Important Innovations

Charges Devices by Spinning its Wheels Source:  ROLLOGO Charging Your Gadgets on the Go ROLLOGO is the world's first self-charging luggage, that has wheels with a suspension system.  It's a remarkable combination of engineering, style and design.  Designed by well known innovator/designer Frederic Gooris of Brussels, it's a very smart gadget to keep your smart gadgets charged when you're on the go.  Importantly, this charging suitcase is TSA approved, according to ROLLOGO, so there's no problem at airport check-ins. Spinning its Wheels The ROLLOGO Escape S suitcase charges its power bank by spinning its wheels.  The company calls it a new way to travel smarter and more sophisticated.  Ten minutes of rolling wheels can create enough power to talk on your smartphone for an hour.  The suitcase contains an 8000 mAh lithium polymer power bank, that's recharged by the company's patented power generating wheel system.  The fully charged power bank offer

Pan European Effort to Push Back Asian Battery Dominance Source:  CATL of China Pilot Battery Cell Plant in France To Start France and Germany are joining forces to produce batteries for electric cars.  France will host a pilot plant. There are plans to build plants in both Germany and France.  This is part of a Pan European project to defeat Asian dominance of the battery cell industry for electric vehicles.  The European nations want to cut dependence on Asian batteries.  China's CATL plans to start battery cell operations in a plant in Germany in 2022. Germany and France also want to protect domestic jobs that are being lost to the shift away from combustion engines.  The details on what is the first, cross border, battery cell consortium in Europe are expected to be announced on Thursday, September 19th. Battery Production Capacity Constricting Electric Vehicle Market in Europe In Europe, mass production of electric cars is being constricted by a lack of battery prod

New, Transformative Device to Generate Power from Night Sky Source:   UCLA Renewable and Complements Solar Power This new, inexpensive thermoelectric device may be transformative in energy generation.  It harvests the coldness of space during the night to generate electricity - enough right now to power a LED light at nighttime, but the inventors say it's very scalable.  The device is a significant new innovation from engineers at UCLA and Stanford University.  The gadget works at night when solar systems don't.  The inventors say it's a new approach to power generation when power at night is needed.  It complements solar power that doesn't work at night, giving a 24/7 approach to green, renewable energy. Phenomenon Like Frost Formation The device takes advantage of radiative cooling, the process by which frost forms on grass during above freezing temperatures at night.  The sky facing surface of the technology passes heat to the atmosphere as thermal radiat

GymCam Source:  Carnegie Mellon University New Smart Camera, New Algorithm, New Exercise Tracking Carnegie Mellon University engineers have developed a smart fitness tracker for the gym and for your home exercise area.  The GymCam system scans the crowds in a gym to automatically identify exercises and count the number of repetitions. All that's needed is a stationary camera with the new algorithm in a gym to detect exercise, the type of exercise and reliably count the number of repetitions. In your home for personal use, it can do the same functions.  It works with a smartphone for a person to record and track their workouts at home.  CMU says a number of companies are expressing interest in the system for in-home exercise. Vision Based System with New Algorithm This is a vision based system that employs a new algorithm to detect repetitive motion.  The CMU inventors say it goes beyond wearable sensors like smart watches, which they say don't track all exercises equa

Banks on Voyage's Autonomous Technology Source:  Voyage Funding to Commercialize Luxury automotive maker Jaguar Land Rover, headquartered in Coventry, England, is investing in autonomous vehicle startup Voyage.  Voyage is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area.  They say their cars are equipped with state of the art, advanced sensors, giving a 360 degree picture of the world hundreds of  meters around the car.  They're also using machine learning to develop state of the art perception models. To Introduce G3 Self-Driving Vehicle The fresh funding will be used to bring Voyage's technology into commercialization, expand production of its fleet of G2 self-driving vehicles and introduce its G3 autonomous vehicle.  This is a follow-on investment by Jaguar Land Rover's VC arm InMotion Ventures.  The round of fundraising is being led by Franklin Templeton with $52 million raised so far. Voyage Will Roll-out Its Community Vehicles First Voyage's first dri

US Congress May Ban Chinese Maker of Subway Trains for National Security Source:  CRRC Subway Cars for Boston's MBTA China's Highly Advanced Surveillance Technology China's state owned subway car maker CRRC has a new $100 million plant in Chicago and a deal to provide Chicago with 846 cars.  It has similar deals with Boston's MBTA and with Los Angeles' Metro system.  CRRC, which is the world's largest train manufacturer, hopes to win contracts from big cities across the US.  But, business for the company in the US may be coming to a screeching halt. National Security and Economic Concerns The US Congress is expected to ban the company from bidding on any more contracts.  The reason is China's highly advanced surveillance technology and the concern that the spy tech could be embedded in the subway cars to spy on Americans.  Some are calling the Chinese subway cars "Spy Trains".  The proposal has bipartisan support and is attached to a mil

New Polaroid Lab Device Source:  Polaroid Lab From the Cloud to the Real World Polaroid Lab has invented a device that enables you to turn digital images from your smartphone to instant Polaroid photos. These are hard copy photos from digital images that you can put in a photo album or place on your fridge to remind you of the "Polaroid moment". Elegantly Simple The new device is simple to use.  You select an image from your phone using a companion app.  Then, you place the phone with the selected digital image face down on the Polaroid device.  You push a button and with a combination of light, mirrors and Polaroid "chemistry" the system gives you an instant photo copy of the digital image.  This takes your digital photos from the Cloud back to the real world as tangible photos. It's full circle technology.

