazon  Fascinating, Fun Read for Summer If you want to keep up to date on the latest smartphones, smart watches, connected glasses and other top global smart devices and smart gadgets, take a look at journalist Edward Kane's latest book "Smart Devices for the 2020's".  You'll find it a fascinating, fun and informative read.  I co-authored the book with Ed.  For direct access, go to  ASIN: B08B6ZV13M amazon.com/author/ekane

Invention Created by Self-Taught Engineer Source:  Zhao Deli flying motorcycle Flying Above Traffic 30 Feet in the Air The China Xinhua News Agency reports that a self-taught  "genius" Chinese engineer has created a flying motorcycle.  And he has demonstrated its capabilities and effectiveness. The motorcycle is capable of flying 30 feet in the air to get above and over traffic jams. Flying Above it All The inventor is engineer Zhao Deli from China's Hunan  province.  He has worked for many years to create his own flying scooter to simply fly above it all, particularly on traffic congested streets. The latest prototype is a white drone-like vehicle with fast moving propellers on the four corners of the motorbike.  Deli hopes to eventually sell these personal  mobility vehicles to the public.  A prototype he created in 2018 reached speeds of 44 mph and had a battery life of 30 minutes. The latest version looks much sleeker and faster.  The inventor wor

Biodegradable Plastics for Everyday Use Source:  Stock Image of Plastic Straws New Innovation from Canada Canadian based tech company Genecis has invented a process to convert food waste, destined to be dumped in a landfill, to green, clean bioplastics.  The plastic material can be used for packaging, food services, agriculture and many other uses.  The food waste is processed and put through bioreactor fermentation to create commercial plastic products. Patented Technologies Genecis has patented technologies not only to  convert food waste into biodegradable plastics but also other high value materials.  The new bioplastic composts within a month and  biodegrades within a year should it find its way into the ocean.  Experts say this is the first, cost competitive PHA, green plastic available. 18 Billion Tons of Plastic Waste in Ocean Every year, 18 billion tons of plastic waste are ending up as pollution in global oceans.

For Santa's Christmas Eve Ride, a Magical Electric Muscle Sleigh Santa at Mach Speeds Enclosing a magical look at Santa at the very highest level of green, electric high tech, thanks to a electric muscle sleigh gift from the reindeer.  The enchanting blog is written by fellow journalist and Amazon author Edward Kane.     Important Innovations Collection: Electric Muscle Sleigh for Santa : Fantasy EV:  GTX Electric Muscle Sleigh for Santa's Christmas Ride  Santa Going High Tech, GTX, Electric The recent Internation...

Toyota's Level 2 Self-Driving Lexus for 2020 Source:  Lexus Automated Highway Teammate The roads are about to become more crowded with autonomous cars.  Hyundai is starting autonomous ride sharing in California next month to test market demand.  And Toyota will debut an autonomous Lexus in 2020.  The vehicle will be equipped with what Toyota is calling its Level 2 Automated Highway Teammate - its new autonomous driving technology. Level 2 Lexus is going to start going autonomous at Level 2.  That means no-hands cruise control, under certain conditions, with the driver behind the wheel and their eyes on the road.  The new Teammate system goes beyond standard Level 2 functions like keeping the car within the lane and working the accelerator and breaks while following the leader car.  The Toyota system can handle lane changes and merging.  It can also learn and receive updates to increase its functionality on a continuing basis.

New Innovation from Technical University of Munich Source:  Technical University of Munich Touch Sensitive Artificial Skin Makes for Safer, Accident Avoiding Robots This is new innovation from the Technical University of Munich.  Their H-1 autonomous, humanoid robot is covered with touch sensitive, synthetic artificial skin.  The skin is composed of 13,000 separate sensors.  The sensors enable the robot to feel the touch of humans.  New algorithms made it possible to apply artificial skin to a human sized robot. Safer Working Robots This is an important development because of concerns about humans getting hurt working side by side with robots.  Biologically-inspired artificial skin improves the robot's sensory ability, making it possible for the robot to sense its own body and surroundings. Senses Like the Human Brain The robot's artificial skin is able to measure temperature, pressure, proximity and acceleration.  The sensors are an event-based sys

New Light Therapy "Highly Effective" for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Source:  MGH Much More Effective Than Current Treatments Carbon monoxide (CO) is a toxic, colorless, odorless gas produced by cars, trucks, fires and explosions.  Every year in the US, more than 50,000 people with CO poisoning are admitted to emergency rooms.  Now researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have invented a new light therapy that removes CO from the victim's blood.  It's proven to be much more effective than current oxygen therapy treatments. Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning is frequently deadly.  It occurs when inhaled CO, for instance from a running car in a contained space, displaces oxygen from the blood's hemoglobin.  That compromises the body's ability to deliver oxygen. Light Therapy It's known that visible light can break the molecular bond between CO and hemoglobin.  Knowing that, the MGH team have combined phototherapy with an art

MIT's Roboats Source:  MIT Roboat Test World's First Bridge Composed of Autonomous Boats This is the world's first bridge composed of autonomous boats that disconnect and reassemble into various configurations.  It's the invention of engineers and other scientists at MIT and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions.  The city of Amsterdam has big plans for them in their canals to reduce busy traffic on congested city streets. Amsterdam Deployment Amsterdam wants the roboats to cruise its 165 canals to transport people and goods, collect trash and self-assemble into popup platforms like bridges and stages as needed. The roboats are equipped with sensors, thrusters, GPS modules, cameras, microcontrollers and other hardware.  They are far less expensive and far more versatile than traditional bridges. New Algorithm Upgrade The roboats have just been upgraded with a new control algorithm that enables them to be "shapeshifting", auto

