Batteries of the Future Can Be Painted On September 20, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in new products and technologies.Tags: new products and technologies
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The vast array of gadgets and gizmos flooding the market mostly require one important thing: batteries. We always need batteries, asserts Edwin at CoolestGadgets. Either that, or chargers and adapters and plugs. Rice University in Texas is developing a spray paint battery, part of a five-part system for generating energy.
To see photos of a battery painted onto a beer mug, and to learn more, head here.
Gecko-Inspired Mess-Free Super-Adhesive Can Stick a TV to the Wall! February 27, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in new products and technologies.Tags: new products and technologies
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Using the extraordinary clinging and climbing power of geckos as inspiration, a DARPA-funded team of scientists have created “Geckskin”. Geckskin is a stiff, woven fabric with a soft adhesive pad woven into a tendon that resembles those on the foot of a Gecko. Geckskin is so powerful that an index-card sized square can hold up a 700-pound load -such as a television.
Learn more about Gecksin by visiting here.
Flying Robots Build a Six-Meter Tower January 30, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in new products and technologies.Tags: new products and technologies
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The FRAC Centre in Orleans, France, has released a video showing their flying robots constructing a six-meter tall tower. These flying robots perform what is being called “Flight Assembled Architecture” and it is easy to see why. Preprogrammed flight patterns and extended feet help the flying robots from crashing into one another, and performing their job.
Check out the astounding video here.
Flying Robots Build a Six-Meter Tower January 30, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in new products and technologies.Tags: new products and technologies
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The FRAC Centre in Orleans, France, has released a video showing their flying robots constructing a six-meter tall tower. These flying robots perform what is being called “Flight Assembled Architecture” and it is easy to see why. Preprogrammed flight patterns and extended feet help the flying robots from crashing into one another, and performing their job.
Check out the astounding video here.
Ikea’s Paper Pallet Challenges Wood Dominance December 19, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in new products and technologies, supply chain.Tags: new products and technologies, supply chain
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Swedish furniture-maker Ikea is dumping its wood pallets for thinner, paper-based alternatives beginning in January. This, according to Ikea, will take ten percent off transportation costs. Throughout the world, pallet-makers and other companies are considering shifts to more compact, sustainable shipping methods, including Air France. Other companies, like Sydney, Australia-based Brambles, say the paper pallets aren’t durable enough.
Read the Bloomberg article on the pallets here.
Ikea’s Paper Pallet Challenges Wood Dominance December 19, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in new products and technologies, supply chain.Tags: new products and technologies, supply chain
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Swedish furniture-maker Ikea is dumping its wood pallets for thinner, paper-based alternatives beginning in January. This, according to Ikea, will take ten percent off transportation costs. Throughout the world, pallet-makers and other companies are considering shifts to more compact, sustainable shipping methods, including Air France. Other companies, like Sydney, Australia-based Brambles, say the paper pallets aren’t durable enough.
Read the Bloomberg article on the pallets here.
Biodegradable, Compostable Wine Bottle Made from Paper December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green, new products and technologies
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An alternative to wine boxes, paper bottles are now being offered by British designer Martin Myerscough. They have been dimensioned to fit in normal production lines, and are biodegradable and compostable. The trick will be convincing consumers and producers to buy into the idea.
To read more about this innovation, point your browser here.
Biodegradable, Compostable Wine Bottle Made from Paper December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green, new products and technologies
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An alternative to wine boxes, paper bottles are now being offered by British designer Martin Myerscough. They have been dimensioned to fit in normal production lines, and are biodegradable and compostable. The trick will be convincing consumers and producers to buy into the idea.
To read more about this innovation, point your browser here.
What’s the Role of Technology in Continuous Improvement? November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean, new products and technologies, Uncategorized.Tags: lean, new products and technologies
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More than mere technology change is needed for continuous improvement, says Ralph Keller at IndustryWeek. While technology changes may help advance continuous improvement processes, they are not the sole underlying cause. Usually, technology changes aren’t even needed to improve quality and business processes.
