Important Innovations Collection

  D A ILY INNOVATION BRIEF   By Journalists Edward  Kane & Marya nne Kane THE MICROSOFT CAR CONCEPT                                      Source:  Leasing Options & Stock A Microsoft Car!  It's a fascinating idea and AI has generated a compelling concept that could become a reality. AI, deployed by UK-based car leasing company Leasing Options, has created a very stylish and compelling Microsoft Car. It's an intriguing look at the possible future of a car by the tech giant. Here are some key facts: The EV is a stunning aerodynamic sedan Microsoft's logo colors light up the front and the Microsoft logo is on the roof The car has no mirrors; it uses cameras Microsoft has not said that it plans to build a car It's currently focused on the "Cloud" and enterprise solutions Microsoft does have a connected vehicle platform It offers Azure to power service...

Ring Shaped, Bicopter Drone Source:  EPFL - Samir Bouabdallah & his Ring Drone Flybotix This new, novel drone Flybotix can fly twice as long as conventional models, including a quadcopter of the same size.  The drone is only a foot wide and flies with two, counter-rotating propellers that are stacked inside the body of the drone.  It also has an advanced, algorithm-based stabilization mechanism that enables it to double the flight time of conventional drones. The propulsion system is modelled after helicopters. Swiss Invention The drone was developed by the startup FLYBOTIX.  The founder and inventor is Samir Bouabdallah, who worked at ETH Zurich and EPFL for over twenty years, developing drone technology.  The propellers in his "bicopter" are longer than what's used in a similarly sized quadcopters.  That gives the drone more lift and greater battery energy efficiency.  It appears to be an ideal drone to inspect hard to reach and fragi...

To Roam the Moon, Mars and Asteroids Source:  ETH Zurich Dynamic Walking & Flight Phases The Spacebot, a quadruped robot, was created by students at the ETH Zurich and ZHAW Zurich, Switzerland.  It's designed to travel in low gravity environments like the Moon, asteroids and Mars.  It travels by "Dynamic Walking" similar to the travel methods used by the original lunar explorers, the Apollo 11 crew, who used a hopping gait in the low gravity environment of the Moon, 50 years ago. Dynamic Walker The bot travels by leaping.  All four legs leave the ground and leap to heights over six feet.  This allows for full flight phases with all legs off the ground.  The lower the gravity the longer the flying time.  The Spacebot is currently being tested at the European Space Agency (ESA). The Swiss team says the robot basically behaves like a mini-spacecraft.  They add, this type of dynamic walking is more efficient and saves energy in low gra...