Important Innovations

New Book on Important Innovations in Renewable Energy Aladdin's Magic Carpet Goes Solar Fascinating, Fun News Briefs 80% of the world's energy consumption is fossil fuel. The carbon dioxide emissions are deleteriously changing life as we know it.  The world is pushing for a fix with cheap, accessible, efficient renewable energy solutions. Important Innovations:  Collection, Vol. 4 - Energy My colleague Edward Kane has just published a book chronicling the latest and greatest innovations in renewable, green, clean energy. It's on Amazon and can be accessed through Ed's Author page   Important Innovations: Collection, Vol. 4 Energy amazon.com/author/ekane    It's titled Important Innovations:  Collection, Vol. 4.  The book showcases breakthrough innovations in solar energy, such as the orbiting magic carpet of solar panels soaking in the sun and relaying electricity back to earth. The latest and greatest energy innovations are included in wind, nuclear

Great Leap Forward with Satellite Orbit Success Source:  ISRO Launch Photo Space Milestone India's communications satellite GSAT-29 now is in a geosynchronous orbit.  It was just launched today by ISRO's heavy lift rocket GSLV.  It went into orbit 16 minutes after it took flight.  It's a milestone for India's mission and ambitions in space. Bringing Advanced Communications to Rural Areas The satellite carries Ka and Ku based high communications transponders and is targeted at meeting the communications needs of people in remote areas of India such as Kashmir, Jammu and the northeastern parts of the country.  The satellite has a mission life of ten years. On Target for Manned Missions Today's success has reinforced India's belief they're on track for an unmanned space mission orbit in 2020 and a manned space mission in December 2021.

U-Cal Research: Common Insecticides Risk Brain Development Source:  Stock Photo Pesticide Spraying Widely Used Organophosphates Cause Big Risk to Early Brain Development This breakthrough research on insecticides widely used on farms, in malls and schools is from the University of California Davis.  The scientists have overwhelming evidence that prenatal exposure to common insecticides known as organophosphates puts children at risk for neurodevelopmental disorders.  The scientists are calling for immediate government action to phase the chemicals out.  Their scientific review and demand for action was published in PLOS Medicine. Low Exposure to the Chemicals Leads to Lower IQ The study found "compelling evidence" that even low exposure in pregnant women to the organophosphate pesticides is associated with lower IQs and difficulties in learning, memory and attention in their children.  The scientists are implicating the entire class of organophosphate pes

New Driverless Car Tech Source:  Mercedes Self-Driving Car Concept Big Energy Efficiencies and Travel Time Savings Engineers at the University of Delaware, in collaboration with Boston University, have developed a new technology system for driverless cars that could make traffic lights and speeding tickets obsolete. The researchers used control theory to develop algorithms to control and minimize energy consumption in autonomous cars crossing city intersections with no traffic lights.  That's just the start. Energy Efficient Mobility Systems They used the software to simulate results.  The system enables the cars to conserve fuel and momentum while cutting travel time to their destinations.  The engineers are developing solutions that could enable the future of energy efficient mobility systems. Results and Potential The results have been published in the journal Automatica.  The team has created innovative tech to yield optimal acceleration and deceleration in spee

Stanford University's Rooftop Renewable Energy Device Source:  Stanford University Provides Electricity and Cooling from Sun and Space Scientists from Stanford University have created a first.  A single device that collects heat from the sun and coldness from outer space.  It simultaneously collects space and solar energy, generates electricity and coolness and functions with great efficiency.  Their research results have been published in the journal Joule. Double Layer Panel Their invention is a double layered rooftop panel.  The top layer is composed of standard semiconductor materials that go into solar cells.  The bottom layer is revolutionary and the combination of the 2 layers is being hailed as a potential gamechanger.  The bottom layer is composed of novel materials that collects the space energy and does the cooling. Dual Functions:  Electricity and Cooling The device combines radiative cooling with solar absorption technology.  On the roof the device would

International Research Solar Energy Push Source:  Uppsala University - Water Oxidation thru Photosystem II Detailing Photosystem II Photosystem II is a protein complex that splits water into hydrogen ions and oxygen during photosynthesis.  New images of the process, shown here, have been released by scientists at Uppsala University in Sweden.  A team of international scientists are taking part in this research. Goal: Cheap, Efficient Solar Fuel Power The new images are expected to help scientists to better understand what is a very complicated mechanism - photosystem II.  That detailed understanding could open the opportunity to develop solar fuel devices that are cheap and efficient.  Bottom-line:  photosystem II activates calcium and magnesium metal ions, which are cheap and plentiful, into a powerful water oxidation system.  By understanding the process, chemists potentially could do the same and open up solar fuel possibilities. Renewable Energy Economy Right now, 8

Important Innovations:  Collection on Kindle Source:  DARPA ASIN: B07K4QX385  ASIN: B07KBBQ44J  ASIN: B07JCQ4J78 If you enjoy our news blogs on innovation, I wanted to let you know that Important Innovations:  Collection Vols. 1, 2 & 3 are on Kindle as e-books and paperbacks.  The can be borrowed online for free right now. Vol. 1 of the Collection covers the latest in transportation innovation including hypersonic jets, flying cars and hyperloops.  Vol. 2 showcases the latest in robotics from Jeeves with AI to microrobots detecting and fighting disease.  Vol. 3 focuses on the latest in the rapidly accelerating and growing fields of AR, VR, AI, quantum computing and much more including breakthrough programs that DARPA is pursuing. These are fun, quick news reads on the latest in breakthrough innovation that are a great resource for students, teachers, investors and anyone interested in the future.

