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Tribute to a True Innovator

Oct-07-11 By Aminda
This week the world mourns the loss of Steve Jobs, one of the most dedicated innovators of our time. In recognition, a compilation of his quotes on innovation has been assembled:

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.
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Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.

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No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.

Support for Sustainable Business

Oct-05-11 By Aminda
The Maldives, which recently put out a call to global energy experts to help refine the nation’s renewable energy plan, has many examples to follow when it comes to environmental innovation. The Environmental Defense Fund is one. The EDF is not only a leader in using innovation for its own initiatives but also for encouraging and supporting businesses and nonprofits to capitalize on open innovation to solve sustainability challenges.

Maldives Seeks Assistance with Renewable Energy Plan

Oct-04-11 By Aminda
Reaction was mixed to the announcement that The Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean has become the first country to crowdsource its renewable energy plan.

Comments reacting to a story on a national news site ranged from an optimistic “I applaud the Government for releasing and requesting comments on this. Wish they had done this sooner!” to a more skeptical “If the Government needs the whole world to help with an investment framework the President should immediately fire his energy advisor.”

According to the article, the nation aims to cut emissions by 60 percent before 2020 and the plan suggests that up to 80 percent of the electricity island communities use could be derived from renewable energy, without the cost of energy increasing.  

The Unwelcome New Trend of “Crime-sourcing”

Oct-03-11 By Aminda
 An interesting article on O’Reilly Media discusses how the latest trends making positive transformational impact in business are also changing how less constructive types of businesses are run. Globalization, crowdsourcing and even flash mob practices are more frequently being seen in organized crime circles, as these types of groups change to adapt to the benefits of technology. These groups “historically have looked upon outsiders with great suspicion: don't trust somebody you don't know and who has not been vetted.” Now, with the ability to conceal identities behind a computer, they can source accomplices from around the globe.

Success for Planet Hunters

Sep-29-11 By Aminda
Only a couple weeks after citizen scientists solve an AIDS molecular challenge on Foldit, volunteers for Planet Hunters may have identified two new exoplanets. In the past decade, more than 500 such exoplanets have been identified using techniques including Doppler observation.

The Planet Hunters project has been analyzing data from the Kepler Space Telescope; volunteers look for transit signals in the data, which cause the light from the star to dim periodically. The new planet candidates were flagged only two months after the data were released to the public in December, 2010. Currently known as KIC 10905746 and KIC 6185331, they have radii of 2.32 and 8.0, respectively.

Turkey’s Time to Shine

Sep-28-11 By Aminda
The country of Turkey may not yet appear at the top of anyone’s list of most innovative nations. But the country sure seems determined to change that. The European Innovation Scoreboard describedTurkey as a “catching up” country, with current innovation performance falling below average compared to the EU-27 but with an above-average rate of improvement. Finance and Support, Firm Investments, Throughputs and Economic Effects have been the main drivers of the improvement in innovation, as the country has achieved rapid recovery from a 2001 financial crisis.

Citizen Scientist Project to Aid Syria

Sep-27-11 By Aminda
An interesting venture is underway combining citizen science and social responsibility. Crisis mapping expert Patrick Meier of Ushahidi is coordinating a project with the Amnesty International USA to use satellite imagery to identify evidence of mass human rights violations from the Syrian rebellion. Digital imagery was shared with AI for free but professional satellite imagery experts with time to volunteer their skills are harder to come by.

In response, an online volunteer community was enlisted to tackle the task of analyzing and tagging the data. Efforts are focused on three key (but unidentified) cities in Syria and on identifying evidence of three primary features: large crowds, large military equipment and checkpoints. These features have been determined as relatively easy to identify.

Plans Released for Technology Testing City

Sep-26-11 By Aminda
Plans are underway to build what would be the world’s largest technology testing and evaluation center in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Pegasus Global Holdings has entered into a memo of understanding (MOU) with the state’s Department of Economic Development to build the Center for Innovation, Test and Evaluation. Development, construction, and operating costs will be funded by the private sector. The Center will create 350 new direct jobs and is expected to create more than 3,500 new indirect jobs through construction of the facility, supporting industry, and contractors.

Accelerating the Automotive Industry

Sep-22-11 By Aminda
New innovations and innovation platforms have the potential to produce big change in the automotive industry. The U.S. Airforce Research Lab (AFRL) is currently developing a design from the Air Force’s Open Innovation Pavilion. The design is for a remote-controlled vehicle that can deploy an airbag under a fleeing car that would slide it to a complete stop, potentially keeping police officers and citizens out of harm’s way. The technology will have both military and law enforcement utility. A retired engineer won $25,000 for the winning vehicle concept which is electric-powered and has the ability to accelerate up to 130 mph within three seconds.

Crowdsourcing Best Practices

Sep-21-11 By Aminda
A software industry writer has recently published an insightful series of articles on how to ensure crowdsourcing is a best practice and not a worst practice. While the material is focused on the software industry and features insight from executives at TopCoder there is plenty of wisdom for professionals in all industries. The article cautions that crowdsourcing, like outsourcing of years past, is so trendy that it has become a solution for everything. In reality, businesses are better off analyzing projects on a case by case basis to determine which are suited to crowdsourcing and which are not. Then the best model must be determined. For example, Top Coder has calculated optimal participation metrics for each type of contest they host, indicating the optimal number of submissions that will provide the best experience for both customer and member.