Important Innovations

Metro Travel Tickets for Plastic Bottle Recycling Source:  Rome Metro Expanding Environmental Initiative to Reduce Plastic Dumping in the Eternal City Rome is setting a new, global environmental standard that's very practical and doable.  It's offering free Metro tickets to travelers who recycle plastic bottles by using machines set-up in three Rome Metro train stations.  The system is scalable, expandable and is working. 350,000 Recycled Bottles and Counting The program is so popular that 350,000 bottles have been recycled since July 2019.  Rome's public transit company ATAC is now extending the program across the entire Metro network and letting it run through July 2020. Works by Simplicity To participate commuters need to download an app into their mobile phone.  The app counts the number of bottles the person has put into the recycling machines and then registers the number of Metro tickets they've earned.  As an example, 30 bottles equate to a ticket

Tesla Model 3 Top Seller in Norway for Q3 2019 Norway is #1 in Electric Vehicles Despite a sales decline, Tesla Model 3 remains Norway's top selling vehicle in Q3 2019.  This win for the all electric mid-size sedan, despite back to back sales declines in Q1 and Q2.  Norway leads the world in per-capita electric car sales.  In fact, 54.5% of all new cars sold in Norway in September were fully electric. Norway Driving Green Norway has a goal of ending the sale of cars with diesel or gas powered engines by 2025.  As part of the effort, the nation exempts battery powered cars from the taxes imposed on fossil fuel vehicles. Tesla Model 3 Tesla's Model 3 electric vehicle is cheaper than the larger Model S and Model X models. Tesla is counting on it to transform Tesla into a profitable, big player in the global automotive industry.  Meanwhile, Audi and Jaguar Land rover recently introduced all electric SUVs into the Norway market, heating up the competition.

Appoints former Google Executive as Chief Innovation and Digital Officer Source:  Tod Company Store Chasing Young Luxury Consumer Italy's Tod, the luxury shoes and leather goods brand, has appointed a former Google executive Alessandra Domizi as their new Chief Digital and Innovation Officer.  The clear intent is to ramp up the global company's digital strategy, including online sales and marketing.  Ms. Domizi was previously Google's top industry executive for fashion and retail.  Tod's efforts are an important example of the infiltration of digital technology and marketing and the growing importance of online shopping, even at the luxury level. Targeting Millennials Building Disposable Income Tod is focused on accelerating its luxury digital efforts to pull in younger customers, particularly millennials who are starting to build disposable income.  Tod's sales started to decline a bit in 2017.  It was then that they started developing a new digital stra

Space X Starship Super Heavy Source:  SpaceX  Starship CEO Elon Musk on to Mars SpaceX CEO Elon Musk just unveiled his silver bullet:  a spacecraft to take you to Mars and beyond.  It's the new Starship Mk1 prototype, unveiled this weekend at SpaceX's South Texas test site in Boca Chico, TX.  Starship is a massive, reusable launch system.  When finalized, the vehicle will have a 387 foot Starship Super Heavy stack and be powered by six Raptor engines.  The spacecraft has room for 37 Raptor engines, depending on the mission needs and distance. Musk, a Visionary Thinker Starship will be capable of taking up to 100 people back and forth to space, including the Moon, Mars and other space destinations.  Musk says space travel has to be done like air travel.  He believes that is the first breakthrough needed to make humans a space-faring, multi-planet civilization.  He adds making space travel like air travel is "the fastest path to a self-sustaining city on

Shapeshifter Exploring New Distant Worlds Source:  NASA/CalTech Concept Source:  NASA Drone of Drones NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab at Caltech has just introduced the drone of drones.  Right now, it separates into two different units:  two shapes to explore new distant worlds and new habitats.  It's a prototype and is made of several small, quadcopter drones calls cobots.  The cobots have propellers and fly independently and the system reassembles to roll on the ground. The future for the concept is much bigger.  The Shapeshifter would be made up of a number of small robots that can easily self-assemble into larger robots and disassemble as the mission requires, particularly in space. The mini-robots will be able to fly, roll, float and swim and then morph into a single machine. Morphing Robots On the ground, the cobots come together to form a roller-wheel like drone to explore the ground in places in space like Titan, where there is very limited information about t

Important Innovation Collection Audiobooks Just Published Latest Innovations in Robotics and Renewable Energy This week ACX published two more of our innovation news audiobooks:  "Important Innovations Collection:  Robotics" and "Important Innovations Collection:  Energy".  They join "Important Innovations Collection:  Travel" that was first published. Unique News Summaries on Breaking Global Innovations The co-authors and narrator are US national television journalists Ed Kane and Maryanne Kane. The audiobooks are unique and highly valuable news accounts, written by Ed and Maryanne, of the latest global breakthroughs in innovation. Sample Links and Free Codes for Important Innovations Collection:  Energy For easy access for a free sample listen, in the US  https://www.audible.com/pd/B07XTP1N8Z/?source_code=AU In the UK,  https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B07XLNX35Y/?source_code=AUKFrDlWS02231890H6-BK-ACX0-164309&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0

