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Implantable Miniature Telescope Link VisionCare, Inc, an Israeli company, has developed the Implantable Miniature Telescope, thought to be a permanent solution for vision loss due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The device, currently in Phase II/III clinical trials, has already shown some positive results.  [ permanent link to this entry ]
Broadband Via Gas Pipes Link Some have called the Internet a 'pipeline for information', but San Diego company Nethercommhas appeared to have taken this idea literally. Their concept proposes using ultra wideband wireless signals to transmit data at broadband speeds through natural-gas pipes. That's right, Internet over the same pipe that provides you with natural gas for cooking. Needless to say, there's a big caveat here: These claims have yet to be tested. Nethercomm has no working products and has not tried the technology in the field. The company claims its technology will be able to offer 100 megabits per second to every home, which is more than enough to provide voice, video and high-speed Internet access. The idea certainly does offer a different perspective that is relevant in the near-term future. When you look at the amount of copper infrastructure that is currently used to deliver communication services such as DSL, why wouldn't you consider using another vast network of copper that is already in the ground? At least in the short term, in the case that there is a capacity shortfall to support new applications like high-definition television service, technology that uses existing pipes into people's homes could augment these new networks. [ permanent link to this entry ]
Sensory Enhanced Trashcan Link While perhaps a little light-hearted on the surface, this type of innovation has some serious applications, particularly with regard to the trends surrounding the convergent home. An NYU student is planning to build an animatronic trash-can that extends the functionality of Walt Disney World's talking trash-can: The trash can and recycling bins are a modular set that would gives both sound and visual feedback. the trash can would only make a sound when you open it (i.e. open it's mouth). For example, when you throw something out, and the can is near full, it can belch. When it gets very damp (using a moisture detector), often an indication that the trash is more prone to germs, smells, etc., it can cry. When you open it up to take out the trash, and change the liner and you have the most contact with i, it can giggle, as in being tickled. The sounds don't need to be so human, animal, or literal. But, with the sounds, the trash can takes on some "creature" behaviour. More here. [ permanent link to this entry ]
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