Check out the IndustryWeek article here.
What’s the Role of Technology in Continuous Improvement? November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean, new products and technologies, Uncategorized.Tags: lean, new products and technologies
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More than mere technology change is needed for continuous improvement, says Ralph Keller at IndustryWeek. While technology changes may help advance continuous improvement processes, they are not the sole underlying cause. Usually, technology changes aren’t even needed to improve quality and business processes.
Check out the IndustryWeek article here.
New Material Claimed to Store More Energy and Cost Less Money than Batteries November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green, green business, new products and technologies
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The National University of Singapore has unveiled an interesting new creation: an energy storage membrane. Made from a polystyrene-based polymer, the membrane is placed between two metal plates and electrically-charged. It stores energy at a rate of 0.2 farads per square centimeter, making the cost per farad $0.72, compared to current batteries which cost roughly $7.00 per farad.
Check out the GizMag write-up here.
New Material Claimed to Store More Energy and Cost Less Money than Batteries November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green, green business, new products and technologies
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The National University of Singapore has unveiled an interesting new creation: an energy storage membrane. Made from a polystyrene-based polymer, the membrane is placed between two metal plates and electrically-charged. It stores energy at a rate of 0.2 farads per square centimeter, making the cost per farad $0.72, compared to current batteries which cost roughly $7.00 per farad.
Check out the GizMag write-up here.
Inexpensive Plastic Developed that Indicates Freshness of Food June 2, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in new products and technologies.Tags: new products and technologies
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When buying meat and fish, the freshness of the product can only be ascertained by an ambiguous “best used by” date. Such a number doesn’t indicate things like whether or not the product has been left out of refrigeration for a lengthy period of time, for example. But a thin plastic film strip, developed by the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Modular Solid State Technologies in Munich, changes that. Decaying meat and fish produce biogenic amines, which would then permeate the film, causing it to change color and indicating freshness.
Read the GizMag write-up here.
Inexpensive Plastic Developed that Indicates Freshness of Food June 2, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in new products and technologies.Tags: new products and technologies
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When buying meat and fish, the freshness of the product can only be ascertained by an ambiguous “best used by” date. Such a number doesn’t indicate things like whether or not the product has been left out of refrigeration for a lengthy period of time, for example. But a thin plastic film strip, developed by the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Modular Solid State Technologies in Munich, changes that. Decaying meat and fish produce biogenic amines, which would then permeate the film, causing it to change color and indicating freshness.
Read the GizMag write-up here.
With 3D Printing Tech, Airbus Aims to Print a Whole Aircraft Wing April 20, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in new products and technologies.Tags: new products and technologies
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The 3D printing field is rapidly overtaking the rapid prototyping field, making plastic and resin models obsolete. By 2020, experts are saying that 50% of 3D printing will actually be finished products –not just concepts and prototypes. EADS, the maker of the Airbus, want to print an entire wing –and then potentially an entire aircraft, making them lighter, more durable, and more efficient.
Check out the PopSci article here.
With 3D Printing Tech, Airbus Aims to Print a Whole Aircraft Wing April 20, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in new products and technologies.Tags: new products and technologies
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The 3D printing field is rapidly overtaking the rapid prototyping field, making plastic and resin models obsolete. By 2020, experts are saying that 50% of 3D printing will actually be finished products –not just concepts and prototypes. EADS, the maker of the Airbus, want to print an entire wing –and then potentially an entire aircraft, making them lighter, more durable, and more efficient.
Check out the PopSci article here.
Can the Postal Service Fleet Become a Data Collection Network? April 20, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Creativity & Innovation, new products and technologies.Tags: Creativity & Innovation, new products and technologies
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Michael Ravintzky, chief counsel to the chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, says the Post Office can avoid insolvency. His plan is to transform a typical mail truck into a data-collecting machine. As the mail is delivered, weather information is taken, as well as information about air pollutants. The Department of Homeland Security and other governmental organizations could become customers of the Post Office for this information.
Check out the SmartPlanet article here.
