Important Innovations

Surprise Discovery on Saturn:  New, 6-Sided Jet Stream Emerging NASA:  Saturn's North Pole Vortex Mystery and Extent of  Saturn's Hexagon Grows The data is from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.  Scientists have just spotted a vortex emerging from Saturn's North Pole.  It's a warming, high altitude jet stream that scientists say has a hexagonal shape. Cassini Find The surprise discovery was just published in the journal Nature Communications.  NASA scientists think it may be hundreds of miles in height. The Cassini spacecraft was launched in 1997 and collected data on Saturn for 20 years.  Years ago, it spotted a vortex coming from Saturn's South Pole.  But until now, nothing was cited in the planet's North Pole.  NASA scientists are amazed by this intergalactic discovery and pursuing the mystery of the how's and why's surrounding it.  The scientists also wonder what other exciting discoveries Cassini's data may unveil. Follow important

Captain in California - Huge Cargo Ship Travelling off Scotland Wartsila Autonomous Vessel Remote Controlled Ocean Going Vessels The engineer, his computer and joystick are in California.  5000 miles away, the huge cargo ship that the engineer is piloting is off the coast of Scotland.  The engineer is 100% piloting the vessel with the joystick that's linked to the ship directly by satellite.  He controls the ship by watching the ship - a "virtual ship" on his computer. 4 Hour Experiment This 4 hour experiment was carried out by the Finnish energy and technology firm Wartsila. It worked.  The distance between the captain and the vessel 5000 plus miles. Future of Smarter Ships Wartsila believes the future will feature smart ships.  That will allow ship owners to more efficiently control movements, cut fuel consumption and lower emissions.  Just 15 of the world's largest vessels produce the same amount of sulfur dioxide as all the cars on earth put together

New UK Research - Waste Plastic Put to Good Use & Cheaper Than Recycling Source:  Stock Photo Plastics Pollution Scientists at Swansea University in the UK say they've successfully converted discarded plastic into hydrogen fuel. The fuel can be used to power hydrogen powered cars and trains. Billions of Tons of Plastics Dumped Every Year Billions of tons of plastics are used every year and land in the dump and the oceans.  Only a fraction of the plastic is recycled.  The Swansea University researchers are trying to find a use for what's not being recycled. Brilliantly Simple Idea and Process - Basis of Great Innovation Here's the process.  The scientists add light absorbing material to the plastic, before placing it in an alkaline solution and exposing it to light. Their process creates hydrogen. The UK scientists are quick to add that rolling out this breakthrough at an industrial level could take years.  But wouldn't that be worth it!

Bots Do Windows Too Neato and Fido Robot vacuums & bots for other households chores like window cleaning are increasing in popularity.  A number of factors are driving it.  The tech is improving, concern about allergens and a lack of time to do the chores.  There are a number of bot competitors including LG, Samsung, Neato, Evovacs, iRobot among others. AIVI At the IFA 2018 in Berlin, Evovac announced its vacuums are being equipped with AIVI, which is artificial intelligence and visual interpretation.  This gives it object, environmental and spacial recognition so that it can do the job without human intervention. Doing Windows New cleaning bots were introduced at the IFA, which is Europe's biggest tech show.  There's a new cordless, window washing robot.  And a new dual action robot that's both mop and vacuum. Neato and Fido In the picture above, Neato seems to be Fido's best friend.  Neato features zone cleaning and has advanced brushes to scoop up

"Amateur" Engineer Success Story with His Flying Car Kynz Mendoza's Flying Car Taking Off in Philippines Up and Away in Flight Tests This is an innovation story you just have to love.  In the Philippines, inventor Kynz Mendoza has had it with daily traffic jams.  To avoid them he's created and just successfully tested his solution.  It's his own flying car that's actually a large drone which can carry one person. It's the start of something that may be great. Good News for the Inventor The car tested successfully. It rose 25 feet into the air, can fly 15 minutes and land safely.  It has a metal frame of super light and strong carbon fiber and is powered by 2 batteries.  A lot more testing and development will need to be done but his achievement is great.. Plans Mendoza and his group of flying car enthusiasts called Koncepts Millenya are developing the model for 2 passengers.  They also want longer flight durations beyond the 15 minutes on a sin

China Setting Solar Pace, Technology, Policy Standards Globally Source:   Photo of  China's Solar Farm in Tenggen Desert World's Largest Solar Farm in China It's very clear China is betting the farm that the future of energy is powered in a big way by solar. It has the world's largest solar farm, pictured above, in China's Tenggen Desert that can pump out 1500 megawatts.  China has the world's largest solar energy capacity - a huge, 130 gigawatts. World's Biggest Solar Panel Manufacturer China manufactures 60% of the world's solar panels.  Their technology is setting the framework for the global solar industry. Coal Still a Factor There are some oddities about the China energy market.  2/3rds of China's electricity still comes from coal.  An interesting fact: China's huge solar farms are far away from its major cities that need electricity.  Only 15% of the country's potential solar capacity is being used.  The country has inves

Coal Plants Going Green with BioMass End of Coal - International Trend The UK plans to end coal powered electricity by 2025.  So what happens to the huge coal plants left behind?  The largest power plant in Western Europe, Drax in the UK that now burns coal, is going green.  By 2023, it won't burn coal.  It will burn only biomass and natural gas.  The biomass is wood pellets smashed to powder to generate electricity. Coals' Big Grid Connections Coal has been a big player in the global electricity market.  Coal companies have expensive connections to national grids and cutting those connections may not be easy. Nonetheless, the UK has gone from coal being 45% of its power mix in 2012 to a very low amount today.  The UK, like many other nations, is committed to cutting the dirty air emissions from coal.  There's a drive to find alternative uses for the coal plants as nations convert to alternative energy. Big Money to Convert to Biomass It's very expensive to co