Four Second AI Diagnosis of Heart Disease Source:  AI stock image Faster and As Good As Doctors Scientists at the University College London have invented an AI program that can read a cardiac MRI scan in fractions of the time it takes doctors and the artificial intelligence system has equal accuracy.  The AI program reaches a diagnosis in just four seconds.  The doctors take an average of thirteen minutes to analyze the patient's heart function.  The results are equally accurate. When Seconds Mean Saving a Life Fractions of seconds of time for cardiac patients can be life saving.  This new AI program is significant and it's being deployed in robotic machines at the University College London in a series of trials.  This may be a great example of artificial intelligence and robotics greatly aiding medical specialists in more quickly analyzing and treating dangerous cardiac emergencies and saving lives. UK Analysis In the UK alone, 150,000 cardiac MRI

Just Launched in US Eating Plant Based Meat in Fast Food Stores  Swiss based food giant Neste launched its Awesome Vegan burgers in the US today in retail grocery stores.  The competition for winning in the plant-based meat category in the US and other markets like Europe is huge.  Simultaneously in the US today, McDonalds launched "Beyond Meat" burgers in its US and Canadian McDonald's Restaurants.  The irony is that Nestle and McDonalds partner in the plant-based burger category in Europe and particularly in Germany.  They are now doing combat over meatless meat in the US. Big Global Innovation Growth Category Meatless meat substitutes are a big avenue of innovation growth.   In  fact, this is cited as one of the top ten categories for global market growth. Nestle is all over this.  They are launching Awesome Burgers and Awesome Grounds plant based ground meat, across retailers in the US, through their business unit Sweet Earth.

Important Innovations Collection: Energy.  New Audiobook on Latest & Most Impressive Renewable Energy Innovations Free Codes for Audible, ACX, iTunes Journalists Edward Kane and Maryanne Kane are pleased to announce that their third Audiobook "Important Innovations Collection:  Energy" has just been published by ACX and is being distributed by Audible, iTunes and ACX.  Ed and Maryanne are national television and radio broadcast journalists.  The book is narrated by Maryanne, who is the host of CEO Global Foresight on PBS.  Ed is the co-creator and Executive Producer of the program series.  The team focuses on breakthrough innovation news. Here's a link to listen to some of the renewable energy innovations highlighted:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XTQK5M4 Free Audible Codes We have been provided by ACX free codes for the US, UK and international readers to get a copy of the audiobook for free.  Send me an email at md

New Autonomous Roofers in Town Source:   University of Michigan Autonomous Roofers University of Michigan engineers and roboticists have invented a drone that can put a new roof on your house and do it autonomously.  The drone nails shingle to a rooftop and decides in flight where to target the nails.  The aerial vehicle is autonomous, positions the nail gun on a nailing point, places the nail and then moves on to the next point without any human intervention.  It's a cutting edge example of drones being capable of what can be dangerous construction work for humans. Octocopter The drone is a DJI S1000 octocopter equipped with a standard nail gun.  The drone uses a system of cameras and markers to cover test roofs with asphalt shingles.  The roofs have a range of slopes. Machine Vs. Human Right now, the University of Michigan team says the drone is less effective than a human roofer.  But they think the system will be improved by a power tethered system.

Important Innovations Collection: Robotics.  New Audiobook on Latest & Most Impressive Robots Free Codes for Audible, ACX, iTunes Journalists Edward Kane and Maryanne Kane are pleased to announce that their second Audiobook "Important Innovations Collection:  Robotics" has just been published by ACX and is being distributed by Audible, iTunes and ACX.  Ed and Maryanne are national television and radio broadcast journalists.  The book is narrated by Maryanne, who is the host of CEO Global Foresight on PBS.  Ed is the co-creator and Executive Producer of the program series.  The team focuses on breakthrough innovation news. Here's a link to listen to the Intro:  https://www.audible.com/pd/B07XLNYJ29/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-164311&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_164311_rh_us Free Audible Codes We have been provided by ACX free codes for the US, UK and international readers to get a copy of the audiobook for free.  Send me an email at  mdkane

Ocean Wave-Solar Renewable Energy System Source:  EcoWave Power World's 1st Grid Connected Wave Energy Array The EcoWave Power is a world first.  The Swedish invention converts both wave and solar power into green renewable energy on the same device.  It's deployed in the port city of Jaffa, Israel and is connected to the city's electric grid.  This is the world's only grid connected wave energy array.  The device is now also topped with solar panels to generate more energy.  The innovative tech consists of floaters on coastal water attached to existing man-made structures.  This makes the system accessible and simple to install and maintain. The additional solar panel component is now being deployed and tested in Jaffa. Wave+Solar Power Generation Provides Many Benefits The system converts the rise and fall of coastal water into electricity and has worked effectively for several years. To increase efficiency, the Swedish team added solar panels o

Tunabot - Fast as Tuna, Next G Underwater Vehicle Propulsion Source:  University of Virginia Prototype for Next G Underwater Vehicle Propulsion The tuna is one of the fastest fish in the sea.  A mechanical engineering team from University of Virginia in collaboration with biologists from Harvard University have invented a robofish that can swim as fast as a yellowfin tuna.  The team says it's not about the robot.  It's about inventing a new, faster and more efficient underwater propulsion system for manned and unmanned underwater vehicles. Physics of Fish Propulsion At Harvard and UVA, Tunabot is tethered in a large flow tank with a green laser to measure fluid motion as it swims.  Yellowfin tuna grow to 7 feet.  The Tunabot is 10 inches long.  The purpose of this research is to better understand the physics of fish propulsion to develop the next generation of underwater vehicles with fish like propulsion system.  The team says the ultimate goal "is to surpass