Can the Postal Service Fleet Become a Data Collection Network? April 20, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Creativity & Innovation, new products and technologies.Tags: Creativity & Innovation, new products and technologies
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Michael Ravintzky, chief counsel to the chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, says the Post Office can avoid insolvency. His plan is to transform a typical mail truck into a data-collecting machine. As the mail is delivered, weather information is taken, as well as information about air pollutants. The Department of Homeland Security and other governmental organizations could become customers of the Post Office for this information.
Check out the SmartPlanet article here.
Mesa Man Makes Eco-Friendly Plastic Bottles April 20, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green business, new products and technologies
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Danny Clark, hoping to leave an eco-friendly footprint for his children, hoping to make a few dollars, and hoping to ride the wave of green enthusiasm, has developed a biodegradable plastic bottle. But opposition has manifested in the recycling industry, which uses plastic to make everything from clothing to new bottles. Clark’s startup, Enso, says that its bottles will begin degrading after 5 years in the elements. Despite objections from the recycling industry, Clark is determined to carry on.
Check out the Product Design and Development Article here.
Mesa Man Makes Eco-Friendly Plastic Bottles April 20, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green business, new products and technologies
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Danny Clark, hoping to leave an eco-friendly footprint for his children, hoping to make a few dollars, and hoping to ride the wave of green enthusiasm, has developed a biodegradable plastic bottle. But opposition has manifested in the recycling industry, which uses plastic to make everything from clothing to new bottles. Clark’s startup, Enso, says that its bottles will begin degrading after 5 years in the elements. Despite objections from the recycling industry, Clark is determined to carry on.
Check out the Product Design and Development Article here.
Harnessing Viruses to Build a Better Battery February 21, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green business, new products and technologies
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The Tobacco Mosaic Virus, first discovered in 1898, is now being used in battery technology. The virus is programmed so that it adheres to metallic surfaces, and its ability to replicate and self-renew is utilized by covering it with a current collector. The result is a 10-fold increase in storage abilities over a regular lithium-ion battery.
Check out the GizMag write-up here.
Harnessing Viruses to Build a Better Battery February 21, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green business, new products and technologies
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The Tobacco Mosaic Virus, first discovered in 1898, is now being used in battery technology. The virus is programmed so that it adheres to metallic surfaces, and its ability to replicate and self-renew is utilized by covering it with a current collector. The result is a 10-fold increase in storage abilities over a regular lithium-ion battery.
Check out the GizMag write-up here.
The Company as Community: Threadless Puts Everyone in Charge February 4, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Creativity & Innovation, customer focus, new products and technologies.Tags: Creativity & Innovation, customer focus, new products and technologies
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William C. Taylor at Fast Company seeks to know how a clothing company that puts the customer in charge can succeed. Fans of products are often full of suggestions and ideas, and the clothing company Threadless decided to let them in on the business process. Customers submit t-shirt designs, which are then voted on, and the most successful are judged by the company based on commercial criteria, and winners receive cash, credit, and compensation if their designs are reused later on.
Check out the Fast Company article here.
The Company as Community: Threadless Puts Everyone in Charge February 4, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Creativity & Innovation, customer focus, new products and technologies.Tags: Creativity & Innovation, customer focus, new products and technologies
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William C. Taylor at Fast Company seeks to know how a clothing company that puts the customer in charge can succeed. Fans of products are often full of suggestions and ideas, and the clothing company Threadless decided to let them in on the business process. Customers submit t-shirt designs, which are then voted on, and the most successful are judged by the company based on commercial criteria, and winners receive cash, credit, and compensation if their designs are reused later on.
Check out the Fast Company article here.
CO2 Could be Used in ‘Green’ Plastic Production February 4, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green, green business, new products and technologies
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Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute is experimenting with a process that uses carbon dioxide to enhance plastic products – such as coloring them. This is a process that is dominated by using toxic solvents, and where CO2 has not been used before. Plastic has also been made more antibacterial using CO2 injection. The CO2 itself is nonflammable, nontoxic, and inexpensive.
Check out the GizMag write-up here.
