Important Innovations

  Invention Could Make Electricity Dramatically Cheaper, Faster, More Powerful Source:  University of Rochester New Discovery - University of Rochester University of Rochester engineers have created a super, superconductor that could save the world billions of dollars in annual electricity costs.  The engineers created a material composed of hydrogen, carbon and sulfur which becomes a superconductor when squeezed between two diamonds.  Superconductors are materials that effortlessly conduct electricity with no resistance and no energy lost.  Until the University of Rochester breakthrough, superconductors only worked at extremely cold temperatures of minus 100 degree Fahrenheit and below.  The new superconductor works at room temperature of 59 degrees.  That opens up the possibility of widespread use. Why This is Such a Big Deal This breakthrough superconductor could usher in an age of dramatically cheaper, faster and more powerful electricity.  According to the research team, widesprea

Switzerland and Sweden Leading the Way                                                                 Source:  Swiss Innovation Council 2020 Global Innovation Index (GII) The 2020 Global Innovation Index ranks Switzerland and Sweden as the #1 and #2 Innovation countries in the world.  For Switzerland, this is the 10th year of ranking number 1.  Europe has clearly become the global epicenter of innovation.  Eight of the top 12 leaders in innovation are European countries:  Switzerland #1, Sweden #2, UK #4, Netherlands #5, Denmark #6, Finland #7, Germany #9, France #12.  The US came in #3 in this year's annual ranking of 131 nations using 80 metrics to evaluate the level of innovation around the world. COVID-19's Impact The GII experts say COVID-19 is "severely pressuring" the long term build-up in global innovation, while it is also accelerating innovation in specific areas, particularly health care.  GII says the leading nations in innovation show year-to-year stabil

  New Travel Innovation: E-Urban Mobility Vehicle                                                  Source:  KOMMA Part Car and Part MotorBike KOMMA is a brand new electric vehicle for city travel from innovators in Switzerland. The startup says it is an alternative to conventional means of city transportation.  The KOMMA Urban Mobility Vehicle (UMV) is a crossover between a conventional car and a motorbike.  It's electric, has the comfort and safety of a car but with a much smaller footprint.  It's being billed as a brand new means of travel around and between urban areas. KOMMA's Approach and Mantra Could Be Transformative KOMMA's mantra is to create better ways to move around cities than by cars and vans.  The approach of their new technology is by blurring the lines between travel vehicles as we know them.  Their brand new KOMMA UMV is planned for production in 2022.  They believe the small size of their vehicle, the light construction, aero design and its electric p

  Perfect Day and Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger                                             Source:  Perfect Day Animal-Free Dairy Startup With $360 Million in Funding Europe and the US are leading the way in the development of animal free food and investors are bankrolling new startups.  A great example is the animal-free dairy startup Perfect Day.  Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger just made a significant investment in the company and now has a seat on its board of directors.  This after Perfect Day raised $360 million in investment funding this year.  The company has a unique history, innovative technology and commercially available products like its dairy-free ice cream. Transatlantic Roots Perfect Day was founded in Cork, Ireland by two young scientists Ryan Padya and Perumal Gandi.  Their approach to creating animal-free dairy products garnered global interest.  They've developed animal-free milk, cheese, yogurt, butter and ice cream.  Now headquartered in Berkeley, Cal

 Full Self-Driving System   Beta Testing to Get Underway                                                       Source:  Tesla Future of Autonomous Driving The dream of autonomous driving is getting a lot closer.  Tonight, Tesla is rolling our the beta version of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system.  In a tweet, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the rollout to a few, selected customers. They've received a software update that downloaded automatically into their Tesla vehicle to better steer and accelerate without human intervention.  Musk said the rollout and beta testing will be "extremely slow and cautious".  He didn't say where the self-driving test runs would be taking place. Highly Advanced Technology  Musk says Tesla has done a fundamental re-write of the entire Autopilot software system.  He said they are "re-labelling" 3D videos, meaning how the system understands the objects it sees with its eight cameras and how it should react to them.  Musk says the so

  1000 Horsepower All-Electric Truck                                                 Super: GMC Hummer Targeting Tesla's Cybertruck GMC just unveiled its brand new Hummer electric "Super Truck with unprecedented off-road capability".  The EV has three motors that put out 1,000 horsepower.  It can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds. The driving range is 350 miles on a single charge.  And it has a fast charging capability that generates 100 miles of range in ten minutes.  This is GM's first electric pickup truck and it is pricey.  You can reserve the "Edition 1" model which starts at $112,595.  The EV has GMC's most powerful drivetrain.  With the Hummer EV, GM is clearly targeting Tesla's Cybertruck. EV Truck Wars The 2020's are ushering in electric pickup truck wars.  The new Hummer will be competing against a new lineup of e-trucks from Tesla, Ford, Rivian, to name a few.  The biggest competitor is Tesla CEO Elon Musk's pet project, the

  SpaceX & Microsoft Tie-Up to Win Space Customers                                                  Source:  Tesla Starlink Starlink and Azure Cloud Computing This technology combination between Elon Musk's SpaceX and Microsoft is fascinating.  Microsoft is expanding its Azure cloud computing platform into space through a partnership with SpaceX's growing constellation of low earth orbiting satellites for inexpensive, global broadband internet - Starlink.  Starlink is a big space-based internet opportunity and is already being beta-tested in the northern US, in tribal communities and in southern Canada.  Starlink can give Microsoft's Azure a potentially big edge over rival Amazon's cloud computing platform for business. Cloud Business Demand Is Soaring Because of the restrictions of COVID-19, demand for cloud services are soaring as adults and children work from home.  Microsoft has tested its Azure cloud with satellites in space and established a space venture addr