MB Targets: 50% of Lineup Electric by 2030 Source:  Daimler Mercedes Benz Vision EQS Concept Unveiled in Frankfurt At the world's largest auto show, this week in Frankfurt, Mercedes Benz unveiled the stylishly green Vision EQS Concept electric S-class sedan.  The company is calling it the "Mercedes of Mercedes" at the vanguard of innovation.  The concept has two electric motors, a radical new design and a maximum range of 435 miles.  This is another example of Mercedes' commitment to have 50% of its car lineup electric by 2030. "Sculptural" New Design The Vision EQS has an elegantly simple, melted car smooth design.  There are no visible door handles.  The next phase in the design is to make the car "sculptural", meaning you don't see any lines.  Of special note is the lighting on the car.  There's a blue light belt that illuminates around the entire body of the car.  And, the headlights are digital, using holographic lens modules

One of the Top Cars at the 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show Source:  Hyundai 45 Concept  The Future of Driving Electric The world's largest auto show, the Frankfurt Auto Show 2019, is showcasing the future of car travel, production ready electric cars and concept vehicles that point to future design.  A great glimpse into the future of electric vehicles is the Hyundai 45 Concept. The vehicle is getting a lot of attention as a new hot electric concept. Hyundai is headquartered in South Korea. Like a Diamond The vehicle is all electric and is shaped in silhouette like a diamond.  The doors slide and open wide.  Inside the cabin, there are chairs that swivel, making it easier to talk with your fellow passengers and get in and out of the vehicle.  It also has cube headlights.  Experts say this is an example of the innovative design direction that electric vehicles are headed.

China is Top Exhibitor at Frankfurt Auto Show Source:  FAW's Hungqi S9 Trending Technology on Display China has a very high profile at the world's largest auto show, The 2019 Frankfurt International Auto Show, now underway in Germany. 79 Chinese automakers are exhibiting their latest concept cars and new vehicles, making them the top exhibitor at Frankfurt.  Some of their new technology is fascinating, leading edge and trending. The Hungqi S9 This concept vehicle has the wings of butterflies, converted into butterfly doors.  It's a super sports car with maximum speeds of 400 km/h and a V8T hybrid engine system with a maximum of 1400 horsepower. Hungqi is part of the FAW Group, China's leading automaker.  It also unveiled an electric SUV concept, the E115.  This is the first time in 60 years that Hungqi has participated in an international auto show. The Wey Forward with R&D Center In Germany Source:  Wey-S And, then there is

Futuristic Off-Road and Autonomous Buggy/SUV Source:  Audi Unveiled at Frankfurt Motor Show Audi unveiled a revolutionary vehicle concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show today.  It's the Audi AI: Trail Quattro Concept.  The vehicle combines off-road capabilities with autonomous driving technology.  Plus, it's all electric. E-Vehicle The vehicle has a fully electric powertrain with four electric motors and a large, lithium-ion battery.  An e-motor is installed on each wheel and drives them directly.  The Audi AI has a battery range of 250 to 310 miles on a charge. Autonomous, Electric Buggy Essentially, the Audi AI: Trail Quattro is a futuristic buggy style SUV with four doors and a lot of style.  On highways, it's capable of Level 4 autonomous driving, which is the second highest international level.  Off-road, it can provide autonomous driving at the Level 3 range.  It's also capable of going through 1.6 feet of water.  It's one of the most exciting and i

Connectivity and Style - Fashion Titan Yves Saint Laurent Partners with Google Source:  Yves Saint Laurent Smart Shoulder Strap Powered by Google Project Jacquard It's called the Cit-E Backpack and it features a smart shoulder strap that's powered by Google.  Specifically, by Google's Project Jacquard, that transforms ordinary objects like clothing and backpacks into interactive surfaces.  It weaves touch and gestures into any textile to enable connectivity.  The smart backpack is manufactured by Yves Saint Laurent in a partnership with Google.  YSL is a fashion titan and the price is pricey at $878. Smart Strap, Smart Phone There's a tiny module containing a battery and hardware made by Google that fits into a hollowed-out space in the backpack's compartment.  The module works with the wearer's cellphone and allows the left shoulder strap to control the phone.  There's a special cell phone pocket inside the backpack. Backpack with Co

MIT's Roboats Source:  MIT Roboat Test World's First Bridge Composed of Autonomous Boats This is the world's first bridge composed of autonomous boats that disconnect and reassemble into various configurations.  It's the invention of engineers and other scientists at MIT and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions.  The city of Amsterdam has big plans for them in their canals to reduce busy traffic on congested city streets. Amsterdam Deployment Amsterdam wants the roboats to cruise its 165 canals to transport people and goods, collect trash and self-assemble into popup platforms like bridges and stages as needed. The roboats are equipped with sensors, thrusters, GPS modules, cameras, microcontrollers and other hardware.  They are far less expensive and far more versatile than traditional bridges. New Algorithm Upgrade The roboats have just been upgraded with a new control algorithm that enables them to be "shapeshifting", auto