January 31, 2007
The amazing caffeinated donut
As CNN points out, the latest product innovation appearing at the corner coffee shop just might be a super-caffeinated donut:
"A molecular scientist who moonlights as a café owner [has] developed a way to add caffeine to baked goods, one that eliminates the natural, bitter taste of caffeine... The amount of caffeine in his creations can vary, but Bohannon can easily put 100 milligrams of caffeine -- the equivalent of a 5-ounce cup of drip-brewed coffee -- into the treats he plans to market under the "Buzz Donuts" and "Buzzed Bagels" names."
This is more than a half-baked idea (pun intended) -- there are already plans afoot to sell these caffeinated creations to companies like Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks. Nutritionists, of course, are aghast at the idea of doing anything to encourage the development a "super caffeine generation" that consumes way too many calories and way too much caffeine.
[image: Buzz Donut via AP]
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The U.S. military develops robotic insects to take out terrorists
According to Wired News, the U.S. military is stepping up development of "micro-munitions" -- tiny vehicles that fly through the air and deliver mission-specific payloads. (Trust me, these little robotic insects aren't delivering the mail - their payloads will be much more deadly) Apparently, the Israelis and British already have a few working prototypes:
"Israel is developing a robot the size of a hornet to attack terrorists. And although the prototype will not fly for three years, killer Micro Air Vehicles, or MAVs, are much closer than that. British Special Forces already use 6-inch MAV aircraft called WASPs for reconnaissance in Afghanistan. The $3,000 WASP is operated with a Gameboy-style controller and is nearly silent, so it can get very close without being detected. A new development will reportedly see the WASP fitted with a C4 explosive warhead for kamikaze attacks on snipers. One newspaper dubbed it "The Talibanator."
The only problem, of course, is if the bad guys wind up with a few of these MAVs: "Big dangers can ensue from terrorists. For instance, using MAVs with small explosive charges to assassinate high-level politicians or to transport biological/chemical agents into protected infrastructure."
Let the arms race begin! Last week, AeroVironment (ticker: AVAV), a maker of these micro-munitions for the U.S. military, raised more than $100 million in its IPO, with Goldman Sachs as the lead underwriter.
[image: AeroVironment's WASP]
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January 30, 2007
The billboard that knows who you are
Is it just me, or is marketing getting a bit too personal these days? As the New York Times points out, marketers are now delivering custom messages to consumers via digital billboards that are controlled by RFID technology:
"Each day, it seems, marketers go further in their quest to deliver messages so engaging and personalized that one cannot help feeling special. The latest step will be seen today in four cities when Mini USA begins delivering custom messages to Mini Cooper owners on digital signs the company calls “talking” billboards.
The boards, which usually carry typical advertising, are programmed to identify approaching Mini drivers through a coded signal from a radio chip embedded in their key fob. The messages are personal, based on questionnaires that owners filled out: “Mary, moving at the speed of justice,” if Mary is a lawyer, or “Mike, the special of the day is speed,” if Mike is a chef."
Apparently, Mini users are looking forward to these billboard messages, viewing them as fun, playful and whimsical. Likewise, marketers love the idea, since it will reinforce the "tribal feeling" that the brand creates. As the head of North American operations for Mini Cooper suggests, "People buy Minis because they really want to have more fun in their days. We want everything about our marketing to fit that."
[image: Mini-Cooper Billboard]
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January 25, 2007
20 innovative gadgets from the Consumer Electronics Show
Scientific American has put together a photo slide show of the 20 most innovative gadgets at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas: "This year's Consumer Electronics Show included plenty that was new, significant, or just plain bizarre -- we selected the best of it for our multimediatastic gallery of what CES had to offer." Highlights included a new 102-inch big-screen TV, the Wi-Fi Spy Robot, an ambient technology umbrella, and something called the R2D2 DVD Projector (if you're not a Star Wars fan, don't even ask...).
