Archive for technology
The innovative laser – a look forward and back
As I wrote this past weekend in my column, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the laser, a scientific innovation that has become commonplace in our everyday lives.
Combining scientific theory and brilliant engineering, it is one of the most innovative, fascinating, and commercially successful devices ever built. Lasers provide precise, selective and controlled high-power light beams for a variety of commercial and scientific uses.
In 1917 Albert Einstein (of course) first theorized the process that might make lasers possible. He called it “stimulated emission” (hence the “s” and the “e” in the laser acronym to go with “light amplification” and “radiation”), and his idea was harnessed in the first laser-like device (called a maser) built in 1959 by two Bell Laboratory scientists Charles Townes and Arthur Schawlow. Their device was actually a microwave device, not a visible one, but their theory and publications led to the construction of the first light laser in 1960.
Audio waves will soon turn your cell into a hotel key
On this Memorial weekend, many people are traveling and spending time in hotels. Here is a Friday fun technology trend to kick off the holiday weekend: Some hotels are now allowing customers to use their cell phones as hotel room keys.
The customers are test marketing the idea in two Holiday Inn locations in Chicago and Houston.
According to reports I’m reading, the system is called OpenWays, which sends a unique and encrypted audio code to a customer’s phone before arrival and check-in. He or she also gets a text message with the room number, allowing that weary traveler to skip the hotel registration desk.
The designers say it is safe as a hotel keycard to use, and will be tested in more hotels in June—just a few days away!
OpenWays is available to users on iPhone, BlackBerry and “Droid” phones, and will soon be usable on other platforms as well. I haven’t downloaded the app yet, but I may have to check this out!
College “on-demand”
With two sons now in college, I’ve had some great opportunities to see how the traditional college scene is not what it was when I attended!
It’s exciting to see not only how conventional learning has evolved, but also how a new way to learn is emerging for those students who don’t consider themselves a traditional tuition-paying, degree-seeking member of a university.
All you need today to be a collegiate learner is a computer. A number of schools have created on-demand downloads and videocasts of their content. The OpenCourseWare movement from MIT and many other universities around the world is one example. iTunes U is another.
An effort known as Project TUVA us under development by Microsoft where online they making available lectures given by some of the brightest and most well-known scientists. Although the lectures themselves may be conventional, they are being enhanced with written captioning, expert commentary, and a note taking ability that can be synchronized with the lecture.
In Project TUVA one can easily navigate within the lectures, and the application even allows transcript searching and skipping directly to that point in the lecture. For their first demonstration they have provided a series of very interesting lectures on physics given by Professor Richard Feynman of Cal Tech in the 60’s. Feynman had the fascinating ability to make complex science fun and interesting. Even though the lectures themselves are old they are worth checking out.
All of these offerings provide a wide range of courses, but generally they are not complete in any specific degree area, and there is not as of yet an affordable selection of advanced or graduate level courses. There is still much improvement to be made in the quantity of content.
Obviously the thought is that universities don’t want to give away their product for free, only samples of what they provide. But even if they don’t provide them to the public, why wait to start building a potentially valuable “library” of lectures? Colleges and Universities could start recording much of their content now, and not just let it slip away in the memories of their students.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someday all of that content could be incorporated into a repository like Project TUVA to be accessible by youth all over the world – especially by those who will never be able to afford or participate in a conventional college education? Perhaps this is one area were available public funding could be used to better invest in our future.
The application of new technology to education is requiring creative thinking around user interface design, storage, and media searching and indexing. There is so much opportunity to bring more powerful experiences to the process of learning and allow more people to participate in the learning experience.
It is a highly exciting time. We are beginning to be able to subscribe to the learning outlets that we want. Take advantage of it where we can. Download a free e-book or watch a lecture. You don’t need a specialized reader like a Kindle or an iPad; all you need is a computer or a smart phone (and of course some spare time!).
The human body as a keypad? Now that’s innovative!
Check out the latest technology from Microsoft called Skinput. It’s an idea that may someday do away with a physical computer keyboard or remote control and replace them with your body! The video below shows how a projection system displays the keypad on a user’s arm, while sensors read the input based fingers touching skin.
