Important Innovations

Samsung's Smart Shirt Source: Samsung's Smart Shirt Sensors Monitoring Your Lungs Wearable Tech to Monitor Your Respiratory Health thru Your Smart Phone This is cutting edge, wearable tech to know if you, your baby or parent have a respiratory problem.   Is it a cold, pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis or a respiratory or lung problem?  Samsung's Smart Shirt has embedded sensors that answers questions to give you vital information if you need to go to a doctor or to the ER to get immediate help. It's very new medical innovation in a smart device - a shirt. For a great news blog on this, go to  Important Innovations Collection: Samsung's Smart Shirt : Samsung Is Launching Wearable Tech to Monitor Your Health Source:  Samsung's Smart Shirt Shirt Sensors Transmit Results to Your S...

Skaterbot Source:  ETH Zurich Plays Ice Hockey Too - Ice Skating Machine Roboticists at ETH Zurich have created the world's first ice skating robot.  It can even play ice hockey with humans.  Its name is Skaterbot and it is an incredible learner. Moves on the Ice Lead researcher Prof. Stelian Coros of the Computational Robotics Lab at ETH says the only thing his team did was to inform the robot how one skate worked and behaved on ice.  They then told Skaterbot it was free to move in the direction of the blades.  The robot took that information and figured out on its own how to move and skate on ice. Quadruped This is a modular, quadruped robot.  Based on the information provided by the team, the robot determines where its legs need to be to stay balanced on the ice.  The researchers believe their robot has many potential uses for deliveries, helping people and search and rescue.  It's remarkable innovation - a skating machine that performs so well as an ice skate

New Artificial Leaf Technology Could Help Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions Converts CO2 to Oxygen 10Xs Faster than Real Leaves A team of engineers at University of Illinois at Chicago have created the world's first artificial leaf technology that works in the real world - outside, not just in the lab.  And, most importantly, it converts CO2 into oxygen 10Xs better than real leaves do.  For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: Artificial Leaves and Climate Change : New Artificial Leaves Convert CO2 into Oxygen 10X's Better Than Real Ones Source:  University of Illinois at Chicago Learning fr...

Humanoid Robot Artist - Ai-Da Source:  Engineered Arts - Ai-Da being prepped by roboticist Mike Humphrey Robotic Creation of Mastermind British Gallery Owner and Engineered Arts of UK This robot creation answers the question are robots creative? Yes, they are capable of creativity including the arts, such as sketching a face. Ai-Da is the robotic genius concept of British gallery owner Aiden Meller, being developed by UK based Engineered Arts.  This AI enabled robot is opening an exhibit of its art at Oxford in May and in London in November.  The photo shows Ai-Da being prepped with lifelike features by roboticist Mike Humphrey.  For a great news blog, go to Important Innovations Collection: Ai-Da Robot Artist : Can Robots Be Creative? Yes! Source:  Ai-Da's Robotic Arm Sketching a Portrait Meet Ai-Da, the Robot Artist British robot...

DARPA's AI System to Predict the Future KAIROS - Schema-based Artificial Intelligence System The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA - is developing a schema-based, AI system to predict the future of major global events for the US government. This is a world first, knowledge-directed artificial intelligence reasoning over schema system. To put it simply, schema is common language people use to describe and make sense of global events. KAIROS Mission The purpose is to help the US Defense Department better understand and predict world events that could lead to chaos or unrest.  The end result is to provide actionable understanding and predictions on how major, dynamic events will unfold.  For a great news blog on this, go to my journalist colleague Ed Kane's blog at Important Innovations Collection: DARPA's Tech to Predict Future : KAIROS - System to Forecast the Future Source:  DARPA's KAIROS Project Combines AI and Sc

Turning Insects into Weapons for Good Protecting the Nation's Food Supplies The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA- has a research project straight out of science fiction.  It's called Insect Allies.  The idea is to use insects, such as leafhoppers, aphids and white flies, to protect the nation's food supplies against drought, crop disease and bioterrorism. Controversial Insect Armies DARPA expects to achieve its "Insect Allies" goals by infecting the insects with engineered mutations and viruses that can be passed on to the plants to make them stronger or more resistant to biological attacks.  This project involves brand new technologies.  The concern and controversy is that the technologies could be used as weapons to destroy the enemy's crop supplies.  DARPA response:  most new technologies can be weaponized but that is not the purpose or intent of Insect Allies.  The goal is to protect the US food supply.