[image: Wi-Fi Spy Robot]
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January 24, 2007
President Bush's favorite innovator
Near the conclusion of President Bush's State of the Union speech last night, he turned the spotlight on some courageous and innovative Americans who were making a difference in everyday American life. One of them was Julie Aigner-Clark, the innovator behind the line of Baby Einstein learning tools. According to President Bush, Julie represents "the great enterprising spirit of America." At the time she launched her company, she was a homemaker and middle school teacher who basically tapped into her life savings to create products for infants. Here's a quick blurb below:
"The Baby Einstein Company is the award-winning creator of the infant developmental media category and the best selling brand of videos specifically designed for babies and toddlers. Our videos, DVDs, Discovery Cards, books, audio CDs, puppets, toys, and infant products expose your little ones to the world around them through the use of real world objects, music, art, language, science, poetry and nature. Created by a mom and designed specifically for infants and toddlers, our products provide fun and stimulating ways for parents and caregivers to interact and enrich their children’s lives.
Baby Einstein knows that babies are naturally curious. Therefore, all of our products are designed to encourage discovery and inspire new ways for parents and little ones to interact. What makes Baby Einstein products unlike any other is that they are created from a baby's point-of-view and incorporate a unique combination of real world objects, music, art, language, science, poetry, and nature — providing parents an opportunity to expose little ones to the world around them in playful and enriching ways. This simple principle is the foundation for The Baby Einstein Company and its products."
Actually, the Baby Einstein company looks pretty cool, but at least one blogger over at The Huffington Post seems a bit miffed that Bush chose someone like Julie Aigner-Clark, who ended up making a fortune by selling her start-up business to Disney: "I was hoping you'd have something like an attempt to remind the country that what binds us together as American vastly outnumbers that which separates us. Instead you gave us the lady from Baby Einstein who sold out to Disney."
Um, maybe it was Laura's decision to invite Julie?
[image: Julie Aigner-Clark of Baby Einstein]
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Envelope-free ATM machines at Wells Fargo that are smarter than you are
Within the financial services industry, Wells Fargo is getting ready to switch the format of its ATM machines so that they no longer require envelopes. According to Wells Fargo, envelopes are no longer needed to make deposits at 400 of its ATMs in California. By year end, an additional 825 Wells Fargo cash machines will be upgraded with envelope-free technology. Eventually, 6,750 ATMs in 23 states across the U.S. will be converted to a no-envelope format:
"With the new technology, you don't need to spend time writing on an envelope or keying in a deposit amount. You just insert your money into a slot and the machine sorts, counts and verifies it," said Jonathan Velline, head of Wells Fargo's ATM Banking division. "Our Envelope-Free ATMs also converts paper checks into a digital image which then appears on the ATM screen and receipt, so you know your check was received. You can't get this in the traditional envelope world."
Apparently, you can stick up to 30 bills or 10 checks into the ATM machine at one time, and it will recognize all of them, plus provide you with a digital image of the items received. Moreover, you get instant access to the cash. Hmmm. Try doing that with a typical vending machine, which can't even recognize when one corner of a $1 bill has been slightly folded and bent.
[image: Wells Fargo ATM]
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January 10, 2007
Is innovation possible in every market and product category?
Innovation is the hot topic of the day in the business world, and it seems that nearly every company in nearly every industry is at least paying lip service to the importance of innovation. But have some market niches and product categories reached the end of innovation?
The other day, I happened to stumble across a consulting report on the Food Navigator website, which discussed innovation within the $3 billion "sandwich spread" market category. The idea of talking about mayo, ketchup and mustard may seem a bit, well, banal, but the example really highlights the difficulty of innovation within such a narrowly-defined market niche. What do you do when ketchup, mustard and mayo control a combined 99% of the market category? What company in its right mind would spend millions of dollars on R&D to find a disruptive sandwich spread category to rival the Big Three of ketchup, mustard and mayo? Anyway, here's the excerpt from the consulting report:
"Lack of innovation and consumer demand for healthier products has resulted in a stagnant US market for once popular sandwich spreads such as ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise, according to a new report. Published by Packaged Facts, the report reveals the sandwich spread market remains stuck at $3 billion, and is likely to continue struggling... In 2005, mayonnaise dominated the market with a share of 59%, followed by ketchup and mustard with shares of 25% and 16% respectively. And although the sandwich spread market declined by 2% as compared to 2004, all three categories have more or less maintained their respective market shares.
According to the report, there have only been 36 new product introductions in the category between June 2005 and June 2006 - most of which were launched by smaller players in the market – and this resulted in “little hope” of driving substantial market growth. However, touting the health benefits of some sandwich spreads specifically formulated to meet the needs of health-conscious consumers, such as lycopene-rich ketchup and low-fat mayonnaise, have helped to stave off further market decline. Similarly upscale, gourmet, and organic versions of the popular spreads have helped to renew interest in the market as well."
