Product Inspiration

In this picture, the light bulbs aren’t connected to anything at all- just mounted to stand up straight. Notice the big power lines above, well, the strong electromagnetic fields given off by the power lines provide enough energy to light all of these bulbs alone.

The analogy and takeaway here is huge- there’s electromagnetic fields all around us, especially in urban areas, and these fields are prime picking for ‘free’ energy to power electronic gadgets. Now, before we get ahead of ourselves, the power isn’t normally substantial enough to run a cell phone or other device. Luckily, a team at MIT found a way to send usable wireless power through EM waves to gadgets by focusing on particular frequencies.

Perhaps we could modify conventional power lines and home wiring to target specific resonant frequencies in the same way. Its early in the game, but this could really revolutionize how we power all of our many electric devices within the next 10 years. Then, at least you could get something out of the cancer-causing fields all around us!

http://gizmodo.com/361390/1301-florescent-bulbs-lit-solely-by-magnetic -fields

The effective range of cell phone towers and wireless internet hubs has a lot to do with how high they are mounted. In the conventional world, this translates to building taller towers and mounting on tall fixtures. Now, with dropping prices of electronic components and a rising demand for remote data and phone connectivity, its becoming cost effective to send “disposable” cellular and wireless internet stations up on balloons, which provide communication for a wide area on the ground.

This could be a great way for us rural folks to get reliable voice and data reception out in the middle of nowhere. Personally, I think it has a lot of potential, especially given the fact that “a single balloon can serve an area otherwise requiring 40 cell towers.” Lets just hope one doesn’t get sucked into a jet engine and cause a plane crash.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120347353988378955.html?mod=blo g

This double feature of related technologies shows how far audio recognition and processing has come in the last decade.

The first product (which is not the only of its kind) listens to a baby’s cry and translates it into a message which us big people can understand; the second is a computer which listens to a barking dog and identifies its meaning.

Now that computers can be programmed to listen for and interpret similar-yet-distinct sounds, there are lots of cool possibilities out there to improve our own hearing abilities with the strengths of a computer. Some other already made examples include an audio system to detect what direction a sniper is shooting from, and biometric voice recognition for security systems. Where else can we augment our hearing to get more info from a sound?

http://ohgizmo.com/2006/03/03/cry-baby-analyzer/

http://www.dailymail.c o.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=508550&in_p age_id=1811

Years ago, fiber optics were touted as the ‘next big thing’ in digital communication, and plans were made to bring optical fiber connectivity into every house. Unfortunately, these high quality glass fibers are quite expensive, and the effort fell short of its goals because of this high cost.

Recent advancements in plastics quality and manufacturing has opened the door for plastic optical fibers which provide the same optical data transmission capabilities at a fraction of the cost. A new European initiative is underway to get such plastic optical fibers made and ready for mass deployment.

If this effort is successful, we could see a reinvigoration of the 20 year old effort to get optical connections to all homes and buildings. For us rural-yet-technologically-inclined folks, this is music to our ears.

http://www.physorg.com/news119110397.html

From Betamax to Minidiscs, from Memory Sticks to Blu-Ray, it seems like Sony is always hell bent on making some type of proprietary format out of any new communication or storage medium.

In its latest attempt, Sony has created ‘TransferJet’, a short range high-bandwidth wireless communication architecture. My gripe is that this technology already exists as Ultra Wideband (UWB), and its currently being used for devices such as wireless USB routers. Basically, Sony took UWB, made some improvements to the widely adopted system, and branded it as their own.

Sony, please stop making all of the proprietary formats. Only a small fraction of other devices are ever compatible with your custom formats, and it ends up giving everyone headaches when their Memory Stick full of pictures can’t be uploaded using a conventional memory card reader. While I’m sure you end up making more money from these custom formats, it sure leaves a bad taste in our mouths.

http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=2052100 37

Here’s another great technology from the movies that’s been made into reality. It uses a focused microwave beam to remotely disable a speeding vehicle, allowing the police to stop a fugitive’s car with much less risk than the typical tire puncturing tools.

