Important Innovations

Sherlock Holmes with AI Israel is a global center of innovation in a number of sectors, including 3D Printing, cancer research and Artificial Intelligence.  Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev are putting AI to work to predict, deter and fight crime.  It's fascinating research developing AI innovation that could be highly beneficial to fight crime globally.  You might call the program "Sherlock Holmes empowered by artificial intelligence." Ben-Gurion University of the Negev- Israeli Police AI Program Israeli researchers are using AI tools, incorporating advanced cyber and big data, to predict and prevent crime.  They believe they're on the threshold of the next big crime-fighting breakthrough.  Specifically, analyzing big data to uncover patterns that result in crime prediction and prevention.  It's an AI pre-emptive strike on crime. University Center for Computational Criminology The University just launched the Center for Com

Tip for a Restaurant Robot Robots are on duty in restaurants from China to Boston.  They work as chefs, cooks, waiters, hosts, even entertainers.  The robots are delivering a lot of good food and entertainment value.  The question is:  do you have to leave them a tip??  The tip is up to you.  But the point is, robotics is at a tipping point for the restaurant industry. Boston's Restaurant Robots In Boston, 4 MIT engineers and Michelin-starred Master Chef Daniel Boulud just opened a robotic restaurant.  It's called Spyce and is a fast casual restaurant primarily for the lunchtime, office worker crowd.  The robots prepare all the meals.  The owners claim the robots cook your made-to-order meal in three minutes.  The robots specialize in cooking grains and vegetables.  It's an example of the growing use of robotic technology in restaurants. China's Robot Restauran t  In Harbin, China 20 robots serve diners at the Robot Restaurant.  They cook, wait tables and

Wednesday Series Innovation Addressing Pressing World Needs:  Defeating Cancer It's a cancer fighting robotic army.  Miniscule robots, the size of a blood cell, swarming the human body to detect, precisely deliver drug therapies and defeat cancer.  Mind-blowing, exciting research programs are underway worldwide.  Two research programs are leading the way:  Chinese University of Hong Kong and Philips Innovation Center in Germany.  Both are developing "body bot" armies.  It's important innovation addressing the pressing world need of defeating cancer. Army of Cancer Fighting Mini Robots Both Philips and Chinese University of Hong Kong have aggressive research and testing programs underway.  The robots are microscopic.  Their motion is controlled by magnetic fields.  They swarm inside the human body to detect and treat disease. Chinese University Body Bots The Chinese scientists have developed mini-robots by coating tiny particles of algae with bio

DARPA's ARES Program Flying trucks for US combat troops in the midst of battle.  The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA, has an ambitious program well underway to rapidly supply and also evacuate troops in volatile circumstances with flying trucks.  The code name is ARES, Aerial Reconfigurable Enabled Systems.  Vehicles that drive and fly nimbly and with speed.  ARES is part of DARPA's Transformer program which has been very successful in the development of flying cars. ARES Awesome Military Technology DARPA's flying trucks are dual-function vehicles for high speed vertical takeoffs and landings.  They hover and land with two tilting fans.  The vehicles are capable of high speeds during flight.  To reduce ground threats, DARPA researchers focus on unmanned, autonomous aerial logistics systems. Aerial threat evasion from, for example surface to air missiles, is being built in.  Also resistance to IED (Improvised Explosi

MIT's Groundbreaking Robot Fish for Marine Exploration It's called SoFi, the robo fish.  SoFi is a soft robot developed by a research team at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL). True to MIT's robotic legacy, SoFi is highly advanced and has achieved underwater firsts.  In fact, it's considered the most advanced robot of its kind. Swim with the Fish - SoFi the Explorer The little robot recently swam untethered alongside of unsuspecting fish off Fiji's Rainbow Reef.  It reached depths of 50 feet for as long as 40 minutes at a time.  That's a first.  What makes this important innovation is that it's a groundbreaking new way to study marine life, up close and personal.  Equipped with cameras, Sofi can shoot footage safely in places, at close range, that humans can't get to. The swimming robot explorer opens up underwater worlds not seen.   Fish Tale SoFi is a biomimetic bot that closely resembles a f

Beneficial Innovations:  Flying & Driving Drones, Supersonic Flights & the Hyperloop Tube MIT roboticists are advancing development of flying-driving drones.  They believe it facilitates the next generation of flying robotic cars.   The concept is vertical takeoff and landings.  The robot car is your driver.  Cruising speeds up to 200 miles per hour.  And, if it's electric, you help save the planet.  No carbon emissions.  Terrafugia, founded by MIT PhD. Carl Dietrich has a concept flying car, the TFX with vertical takeoffs and landings.  The company created the world's first FAA and NTSB approved flying car The Transition with a team of MIT engineers. MIT researchers call their flying, driving drones the "flying car".  They've developed 8, quadcopter drones.  They're powered by 4 motors and 2 small motors attached to the wheels at the base.  They can swarm in groups without colliding.  The drones enable the scientists to test various concep

Dancing, Rockin' Robots Robots taught to dance.  It's one of the most intriguing projects now underway at the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA.  The purpose:  provide robots with much more agility and maneuverability. Dancing for a Military Purpose DARPA's mission is to develop breakthrough innovation that provides the US military with overwhelming technological advantages. It developed the internet, GPS, cloud computing and has led the way in advancing robotics.  Now, DARPA wants to expand robotic freedom of motion through dance.  Specifically to provide robots with more flexibility in military situations. Dancing Algorithms Robot mobility has progressed very slowly.  Their motion is pre-programed, mostly linear and lacks fluidity.  DARPA researchers are increasing robotic motion through computer algorithms transcoding the lexicon of dance. It's providing the robots with a much higher level of maneuverability,

Hypersonic Travel It's called the Phantom Express or XS-1.  A space plane that launches satellites at a minute's notice.  The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA - is spearheading the concept.  Boeing is building it for test flights in 2020. Hyper-Hypersonic The Phantom Express flies at hypersonic speeds up to Mach 10 or 7,600 miles per hour.  It climbs to an altitude of 12,250 kilometers (7,611 miles) and higher.  It's an experimental space plane/booster.  The vehicle does vertical takeoffs and horizontal landings. DARPA designed it to launch small satellites for the US military. Robotic and Reusable XS-1 is unmanned, robotic and reusable.  It's neither a traditional aircraft nor a conventional satellite launch system.  It's a hybrid of both.  DARPA's mission for XS-1 is to cut satellite launch costs by a factor of ten.  Also, to greatly cut wait times between launches. Mission Possible Phantom Exp

Caltech's Orbiting Flying Carpets Scientists from California Institute of Technology and NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab are wishing on Aladdin's Lamp for a magic carpet ride.  Their solar energy research project involves launching 2500 "magic carpets" tightly side by side into space orbit to absorb the sun's energy.  The carpet system would beam the energy back to earth ground-stations to generate electricity. Orbiting Carpets to Light the World The carpets will fly over an area the size of 1,670 football fields or 3.5 square miles. The carpets are only one inch thick.  They're designed to precisely beam energy back to earth to targeted locations.  Primary targets would be global areas in need of energy, particularly in the third world.  It would be the largest space structure ever built.  And the targeted beam precision is provided by technology called "phased array" and is currently used in radar systems.  The principle is controlling th

Important Innovations Addressing World's Most Pressing Needs - Climate Change There is no magic bullet to solving global warming. But there are a series of innovations and emerging technologies across industries that individually reduce climate change.  They are the building blocks that together start to provide a solution through innovation to save the planet. We choose to start with Green Transportation - Electric Planes, Electric Cars and NASA's futuristic electric orbiting carpets.  Electric powered vehicles are a big component part of reducing emissions. Climate Forecast: HOT and HOTTER The plight of polar bears and penguins in the warming world of the Arctic and Antarctic frames where Planet Earth is headed.  Clearly, a hot and disastrous collision with Climate Change.  According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the problem is too much heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere.  They warn these emissions need to be cut b

Flying, Swarming, Killer Drones This is not pure fiction.  The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Project Agency - DARPA - has an ambitious research program well underway to develop flying, swarming, killer drone aircraft. It's "The Gremlin Drone Airforce" for national security and military protection in time of war. The Gremlins UAS DARPA's program is called The Gremlins UAS, unmanned aircraft systems. The concept is to launch swarms of killer drone aircraft mid-air from large aircraft carriers out of range of enemy forces.  When they complete their mission, The Gremlins would be retrieved by C-130 transport planes.  They would go back to base and be prepared for more combat missions. Multi-Tasking Gremlins DARPA and the US Military intend to test the Gremlins in 2019.  The drones would swarm together to carry out missions on the frontlines. Each drone has different capabilities. Their tasks are mission critical including intelligence, su

Highly Advanced Neural Interface to Integrate Humans and Machines The concept of a neural interface linking the human brain with technology is futuristic, ambitious and controversial research.  But the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA - is leading the way.  A highly advanced neuro-technology program is underway to create unprecedented brain-machine connections. It's a 4 year, top level project to develop ubiquitous, noninvasive neuro-technology to integrate humans and machines. Neural Interface for Military: N-3 It's called the N-3 Program.  The genesis of it is 21st century war fighting.  There's a compelling need for combat units to quickly process and transmit vital information between cyber systems, unmanned platforms and the human brain.  DARPA's mission is to develop advanced technology to provide the US military with overwhelming technological advantages.  N-3's purpose is to strategically connect the soldier with

Orbiting Space Hotels In 2022, you can take a 12 day vacation in space.  Houston, TX based Orion Span is developing the world's first luxury space hotel  It's called the Aurora Station. And the first 4 months of orbit aboard Aurora are sold out.  $80,000 per passenger deposits came from North America, Europe and the Middle East.  Actual 12 day vacation packages start at $9.5 million.  Orion plans to launch the space module in 2021 and put the first guests into orbit in 2022. Close Quarters - Not Much Space Aurora accommodates 4 passengers and a 2 member crew of astronauts.  The station is 43.5 feet long and 14 feet wide.  The International Space Station is 8 times that size.  It orbits at an altitude of 200 miles above the earth every 90 minutes.  So passengers would see 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets per day. Passengers must complete a 3 month astronaut training program at Orion in order to get on board. Orbital Experience It would be an experience of a lifetim