According to the report, big name-brand American companies are desperate to boost sales of sandwich spreads. (Back in the day, we called 'em condiments) They are experimenting with ‘healthier-for-you' spreads, ethnic-inspired spreads and alcohol-infused spreads. (Memo to self: Go to the supermarket and buy some of these alcohol-infused condiments!)
What do you think? Have we reached the end of innovation in the "sandwich spread" market category? (Actually, this is a bit of a trick question, since I think the "sandwich spread" category is entirely too narrow a market niche. These companies need to develop a Blue Ocean Strategy and re-define their market category entirely. Otherwise, they will be stuck trying to make incremental improvements that will have very little impact on the overall market category.)
[image: The double-fisted Mr. Hot Dog with ketchup and mustard]
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Apple kicks off 2007 with innovative iPhone
The iPhone was one of the most intensely followed unconfirmed products in Apple's history. When Apple finally announced the launch of the new iPhone - to be available exclusively through Cingular Wireless in June - the company confirmed its reputation as one of the most innovative companies in the world:
With characteristic showmanship, Steven Jobs introduced Apple’s long-awaited entry into the cellphone world Tuesday, pronouncing it an achievement on a par with the Macintosh and the iPod.The creation, the iPhone, priced at $499 or $599, will not be for everyone. It will be available with a single carrier, Cingular Wireless, at midyear. Its essential functions — music player, camera, Web browser and e-mail tool as well as phone — have become commonplace in hand-held devices.
But it was the ability to fuse those elements with a raft of innovations and Apple’s distinctive design sense that had the crowd here buzzing. Apple’s goal, Mr. Jobs said, was to translate the Macintosh computer’s ease of operation into the phone realm. “We want to make it so easy to use that everyone can use it,” he said. And he was clearly betting on translating Apple’s success with the iPod music player to a hot category of multifunction devices.
Not surprisingly, the company's stock price went crazy in the hours following the announcement. On January 9 alone, the stock gained nearly 8% on bullish expectations about innovation-fueled growth at Apple. On a related note, shares of traditional cellphone makers slumped on the news that Apple planned to enter the cellphone market.
Anyway, TechMeme provides links to some of the most comprehensive coverage of what the new iPhone is - and what it is not. Practically anybody who is anybody in the tech world is weighing in with their opinions about the new iPhone - some are focusing on design, some on the inner technological workings of the iPhone, and some on what the iPhone will mean for the other product offerings at Apple.
[image: New York Times]
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January 8, 2007
Forget Katie Couric, check out these TV news avatars
A group of computer science grad students at Northwestern University have found a way to deliver automated news clips via digitally-enhanced avatars:
"News at Seven gives you the news you want, the way you want it. Each day, News at Seven automatically generates a virtual newscast pulled from stories, images, videos and blogs all linked by a common news topic. News at Seven presents news, point/counterpoint, opinion, celebrity gossip and the occasional foray into the world of 3D gaming. News at Seven isn't just the future, it's the future of the future."
As a brief item in the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal pointed out, in the coming months, users will be able to enter their preferences to create a customized personal newscast based on topics that interest them, with an avatar and background of their choice. Perhaps not surprisingly, Boing Boing has called the site a "mind-blowing automated news-video project." (Anyway, when I checked out the site over the weekend, I was able to watch a brief YouTube video of the day's news -- it just so happened to be a brief clip about some bad-behaving Brazilian supermodel)
[image: "Alex" from News at Seven]
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We'll all be cyborgs someday
According to a British professor of cybernetics, one day it will become commonplace for most people to be implanted with computer microchips:
In "Casino Royale," the latest James Bond movie, Bond is implanted with a microchip that allows headquarters to track his whereabouts and monitor his vital signs. If a British cybernetics expert is right, the day will come when most people are implanted with chips — and the real-life chips will do a lot more than Bond's does.
Kevin Warwick, a professor of cybernetics at the University of Reading, has firsthand knowledge. In 1998, he had a chip surgically inserted into his left arm, becoming, he thinks, the first human ever implanted with a computer chip.Since then, he's had a more sophisticated chip connected directly to his nervous system. He is still working toward his grandest experiment: having a chip implanted in his brain. "I want to become a cyborg," he said with an infectious grin. "I can see the advantages."
Apparently, the idea of having microchips implanted in parts of the body is not so half-baked after all. Patrons of the Baja Beach Clubs in Barcelona, Spain, and Rotterdam, Netherlands, can have a microchip injected into their arms to get access to VIP lounges and pay for drinks without waiting in line.
[image: Cyborg]
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January 5, 2007
The best in futuristic stadium designs
Earlier in the week, the Wall Street Journal (link via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) analyzed the futuristic design of the new $1 billion Cowboys Stadium, comparing it favorably to some of the other innovative stadium designs in the world, like Beijing's Olympic Stadium (designed by Herzog and de Meuron) and the Allianz Arena in Munich, which The Wall Street Journal describes as "a giant luminescent quilted pillow."
Anyway, I stumbled a website called Stadiums of the NFL, where you can preview some of the new NFL stadiums in the works for cities such as Indianapolis, New York, New Orleans, San Francisco and Minnesota. For more on the new-and-improved 100,000-seat Texas Stadium, check out the website of design firm HKS, Inc.
[image: The future Cowboys Stadium]
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January 3, 2007
Skateboard + Segway = Sony innovation
As Barry Fox of the New Scientist points out, Sony is putting the finishing touches on a motor-powered, balance-steered skateboard that bears an uncanny (mechanical) resemblance to the operation of the Segway:
"The new board has two large wheels, one at either side of a flat platform. Each wheel is powered by a separate electric motor. The platform has four pressure sensors, one at each corner. When the rider stands upright in the middle of the board, all four sensors return the same reading and both motors are idle. When the rider leans forward slightly the front sensors start both motors running forward at the same speed; leaning to one side makes one wheel run faster to steer round a corner; leaning back runs the contraption backwards."
My guess is that Sony noticed all those youngsters whizzing around the malls with those (very annoying) Heelys during the holiday season and decided to move forward with the skateboard/Segway innovation. (The patent was filed with the USPTO on November 23) I just hope the company has learned from the fiasco surrounding the heavily-touted, but heavily disappointing, Segway.
[image: New Scientist]
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December 21, 2006
Nine must-have military technologies
No matter how badly the war in Iraq goes, there will always be those Pentagon hawks who are clamoring for the latest and greatest in military hardware weaponry. (If only we had enough of those cool weapons the Israelis and Russians have, we'd neutralize all those pesky Iraqi insurgents once and for all!). SciFi Blog has the details about nine must-have military technologies that would make the perfect stocking stuffers for the five-star army general on your shopping list: the SmartShirt, the Powered Exoskeleton, Liquid Body Armor, the Micro SpyPlane, the GT Max Mini Helicopter, the Sonic Bandage, the Gryphon Flying Wings and the Swiss Military Pen.
If I were a Pentagon war planner, I'd request a huge shipment of the Cornershot ("Shooting's right around the corner") weapons. They'd be perfect for dealing with the demands of urban warfare in places like Iraq and Afghanistan:
"Being able to shoot around a corner without the need to jump out into the line of fire Rambo-style seems like a no-brainer, so the Israelis have developed the Cornershot. While the barrel pivots to the left or right as needed, the operator can still see what they're aiming at on a small video screen. Certainly, this would be a terrific tool for cops dealing with potential ambushes, although the thought of something like this in the hands of criminals is pretty frightening. Let's just hope it can't pivot all the way around to 180º."
Memo to self: If Hollywood can dust off Sylvester Stallone for yet another Rocky movie ("Rocky Balboa: The return of the 60-year-old heavyweight champ"), why not bring Stallone back for another Rambo flick -- "Rambo: Iraqi Inferno".
[image: Cornershot]
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December 20, 2006
Philips, Microsoft bring the Ambilight experience to online movie previews
Philips and Microsoft have partnered to bring Philips’ proprietary ambient backlighting technology to previews of coming film attractions like Night at the Museum and Children of Men. On the MSN movies page, you can now watch movie previews in full Ambilight:
"The web portal is teaming with Philips, the maker of the Ambilight technology which surrounds a flat-screen set with a halo color directly related to the on-screen content. Philips' Ambilight LCD and Plasma sets are now the centerpiece of a TV ad campaign starring the cartoon character, "The Incredible Hulk."
The Ambilight HD movie trailers are available for steaming on the home page of MSN Entertainment. The site attempts to recreate the Ambilight experience by providing a similar surrounding color on the frame of the window displaying the trailer. "The Ambilight feature on MSN Movies offers a rich and immersive online trailer viewing, creating a unique mini-cinematic experience," says Scott Levitan, Philips' senior vice president of marketing and sales. "Coupled with High-Definition picture quality, this first ever offering of online movie trailers in Ambilight heightens the impact of the scenes, drawing viewers to films in a way that has never been seen before."
Think about how Dolby Laboratories has forever changed the movie-going experience with its audio innovations. As Jim Cramer recently pointed out on "Mad Money", Dolby is "everywhere these days... They are the Microsoft of the new digital experience!" Dolby sound is even in video games these days!
If enhancing the audio experience at the movies was the first step, then enhancing the video experience is the next step. Look for more companies to come up with ways to enhance the "high-definition" viewing experience.
[images: Philips Ambilight via Gizmodo]
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December 19, 2006
Nine things Thomas Edison never actually invented
If you're a fan of both historical revisionism and innovation, this might be a fun item to check out... Jawad Shuaib of Shuzak.com has posted a comprehensive list of nine inventions for which Thomas Alva Edison absolutely, positively should not be given credit. In fact, according to Shuaib, "Thomas Edison himself did not invent major breakthroughs. He often took credit for the ideas and inventions of others and most of his patents were little more than improvements on already existing products. He was an astute businessman, and as such, had greater impact on innovating existing products than inventing new ones." Apparently, the following nine items had already been invented or patented by the time Thomas Edison "discovered" them:
(1) The Electric Bulb or Incandescent Lamp ("Thomas Edison neither invented the light bulb, nor held the first patent to the modern design of the light bulb. In reality, light bulbs used as electric lights existed 50 years prior to Thomas Edison's 1879 patent date");
(2) The electric chair;
(3) The movie camera;
(4) The power generator;
(5) X-ray photographs;
(6) The storage battery;
(7) The record player ("Thomas Edison did not invent the record player. Rather, he invented the phonograph, which was intended for making recordings. The phonograph was first marketed as a dictation machine and only later modified for use in musical devices. The ability to record sounds had been invented much before Edison's phonograph.");
(8) Wax paper;
(9) The telegraph.
[image: Thomas Edison and the phonograph]
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December 18, 2006
The Hummer O2 concept vehicle
Over on the Sharkride blog, Matthew Jaunich points to an environmentally-friendly Hummer concept vehicle:
"The Hummer O2, an environmentally friendly vehicle with algae-filled body panels that transform harmful CO2 into pure oxygen, took home the top prize on Thursday in the Los Angeles Auto Show Design Challenge. The two-dimensional rendering of a 2015 blue-sky concept is the brainchild of GM Advanced Design. Contestants were charged with creating a vehicle that addresses environmental sustainability.
"The Hummer O2 epitomizes that ethos of the true Southern California outdoors enthusiast with rugged capability, a 'tread lightly' contact system and construction methods promoting safety, accessibility and reusability," said Frank Saucedo, director of GM Advanced Design in California. "Most vehicles in L.A. spend 95 percent of their time outdoors subjected to sunlight, so why couldn't a vehicle give back?"
The design features four modular fuel cells that run hydraulic motors built into each wheel; a phototropic body shell that produces pure oxygen throughout the life of the vehicle; shape-shifting Active Tread tires; and 100% post-consumer materials (including an aluminum frame). Mad props to the design team at GM for coming up with such a cool design! (Is it just me, or does the new Hummer look like a cross between something from the movie "Mad Max" and one of those machines that picks up golf balls at driving ranges?)
[image: Edmunds.com]
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December 15, 2006
By 2026, your entire life will be stored on a sugar cube chip
As computing power continues to grow, it will be theoretically possible to record and store high-resolution video footage of every second of a human life on a device the size of a sugar cube within the next two decades. However, with great power comes great responsibility:
"Researchers said governments and societies must urgently debate the implications of the huge increases in computing power and the growing mass of information being collected on individuals. Some fear that the advent of "human black boxes" combined with the extension of medical, financial and other digital records will lead to loss of privacy and a dramatic expansion of the nanny state. Others highlight positive advances in medicine, education, crime prevention and the way history will be recorded."
These issues and others were discussed by leading computer scientists, psychologists and neuroscientists at the Memories for Life conference held at the British Library in London.
[image: Tom Cruise in Minority Report]
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December 14, 2006
Holiday shopping with the Unemployed Philosophers
You never know what you'll find when you browse through the open-air gift & craft markets that are now a mainstay in New York City around the holiday season. Anyway, I happened to be poking through the Union Square holiday market, looking for the perfect last-minute gifts for the innovators on my shopping list, when I came across the Unemployed Philosophers Guild... If you're still holiday shopping for stocking stuffers, might I suggest a pair of Freudian slippers, a Leonardo Da Vinci finger puppet, a Nietzsche "Will to Power" bar, or a Frida Kahlo little thinker?
Anyway, here's a brief blurb about the Unemployed Philosophers:
"The Unemployed Philosophers Guild came into being in the last decades of the 20th century, when two brothers found their inner creativity in the midst of a dwindling academic job market. It turned out that making smart, funny things proved to be almost as satisfying as probing eternal questions. (alright, maybe not quite) Although we still contemplate truth and justice, it is our enduring goal to fulfill the materialistic desires of the funny and sophisticated everywhere!"
Their catalog mentions a "guild" location in Brooklyn, so my guess is that Unemployed Philosophers Guild is comprised of a bunch of hip, erudite NYU grads fond of progressive political causes.
[image: Leonardo puppet]
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December 13, 2006
The self-parking LEGO car
TechEblog points to a 45-second video clip of the self-parking LEGO car: "So you’ve seen the self-parking Lexus and BMW, now check out the LEGO Mindstorms NXT version. There’s still a few bugs in the program that need to be worked out, but it gets the job done."
Apparently, the LEGO car has an ultrasonic sensor that detects the length of free parking spaces. Then, when it detects enough space, it makes the necessary movements to park. And when you say “GO!” it returns to the road. Well, kinda. Let's just hope that it's not your "car" parked in front of this LEGO SUV.
[video: Self-parking LEGO car]
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December 12, 2006
A BlackBerry for kids
In an article called BlackBerry Orphans, the Wall Street Journal recently highlighted the sometimes negative impact of the BlackBerry (aka the "CrackBerry") on family life. In some cases, little kids were begging their parents to stop using the BlackBerry around the house - forcing the parents to sneak around the house and furtively use their beloved BlackBerry in places like the bathroom (to avoid prying eyes).
With that in mind, a novelty toy manufacturer is now making a BlackBerry for kids:
"The gadgets are recognizable to young children. A few parents say "BlackBerry" is in their toddlers' early vocabulary. Lucas Ellin, a Los Angeles 5-year-old, pretends he has his own, parading around the house with a small toy in his hand while shrieking, "Look, Mommy, it's my BlackBerry!" Earlier this fall, Novelty Inc., a manufacturer in Greenfield, Indiana, unveiled its "My Very Own Berry Assistant" toy, available at convenience stores and gas stations under a sign reading, "Just Like Dad and Mom's." The company expects to sell nearly 100,000 units before the end of the year."
On the Novelty Liquidators website, you can now pick up 12 units of the Berry Assistant for $0.75 each, for a total of $9 - they make the perfect stocking stuffer for the kids of high-flying business moguls.
[image: BlackBerry for Kids]
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December 8, 2006
James Bond and the silencer innovation
A new book from New Scientist, Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?, is packed with the best questions and answers from the magazine's Last Word column and is already on top of bestseller lists in the UK. The Last Word is where users ask and answer questions on the "weird and wonderful" everyday science observations that have no readily apparent answers. (Kinda like a Yahoo! Answers for science fans) For example, have you ever wondered how the silencer in James Bond's gun works?
Here's the answer, provided by Bill Harriman of The British Association for Shooting and Conservation:
"Silencers are more properly called sound moderators or suppressors and are widely used by hunters to reduce noise levels from the discharge of firearms, particularly sporting rifles and air weapons. A sound moderator is essentially no more than a series of baffles coupled to an expansion chamber, contained within a tubular attachment which screws on to the end of the firearm's barrel.
The noise of the discharge of most firearms is made up of two components. The first comes from the rapid expansion of propellant gases as they leave the muzzle. The second is the supersonic crack of the bullet. It is not possible to reduce the sound level of a supersonic bullet, but a sound moderator fitted to such a rifle will have some significant effect in reducing the noise signature because it controls the rate of expansion of the propelling gases.
For a sound moderator to be really effective, it must be used with ammunition whose projectiles travel at less than the speed of sound. In such cases, the noise of the discharge is greatly reduced and may not even be recognizable as a gun."
[image: James Bond in "Casino Royale"]
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November 17, 2006
Those Cambridge grads and their amazing Rube Goldberg machines
Back in June, the Business Innovation Insider linked to a number of strange-but-true Rube Goldberg videos. Now, it looks like several graduates from the University of Cambridge in the UK have landed at the advertising firm of Baynham & Tyers, where they are offering to create similar types of Rube Goldberg Machine videos to market products and services. For example, this video clip of a Rube Goldberg Machine in action was created when the graduates were still at Cambridge. The video was eventually featured on Slashdot, generating such a large volume of downloads that the University server crashed. Anyway, look for a "much larger and more complex" video soon on the way from Baynham & Tyers!
[image: Baynham & Tyers]
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The world's fastest biofuel-powered car
Not only is the Lotus Exige 265E the most powerful road version of the Exige ever, it runs on bioethanol. The 265E is capable of rocketing from 0-60 in just 3.88 seconds, making the experience of driving the car "electrifying" and "explosive." If you check out the TechEblog site, there's also a five-minute video of a road test with the car (although, at times, it sounds more like a bio-ethanol advertisement). Car Magazine has more details on this biofuel wonder:
"This is the Exige 265E - the fastest ever Exige and the first bio-ethanol Lotus. The digits 265 denote the 265PS power output, or 261bhp in old money – up 46bhp over the standard car. The 'E' informs people that this car runs on ethanol, alcohol made from the fermentation of crops, mixed with petrol. Using this greener fuel results in a claimed 70 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
The Exige 265E is a development prototype created by Lotus Engineering, the Norfolk firm's fiendishly clever consultancy arm. In only five weeks between July and August 2006, its engineers completely re-engineered the Toyota engine powering the standard Exige S to run on the wheat-derived fuel.
The result is the fastest road-legal bio-ethanol car (and the fastest Exige) ever built. Performance is sensational - 0-60mph flashes up in only 3.88 seconds before running out of puff at a mind bending 158mph. Who says being green is boring?"
[image: Lotus Exige via Car Magazine]
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November 16, 2006
Creating the products of tomorrow in Inventionland
What if you worked on a pirate ship, in a cave with fake deer and fish, in a giant baby crib or a tree house instead of an office? Chances are, you'd be more innovative and creative. That's the premise behind the creation of the fantastical new "invention factory" of Davison Design and Development. Inventionland, which opened its doors on November 8, was built to "free the creative mind" and create the "products of tomorrow." As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains, Inventionland is a leading-edge design and innovation incubator that feels much like stepping into an adventure from Alice in Wonderland or a Hollywood movie set:
"The pirate ship, crib, rock cave and tree house are just four of the 15 fantastical sets that comprise the company's offices, now known as Inventionland. The "magical wonderland" is the work of company founder George M. Davison, who believes that creativity is best fostered in an imaginative environment. Many of the designs harken back to his childhood -- the concept behind the office is not unlike Story Book Forest at Idlewild Park, which Mr. Davison, 42, visited frequently as a child. "Growing up, it was one of my favorite places to be," he said, watching the indoor waterfall he built outside the rock cave."
Davison Design and Development's services include everything from research, industrial design, virtual reality, and product samples to packaging, presentation for possible licensing, and royalty management. For more on this invention wonderland, check out the collection of photos on Flickr here.
[image: Inventionland]
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November 15, 2006
In Austria, an innovation for cancer patients
Austrian innovation blogger Hannes Treichl reports on a new development for children cancer patients that recently won an Austrian multimedia award for innovation:
"The St. Anna Children's Hospital is specialized in fighting cancer for children. They recently won the Austrian multimedia award for an innovation that combines technical knowledge with an understanding of the emotions experienced by children and parents. One major problem is the large psychological burden that results when doctors diagnose cancer. For children who have to stay in the hospital, they provide pets and teddy bears with RFID chips. Whenever a patient narrows to one of the many flat screens, the menu there offers customized and individual information about the children's disease, documentaries, stories, tales, games and much more. This greatly supports communication between the hospital, children and their families."
For a full translation of the article into English, click here.
[image: St. Anna Children's Hospital]
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