Wind Energy in your hand

The News: Humdinger has launched small scale wind energy charger that is purportedly 10 times more effective at gathering energy than other systems of the same size. The piezoelectric turbine-based system uses aeroelastic flutter and vibration of a membrane - rather than a spinning turbine.


The Good: It can be used in applications such as HVAC systems, using the airflow to power the device and therefore skipping the need for more expensive batteries. And because the system doesn't mess with spinning turbines that can break more easily, it expects a long lifespan - as much as 20 years.

The Bad: The company is still looking for funds to commercialize the discovery

Read more at: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/humdinger-wind-energys-tiny-turbine-is-ten-times-more-efficient.php

EN-V Urban Mobility Vehicle

The News - General Motors (GM) and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group (SAIC) have come up with a concept two-wheeled vehicle called EN-V.  EN-V(Electric Networked-Vehicle) is a two-seat, local emission-free vehicle propelled by electric motors in each of its two driving-mode wheels. EN-V is to address the need for personal urban transportation in the cities of the future.


The Good -The vehicle has autonomous operating capability which means the vehicle can automatically select the fastest route based on real-time traffic information. Freedom from Traffic Jams !

The Bad - EN-V can only travel upto 40 km on a single charge.

Read more at http://www.gizmag.com/gm-en-v-concept-vehicle/14617/

A mobile phone that works with AAA batteries

The News - An Indian mobile phone company has launched a low-cost handset that uses commonly available AAA sized batteries aimed at the rural corners of India and other parts of the world where power supply is not very stable.

The Good - It is an innovation aimed at the lower end of the pyramid and it will help bring improve the mobile phone penetration of rural areas, which is welcome.

The Challenge - The phone runs only for 1 hour non-stop on the AAA battery though it runs 3 hours non-stop on a rechargeable lithium battery. So definitely scope for improvement on that front.

Read more at - http://asia.cnet.com/blogs/techolic/post.htm?id=63017641&scid=hm_bl

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Google from your TV Set

The News - Google is reportedly trialing a new service which would include its search engine on set-top television boxes. The new set up boxes will run a version of Android and potentially will be integrated with the Google Ads

The Good - How many times you wanted to search more on the something you just saw on TV ? Life will become more easier and information lot more integrated.

The Bad - Will Google be serving us ads in lieu of free cable tv ?

Read more here - http://bit.ly/9qaGN9

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Turn your arm into gaming console or phone

The News - The idea is to turn your skin into a touch screen and your arm into the  input device. The devise is named Skinput (Skin Input), the device can detect different sound wavelengths generated when an arm or a hand is tapped, allowing the wearer to complete a function like sending a text message or making a phone call.

The Good - Skinput has an accuracy of 95% when detecting taps on a users arm and can be used when the body is in motion.

The Challenge- The devise in prototype stage and will take some time to be available commercially

Read more here
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10462255-1.html

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Full proof way to protect your PC and data

The News - The company InZero has launched an zero intruder device which sits between your PC and the internet. The device will execute all the commands from its own memory, creating a kind of sandbox for you. The only difference is the sandbox is read only which means no malware code will get executed and no threat or virus will ever reach your data.
The Good - It is a hardware device which can be plugged in and does not require any changes to your existing PC or network architecture
The Bad -  The company is planning to launch a InZero Laptop which will protect from all kind of malware. Replacing your existing laptop and buying a new InZero laptop may not be the best of idea's for everyone.

Read the story at
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_10/b4169052653415.htm

Image: Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Electricity in a Box

The News - Launching tomorrow is the future of energy. Electricity in a Box - aptly called Bloom Box. Bloom Energy a company based out of Sunnyvale (Calif.) has done some cutting-edge work with fuel cell technology. The company aims to help homes and businesses generate their own electricity and bringing power and light to remote villages and even reducing dependence on today's electricity grids in the developed world.

The Good - The technology is not just on paper but prototypes of the Bloom Box are already running at Google. eBay and FedEx. The fuel cells produce no green house gases.

The Bad - The technology is still very costly. The personal Bloom Box will still take more than 5 years

Read the story - http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/02/22/bloom-energy-set-to-unveil-miraculous-micro-power-plant/
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/dec2009/gb2009127_746740.htm

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Significant Discovery in Malaria Research to help identify the pattern by which the parasite spreads inside the human body.

The News - Researchers identify mechanism by which the malaria parasite, Plasmodium, replicates itself in human blood to spread the disease. They can now focus on how to counter this mechanism through a candidate enzyme to regulate this and prevent the disease from spreading.
The Good - Malaria remains as one of the most deadly infectious disease and any discovery in this area is always welcome. This will also help the scientists to apply this knowledge to other areas.
The Challenge - Though this is a significant discovery, more research is needed before a pattern or enzyme to counter this mechanism is discovered.
Read More at - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218173325.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

British Airways turn to green fuel to cuts is emission

The News - British Airways and Solena group have announced partnership where Solena group will set up the factory, that will turn 500,000 tonnes of landfill waste – including household and industrial rubbish – into 16 million gallons of carbon-neutral aviation fuel every year. Alongside the reduction in carbon from the jet fuel itself, it will also cut the methane produced from landfill and generate 20 megawatts of electricity per year as a byproduct.

The Good - The proposed solution will solve the problem of household and industrial rubbish and finding landfill sites for them. Second it will cut down Carbon emissions from the usage of Jet fuel.

The Bad - The plant is still 4 years away and should not end up using biomass crops

Read more her - http://cleantech.com/news/5633/british-airways-looks-power-fleet

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Scientists have discovered means of turning discarded orange peels and other throwaways into cheap, clean fuel to power vehicles

The News - Scientists at Central Florida University, USA have developed a novel way of producing ethanol from waste products by using plant derived enzyme cocktails to break down waste materials into sugar, which is then fermented into ethanol. This method is greener and less expensive compared to existing methods.
The Good - This method can also be applied to other non-food waste products as well and scientists in this area have termed this discovery as promising.
The Challenge - More work is required to produce this in mass volume and work out how this can be transported and stored before this can be presented as an alternative to gasoline.
Read more at - http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/02/18/orange.peels.newspapers.may.lead.cheaper.cleaner.ethanol.fuel

Image: Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Nanotechnology used with light to purify water instead of scarce Ultra-violet light

The News - Scientists from China and USA have used nanotechnology particles to develop photocatalyst which uses visible light or indoor lighting to kill bacteria instead of ultra violet light.

The Good - The proposed solution does not need Ultra Violet light which accounts for only 5% of visible light - especially in scandanavian countries. Another good application of sunlight.

The Bad - The nanoparticles used are still very expensive and so cannot be used in developing countries.

Read more at - http://www.scidev.net/en/new-technologies/news/nanoparticles-and-light-can-purify-water.html

Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sony Ericsson uses 'Co-creation' to create the vision for mobile entertainment

The News - Sony Ericsson has launched an platform 'Creations' enabling mobile users to create and publish their own content such as video, audio and imaging to be shared, explored and remixed with content from other users, using online content-creating mobile applications and tools.

The Good - The platform allows the common mobile users to publish content with out being tech savvy. All the user content is posted under the Creative Commons License.

The Challenge - How is the content seamlessly published across multiple mobile OS versions (S60, Java ME, Windows) ?

Check out more at http://creations.sonyericsson.com/

Image Courtesy - http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Cool Box solution to help in malaria diagnosis in hot tropical countries

The News – An organization in Cambodia has developed a box which remains cool for a longer time thus keeping the rapid diagnostic tests for malaria effective especially in remote hot tropical countries.

The Good – The solution is not very expensive and has been found to be at least effective for 150 days more compared to the older solution. The underlying principles for cooling have been used before and require very little energy and power supplies. Has potential in other areas as well if found effective.

The Challenge – Needs to be tested in dusty environments and also temperatures beyond 42 degrees Celsius (up to which this solution has been tested).

Read more at - http://scidev.net/en/news/cambodia-finds-cool-solution-for-clinic-storage-1.html

Image Courtesy - http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Future is not real - now animated news for the footage not available

The news - Billionaire Jimmy Lai is trying out the animated news when the footage of the news is not availableor not possible to get.

The good - Viewers can relate more, digest the story faster.

The question mark - The media is crossing the line, from reporting the truth and delivering views which can act as a social change, to being an entertainer.

Read more at - http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=9298734

Image courtesy: Apple Daily newspaper Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009

Gene Discovery could boost yield of malaria curing drug

The News – Researchers have now identified genetic markers to help produce higher yielding Artemisia annua plant which has been recognised as the most effective treatment for malaria.
The benefits – Since the gene patterns has been identified, it will help people in the community to use this data in their breeding programmes to generate better varieties tailored for the different growing regions all over the world.
The trend – Scientists and researchers are trying to provide all the relevant information to the communities and enable them to make informed decisions.
Challenges – We need to find alternative medicines as well since this will boost the demand of this medicine and supply may struggle to keep up.
Read more at - http://www.scidev.net/en/news/gene-discovery-could-boost-yield-of-key-malaria-drug-1.html
Image: Francesco Marino / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Is the forthcoming Apple tablet going to use eye movements to browse?

The News – Apple is said to be seriously exploring the option of using “gaze vectors” – in short identifying where your eyes are looking at and using that information to letting users to navigate websites. Apple is hoping to launch this with the forthcoming tablet.

The Trend – The mouse has been used for browsing for a long time now. Wouldn’t it be cool if you can do away with the mouse and do our work without the need for scrolling using the mouse? Any innovation in this area is welcome.

The benefits – Arranging the web page based on the user eye movements is very natural and the way we normally scan newspapers today. So it is something everybody is used to and will therefore have a mass appeal.

The challenges – We are prone to distractions and so it may happen that sometimes our eyes are concentrating on other things which is not part of the web page. The software needs to be smart enough to identify this and not get distracted. Also the movements need to be smooth or else it could turn out to be a huge distraction.

Read more at – http://recombu.com/news/is-apple-about-to-open-a-can-of-eye-tracking_M11321.html

Image: djcodrin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

New method of diagnosing tuberculosis

The News – An institute in South Africa has developed a new system of diagnosing tuberculosis by looking at digital photos of a patient’s sputum and searching for the tuberculosis structural fingerprint. This system can diagnose in 24 hours and from tests performed seems to 10% better than conventional methods.
The Benefits – An early diagnosis will help in starting the treatment earlier which can help reducing the impact. This is also cheaper compared to traditional systems for diagnosing tuberculosis since it uses low cost microscopy.
The Challenges – Since it works by analysing the structural fingerprint, it may not work with all types of tuberculosis. Also this system needs to be learning on a continuous basis to ensure that the accuracy of the analysis method is improved. It will be more beneficial if the analysis can help in the study of a better cure for tuberculosis.
Read more at - http://web.scidev.net/en/news/tb-diagnosis-boosted-by-faster-cheaper-test.html
Picture Courtesy -
Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Next Generation Cars – Social Media enabled

The News – Ford announced its next generation car which includes a touch screen interface and ability to listen to Twitter tweets through its voice translation interface and also listen to streaming music, podcast or news direct from the internet. These are expected to roll out by the spring of 2011.

The Trend – Social Media is becoming an integral part of our lives and companies are coming up with inventions to fuel this trend.

The benefits – Consumers are going to be spoilt for choice and it will now be easily possible for them to take their preferences anywhere they go with minimal of efforts – either with news or music or their favourite shows.

The challenge – This could lead to more distracted drivers and the number of road accidents due to negligence could actually increase due to these tools. Car makers need to balance such inventions with anti-collision inventions for this to be adopted whole-heartedly by the masses. Expect more activity in this space.

Read More at - http://www.gearlog.com/2010/01/revamped_sync_new_myford_touch.php

Picture Courtesy – Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/thulung/3630506997/

Motion Controlled TV Remote

The News – A motion sensitive TV remote control has been manufactured by LG which it plans to offer along with regular remote on new TVs sold during this year.
The Opportunity – Any innovation in the TV remote area is welcome especially with all the buzz about 3D TVs and HDTV. Also most of today’s remotes are clunky and pretty overwhelming especially for old people or for doing infrequent tasks.
The Challenge – The solution proposed is similar to joysticks used for gaming or using simple motion to achieve common tasks but even this could be a challenge to achieve infrequent tasks. Also it is still not very intuitive to use and people may need to unlearn their earlier habits which could be a big stumbling block to adopt this innovation.
The trend – Manufacturers are looking at successes in other areas and trying to replicate that across domains.
Read more at - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/ces/6944050/CES-2010-Magic-wand-remote-controls-for-TVs.html
Picture Courtesy -
Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

2D to 3D conversion

The news - Smart TV by Toshiba can convert 2D content to 3D

Market - Is hotting up with 3D buzz

Toshiba differentiation - is that this technology allows you to apply 3D to even your offline content (like pictures and videos).

Question mark - 3D could be really annoying if not done right, what needs to be seen is how effective is this technology to digest the previously present background and then try convert it into 3D. Sounds tricky to me, would love to see the results.

Read more at - http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/06/toshiba.3d.tv/index.html

(Picture Courtesy – http://www.freedigitalphotos.net)

Scientists get inspiration from cockroaches for designing robots

The News – Researchers at Oregon State University are studying cockroaches and how they move quickly and effortlessly over rough terrain. They are specifically looking at how cockroaches or guinea hen use their legs to manage energy storage and expenditure. They are hoping to apply this information to their research on robots.

The Challenge – Scientists have been trying to build robots which can run efficiently over rough terrain without using significant computing power.

The Trend – Researchers are looking at different sources for their ideas and inspiration

Read more at - http://www.pddnet.com/news-cockroaches-offer-inspiration-for-running-robots-010410/

Picture Courtesy – Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001/4185210077/

Bare foot running better than with shoes

The news - In the study published in PM&R, lead author D. Casey Kerrigan says "An avg 54 pct increase in the hip internal rotation torque, a 36 pct increase in knee flexion torque, and a 38 pct increase in knee Vs. torque were measured when running in running shoes compared with barefoot."

Is it because - When you run bare foot, torque gets distributed around and up the legs, body manages it naturally, and when you wear the shoes, the cushion effect does not pass on the same to more wider area, creating more concentrated torque?

Read more at - http://blogs.usatoday.com/sciencefair/2010/01/study-high-heels-better-than-running-shoes.html

(Image downloaded free from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net)

Co-creation the Pepsi way

The news - PepsiCo is asking consumers to design future mountain Dew product including the taste, packaging, and go to market ads.

The trend – Companies are increasingly harnessing the power of consumers.

The benefits – Get what customers would like to buy, get it at a very very low cost.

Sample ads from the consumers – are not bad at all, check out - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yhx3cFn0_M

Read more at - http://www.dewmocracymediahub.com/