MIT-Harvard Smart Pill Source:  MIT Radical New Technology:  a Pill that Delivers Insulin A small pill has been invented by an MIT-Harvard research team that attaches to the lining of the stomach and delivers insulin.  Designed for those with Type One diabetes, the pill has been tested and performs as well as insulin injections.  It could be a very attractive alternative to insulin injections for diabetics.  Global experts are calling it exciting, "radical new technology".  For a news blog on it, go to my journalist colleague Ed Kane's blog at Important Innovations Collection: MIT-Harvard Smart Pill : Pill Microneedle Source:  MIT Radically New Technology Delivers Insulin Harvard, MIT and insulin manufacturer Novo Nordisk have inven...

US Military Adding Drones & Drone Defense Source:  FLIR's Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance Drone New Innovation Arsenal The US has ordered $39 million worth of small reconnaissance drones for the US Army.  The Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance Drones are manufactured by FLIR Systems. They are tiny, strategic, live video providing drones for soldier/operators on the battlefield. Nano-UAV's The drones are small enough to fit into a soldier's pocket or in the palm of their hand.  They are nano-UAV's (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and provide a view of the battlefield.  The tiny drones work day and night, with speeds up to 20 feet per second and at a distance up to 1.24 miles. Live Video They are nearly silent and provide constant covert surveillance of the battlefield for half an hour. During that time, they transmit live video and HD photos back to the operator.  They weigh an ounce and are a little more than 6 inches long.  This is incredible technolog

Smart Fabric, Perfect Temperature Source:  University of Maryland  Pioneering Research Leading to Comfort Adjusting Clothing University of Maryland researchers have created the world's first wearable material that automatically adapts its insulating capabilities to changes in its environment.  This is a world first in fabric.  It's been engineered with specially designed yarn coated with conductive metal.  For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: Smart Fabric, Perfect Temperature : First Ever Fabric that Automatically Adjusts to Environment Source:  University of Maryland New Temperature Adjusting Fabric This i...

New Device Captures the Heart's Energy Source:  Dartmouth College Implants Powered By Electricity from Heart Beats This is fascinating and very promising research from Dartmouth College engineers funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH),  The Dartmouth team have created a dime sized device that harvests the kinetic energy of a beating heart to generate electricity and power a biomedical device indefinitely. It's an implant, a heart pacemaker, powered by a beating heart. Dime-Sized Device What is so interesting is this is a dime sized device.  It relies on a thin film - piezoelectric film - attached to a pacemaker's lead.  It converts heart beats' kinetic energy into electricity to power the pacemaker implant. NIH Funded Research with Other Implant Device Applications This is essentially an organ energy harvesting device that could work beyond the heart and for other organs such as kidneys.  The Dartmouth team's three years of research results

Self-Repairing Material that Could Be a Gamechanger in Manufacturing Source:  University of Southern California Important, Brand New Material that Self-Repairs Engineers at the University of Southern California have invented a 3D printed material that self-repairs.  Experts believe it could revolutionize manufacturing, particularly tire and electronics manufacturing.  For a great news blog on this go to Important Innovations Collection: Gamechanging Self Healing Material : New Material is 3D Printed Source:  University of Southern  California Could Revolutionize Tire and Electronics Manufacturing It&#39...

Free Codes for Free Audiobook on Audible Audible has provided us with codes to distribute for free audiobooks of Important Innovations Collection - Travel, written by my journalist colleague Edward Kane and narrated by me.  We are both television news journalists.  The book is a compendium of professional news summaries on the latest and greatest in travel innovation.  For details, go to Ed's blog at Important Innovations Collection: Innovations in Travel : Important Innovations Collection - Travel Audible Important Innovations Collection - Travel is live on Audible.  The book contains the...

Smart Touch, Smart Phone, Smart Touch Enables Visually Impaired to Stay Connected This is great innovation.  China's technology giant Alibaba has invented a tactile interface film  for smartphone displays to aid the visually impaired when using the phone. The film has three buttons including Braille, confirm and go back.  The film will be available in 2020 and Alibaba does not intend to make a profit on it.   For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: Smart Touch, Smart Phone, Smart Film : Alibaba's Humanitarian Smart Phone Film Source:  Alibaba Enables Visually Impaired to Stay in Touch, Shop, Pay Bills This is gr...