Pittsburgh Steelers AR App Source:  Heinz Field - Pittsburgh Heinz Field Becoming an AR Experience The Pittsburgh Steelers have added an AR portion to their official app.  It enables fans inside Heinz Field to watch the game with embedded augmented reality.  The AR portion is a first of its kind and was created by Carnegie Mellon spinoff Yinzcam, a mobile sports technology startup. AR Being Enabled and Expanded The potential use of AR at live sporting events is awesome.  To start, the Steelers' AR app will allow fans to get a totally different experience of the game than those watching at home.  They can view videos, have touch access to view replays, visit one of the most popular parts of the stadium - the Terrible Towel Wall and a lot more.  The team says it's building a lot of functionality into the AR tech and rolling it out in the very near future. Y inzcam Yinzcam is an innovation company with a mission to bring fans closer to the game through technology. 

Real Time Look at AG News Source:  ABC News National News Experiments  Here's a new example of how augmented reality might impact on another industry -  the news business.  A national television network used AR for the midterm election night coverage.  ABC custom-made a 360 degree election stage and used advanced AG technology to deliver election vote results. This is an AG tech wrap-around attempt.  As a journalist, I expect we're going to see more utilization of augmented reality to immerse viewers more deeply into coverage. It's a Lot More than a Set To effectively deliver AR news, it takes a lot more than an AR set.  For example, the graphics have to be in AR.  For ABC that minimally  required 36,000 lines of computer code and more than 1000 AR tracking markers within the set.  It also requires in-camera AR tracking systems. How about reporters on live locations?   It took ABC a year to develop this system at a considerable cost. A priority was to provide d

Solar Driven Photocatalytic System Source:  EPFL New Material, Metal Organic Framework Class Drives It Swiss scientists at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) have created a system that can destroy pollutants in water while simultaneously splitting out the hydrogen for later use.  This is a solar driven system that is considered an important scientific breakthrough. Solar Driven It's a photocatalytic system based on a material in the metal organic framework class (MOF's).  These MOF's are some of the most versatile and useful materials recently discovered.  This particular substance that cleans and splits water is activated by light. Big Applications The hydrogen produced in the process can be used for hydrogen fuel cells now used in many technologies including green hydrogen trains and space shuttles.  The process is also highly effective in removing pollutants from water.

Augmented Reality's 3 Dimensional Precision Source:  AR Tech in the Operating Room AR Goggles in the OR AR is a technology that superimposes computer generated information on the user's view of the real world.  It's being tested at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.  And it seems to greatly help surgeons visualize complex medical data particularly during heart surgery. Surgeons with AR Goggles A new self-contained AR device provides surgeons with the opportunity to interactively explore data in 3 D and real time during complex surgical procedures.  Here's how it works.  The surgeon wears  AR goggles that are similar to the glass screens worn by divers.  The AR images are projected onto the surgeon's facial screen to augment their view and vital information on their patient during complex surgical procedures.. NIH Funded Successful Test Pilot Program This is a pilot program and has been used successfully on 5 animal models.  The program is

IDC Forecasts AR/VR Spending Source:  Stock Augmented vs Virtual Reality Big Escalation through 2022 Global spending on AR/VR will soar at a 5 year CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 72% over 2017-2022.  By the end of 2018 it will hit $27 billion, up 92% year over year.  What's happening to fuel the growth is escalating use across industries, including a number of new industries.  This is the latest tracking by the International Data Corporation, IDC. Industry Use Rising, Along with China's IDC is tracking a number of global industries increasingly using AR/VR. The number of industries is on the rise and is now up to 39 including consumer, education, media and government.  Another big growing user is China. Industry Rankings Consumer industries are the biggest user through 2022, reaching $53 billion by 2022.  This is followed by retail, manufacturing and transportation.  Gaming is the biggest user in 2018.  But by 2022 the biggest percentage increase users in

Using Augmented Reality to Sell Limited Edition Sneaks Source:  Adidas AG Cuts Sales Process from Hours to a Few Minutes It's a time consuming and often frustrating process to buy much in demand, limited edition sneakers.  Adidas AG is changing the playing field.  It has just started deploying augmented reality to upend the process. Adidas AR App The company debuted an AR app at its big ComplexCom event in Long Beach, California.  Interested attendees downloaded an AR app that told them where to go in the complex to "Unlock the Drop".  Once there, they used their smartphones to follow instructions to pick a size, check out and where to pick up the sneakers.  All done with no sales staff interaction.  And most importantly the process took a few minutes, instead of hours. Ramping Up AR Adidas says it's focusing heavily on utilizing augmented reality as a means of increasing access to their most desired products.  Company officials say what they just unvei