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Apple Applies for Trademark in Japan, Paves Way for iWatch

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July 3, 2013

Apple has applied for an iWatch trademark in Japan, fueling the rumor of an upcoming smartwatch-like device. Other manufacturers are also pursuing the wearable technology market. Google, Microsoft and Samsung are all developing smartwatch-like devices. Sony recently released a newer version of its Android compatible SmartWatch. Sporting good companies, such as Nike, offer watch-like devices that monitor physical activity. Continue reading Apple Applies for Trademark in Japan, Paves Way for iWatch

Advancement of Human Intelligence and Cognitive Systems

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July 2, 2013

Humans and machines have evolved together over time. Within the past 200 years, technology, and human use of it, has significantly improved beyond most expectations. But the Internet, digital technologies and the mass number of mobile devices, offers massive amounts of data that require new ways of analyzing it. Irving Wladawsky-Berger suggests that cognitive systems can perform the task, and help make new determinations on a much larger scale. Continue reading Advancement of Human Intelligence and Cognitive Systems

Bell Labs: Lensless Camera Records Multiple View Images

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June 26, 2013

Bell Labs is developing a new class of imaging device that does not require a lens, but instead uses a light sensitive sensor to create a high resolution image. A new technique known as compressive sensing minimizes redundancy to acquire data with carefully chosen measurements. The camera, which merely features an aperture assembly and a sensor, records images that are never out of focus. Additionally, when using two pixels instead of one, it can create two different images of the scene. Continue reading Bell Labs: Lensless Camera Records Multiple View Images

FTC Chair Proposes Inquiry into Impact of Patent Trolls

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June 21, 2013

Edith Ramirez, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, presented her recommendation for an investigation into the practices of “patent trolls” yesterday during a patent and antitrust seminar in Washington. Ramirez is calling for the FTC to use its subpoena power to launch a sweeping inquiry into patent-assertion entities (PAE’s, or patent trolls), which are known for purchasing bundles of patents in order to threaten infringement lawsuits. Continue reading FTC Chair Proposes Inquiry into Impact of Patent Trolls

Tech Companies Support Federal Move Against Patent Trolls

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June 5, 2013

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney described President Obama’s newly proposed patent policy yesterday during the daily press briefing. The administration introduced a package of executive orders and recommended legislation that takes aim at patent trolls. Technology companies have expressed early support for measures that they hope will help curb the growing onslaught of lawsuits negatively affecting innovation. Continue reading Tech Companies Support Federal Move Against Patent Trolls

The Israel Conference Returns to Los Angeles this Month

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May 9, 2013

The Israel Conference is scheduled for May 30-31 at the Luxe Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. The two-day event will feature 75 speakers discussing innovation, technology and design as part of a collection of keynotes, panel discussions and special networking events. New this year is FutureFest, in which emerging technologies and consumer products will be presented to judges, including prominent VCs and CEOs of multinational companies. Continue reading The Israel Conference Returns to Los Angeles this Month

Ongoing Projects at MIT Media Lab Offer Look at the Future

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April 1, 2013

Take a look inside the MIT Media Lab for an indication of what technology (and life, in general) will look like in the coming 10 years, suggests Business Insider. The article summarizes a tour taken of the Lab, where students are working on projects involving robotics to programs allowing virtual interaction with the real world — all projects guaranteed to get you thinking about the future. Continue reading Ongoing Projects at MIT Media Lab Offer Look at the Future

Execs Find Ways to Encourage Risk-Taking and Creativity

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March 27, 2013

Jim Donald, CEO of Extended Stay America, stepped into his position one year ago and realized employees were afraid to take risks as the company attempted to restart after emerging from bankruptcy. Many were worried about losing their jobs and so avoided decisions that might cost the company money, like making property repairs. So Donald came up with a solution: Get Out of Jail, Free cards. Continue reading Execs Find Ways to Encourage Risk-Taking and Creativity

2013 NAB Show: Startups Invited to SPROCKIT Program

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March 26, 2013

NAB announced that next month’s show in Las Vegas will feature 10 up-and-coming media and entertainment companies invited to participate in the new SPROCKIT program. Selected for their innovative video, mobile, social and analytics technologies, the market-ready startups participating in the program are expected to provide a glimpse into the future of content creation, management and delivery. Continue reading 2013 NAB Show: Startups Invited to SPROCKIT Program

Microsoft Pays Startups to Create Software Using Kinect

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March 20, 2013

Microsoft is introducing a company-funded incubator program in China for outside developers to build projects based on its popular Kinect technology, hoping to fuel innovation beyond gaming and into industries like healthcare and retail. Last year in Seattle, Microsoft gave select startups $20,000 each to create software, of which it requires no ownership stakes or intellectual property rights and has no veto power. Continue reading Microsoft Pays Startups to Create Software Using Kinect

