Important Innovations Collection

Energy Monitor Detects Electrical Failures Before They Happen Source: MIT Power Monitoring System  Finds Burnt Wires under Gold Cap of Coast Guard Engine Sensor Monitors Wiring and Warns Repairs are Needed This innovative power monitoring system by MIT, that was just announced,  already has been successfully tested and prevented a potentially big problem.  Aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Spencer, the system's sensor placed on one wire found the ship's diesel engine had burnt out wiring damage, not viewable under a cap, that could have caused a fire.  That enabled the US Coast Guard to fix the problem before it happened. Power Monitoring Throughout a System The MIT system detects imminent electrical failures systemwide before they happen.  It's able to track the performance of all electrical devices in a building, ship or factory and sounds an alert if there is a sign of failure. It analyzes tiny changes in the voltage and current in every piece of equipment in t

DARPA's Experimental Satellite Now in Orbit Source:  Rocket Lab's Launch of DARPA Satellite New Zealand's Rocket Lab The Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA - just launched an experimental satellite that it hopes will open new possibilities around radio communications. A New Zealand based startup Rocket Lab performed the successful launch, its first for DARPA. Experimental Satellite Testing The satellite is designed to test out a new type of "membrane reflective-array antenna".  The purpose is to improve communications in small spacecraft. Electron Rocket Lab is a new comer in the space launch business, starting in 2013.  Its rocket Electron lifted off from New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula. The company is building an impressive portfolio. In November 2018, Rocket Lab put six customer satellites into orbit.  It then worked with NASA on a first of a kind mission called the Venture Class Launch Services program.  And now, its Elec

Important Update on Our Innovation News Blogs Source:  Ed Kane being interviewed on CEO Global Foresight on PBS I've greatly enjoyed posting my news blogs on important, new innovations in this G+  community. As G+ is shutting down, I wanted to thank you for your many views and likes. If you would like to continue reading my news blogs, you can follow my blog https://importantinnovationscollection.blogspot.com .   And you can borrow my seven books "Important Innovations Collection" for free on Kindle or take a free sample read on Amazon at  amazon.com/author/ekane  The books are a series of news summaries, written by me - a national journalist, on the latest and most impactful global innovations. They are designed as a handy guide to new innovations in robotics, travel, AI, VR and AR, smart devices, medicine, the environment, energy and much more. Best wishes and thanks. Ed Kane, Author and blogger Important Innovations Collection

Wrist Device: Stroke Early Warning System Source:  Kaunas University of Technology International Biomedical Engineering Breakthrough from Europe It looks like a watch, but it's an early warning system that detects the early stages of atrial fibrillation and stroke.  It could help prevent stroke and other health complications.  It has just been developed by an international team of biomedical engineers and scientists from Lithuania's Kaunas Institute of Technology and Sweden's Lund University.  It's a very smart wrist band that could save lives. Prototype This device is still in the prototype stage.  But it has great potential.  The smart wrist band features both PPG and ECG sensors.  The PPG sensor optically senses changes in blood volume in the tissue. That can be a sign of the start of atrial fibrillation.  If a blood volume change is detected, that sounds an alert to the wearer to touch the device with their other hand to register an ECG signal reading. T

4D Printed Metamaterial Changes Shape When Heated Source:  Rutgers University The 4th Dimension is Time - Breakthrough Materials Science This is fascinating innovation from materials scientists and engineers at Rutgers University.  They have invented a new class of metamaterials not found in nature.  The  4D materials are lightweight, flexible and can change their shapes in 4D in response to changes in temperature. Enabling New Generations of Aircraft and More The possible uses of these new materials are amazing.  They could enable new generations of aircraft, soft robots and small medical devices.  When heated the materials take on different shapes, change their stiffness, deform and then return to their original shape. Stiff As Wood and Soft as a Sponge The stiffness of the material can be changed more than 100 fold between a room temperature of 73 degrees and 194 degrees F.  The metamaterials can be stiff as wood or soft as a sponge and also change their shape.  They