Controlling Your Dashboard - New Big Tech War Source:  GM Embedding Google Tech in 3.6 Million Cars Yearly GM has selected Google Technology to be embedded in their vehicles starting in 2021.  The win for Google is huge.  Their tech could be installed in 3.6 million GM vehicles yearly.  The Google technology will power navigation and provide voice-activated controls.  It will also deliver expanded infotainment functions.  Google beat Amazon for this deal which is part of a big, emerging race among technology companies to control vehicle dashboards. Google Apps Onboard GM Vehicles Google Assistant, Google Maps and other applications will be available through the Google Play App Store for all GM brands.  The first brands with built-in Google technology will roll in 2021 with more to come.  The one market this won't be available in is China, as of right now. Amazon Versus Google This Google win was a big defeat for Amazon which is trying to sell its rival

Toyota Showcasing Autonomous Technology & Much More Source:  Toyota Miraitowa and Someity - The 2020 Tokyo Olympics Mascots Tokyo 2020 Olympics for Athletes and Latest Technology For the Tokyo 2020 Olympics a big crowd pleaser will be the technology deployed.  The official game mascots are two adorable robots - Miraitowa and Someity, just unveiled at Toyota headquarters in Japan  The humanoid "meeters and greeters" are programmed to show facial expressions as they greet athletes and fans . New Automated Helpers Toyota and Panasonic are teaming up to develop automated helpers for the games.  Besides the official mascots, there will be field support robots to help officials at throwing events by retrieving javelins and hammers from competitions.  Robots with cameras will broadcast live action and give fans a sense of virtual reality emersion in the Games. Fans will be able to interact with the athletes remotely with a new telepresence technology.  And, Toyota wil

Dolphin 1 Smart Lifebuoy Source:  OceanAlpha Smart, Moving Rescue Gadget Goes to Swimmers in Distress The new innovation, the Dolphin 1 Smart Lifebuoy, is remotely controlled to reach a swimmer in distress and bring them into shore safely.  The company behind the invention is OceanAlpha.  They say it works in various water conditions including rough seas. Propeller Swimming The device is dropped in the water and steered remotely to the struggling swimmer.  The gadget moves with two onboard propellers.  When the swimmer grabs on to the device, it pulls them to shore and safety.  The propellers on the device are enclosed and the front bumper is soft to protect the swimmer and any other human rescuers from injury. From China OceanAlpha is a China based innovation company, that's currently building a big R&D and testing facility in China.  It's a big player in unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) for water quality monitoring, oceanography and even nuclear radiation

Fiat Chrysler and Renault in Merger Talks Source:  Fiat Chrysler Production Line Combo Would Be World's 3rd Largest Automaker The $35 billion proposed merger between Fiat Chrysler and Renault is in response to the seismic technological changes hitting the automotive industry.  Examples include autonomous vehicles and electric powered cars.  For the latest on the proposed deal go to Important Innovations Collection: Fiat Chrysler + Renault : Proposed Merger of  Equals Source:  Fiat Chrysler Surviving Together Through Massive Technology Change Fiat Chrysler is pressing its...

New Technology Partnership Source:  State of Washington signing ceremony with Norway Environment & Maritime Focus This is a very long distance technology partnership but their mutual interest and expertise in the environment, technology and the ocean closes the mileage gap.  Norway and the state of Washington have just signed a two year agreement to develop the next generation of maritime technologies and clean energy innovations.  Their results will benefit both regions of the world. Clean Energy Focus The MOU was signed by Washington State officials and Innovation Norway.  Norway's Ambassador to the US The Hon. Kare Aas was there.  Their collaboration is focused on innovation in clean energy, particularly for maritime vessels, innovation for the oceans, electric vehicles, data analytics and to promote economic and trade relations.  Additionally, they want to modernize and cut the environmental impact of the fishing and seafood industries through new technology and

Small Home and Office Water Generator Source:  Watergen's GENNY GENNY By 2025, 2/3rds of the world will face drinking water shortages.  Watergen, based in Israel, says it has a solution.  GENNY is a small home and office water generator.  It can produce up to 8 gallons of clean drinking water a day from the humidity in the air. Tech for a Better World At the CES 2019, the company won the prestigious Tech for a Better World award for GENNY.  Watergen says it is revolutionizing the way water is delivered around the world by pulling it out of thin air.  Watergen is expanding operations into the US where it plans to open three manufacturing facilities.

Environmental Innovation - Ink & Paint Made from Exhaust System Pollution Source: Grafiky's  KAALINK System Retrofitted to a Diesel Generator MIT Spinoff Company's Tech has Cleaned Nearly 2 Trillion Liters of Air This is remarkable innovation, ingenuity and engineering.  MIT spinoff company Graviky Labs is rolling out a patent-pending device called Air-Ink.  The technology attaches to the exhaust system of cars, diesel generators, vehicles and machines and converts the captured pollution into ink and paints.  The bedrock technology underlying the system is called KAALINK.  It's extraordinary innovation, beneficial to the environment, in the advanced prototype stage.  For a detailed news blog by my journalist colleague Ed Kane on this, go to  https://importantinnovationscollection.blogspot.com/2018/12/air-ink-pollution-to-ink.html