The beam of microwave radiation is aimed at places where the car’s electrical system is exposed to the outside environment, such as the headlights, antenna, and exposed nuts and bolts. The microwave energy then overloads the circuit, damaging the wires or central processor. It works from 10 to 50 feet away in just 50 nanoseconds, and is not harmful to people.

Future plans for the device are to shrink it from 200 to 50 pounds, and to increase the range up to 600 feet. While I can’t think of much practical use for this technology aside from a tool for both cops and robbers alike, maybe there are other places where we need the ability to remotely kill some electronic system. Remote bomb diffusing, perhaps?

With this gadget, doctors can remotely monitor various things about their patients remotely. Instead of the bulky machines that are currently used in hospitals, this product condenses ECG, temperature, repiration and physical activity monitoring into a small band-aid size device. It uses active radio frequency transmission to send the data to a base station wirelessly.

Honestly, while I think this is a cool new device, it seems that there is some new wireless medical monitoring gadget coming out every day. They range from highly impractical mini-purses that you have to carry around with you, to small unnoticeable pads such as this. Similarly, the data they collect range from insulin levels (a VERY hot area) to alcohol abuse.

At any rate, these new devices are here to stay, and should grow pretty steadily in use over the next 10 years. Let’s hope our doctor insurance company prescribes us these pads over the bagphone models!

Between cell phones, digital cameras, GPS units, headphones, and ipods, our pockets are becoming far overstuffed with electronic trappings meant to make our lives easier. Unfortunately, this comes at a hefty price: For one, the front of your pants end up looking like chipmunk cheeks, and for another, when you add keys, a wallet, and other pocket necessities, it can get very difficult to put things in and out of your pockets.

While this innovation won’t solve all of the problems, its a great step in the right direction. The cellphone has a secret compartment that both holds and charges a bluetooth ear piece. While this is very nice, I’d like to petition for more space in this compartment, and maybe even an open platform to allow 3rd party developers to make more gadgets to fit in here, such as a high powered flashlight, mini projector, or laser keyboard.

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphones/cellphones-secret-compartment-st ores-bluetooth-headset-drugs-326570.php#poll_=EDNwQTM

Technorati : bluetooth, cellphone, compartment

GPS tracking is becoming more and more widespread each day. In the last 6 months or so, a plethora of consumer tracking gadgets have come out for people such as concerned parents to keep tabs on their children. This new upcoming gadget fits inside an envelope, and tracks the movement of the envelope through the postal system.

It will be very nice once the GPS tracking function shrinks in cost and size enough to be stuck into practically anything- think about how great it would be to find your lost keys, phone, or wallet by logging onto the internet and checking its location. Actually, applications are already out for GPS-equipped phones to do exactly this, but there are some serious drawbacks (drains your cell battery, and does not work much of the time).

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/21/gps-letter-logger-promises-to-keep- tabs-on-mail/

Technorati : gps tracking, mail

It seems that ever since the Nintendo 64 rumble pack came out, all kinds of gadgets have been adding the vibrate-to-get-attention function as a way to silently grab someone’s attention. From cell phones to children’s toys, this tactile form of feedback is a very effective way to capture someone’s focus when sound is either inappropriate or ineffective.

This particular product uses ground-facing sub woofers on police patrol cars to shake the ground and alert people to get the heck out of the way. In today’s age of crowded streets and loud car stereos (which also shake the ground, but that’s another gripe altogether), this is a great way to get attention in a somewhat discrete way.

I predict that more and more gadgets will add vibrate functions to grab our attention- wouldn’t it be nice if your radar detector shook your steering wheel instead of blaring its awful alarm sounds?

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/21/police-rumbler-grabs-your-attention -rattles-your-teeth/

Technorati : attention, police, rumble, vibration