Important Innovations

Making a Comeback Source:  Stock Photo of Great Barrier Reef $40 Billion Natural Wonder The Great Barrier Reef is the longest coral reef in the world.  It stretches 1,430 miles off the coast of Queensland, Australia.  Scientists just reported that the reef is showing signs of a comeback after a large coral die-off. The reef is valued by Deloitte at more than $40 billion.  It supports tens of thousands of jobs, pumps billions of dollars a year into the Australian economy and is one of the world's most beautiful natural treasures. It's the 1st coral reef to be awarded UNESCO World Heritage status. Reef 30% Damaged or Destroyed in 2016 There were dire predictions for the reef in 2016 and 2017 because of massive coral bleaching.  The bleaching is caused by rising temperatures or poor water quality.  At lease 30% of the reef was damaged or destroyed in 2016 alone.  But Australia's Reef and Rainforest Research Center now reports signs the reef is recovering. Signs of

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

Space and Time Gamma-Ray Burst in the Universe Is Time Reversed by Gamma-Rays from Exploding Stars This is intriguing scientific research about space, time, dying stars, black holes and gamma-ray bursts.  Astrophysicists at the College of Charleston in South Carolina have examined 6 of the brightest gamma-ray bursts detected by NASA.  They found time-reversed light signatures.  The gamma-rays seem to reverse time. Supernovas and Black Holes When a dying star - a supernova - collapses into a black hole, it sends out a spectacular burst of gamma-rays. Gamma-rays are the highest energy explosions ever detected.  They shine "a million-trillion" times brighter than the sun. They produce more energy than anything else that emits light. Gamma-Ray to Black Hole Mystery A gamma-ray burst represents the formation of a black hole when a star explodes.  According to the astrophysicists, odd things happen with both space and time in a black hole. The gamma-rays have a signatu

AI Political Cybercrime Global Research Findings Artificial intelligence experts at Oxford University, Cambridge University and 2 dozen more of the world's leading AI experts, are issuing a warning.  The 2020 elections could be easily meddled with through the accelerating advances in AI. AI Accelerating in Performance AI enhanced software, they say, will enable people with no technical expertise, to easily produce audio and videos that are nearly impossible to distinguish what's real and what's not. They say AI is becoming increasingly easy to use and could be a major weapon for foreign operatives to spread disinformation and disrupt elections. Action Needed The AI experts are issuing the warning in the hope that the industry will take precautions to guard against the misuse of AI and let the many exciting breakthroughs enabled by AI continue to flourish.

Surprise Find by WHOI Photo by WHOI Underwater Discovery Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute scientists have discovered a massive cold water coral reef in the Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern US.  The scientists believe it's been there for thousands of years. They discovered it last week. Submersible Alvin Spots a Thriving Ecosystem  Using their submersible Alvin that's deployed by the research vessel Atlantis, they collected samples of the coral.  The reef is massive. It's 85 miles long and at a depth of 1/2 mile.  It's about 160 miles off of Charleston, SC.  Cameras onboard Alvin captured the sight of the dense, cold water coral reef.  WHOI scientists say it's a thriving underwater ecosystem. Mountains of Coral According to the scientists, the site is covered with mountains of living coral.  It's growing on top of dead coral that they believe dates back thousands of years.  They found large amounts of a coral called Lophelia pentusa, a whitish,

2020 - High as a Wind Power Kite in the UK Source:  Kite Power Systems' Wind Power Kite Kite Powered Electricity Scotland-based Kite Power Systems vows to provide wind generated electricity to more than 5000 British homes by 2020.  Their kite power technology system is novel and promising.  They say they can harness clean wind energy at the utility scale.  They're the UK's only company active in the high altitude wind power sector. They claim they're cheaper than fossil fuel electricity generation and cost much less than traditional wind turbines.  They also use 85% less material. Kite Tech Kite Power Systems features 2 kites that fly up to 1500 feet. They travel up to 100 mph in 20 mph winds. They're attached by tether to a winch system that drives a generator as they spool out producing electricity for the grid.  In essence, the tether tension causes the line to spool out from a rotating drum, which turns a generator to produce electricity.  Sustainable,

Maersk Tankers' Wind Power Testing Source:  Maersk Six, Cylinder High Tech Sails High Tech Sails Oil prices are surging.  Danish shipping giant Maersk is testing high tech sails to cut its marine fuel costs.  It's installed 100 foot tall rotating cylinders on one of its ocean-going vessels.  The cylinders are very high tech sails designed to capture the power of the wind and convert it into energy. Norsepower Norsepower, based in Finland, makes the sails of composite material.  They are rotor sails and are based on what's called the "Magnus Effect".  In effect, a spinning object drags air faster around one side, creating a pressure difference that pushes the vessel in the direction of the lower pressure side. Wind Testing Sustainable Energy If the system proves successful, Maersk expects to start saving 10% in fuel bills per vessel.  And it will install the technology on at least 80 of its 164 tanker fleet.  So far the company says the testin