Important Innovations

Plans to Remove Carbon from Atmosphere with Target Dates Source:  Microsoft Commitment from the Top Microsoft has joined the fight against Climate Change in a big way.  It just announced that by 2030 it will have removed more carbon from the atmosphere than it emits.  And, by 2050, it hopes to have taken out as much CO2 as all the direct emissions the company has made since its founding in 1975. Very Different, Innovative Approach The world's largest software company's approach to fighting Climate Change is quite different and innovative.  Most companies promise to cut ongoing emissions or prevent new ones.  By contrast, Microsoft's pledge to remove existing carbon from the atmosphere is unique for corporate America. CEO Leadership The commitment to fighting Climate Change is coming from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.  Speaking today at Microsoft's Redmond, Washington headquarters, he said we, as a global company, have to offset the damag

$7 Trillion Point of View Source:  BlackRock's e-Banner BlackRock Goes Green BlackRock, based in New York City, is the world's largest asset manager with $7 Trillion under management.  CEO Larry Fink just announced that he's making fighting Climate Change a key part of his investment strategy. His focus is sustainable investing. He says that the dangerous impact of Climate Change is causing investors "to reassess core assumptions of modern finance." Concrete Steps Fink has a strategic plan that he's implementing.  Essentially, he's greatly escalating holdings in green, sustainable investment vehicles.  Specifically, he's: Doubling BlackRock's sustainable ETFs to 150 Putting pressure on index providers to include more sustainable benchmarks Selling $500 million worth of investments in thermal coal producers by July Voting against boards and management who don't account for climate risk or don't have a

Stardust 5 to 7 Billion Years Old Found in a Meteorite in Australia Source:  NASA Meteorite  Stardust Material That's Older than the Sun This is an extraordinary scientific discovery just announced by a team of astronomers led by University of Chicago Professor Dr. Philipp Heck. In a meteorite that fell from space in Australia 50 years ago, there is awesome stardust dating back 5 to 7 billion years.  This stardust predates the Sun. Heck and his team analyzed the contents of the meteorite.  They found it to be the oldest, solid material ever found on Earth.  Their work has just been published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. What This Discovery Opens Innovative Views On The scientists say this stardust will tell us how parent stars were formed in our galaxy. It will tell us about the origins of the oxygen that we breathe and provide the opportunity to trace materials back before the creation of the Sun. The stardust is the oldest materi

Hyundai's  M Vision S Source:  Hyundai Concept Car that's an Autonomous, Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle The M Vision S is Hyundai's vision of the future of mobility.  The vehicle is fully autonomous, hydrogen fuel cell powered and loaded with connectivity.  It's a concept car that Hyundai says is designed for urban sharing. World of New Mobility The M Vision S is equipped with driving sensors like cameras, lidar, radar, 3D rear lamps, virtual space touch and communication lighting.  Communication lighting allows the autonomous car to communicate with, for instance, pedestrians by flashing "Go ahead" or "Be careful".  The lighting also communicates with people inside the car by detecting changes in their mood and then adjusting the lights.  The virtual space touch allows passengers to  listen to music or watch videos. Hydrogen Society Hyundai is a big believer in what it calls the "Hydrogen Society", where hydrogen fue

Taking Reservations, Giving Information Source:  Misty Robotics Your Robotic Hotel Experience Misty 11 has great aspirations to be a key part of the hospitality industry.  The cute, little rolling robot is the invention of Misty Robotics, based in Boulder, Colorado and was just unveiled at CES 2020.  Misty can detect humans, greet them, interact, provide information and responses.  She can make reservations, call for assistance and even be part of point of sales systems.  The little robot gives new meaning to the hospitality industry.  Her inventors have designed her to go to work in a hotel near you very soon. Open Source Code What's ingenious about Misty is she is not limited to one task.  This is part of an important, new emerging trend to design robots that are not limited to one use.  They have capabilities that can be used in many ways.  In the case of Misty, from room mapping to greeting customers and taking reservations.  The open source code allow

Mercedes-Benz & China's Geely Group Partner Source:  Mercedes-Benz Intelligent New Electric Vehicles Daimler's Mercedes-Benz just announced that it will build Smart branded cars with China's Zhejlang Geely Holding Group in the Chinese city of Ningbo.  The partners will operate from a facility with the capacity to build about 150,000 cars per year.  In 2019, Smart delivered 116,800 vehicles globally. $780 Million Investment Each company is investing $388.8 million into the Joint Venture. They'll build "premier and intelligent" electrified vehicles under the Smart brand name, which is a Mercedes-Benz brand.  They'll manufacture in China and have sales operations in both Germany and China. Mercedes Building Base in China China is the world's largest market for electric vehicles and the Chinese government is pushing and supporting EVs.  Like other global automakers such as Tesla, Stuttgart-based Mercedes is building a base in Chin

Samsung's Ballie "Life Companion" Source:  Samsung CES 2020 Ready to Roll for You One of the most intriguing innovations unveiled at CES 2020 this week is a little rolling robot by Samsung named Ballie. Ballie is Samsung's vision of human-centered robots that provide personalized care. It's tiny, ball shaped and wants to do just about everything for you.  It can serve as a home security system, a virtual assistant for such things as fitness training. The yellow, soft-ball sized robot is the next evolution in IoT (internet of things), according to Samsung. Capable of Running a Household by Commanding Smart Devices The beeping sphere obeys the owner's voice commands.  At CES 2020, Samsung demonstrated the mini-robot running a household through its commands to smart devices.  Samsung says the robot's AI enables it to react to your ever changing needs.  They call it a "life companion". On-Device AI Samsung Electronics ha