posted by admin on Apr 9

Would you like an implant that could type for you and change the TV channel?

They have been using brain waves to move objects for some time – but only the very basics – and you have to wear a giant cap with dozens of wires coming out of it. Not so practical.

Yet, now medical advances have allowed for more complex signals to be collected from the brain, and then translated into actual letters! Imagine what this could lead to.

The hindrance to this technology was always that the signal had to be picked up through the skull and hair so were therefore much weaker than if attached to the brain itself – a bit like trying to get wi-fi too far from the source.

Get Inside:
So by moving the sensors onto the surface of the brain itself – these signals can be greatly enhanced to make more things possible.

Wireless technology has already shown us all the amzing things that can be done by very small handheld gadgets – so why not make something run by your brain rather than the ether!

By attaching electrodes to certain areas of the brain – your electrical thoughts can be harnessed in exactly the same way that your body does it already. We know which parts of the brain fire when you move your finger, have a dream, react to a fright and even when you smile – so why not find out how the brain reacts to certain words, letters and pictures?

Imagine the achievements of an arthritic author if the could type their essays with just their thoughts? Think of that disabled shopper able to steer themselves around the malls just by thinking ‘left’ or ‘right’.

Get Outside:
And it wouldn’t just be about filling the gap for people who had physical barriers – what about people working in certain industries being able to complete forms or procedures online by just thinking.

There is the potential for this to become some sort of implant for communication, security access or identification. It could all be a bit Sci-Fi – but if the technology is there for one reason – why not see if it can be applied elsewhere…..

You can already play simple games by ‘thinking’ of your moves – but this new technology taps straight into the brain interface and allows the same type of reaction as a mouse click on a computer.

By setting up a control system in the brain that reacts to a thought or a sound, you can then link it up to any type of technology that just needs a click to operate it.

And we all know the freedom that the mouse gave us!

posted by admin on Nov 22

Why can’t people invent cheap (and energy-free) versions of everything we own!

I was recently reading about a fantastic new invention in the fight against poverty and world hunger!

It’s a refrigerator which consists of two pottery bowls and some wet sand, would you believe it.

So, I ask myself – why have I got some great big electricity-drinking white machine in my kitchen instead of a couple of these pots?

Why was my laptop £400 when others are only a fraction of that; why is my everything so much more expensive and energy-consuming when there are cheaper, more practical alternatives around?

The Pots:
For around £25 apparently you can buy these Zeer pots for 2 families – so why aren’t we using them back home?

You make 2 pots – one to fit inside the other – and then mount them on a stand.  You fill the gap between the pots with wet sand – and hey presto: you can help lengthen the lifespan of a tomato or a carrot for example by up to 10 times!

That’s right – from 2 days to 20 days! 

Ironically – how often do you see a shelf life or 3 weeks on a packet of fresh tomatoes you buy from the store here?  Hardly ever – and we have fancy top-of-the-range electrical goods!

Other Goods:
So, why can’t we carry on this ‘inventing’ process for everything that we own – but make it available to everyone – not just people in developing countries.

I agree that they should get the technology first and at as low a cost as possible – but to be honest – I would rather use a large pot-based fridge for most of my food than the 24/7 electrical one I have at the moment!

Any ideas for an energy-free hairdryer or toaster?

posted by admin on Oct 26

Want to be an inventor – but can’t afford to get the ball rolling?

If you happen to be working on a project that is very similar to one found on a new website – you could well be in luck.

Not only is this site filled with great information and lots of things to work on – it also offers cash prizes to people who get close enough to inventing some truly amazing things.

Inventions don’t always need to be something consumer – like the latest social network or iPad game – they can be something so completely random – and quite conceptual rather than ‘hands on’ – like a way to make cloud computing work for disabled people in their everyday lives or how to to create a nutritious school meal that the kids actually want to eat!

There is even a $25,000 prize on offer to help find a way to discover a way to get clothes clean in zero gravity!

Your Invention:

Sometimes, you are just the right person for the job – having seen something that works for you in a completely different set of circumstances!