Solar Powered Wearable Source: KAIST New Wearable Display From South Korea's KAIST A South Korean electrical engineering team has developed a machine washable, wearable textile display that is self-powered by solar energy.  The wearable contains polymer solar cells (PSC) with organic light emitting diodes.  The inventors are electrical engineers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).  This is a breakthrough innovation in wearables for electronics. PSC The polymer solar cells provide stable power without any external power source for the wearable display.  KAIST engineers consider PCS the most promising next generation power source especially for wearable electronics. Machine Washable To protect the electronic textile from moisture and oxygen that can damage them, the KAIST team improved on the material barrier using spin coating and atomic layer deposition.  The result:  a wearable textile that's machine washable with little change in p

Vatican Summit Source:  The Vatican Humans, Robots, AI - The Future At the Vatican, scientists, roboticists, ethicists and theologians are meeting about the future of robots and their utilization for humanity.  The meeting is called Roboethics:  Humans, Machines and Health.  It's sponsored by the Pontifical Society for Life. Robots at the Service of Humanity Pope Francis kicked off the late March meeting.  He argued the need to study new technologies like robotics in order to "determine how to place them at the service of humanity".  The Pope is not alone in this perspective.  The European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies is urging that a  collective and collaborative set of views be established to "address the urgent and complex moral questions" raised by advances in AI and robotics.  For example, the future of work and human rights in the age of a robotic workforce. Vatican and Microsoft There are very big ethical questions as robo

Vehicle Intelligence Behind the Wheel Source:  InnovizOne Enabling Mass Commercialization of Self-Driving Cars It's the vehicle intelligence system that enables the autonomous vehicle to detect, classify and track objects.  A LiDAR technology and perception software system called InnovizOne has been cited as the highest rated technology in the vehicle intelligence category by CES 2019.  Innoviz Technologies is headquartered in Haifa, Israel.  The company says the combination of LiDAR and computer vision software is accelerating the commercialization of autonomous vehicles. BMW 2021 BMW is integrating InnovizOne sensing technology and computer vision software for serial production of its autonomous vehicles coming out in 2021.  The LiDAR will be integrated into BMW vehicles through an autonomous driving system from Magna.  The InnovizOne LiDAR generates a 3D point cloud of the vehicle's surroundings in real time.  That enables lane detection and object detection, c

 Breathe London Project - Kids' Backpacks Monitoring Air Pollution Source:  Breathe London Project  State of the Art Sensors in Backpacks Dyson engineers along with King's College London have created state of the art sensors to monitor air pollution from student backpacks, along with a lot more data.  The backpacks with sensors are for 250 London school children and function as normal to carry their books, water and food.  With one addition - the lightweight sensors are measuring air pollution that the students are exposed to in London during their daily routines. That will alert the city of London of air pollution danger areas for children and everyone. King's Scientists The Breathe London Project is led by a team of King's scientists.  The backpack sensors monitor both particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide levels.  The sensors are lightweight and show what the students are exposed to in terms of air pollution and specifically where and when. Uses The

Significant Population Decline from High Intensity Agriculture with Pesticides Source:  TUM Harmony Blue Butterfly Butterfly Populations Down by Two-Thirds This is important new research from the Technical University of Munich on how industrial agriculture and the use of pesticides are decimating butterfly populations.  The research is focused on Germany but it is a wake-up call globally.  In Germany, meadows adjacent to high intensity farming areas are now home to less than half of the butterfly species than areas in nature preserves.  The number of individual butterflies is down by a third.  It's the pesticides that are destroying species of butterflies and the negative impact of industrialized farming. Why is that important?  Butterflies are pollinators and critical to global food supplies. Need for New Green Solutions The research is based in Germany, its farms and environment, which is home to 189 butterfly species.  Of that number, an alarming 99 species of butte

US Department of Energy's Aurora Source:  Argonne National Lab  One Billion-Billion Operations Per Second At the US Department of Energy's  Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago,  the US' first exascale supercomputer will be built at a cost of $500 million.  It will perform one quintillion, or ten with 18 zeros, operations per second.  That's 50 times faster than today's most powerful supercomputers. Argonne is operated by the University of Chicago.  Aurora is scheduled to start operating in 2021. Tremendous Possibilities The potential uses of this new supercomputer are tremendous.  It's being built for next generation artificial intelligence and combines that with unprecedented processing power.  Argonne Director Paul Kearns says it will accelerate breakthrough medical treatments, human brain mapping, improve extreme weather forecasting and much more.  It's also a powerful tool for simulations (in the picture above) that models what's going