President Obama Announces New Energy and Tech Initiatives

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February 15, 2013

In his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, President Obama proclaimed, “now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the Space Race.” Obama is pushing a variety of new energy and technology initiatives, including a network of high-tech manufacturing hubs and a new Energy Security Trust designed to redirect oil and gas revenue to fund tech research that will address our dependency on oil. Continue reading President Obama Announces New Energy and Tech Initiatives

Samsung to Tap Silicon Valley Innovation in Post-PC Era

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February 6, 2013

Samsung disclosed details this week regarding its planned Silicon Valley innovation center, which will help build partnerships between entrepreneurs and the company’s nine product divisions to develop new product ideas. The center is also expected to encourage expansion of the company’s mergers and acquisitions strategy by determining which companies and emerging technologies can help fill existing product gaps. Continue reading Samsung to Tap Silicon Valley Innovation in Post-PC Era

The State of Worldwide Intellectual Property: Innovation on the Rise

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December 13, 2012
  • Innovation is on the rise all across the globe, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization.
  • The IP division of the United Nations released a report full of statistics that show IP trends around the world. It found, among other things, that China’s patent office has surpassed the U.S. as the largest, and 2011 set the record for the highest number of patent applications filed worldwide.
  • “Sustained growth in IP filings indicates that companies continue to innovate despite weak economic conditions,” WIPO Director General Francis Gurry stated at a press conference. “This is good news, as it lays the foundation for the world economy to generate growth and prosperity in the future.”
  • The Atlantic highlights numerous interesting findings including:
  • The total number of patent applications filed worldwide in 2011 was 2.14 million, while the estimated number of patents granted reached nearly 1 million. The increase in the total number of patent filings worldwide between 2009 and 2011 was 293,900.
  • China’s patent office received 526,412 applications in 2011, marking a 34.6 percent growth in patent filings.
  • The total number of applications received by the U.S. patent office in 2011 was 503,582 (with 224,505 patents granted). This represents a 9.7 percent growth for the U.S.

Research Team Develops LCD Display That Fits on Contact Lens

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December 11, 2012
  • Researchers at the Ghent University Centre of Microsystems Technology in Belgium have developed a new contact lens that displays letters and symbols on its lens.
  • “Prior to this point, researchers have only been able to create a LED lens that displays a single pixel,” notes Digital Trends.
  • “However, the technology behind this new development offers the ability to display a large range of pixel sizes as well as a significant volume of pixels on a LCD display.”
  • “Normally, flexible displays using liquid crystal cells are not designed to be formed into a new shape, especially not a spherical one,” explains Professor Herbert De Smet, head researcher on the project. “By using new kinds of conductive polymers and integrating them into a smooth spherical cell, we were able to fabricate a new LCD-based contact lens display.“
  • Conceptually, the lens tech could be used to display scrolling text messages or emails sent to a smartphone, even GPS driving directions. The technology could also enable adaptive lenses that lighten or darken, similar to glasses that feature light-transitioning material.
  • Medical applications might include limiting light access after eye trauma or allowing more light to a damaged eye during the healing process following surgery.

Leap Motion Develops Gesture Control to Challenge Touchscreens

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December 11, 2012
  • While computer makers are focused on adding touchscreen capabilities to desktops, Leap Motion has created a $70 matchbox-sized device that adds gesture control to computers, essentially negating the need for touchscreens.
  • The technology uses two small cameras and multiple infrarad LEDs to track the motion of a person’s fingers with an accuracy of a hundredth of a millimeter, Technology Review reports. The second camera is used to prevent errors from a hand obscuring itself. All the processing is done by a drive software installed on the computer.
  • According to Leap Motion co-founder and CEO Michael Buckwald, “Leap provides the solution to ‘gorilla arm,’ a term used to describe the dubious ergonomics of a person repeatedly lifting his or her hands from the keyboard or mouse and reaching out to operate a computer’s touch screen,” the article states. “Users of Leap’s device can lift their hands just slightly off the keyboard and make more economic gestures with their fingers.”
  • “If you’re controlling a cursor [with Leap], you don’t have to move one-to-one with the screen, like you do with touch,” says Buckwald, so small motions translate to larger movements on screen, making interaction faster than using a mouse and keyboard.
  • “We’re working with lots of consumer OEMs and for laptops but also automotive and medical companies,” he adds. In the future, the technology will be applied to mobile devices as well as new technology such as head-mounted displays. Leap Motion anticipates the technology will one day enable complex 3D interactions.
  • Pre-production versions of the device have been sent to developers who have created various applications for the interface, including a aircraft game and photo-browsing program. The post includes an impressive video featuring these uses and others.

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