Important Innovations Collection

Brand New Way to Fly in an Innovative Aircraft                                                  Source:  SkyFly 2-Seat Personal Electric Aircraft You Can Assemble  London-based aviation company SkyFly has invented a 2-seat personal aircraft that is an electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing vehicle, or eVTOL. Called Axe, it can also do conventional, short distance takeoffs and landings.  The company just announced that it can be pre-ordered for delivery in 2024 and you can go with a kit to assemble it yourself.  Axe is impressive.  It has a winged airframe, a range of 100 to 200 miles and top cruising speeds of 100 mph.  Imagine soaring above traffic jams at that speed!  The electric aircraft is quiet and so compact it can be stored in your driveway. New, Unique Technologies Unlike the flying cars Jetson One and...

Bellwether's Volar - Flying Hypercar eVTOL                                             Source:  Bellwether A Personal Flying Machine Designed for City Travel Volar is a highly innovative eVTOL (electric, vertical take-off and landing) vehicle that is worthy of a future, secret agent like James Bond.  It looks like a very sleek combination of a spaceship from another planet and a hypercar.  It doesn't look like an aircraft as the propulsion system is hidden from view underneath the body of the very sci-fi flying machine.  The eVTOL is the boldly innovative creation of London-based startup Bellwether Industries.  The personal flying machine is designed to make inner city travel much easier.  Testing of a half-sized demonstrator prototype of Volar is now underway.  The demonstrator, named Antelope, is being remotely p...

First in UK With a Fleet of Hydrogen Buses                                        Source:  London Hydrogen Buses                             Source:  London Electric Double Decker                                        Source:  London Double Decker London's Zero Emissions Bus Goal by 2030 A fleet of hydrogen double decker buses are driving the streets of London to reduce toxic fumes and fight climate change. This is a first in the United Kingdom.  The zero-emissions, iconic buses were manufactured by Wrightbus of Northern Ireland, which also has hydrogen buses operational in Dublin, Ireland.  Hydrogen for the buses is being produced in Cheshire wit...

China's 1M Motors' Airo Source:  1M Motors' Airo Filters Polluted Air From Other Cars, Serves as a Living Space At the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show, 1M Motors unveiled a uniquely compelling car concept.  It's an autonomous, electric car that vacuums up and filters air pollution from other vehicles.  It also serves as a living space.  The EV is called Airo and it is unlike any other concept car.  The designers call it a multifunctional vehicle designed to address global issues.  Airo produces zero emissions and purifies the air around it, providing double benefits to the environment.  It also addresses the global space shortage issue by serving as a living space when not in use. London Designed for China Automaker IM Motors is a car brand created by three big China corporations:  the automaker SAIC Motors, online retailer Alibaba and the Zhangjiang Hi Tech Group.  The concept car was designed for 1M Motors by London based Heatherwick Studio.  ...

Tech Heavy Hairdressing                                                  Source:  Amazon Salon Amazon Salon in London Amazon is launching its first, high tech hair salon in East London.  The state of the art, experiential Amazon Salon features augmented reality mirrors that show the client what they look like in specific hair styles and hair colors before they try and buy the treatment. The salon offers traditional hair salon services like haircuts, hair coloring and blow dries.  It is staffed by hairdressers from an independent London hair salon Neville Hair & Beauty.  The Amazon Hair Salon has come as quite a surprise to the retail world.  Amazon calls it "experimental". Growing Retail Use of AR Amazon Salon is part of the small but growing use of AR for retail. In the Amazon Salon, product selection utilizes Poin...

 COVID Safer Micro-Mobility                                               Source:  London e-Scooter One Problem:  They're Not Legal in the UK By the thousands, Londoners are abandoning the Tube, London's underground subway system, and hopping onto e-scooters for their daily commutes.  They are doing so to avoid the crowds on public transit and the possibility of being infected by COVID-19.  But, there is one big problem.  In the UK, e-scooters are not legal on public roads, on pavements, on cycle lanes and in pedestrian only areas.  E-scooter experts are calling upon the UK government to regulate them for safe and legal riding. UK & e-Scooter Regulations E-scooters typically cost about $400.00 and have top speeds of 15 mph.  They can be legally used in the UK and London only if they are part of a testing t...

Volta Zero                                                       Source:  Volta Zero Zero Emissions, With Body Made of Flax & Biodegradable Resin Startup Volta Zero of Sweden has innovated an electric truck built for deliveries in cities.  It is a 16 ton, all electric delivery truck that's smaller than a big rig.  It has a range of 125 miles on a charge. The EV is powered by lithium ion phosphate batteries which are modular and allow Volta to customize the vehicles to the customers' specific needs.  Incredibly it is made of sustainably sourced Flax material and biodegradable resin in its exterior body panels.  Volta Zero says it will change the face of road travel. London's Ultra Low Emissions Zone The European delivery service DPD will start testing the Zero in London's Ultra Low Emissions Zone start...

Very Controversial Street Surveillance System Source:  Stock Image of  Facial Recognition System Purpose to Stop Violent Crime London is becoming one of the largest city in the Western world to utilize advanced and highly controversial facial recognition cameras on its streets.  China is the biggest user of the technology.  Critics are calling London "Beijing Lite".  Critics argue facial recognition technology violates individual's privacy and has an extremely high false positive rate of 81%, according to independent research. European Union, Google and Microsoft Snooping Wars Major players are weighing in on this emerging, disruptive technology.  The European Union has proposed a 5 year temporary ban on use of facial recognition technology until the kinks are ironed out and abuses can be thwarted.  At Davos this week, Alphabet/Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that he supports a temporary ban.  On the other hand, Microsoft CEO Brad...

Four Second AI Diagnosis of Heart Disease Source:  AI stock image Faster and As Good As Doctors Scientists at the University College London have invented an AI program that can read a cardiac MRI scan in fractions of the time it takes doctors and the artificial intelligence system has equal accuracy.  The AI program reaches a diagnosis in just four seconds.  The doctors take an average of thirteen minutes to analyze the patient's heart function.  The results are equally accurate. When Seconds Mean Saving a Life Fractions of seconds and a few minutes of time for cardiac patients can be life saving.  This new AI program is significant and it's being deployed in robotic machines at the University College London in a series of trials.  This may be a great example of artificial intelligence and robotics greatly aiding medical specialists in more quickly analyzing and treating dangerous cardiac emergencies and saving lives. UK Analysis In the UK al...

 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 ...