The inventor explains applications for mobile devices and beyond, by using the human body as a sensor. Where does this technology go from here? I’m sure whatever consumers can do with a keypad now, they’ll someday be able to do with their bodies. Imagine snapping your fingers to unlock your front door, or using your forearm as a TV remote.
Innovation and Games Galore On Display
A lot of game-playing going on in San Francisco this past weekend, as thousands of game designers, programmers and executives attended the Game Developers Conference. The attendees gather each year to exchange ideas and shape the future of the industry.
From an innovation standpoint it was interesting to note the top buzz was around motion controls and social gaming. (I confess I personally don’t spend a lot of time on gaming apps for my iphone, but I think it’s important to keep up on trends in an industry so pivotal to the emerging generation!)
Sony introduced its PlayStation Move, a new wand-shaped PlayStation 3 motion controller system that will rival Nintendo’s popular Wii. Move’s system includes a PlayStation Eye camera to detect players’ movements. As designers and developers discover more capabilities with the hardware, they will no doubt find new applications for the games.
Social gaming was also a huge draw. With the success of games like Facebook’s “FarmVille” and the role-playing “Mafia Wars,” several conference sessions were dedicated just to these popular venues.
Then there is the VirtuSphere, a huge hamster ball-like virtual reality machine that allows users inside to control a character by walking around inside.
Attention Shoppers: Look what cell phones can do now!
Imagine walking through a shopping district after hours, pointing your cell phone through a window at something you want to buy—and making your purchase on the spot. Many of our nation’s retailers will soon be using barcode scanning technology to allow people to window shop with their cell phones.
It’s one way retailers are strengthening the link between their physical stores and the Internet, while using a high-tech trend to make shopping easier for consumers.
The New York Times recently published an article about how some grocers are even offering phone applications that tell shoppers where to find the flour, sugar and that hard-to-find ginger sauce. Some are even offering real-time coupons that trigger an alert when your grocery cart rolls into the desired aisle.
Before you can get your hands on these coupons and deals, you have to be willing to download a phone app as well as give your consent to being tracked electronically while you shop. You don’t necessarily need to purchase a smart phone to do it either. Seattle-based company JAGTAG claims that right now, almost 90% of all phone owners in the States can use mobile barcodes.
Many clothing retailers are just starting to use ScanLife technology, which came out two years ago. Check out their YouTube video here. It allows people to scan bar codes on merchandise and obtain details about the clothes through videos. I.B.M. is now testing a product called Presence, which allows retailers to detect a shopper through his or her phone as soon as they enter a store. The shoppers get coupons, and the retailer can track their spending habits and browsing time.
Smart Signs and Smart Innovation: Are You Preparing Now? Let Us Help
One of the most exciting opportunity areas for targeted innovation is in the display of digital information.
The information-rich world of the film Minority Report is becoming closer to reality each day, with some practical twists. Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that Intel and Microsoft are teaming up to provide smart digital displays in retail stores that can look back at the viewer, identify gender and other information using cameras and image processing, and then automatically offer information about products that may be of interest to the viewer, including instant coupons, directions to the product in the store, etc. The article, “Intel, Microsoft Offer Smart-Sign technology” by Don Clark and Nick Wingfield (p. B6, Jan. 12, 2010), describes smart-signs as a way for retailers to fight back against online sellers. The technology builds upon the embedded computing capabilities that Microsoft and Intel have applied to point-of-sale systems, office equipment, car entertainment, and other systems. They are now collaborating to specify hardware and software components that could become a standard platform for other developers. They will seek to offer features similar to those provided by Amazon.com, which can identify returning customers and tailor promotions to them based on their history. It’s all about personalizing the shopping experience–but doing that without infringing upon consumer privacy may be a complex issue. A spokesman stated that the current technology does not identify individuals, only gender. Perhaps the future may involve an opt-in system for those who want to be identified and receive discounts or other benefits in return.