Or maybe you are using a particular product at the moment as it helps with something totally random that you currently do at work or home – or even on the allotment.  What if you are fed up with trying to get ink off the desks at work, or holding open that flimsy bin-liner in the wind and you have tried a few things - and made your own solution.  Now, can you apply that solution to any of the featured issues on the website.

Take a peek at the site and see if there is anything out there that you could help with – and maybe you could become the next Mr Dyson!

posted by admin on Aug 16

Hello Again – and what a great time to be at the fore-front of the latest inventions and technology!

Almost every day, there is an announcement about something great to advance our thinking or challenge our current ways of thinking – the future looks so different – if only we would make the change!

Looking back over time Adam Park takes us through his top 10 Tech Milestones That Changed The World for a glance at the past – and hopefully they can take us places in the future!

Add to this some of the following technological information here from Susan, as she details her best 25 Startups Revolutionizing Biotechnology. Even small things can make a huge difference!

Staying with the prefix ‘bio’ – take a look at the amazing advances and technology involved with Mike’s great article on: Massive Future MRI Machine Promises to Unravel the Secrets of Human Biochemistry! Great stuff!

Moving on to inventions today – read on if you want to know about something new: Coming Soon to a Classroom Near You: 10 Things To Know About Robot Teachersby the converted Erin Lenderts! Now I’m not sure if these will ever really take over in mainstream schools – but the idea for smaller groups or adult learners could really be a good thing!

And, if you ignore all the adverts at the top – scroll down to a very thorough article by Rick Cole as he reviews the difference between to very similar in-car technologies: Garmin vs TomTom. Worth a peak if you are considering a sat nav in the future.

And finally – How to use Twitter in a way I hadn’t really thought off: Sharons719 offers us 50 “Healthy” Ways to Use Twitter. Very interesting!

And on that note – get back outside and enjoy the nice weather before winter sets in!

posted by admin on May 5

If you can, then you better start making plans to spend the £50,000 prize money!

Or, better still invent a plane that can fulfil the maneuverability guidelines required to win £100,000 instead – although this might take a little longer at the drawing board!

For years humans have dreamed of the idea of human powered flight – although the old ‘wings strapped to the arms’ is a definite no-no!   As you would expect though, Leonardo de Vinci had a try at designing a plane or 2 along with dozens of other not-so-successful attempts over the following centuries.

With still not a hope of staying in the air for more than a micro-second, in the mid-20th century - the Kremer Prize was put to the invention world by the Royal Aeronautical Society of Great Britain.  There main aim was to spur on the hope of man-powered flight with large amounts of cash!

First Prize:
From the creation of the awards to the first prize being collected was a very long 18 years – and there were still another 5 prizes to be won.

This first prize (£50,000) was won by a plane weighing 32kg with a 29 meter wingspan called the Gossamer Condor in 1977 – and it had had to fly a specific figure-of-eight course at a height of over 10 feet from the ground.

The second prize for distance (£100,000) was won by the same team in 1979 but with their modified plane – the Gossamer Albatross – clocking up an average speed of 18 miles per hour (29km/h).

The third prize was for speed (£20,000) was won in 1983 by a team from MIT – but this still leaves 3 prizes totalling £150,000!

Remaining Prizes:
So, do you think you could see yourself winning 1 of the remaining prizes?  Could you invent the best human-powered plane ever to take to the skies?

I mean now would be the perfect time to perfect a mode of transport that uses no fossil fuels and emits not an ounce of carbon (apart from in the poor peddler’s breath!).

Well?
The prizes you need to aim for are needless to say – not the easiest ones – as they have already been claimed, so what you are left with are the following:

A) 26 Mile Marathon Course In Under An Hour (£50,000)

B) Sporting Aircraft Challenge – stressing maneuverability (100,000)

C) Local School Challenge – for under 18′s (various prizes awarded annually)   

Still think you are up for the challenge?
It would be amazing to think of the multiple advantages to science of the creation of a way to harness human energy and turn it into a forward force.  Obviously the power need not be used for flight, but could be transferred to power just about anything.

Technological advances in these new inventions could lead virtually anywhere – and that is what these awards are trying to promote.

And – if you are not so keen on inventing planes, then take a look at the Sikorsky Prize instead – and build yourself a human powered helicopter instead!  This would win you and your team a tasty $250,000! 

Good Luck!