Product Inspiration

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

As many people know, GPS systems work great in open outdoor spaces, but perform very poorly indoors and in urban areas. There are quite a few different methods to mitigate this problem in development or available now, and here’s a new one: Each light bulb in a commercial building flickers at a specific frequency, and a handheld gadget reads the frequency of the flicker, and determines its location.

Frequency-modulated light communication has been tossed around for a little while now, but other than theory and research projects, we haven’t seen many useful civilian applications to date. The concept is a great one, as there are light bulbs all around us, and in theory we could make a mesh network intranet using light bulbs that talked to each other.

What do you think, will this light-based communication paradigm ever gain significant ground, or will it remain a novelty for years to come?

http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2008/02/lightbased_hospital_gps_for_ lost_patients.html

This new gadget could add another tool in the modern day police officer’s toolbox for going after drunk drivers. While its about as simple of a product as it gets - a conventional flashlight was upgraded to include an ambient alcohol detector, it could be extremely useful in telling the difference between drunken late night revelers out for a spin and some students on the way back from IHOP.

Invention fairs are full of wacky, impractical gadgets that combine two functions into one device (the toothbrush pen comes to mind), but this is a great example of how such combinations can really be a good thing.

http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=5711382&versi on=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

This new system is able to tell the location of a plane by measuring small fluctuations in Earth’s magnetic filed, caused by the large, moving metal object. The system is actually very accurate (within 7.5 meters), and only requires an array of small, cheap magnetic field sensors. The immediate benefits include better airplane tracking, especially when visibility is poor.

While the effects of an object on our planet’s magnetic field is very small, this could still be a way to sense and locate all kinds of other objects in the future.

http://www.physorg.com/news120407030.html

In the last few years of doing research for medical companies, I’ve been amazed how many medical electronic and wireless monitoring devices are coming out It seems almost daily that there’s some new monitor, expected to blow the doors off the industry with wireless insulin monitoring or remote EEG capabilities. The problem is that very few have more than one function, and many are bulky and require the users to not get the device wet and charge it frequently.

So, while this is a very crowded market, this particular device seems a bit stronger than much of its competition. It is small and unobtrusive (the size and shape of a band-aid), provides multiple sensing capabilities, and sends the data without requiring the patient to carry a purse-sized battery pack or plug into a phone line for 15 minutes.

http://www.physorg.com/news116599667.html

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

Until recently, remote GPS tracking systems have only been able to send the location, speed, and direction of a vehicle through wireless networks. Onstar has pioneered some improvements to such systems by offering the ability to unlock vehicles and turn them off when they are stolen.

The system pictured above takes it to the next step on a few different levels. The additional services include driver identification and sobriety testing, speeding detection, remote locking, and light/horn control. Although products like this may conjure up thoughts of Big Brother, the potential savings to companies through reduced accidents and theft will continue to create a demand for remote monitoring and control of any costly company property.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/03/technology/hijack_proof_truck.biz2/?se ction=money_technology

Redesigning the mouse trap has been a mainstay of inventors for quite a long time. This most recent advancement has quite a few cool tricks up its sleeve to get rid of your rodent problem. Once a mouse is lured inside the case of the trap by the smell of food, the trap doors close, and carbon dioxide is pumped into the chamber, suffocating the mouse. As a last technological touch, the trap sends you a text message that it has caught something.

http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20071008/rentokil-radar-the-humane-hite ch-killing-machine/

Animals such as birds and bats use the earth’s unique magnetic field to navigate during their yearly migrations. This new technology aims to use the same method to provide electronic location information (just like GPS). The system references survey data which record the magnetic field strength and direction at points all over the planet to determine where exactly you are. While this is still very early, maybe it could turn into a supplemental ‘backup’ to today’s gps systems.

http://technology.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn12714&feedId=tech_r ss20

In the last year or two, there have been quite a few advanced sensors aimed primarily at improving the performance of professional athletes.

One such technology was a pill which the sports hero swallowed at the beginning of the workout. During the workout, the pill could transmit the athlete’s core body temperature to the sideline trainers. This let them optimize the athlete’s performance and reduce his (or her) risk of injury by picking the best times to have them take a break.

More recently, a device came out which monitors various other parameters, and clips to the back of the ear.

Another such technology uses GPS monitoring to track the athlete’s movement during practice and actual games.

While these previous features only record diagnostic information, the following device (and others) actually enhances the athlete’s performance. It provides rapid cooling of your body by putting a very cold pad on your veins, chilling your circulating blood, and rapidly bringing your body temperature down. This could really extend a player’s endurance.

Given the recent controversy surrounding the use of video eqiupment for cheating in the NFL, it will be interesting to watch how each sport’s governing bodies control and regulate these technologies which give players an advantage over others.

Technorati : sports technology