Important Innovations Collection - The Environment by Edward Kan e Unique, Handy Guide Book by a National Journalist If you are deeply concerned about the global environment and want to keep informed on the latest innovations that may reduce climate change, you might enjoy my new book "Important Innovations Collection - The Environment" by me, a journalist. News Summaries that Are Easy to Read, Not Heavy Science The book is a compendium of concise, easy to read news summaries on the latest and biggest global innovations addressing climate change, global warming and the science and technology tracking the environment. The innovations include solar geoengineering to cool the planet, vertical forests to cut carbon dioxide in the air and new high precision satellite and sensors to monitor the polar ice melt and air quality. Free Sample Read and Free Kindle Borrow It's a handy guide on environmental innovations that you want to know about. If you'd like to tak

California Institute of Technology Research Source:  Image from California Institute of Technology Spacecrafts Powered and Accelerated Only by Light Researchers at Caltech have innovated a way to levitate and propel objects using only light.  They've done it by creating specific nanopatterns on the surface of the objects.  The Caltech team is able to do this with objects of different shapes and sizes using specially designed materials and nanopatterns. Application:  Future Spacecraft This work is theoretical.  But it moves research forward on designing a spacecraft powered and accelerated only by light.   The goal is to develop such a space vehicle to go beyond our solar system within twenty years.  The Caltech researchers have already starting testing out the principles of their system for that. Nanopatterned Objects The key to this breakthrough innovation is the specific patterns put on the object to interact with light.  The researchers say it works on large and s

"Important Innovations Collection - Latest in AR, VR, AI" Unique, Handy Guide Book on the Latest Innovations If you are fascinated by artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, then you might enjoy my book "Important Innovations Collection - Latest in AR, VR, AI" by Edward Kane.  It's a unique, handy guide book on the latest and most impactful innovations. Accelerating Innovations Touching Our Lives These are exciting, creative zones of accelerating, game-changing innovations touching every aspect of our lives from medicine and robotics to retail, education and your home. Concise News Summaries Written by a Journalist I'm a national journalist and I've written the book as a compendium of easy-to-read news summaries on the latest and biggest innovations in these areas.  This is news you need to know.  If you would like to take a brief read, there is a free sample available at  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1731046634/ref=dbs_

Harvesting Artificial Light Source:  Kyushu University image  Innovation from Japan This is new innovation and emerging technology from Japan's Kyushu University.  The scientists altered organic photovoltaics (OPVs) to absorb artificial light.  Their system could one day enable us to charge our mobile devices with lamps. Lamp Power In tests, a four inch square array of the altered OPV panels produced 4.2 volts from ambient artificial light.  That's in the milliwatt range, too low for standard use.  But the team says they can expand on that.  This emerging technology could prove to be important as our power needs for mobile devices expand with the internet of things.

Please check out my seven book series on the latest and biggest global innovations "Important Innovations Collection" by Edward Kane.  The books showcase innovations across industries including robotics,  artificial intelligence, travel, energy, medicine, the environment, smart devices and much more. I'm a journalist and wrote the books in a concise, news summary fashion providing a handy reference guide on innovation news you need to know.  You can take a look at them in paperback and e-book at   amazon.com/author/ekane and borrow them for free on Kindle.  And, if you prefer audiobooks, you can enjoy a free listen at  https://www.acx.com/titleview/A9MD4MFPE4JXE Thanks and best, Ed Kane, Author of Important Innovations Collection

Greater Energy Efficiency Yale's Drone with Landing Gear Nature Inspired UAV Researchers at Yale University have developed a UAV that uses robotic talons inspired by birds.  The landing gear allows the drone to perch and rest in places that would normally be inaccessible.  The drone can attach to ledges and even hang upside down.  The landing gear allows the drone to rest and turn off its motor while still gathering information with its sensors and cameras. Purpose The purpose of the robotic talons is to enable the drone to conserve battery power and increase its energy efficiency.  A number of different talons can be attached to the bottom of the drone to land in different places and on different surfaces. Practical Applications The nature inspired talons give the drone far more access in the environment that it's working in and enable it to perform many more tasks.  The Yale team continues to develop the drone.  They are likely to empower it with AI to help it se

New Hydrogel Collects & Cleans Water from Air Solar Powered Water Harvester This is new innovation from engineers at the University of Texas Austin.  It's a hydrogel powered by the sun that is able to collect, harvest and clean a lot of water from the atmosphere.  And it doesn't matter if the air is dry or humid. Super Sponge The "super sponge" absorbs moisture from the air, stores it and then releases it after being exposed to natural sunlight for five minutes.  According to the team, the hydrogel can  produce 50 liters of water per kilogram of hydrogel. They believe it can replace key components in current solar powered water harvesters. Super Gel The material is a gel polymer hybrid that passively absorbs moisture from the atmosphere and returns it as clean, usable water.  There are 50,000 cubic kilometers of water in the atmosphere.  The new system could tap into that and lead to small, inexpensive and portable filtration systems.  One of the

Understanding Air Flows Around Hypersonic and Supersonic Vehicles Source:  University of Buffalo 3D computer simulation of turbulence at high speed air flow Eliminating Turbulence The future holds the promise of hypersonic flights taking you from New York to London in a hour.  But getting from here to there is still a big aerospace engineering challenge.  There is a lot engineers still don't know about how the air flows when vehicles hit hypersonic speeds of 3.836 mph plus. That understanding is critical concerning turbulence, which affects how the aircraft can maneuver through the atmosphere. University of Buffalo Research A team at the University of Buffalo is attempting to solve this long standing problem associated with high speed aerodynamics. They're taking an innovative approach rather than using traditional wind tunnels.  They're using direct numerical simulations (DNS) with high performance computing to generate 3D computer simulations of turbulence at ver

World First - From Biowaste to Electrode Source:  KIT Better, New Batteries This is a world first.  A sustainable green energy storage system made from eggshells.  An international research team based at the distinguished Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany just announced their breakthrough innovation.  It's a green energy storage option that could lead to the development of better batteries. Working with Eggshells The scientists created an electrode from pulverized eggshells.  They experimented with eggshells because they contain big amounts of calcium carbonite which can store lithium.  They used the electrode against a metallic lithium anode placed in a solution.  The battery they created maintains a capacity retention of 92% after one thousand plus charge and recharge cycles. Greener Future The team believes their discovery can be used as low cost, lithium-ion capacitors.  This is the first time that biowaste has been used to create an electrode.  T

Tesla's Model Y Source:  Tesla Model Y All Electric, Designed for Mass Markets Tesla just unveiled its second, mass market electric car.  The Model Y has a base price of $39,000 and a range of 230 miles.  This is CEO and founder Elon Musk's latest addition to his lineup of electric vehicles.  He has a lot of variations on his Model Y theme. Variations on an Electric Car Theme A more expensive Model Y with a range of 300 miles, that is priced at $47,000, will be the first  deliverable in 2020.  The $39,000 model is deliverable in 2021. Lots of Orders More than 400,000 customers have signed up for the latest Model Y car which has had significant production issues and price changes.  Nonetheless, there are more models in the pipeline including a 10% bigger Model Y with much of the same components and a Model X with a starting price of $79,500 with more size, power and range.

Breakthrough Harvard University Research Source: Stock image of DNA Salamanders, Geicos, Worms DNA Harvard scientists started with a simple question:  if some animals can regenerate parts of their bodies and even whole-body regeneration, why can't I?  The findings from their innovative research are astounding.  They've uncovered a number of DNA switches that appear to control genes used in whole body regeneration.  Their research is documented in the journal Science. 3 Banded Panther Worms Examples of body regeneration,  such as restoration of a severed leg or tail, in the animal kingdom include salamanders, geicos and worms.  The team used 3 banded panther worms that can regenerate.  Their findings:  a section of non-coding DNA controls the activation of a "master control gene" called early growth response or EGR.  The EGR controls a number of other processes by switching genes on and off. Tip of the Iceberg The team says their findings are just the t

WHOI's New Deep Sea Photographer Source:  Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution  Mesobot Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has rolled out a new underwater, deep diving robot.  It's called Mesobot and is extremely quiet, so as not to disturb its photographic subjects - sea creatures.  This new robot is designed to deliver pictures of underwater life never seen to this extent before.  It can operate for 48 hour long dives at depths hundreds or thousands of feet below the surface. It is nearly autonomous, needing very little human intervention. Multi-Tasker The robot is four feet tall and moves with 6 large, low power thrusters that make no disturbing sounds.  Its LED lights can turn red which most sea creatures can't see.  Mesobot is a mutlitasker.  It uses stereo cameras to spot targeted creatures and can follow them around on its own.  A 12 megapixel camera can shoot video and pictures.  There's a particulate sampler that can collect traces of DNA flo

Concise News Summaries by a Journalist on the Latest, Big Innovations I wanted to make you aware of my series of 7 books on the latest and biggest global innovations "Important Innovations Collection" by Edward Kane. The series showcases innovations in robotics, AI, AR and VR, Travel, Energy, the Environment, Health, Smart Devices and much more. The books are in paperback, e-books and audiobooks.  They're available on Amazon, Kindle, Audible and iTunes.  If you'd like to take a look and read a free sample, go to  amazon.com/author/ekane  And for the audiobooks, I have free codes from Audible for listeners in the UK.  If you'd like to take a listen, let me know at ejkane2@gmailcom

eCommerce Retailer Jumia Innovative Approach to online Retailing in Africa This is a first for Africa.  Nigeria based Jumia just became the first African startup to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.  It could go public with an IPO within a month.  The company offers a wide range of products online, which it delivers by scooter.  The breakthrough innovation is that it has enabled mobile money and a variety of payment options throughout Africa.  That's a key differentiator because there are few bank accounts in Africa. Diversified Entity Jumia was founded in Lagos by two French entrepreneurs in 2012 and now offers goods and services to 4 million customers throughout Africa.  Besides online retailing, it has branched out into hotels, airline bookings and food delivery.  Would be rivals Amazon and Alibaba have not made inroads into African online retailing because of the poor infrastructure and lack of formal addresses and bank accounts.  Jamia has overcome all of that

DARPA'S SPY FISH Source:  DARPA Living Sea Creature Submarine Detection Sensor System This is an incredible concept that does not involve tampering with nature in any way.  The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA - is rolling out a program to turn sea creatures into a submarine detection network. The concept is based on the natural sounds of certain types of sea life when disturbed.  DARPA wants those sounds to be picked up by underwater sensor systems to warn the US military that an unknown submarine is in a certain location. Big Research Program This will start with a five year research study to learn the behavior of sea creatures.  Shrimp, fish and phytoplankton are of particular interest to determine how they might be used to detect manned and drone subs.  Active and passive sonar is currently used to track subs but if the sub is quiet enough, it can elude sonar and go undetected. Adding a Third Wave to Active and Passive Sonar

Global Race to Create the First - New Breakthrough Source:  Drawing from University of Sussex of a Laser Pulse in a Chip UK Physicists Now Steps Closer British physicists have just made a breakthrough in the development of a portable atomic clock.  Scientists from around the world have been in a race to create the first portable atomic clock.  The team at the University of Sussex has moved ahead of the competition by using cutting edge laser technology. Efficiency Improvement Their approach has greatly improved the efficiency of  the part of the clock called the lancet that does the counting.  The efficiency has been improved by 80%. Replacing Satellite Mapping like GPS According to lead researcher Dr. Allessia Pasquazi, this moves the scientific community closer to portable atomic clocks replacing satellite mapping like GPS.  The clocks work on extremely accurate geo-mapping that  enables access to your location and route without satellite signals. Life Changing Dr.

Healthcare, Home, Retail Source:  Samsung Bots at 2019 CES Bot Care Samsung recently introduced three new service robots at the 2019 CES.  The Bot Care robot is for health care. It has a wide range of functionality.  It's able to measure blood pressure, breathing and heart rate. Its face display allows you to make video calls.  That display can also play music and provide you your daily schedule and the weather.  Bot Care also provides you an alert to remind you that you haven't taken your medicine. Bot Air The new Bot Air contains sensors positioned around your house to monitor air quality.  If the quality isn't quite right, the bot goes to the location and filters the air until the quality is fine. Bot Retail Bot Retail has facial recognition and vision identification to help consumers find the items they want.  Customers can access store details and menus on the bot's face to purchase goods.  These are three, new examples of the growing robotic service w

EEG Smart's UDrone Source:  EEG  Smart UDrone Powered by the Mind This is a brand new piece of drone innovation.  Chinese robotics company EEG Smart's UDrone is controlled by brain waves and head movements via a sensor-laden headset called. UMind.  This new piece of technology is a look into the mind-controlled future and could turn out to be one of the biggest innovations in 2019.  It goes on the market in mid-March for $279.00 Mini-Quadcopter The UDrone is a lightweight mini-quadcopter with innovative features. It can recognize faces, track subjects and recognize gestures.  It also packs a camera that can stream live video in real-time to your phone.  UDrone can fly 6 to 7 minutes on its battery.  And, you can also fly it using your mobile phone. UMind Headset The most fascinating component of this technology is the UMind headset that is loaded with sensors to enable mind control operations.  The sensors include the following: EEG to measure electrical activit

New Award Winning Technology Source:  Watergen  GENNY Atmospheric Water Generator Watergen's GENNY creates high quality drinking water out of thin air.  It has been cited as one of the top 7 innovations for a better world out of the 2019 CES in Las Vegas.  On the company website, it says it's going to be available for purchase soon.  It's a small air to water generator for your home and office.  The innovation company behind it Watergen is based in Israel. GENius The device is able to produce 27 liters of water a day.  It requires no plumbing changes or infrastructure.  All it needs is an electrical outlet for power.  The water is created from air by the company's proprietary GENius heat exchange.  It heats and cools air until condensation forms.  The water then travels through a multistage filtering system to remove any impurities. Global Water Needs Given the global need for clean water supplies that's increasing on a daily basis, this technology is w

Mobility and Access  Source:  WHILL in Airports Important for Anyone Disabled in Real Time, in Public Places It's just an unthinkable situation and incredibly difficult to navigate.  You're in an airport and can't walk because you hurt your leg skiing or running and you're trying to get to a plane gate or to a cab and go to a hotel.  This is a great new piece of innovation just developed and is a standout at the CES 2019 in Las Vegas. It's called WHILL and is autonomous electric vehicle. WHILL WHILL is a personal autonomous drive EV or electric vehicle.  This is  mobility as a service (MaaS) for the disabled.  The EVs are like a self-driving Uber in wheelchair form.  It works for anyone with mobility issues  particularly in public places. Mobile App The EV's can be summoned by a mobile App from places like an airport, hospital or museum.  They autonomously shuttle the passenger to their destination and then the chair returns to the charger to recon

AI to the Rescue Beelife's CoCoon CoCoon For decades bee populations have been under assault by pesticides, pests and excessive hot and cold weather.  Their numbers have dramatically decreased.  But they are now starting to make a comeback thanks to new technologies.  An example is Beelife's CoCoon which is included among the top seven innovations at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). AI and Solar Powered The CoCoon uses an artificial intelligence embedded system that heats and cools the hive based on conditions.  The purpose is to keep the bees in optimal health.  The AI system alerts the beekeepers and allow them to raise or lower the temperature by a mobile device.  CoCoon is entirely self-contained and is powered by a solar panel on top.

"Important Innovations Collection - Travel" by Edward Kane For Audiobook Lovers in UK, Free Audible Codes Audible has given me free codes for people in the United Kingdom for a free copy of my audiobook "Important Innovations Collection - Travel".  The book is a series of crisp news summaries on the latest in travel innovations written by me, a journalist and narrated by a broadcast journalist.  If you would like a free code, let me know at ejkane2@gmail.com.  You can also sample the book in the UK at  Audible.co.uk: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B07N157RGQ    For those in the US, you can sample the book at  https://www.audible.com/pd/B07N16QYJF Cheers, Ed Kane

Clearer Vision from Switzerland Source:  ETH Zurich ETH Zurich Innovation An innovative coating developed by scientists at ETH Zurich defogs transparent surfaces by heating them with sunlight. Rather than using electricity, the coating heats up the surface with sunshine.  Sudden drops in temperature or increases in humidity cause the fogging on your glasses or windshield. Gold Nanoparticles The coating is transparent and is composed of gold nanoparticles in titanium oxide.  The nanoparticles absorb the sunlight and heat the surface 5.4 degrees to 7.2 degrees F.  That prevents condensation that causes fogging. Ideal for Windshields and More The new coating is ideal for windshields, windows and wearables like glasses and goggles.  No battery or electricity is needed and the coating is durable.

Ford's C-V2X System Source:  Ford C-V2X 5G Total Connectivity for Greater Road Safety Beginning in 2022, Ford is committed to having its latest vehicles totally connected with 5G.  Ford's C-V2X 5G communications system will be standard in the latest US Ford models.  The system will run on 5G and complement any existing LIDAR, radar and sensor cameras. What This Means for You The technology will allow equipped vehicles to talk and listen to each other.  And the vehicles will be able to communicate with systems around them.  It will provide a comprehensive view of the road and infrastructure.  The system will instantly relay information about road conditions to the driver and utilize cellular 5G networks to process data. Pedestrians Pedestrians will be able to use their mobile phones to convey their locations to equipped vehicles.  The "total connectivity" is designed to make roads safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.

I wanted to make you aware of my series of seven books on the latest and biggest innovations  Important Innovations Collection" by Edward Kane.  The series showcases global innovations in robotics; AI, Augmented and Virtual Reality; travel; energy; environment; smart devices and more. The books are in paperback, e-book and audiobook formats.  They're available on Amazon, Kindle, Audible and iTunes.  If you'd like to take a look, go to   amazon.com/author/ekane

Safer Vaccinations Particularly for Developing World Source:  University of South Australia microneedle patch Silver Nanoparticles Kill Bacteria Scientists at the University of South Australia have developed a microneedle patch embedded with silver nanoparticles and vaccine.  It offers an alternative to traditional needle injections and eliminates infections at the injection site. Alternative to Traditional Needles The patch carries an array of microneedles that contain both vaccine and silver nanoparticles.  When attached to the skin, the microneedles dissolve in one minute. The patch is painless, doesn't need to be refrigerated and releases the vaccine into the top layer of skin, not reaching any nerves.  The vaccine is released into the bloodstream and the silver nanoparticles kill any bacteria.  Bottom-line:  it enables safer vaccinations and prevents infections.  The team believes it would be particularly effective in the developing world where vaccinations with un

Aston Martin Rolls Out New Concept Source:  Aston Martin Lagonda Off-Roading in James Bond Style Famed British Automaker Aston Martin custom-made vehicles for James Bond movies like Goldfinger and Thunderball.  At the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show, they just debuted the Aston Martin Lagonda SUV.  This concept vehicle gives an all new meaning to off-roading, It offers off-roading luxury. All Electric, Luxurious and Huge The company will start producing it in 2022.  It will feature an all-electric powertrain and self-driving capability.  Both luxurious and huge, it contains huge display monitors and has Swarovski crystals stitched into the seats for extra sparkle and shine.  No word on price!

Shark Scales Inspire Faster Planes Shortfin Mako - "Cheetah of the Ocean" Mako - Cheetah of the Ocean A team from the University of Alabama has made a remarkable discovery.  One of the world's fastest sharks, the shortfin Mako, has a built-in acceleration system on the surface of its skin.  The Mako can move up to 80 mph.  The shark's scale flexes up to 40 degrees.  That prevents drag and enable the shark to move faster inn the water.  The team's water tunnel experiments demonstrated how the scales generate high speeds. Innovation for Aircraft The team believes the same technology can be applied to the surface of planes and helicopters.  And, they say there is tremendous potential to create a man-made surface that mimics nature's passive mechanism in Mako sharks.  The research is very significant and could lead to new designs to reduce drug and increase speed in aircraft.  This research was funded in part by Boeing and the US Army. It's being pr

Global Award Winning Biodegradable Planter Source:  Inventor Pedro Rutman with his invention, Nucleario Planter Invention of Two Brazilian Brothers Replanting and saving tropical rainforests have proved very costly and laborious.  But that may be changing. Two Brazilian brothers have invented a biodegradable planter that can do it on its own.  Their device is inspired by nature. The planter maintains and grows seedlings all by itself with no human intervention.  It is the top award winner of the 2018 Global Design Challenge. Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil Brothers Pedro and Bruno Rutman grew up near Brazil's Atlantic Forest, which is one of the world's most biodiverse places. Only 7% of the original forest remains.  The brothers are nature enthusiasts and sportsmen who spend a lot of time there.  They have used their artistic, design, business and entrepreneurial skills to invent the Nucleario planter. Mimics Nature The planter mimics some of the features of the r