Meanwhile, a variety of companies are developing flexible thin-film displays. One interesting technology space is electronic paper, which reflects light like ordinary printed paper to create images or text. Rigid versions of electronic paper are in use in some popular portable readers, while flexible versions are being developed by companies like E-Ink. A variety of technologies that have been used for electronic paper are summarized at Wikipedia, including electrophoresis, electrowetting, and electrofluidic displays.
What could your business model do with flexible smart displays, if they become inexpensive and easy to program or control? What could you do by adding sensors (perhaps sensors that respond to pressure, temperature, or capacitance to detect touch, or micro-electronic devices such as accelerometers or level indicators)? If you could track and interpret the actions a customer takes with a smart tag, for example, could that help you? What could you do if your smart tags or smart panels could communicate with each other and a network?
Will flexible displays become integrated with smart-sign technology to provide, say, magazines that can read you?
There is a growing body of publications and patents addressing creative aspects of what can be done with these emerging technologies. What will it mean for you–or for your competitors? What will these technologies mean for your supply chain? What do they mean for packaging, for shelf management, for inventor management, for market research, or for product safety? Are you aware of the future and how it might impact the business? At Innovationedge, we’re ready to work with you to find these answers for your company and to generate the intellectual assets that you will need to be prepared for a smarter, information-rich future. We’re ready to help you develop strategies and tools to reduce the impact of competitive disruptive innovation, while increasing your own opportunities to create intellectual assets and benefit from the emerging capabilities of the future.
In fact, there is one other very cool technology from Asia that you ought to be thinking about when you start exploring a world with smart, flexible display technology. If that doesn’t ring a bell, maybe you should give us a ring and let us show you how to do targeted innovation to help you go beyond mere brainstorming by generating the intellectual assets you need for the future. We tailor our approaches to each client, but in this case, we are likely to apply some of the insights from our recent book, Conquering Innovation Fatigue: Overcoming the Barriers to Personal and Corporate Success, a John Wiley & Sons book by Jeff Lindsay, Cheryl Perkins, and Mukund Karanjikar. Call us at 920-967-0470.
May your innovations be flexible and smart!
Greenhouse gas goes underground
Toshiba, displaying the pilot site of a coal plant with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology at the Mikawa power station.
Here’s an interesting article sure to raise controversy in the scientific community: To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, scientists at Toshiba Corp. in rural Japan are working on a way to send noxious pollutants deep into the ground.
It is a technology called “carbon capture and storage” (CCS), and is being tested at the Mikawa power station, located near the coast of Japan’s southern coast. Five large-scale integrated CCS projects are now operating in North America, Europe and North Africa.
With worldwide coal use projected to rise in the next few years, especially in China and India, Toshiba says this cutting-edge technology can help fight climate change that is melting ice caps and threatening eco-systems.
Here is what proponents are saying:
“CCS will be the only technology to reduce emissions on a grand scale,” said Shigeo Murai, who heads a study group on storing carbon dioxide, or CO2, at Japan’s Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth. “At the same time it won’t be able to reduce overall emissions on its own. It will need help from solar and wind power.”
You can read the whole article here:
Just in time for the holidays: iMac vs. Windows 7
PC users are now able to switch to Windows 7. Microsoft officially released the upgrade system yesterday, and a few hours later Apple answered back with its own updated iMac–and a new “Get a Mac” series of commercials.
You know the ones: “PC” and “Mac” are two characters who represent the competitive companies…but in the end the cooler of the two, Mac, wins out. Check out my favorite of the three ads, “Broken Promises,” where PC promises Mac that Windows 7 is not going to have any of the problems Vista had:
Do you have a PC, and will you immediately upgrade to Windows 7?
Last week a blogger asked his readers that very question, and only 16% said they would change operating systems immediately, while 37% said that they would keep their XP software until forced to change. Surprisingly, 10% said they would stick with Vista, which has become a lot more stable, but is still what the blogger calls a “resource hog”.
Shift Happens: Just how big a shift is it?
If you’re wondering why the emerging generation isn’t responding to your magazine ad or looking you up in the Yellow Pages, you might want to take a look at this: