Important Innovations

New Contender in Flying Taxi Race Source:  Joby S2 Flying Taxi Joby S2 Flies All Electric at 200 mph Joby Aviation is a pioneer in novel aircraft designs with electric propulsion.  Founder, CEO and engineer JoeBen Bevirt has been working on the Joby S2 all electric VTOL for ten years.  He says 1 billion people commute more than an hour a day and flying taxis are part of the solution to giving them that time back.  For a great news blog on this unique, working prototype, go to Important Innovations Collection: New 200 mph Flying Taxi : Joby Aviation - Pioneer in Novel Aircraft Designs with Electric Propulsion Source:  Joby Aviation's Joby S2 Quiet, Well Funded Sta...

Vienna Style Commuting Courtesy:  EHang - Vienna Test Flight First Flight It looks like a helicopter at first glance.  But it's a lot more than that.  This is the first demonstration of this pilotless air taxi prototype that just successfully took off in Vienna, Austria.  The Austrian and Chinese developers say it's ready for mass production and commuter service.  The EHang 216 is at the forefront of autonomous air taxis readying for takeoff. Autonomous Flying It's the creation of  Austrian aerospace company FACC (now owned by Chinese aerospace group AVIC) and the Chinese drone maker company  EHang. It's a European first for them.  The vehicle circled in the air and landed safely after a few minutes of flying above a soccer stadium. Rigorously Tested and Ready for Flying This is a slim drone with 16 propellers.  It can seat two passengers, fly up to 90 mph for a half hour.  And, it can travel 50 to 70 kilometers depending on the payload.  The Austrian-Chi

First Photo of a Blackhole in Outer Space Source:  NASA Artist Rendering Mysterious Mass Millions to Billions Larger than the Sun The photo, to be released on Wednesday April 10th, will make history.  It's also expected to provide new insights into these space behemoths at the center of every galaxy.  They are so large and their gravitational field is so intense, experts say nothing, including light, can escape.  For a great news blog with more information, go to Important Innovations Collection: First Photo of a Blackhole in Space : Mystery Masses at the Center of Every Galaxy Courtesy:  NASA Artist Rendering Gravitational Field So Intense Nothing Can Escape...

Bennu - Spinning Space Rock Source:  NASA NASA Probe NASA's OSIRIS- REx  mission arrived at the spinning, diamond shaped asteroid Bennu earlier this year.  It has just started relaying images of it. This spinning image was captured by an advanced laser built into OSIRIS.  It shows how dangerous the rocky surface is.  The space rock is so packed with debris at the surface level, NASA hasn't been able to determine where to land a probe on the asteroid. Diamond Shaped Rock in the Sky The laser paints a 3D picture of the rock surface that it's bouncing off and provides NASA a detailed glimpse of the rocky surface. Selecting where to briefly land the OSIRIS probe to collect samples is critical.  Landing in an area with too much debris and high rocky cliffs could destroy the mission. The laser images indicate there aren't many clear areas on the rock to land.  At any rate, OSIRIS will orbit Bennu for the rest of the year before attempting the landing which may be

Infiniti QX Inspiration Concept - Future of Electric Crossovers Source:  Infiniti QX Inspiration Concept Going to Market in 2021 It's an electric, luxury crossover SUV concept that Nissan designers have nicknamed "Baby FX", after their famous original FX.  It's wide bodied, sleek and sports a large interior with a Japanese style living room.  For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: Look at the Future of Driving : Infiniti QX Inspiration Concept Source:  Infiniti QX Inspiration Future of Electric Crossovers Nissan designers call this concept ...

Reshaping Tissue with Electricity and No Incisions Source:  University of California Irvine, Molecular Surgery Medical Innovation at the Cutting Edge This is important innovation, medicine and science.  It's new, innovative "molecular surgery" that, if you have to have surgery, you're going to prefer.  It's just at the beginning stage.  But it can reshape torn cartilage without any incision only electricity.  It can work to reshape a nose or ear and even shows promise to fix immobile joints and as a noninvasive alternative to laser eye surgery. Innovation from University of California and Occidental College The innovation is from UCAL Irvine and Occidental College.  Here's how it works.  Tiny needles are inserted into the damaged cartilage and they pass a low dose of electrical current through the tissue, which makes it soft and malleable. A customized 3D printed mold reshapes the tissue. The tissue stiffens and takes on the shape of the mold when t

Your Health, Wellness and the Practice of Medicine - Latest Global Innovations "Important Innovations Collection - Latest Medical Breakthroughs"  by Edward Kane New Book:  Important Innovations Collection - Latest Medical Breakthroughs - Free Borrow I co-authored this book, which is the 8th in our series "Important Innovations Collection" with fellow journalist Ed Kane.  This is a great reference guide, in a news summary form, of the most important and latest medical innovations impacting our lives.  For more details on free borrows and free sample reads, go to Important Innovations Collection: Important Innovations Collection - Latest Medical ... : New Book on Kindle and Amazon, Free Borrow & Free Sample Read I've just published my latest book, the 8th in the series, &quot...

Robotics Gliders Soaring Like Birds Source:  Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Photo Montage University of California Scientists Train Autonomous Gliders to Fly Like an Eagle This is very important research that may have ramifications in terms of navigational systems and artificial intelligence for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's).  Physicists at the University of California San Diego have taught robotic gliders to soar like birds.  Using reinforcement learning, the gliders ride rising currents of warm air to soar just like birds.  For a great news blog, go to Important Innovations Collection: Robotic Gliders Flying Like Birds : Physicists Train Autonomous Gliders to Soar Like Eagles Source:  Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Photo Montage New Navigational ...

Purifies Water by Ultraviolet Light Source:  Luma Cuts Plastic Waste The Luma bottle is a self-cleaning, reusable water bottle.  It purifies your drinking water by UV light.  All the while, cutting plastic bottle waste.  The Luma technology for this green, innovative product is patent pending. Destroys 99.9999% of Bacteria The bottle contains a UV-C light at its base which is in constant contact with the water.  In one minute it destroys 99.9999% of the bacteria in the water, according to Luma. A Lot of New Innovation The bottle contains a waterproof charging port and a Li-Polymer battery that can provide more than two months of cleaning cycles to purify the water on a single charge.  This innovative product and Luma technology were developed by college students who started working on it in October 2017.

The Robot Olympics Source:  DARPA DARPA's Subterranean Robotic Challenge Gets Underway The Pentagon's DARPA believes the next robotic challenge is for robots to autonomously operate in dangerous underground areas such as cave networks, tunnel systems and urban undergrounds.  Missions include investigatory work and search and rescue.  The purpose is to keep humans out of harms way. DARPA will kick off its Subterranean Robotic Challenge this weekend.  Some of the world's leading roboticists and their technology are competing in the Challenge which continues through August 2021.  For a great news blog on this go to,  Important Innovations Collection: SubT - Next Challenge for Robots : DARPA's Subterranean Robotic Challenge Source:  DARPA The Robot Olympics Are About to Begin The US Defense Department's Adva...

Inexpensive Alternative to Glass Windows and Solar Panels Source:  American Chemical Society KTH Transparent Wood New Innovation from Sweden's KTH This is important innovation in materials science.  Researchers at Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed a transparent, synthetic wood that can store and release heat.  The material is transparent.  It's an inexpensive alternative to glass used in windows and solar panels. Their innovation was just presented at the American Chemical Society meeting in Orlando, FL. Building on KTH Research This is an important iteration on a research theme and results achieved by KTH.  They previously created a transparent wood by cutting the lignin from the cell walls of balsa wood and combined that with plexiglass. New Transparent Wood They've now added the phase change polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) to the wood fiber and plexiglass mixture.  The result:  material that absorbs heat and stores energy that

Germany Leads International R&D on Reusable Rockets Source:  DLR Model of Reusable Rocket System FALcon - Catching Rockets in Flight An international consortium from six European Union countries have just launched R&D for reusable space rockets. The program is called FALcon. The effort is being spearheaded by Germany's space agency DLR.  The system includes a chase aircraft that follows the rocket after liftoff and catches rocket stages on descent.  The plane tows the booster to a landing area and releases it so it can glide to earth.  The project starts with a three year study.  For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: Catching Rockets in Flight : Germany Spearheads Reusable Rocket Concept Source:  DLR Model  FALcon Project Six international European Union partners are worki...

Toyota's New Robot that's a World Class Athlete Source:  Toyota's Cue3 Shooting Hoops with Visual Feedback Cue3 Robot Does Amazing Basketball, Shooting Hoops Toyota has created a new, big,6'10" athlete robot called Cue3 that shoots basketball hoops. It performs 3 point shots with incredible accuracy.  The purpose is to demonstrate robotic visual feedback.  The performance is better than NBA professional averages for shooting 3-pointers.  It's very impressive robotic innovation.  For a great news blog go to, Important Innovations Collection: World Class Robot Athlete : Toyota's Basketball Star Source:  Toyota's Cue3 Shoot Out Winner Toyota's new Cue3 robot is a great sharp shooter.  In a...