Innovation Videos :: IdeaConnection

Paper Generators Harvest Energy from Hand Motions

Using paper, silver-coated polyester and a thin sheet of Teflon, Disney researchers have created a “paper generator” able to create small amounts of electricity from gestures such as rubbing, tapping or sliding.

Pairing Head Mounted Interfaces with Smartphones

The Docomo team demonstrates some way head-mounted interfaces could be used paired with smartphones, such as watching movies or manipulating virtual images.

Concussion Diagnosis Software

A research team from San Diego State University has developed an inexpensive and immediate way to detect concussions with a 99 percent accuracy, which could be used on the sidelines of sporting events to ensure athletes do not return to action too early.

Mapping the Spread of Ideas

In this intriguing TED Talk about the spread of ideas, Eric Berlow and Sean Gourley use visual aids to demonstrate how ideas spread and connect around the world.

3D-Sweep Transforms 2D Images

Designed to be accessible to the the average user, the 3-Sweep software can extract editable date from a single, 2D image—turning any photograph into an amazing 3D model.

3D Printed Open Source Robotic Hand

Currently seeking funding on Indiegogo, the Open Hand project from Joel Gibbard is an open source project with the goal of designing a prosthetic hand that can be manufactured for around $1000.

Changing the Appearance of Printed Materials

A new system able to manipulate the color, tone and contrast of printed materials could have significant implications for people with color-blindness and other vision-related problems.

Human to Human Telepathy Achieved

Researchers have achieved the first non-invasive telepathic interface between two human brains—a feat that could one day allow disabled people to communicate their needs more or enable a passenger to land a plane if the pilot becomes incapacitated.

Houses Made of Paper

Architect Shigeru Ban, designer of the new cardboard cathedral in Christchurch, creates temporary housing from cardboard tubes and paper—structures that are so appealing and useful they often remain in place long after the emergency has passed.

SpaceGlasses Raise the Augmented Reality Bar

Meta’s SpaceGlasses new concept video explores the future of augmented reality, and attempts to appeal to the Tony Stark in all of us.

Cleaning Blood Vessels with Nanobots

A Ukrainian animation company that specializes in imagining advancements in nanotechnology has released a concept video of a microbot able to scrub artherosclerotic plaques from the vessel walls, offering an inspiring new way to help reduce the chance of heart attacks or strokes.

Surgical Robot Removes Brain Blood Clots

Intracerebral hemorrhaging affects one in 50 people and is fatal about 40 percent of the time, but a robotic surgical system able to remove a blood clot with minimal damage to the surrounding tissue could drastically reduce that percentage.

Degrading Plastics with Bacteria

Two young scientists discuss how their ingenuity, and a happy accident, led them to discover a bacteria able to biodegrade plastics by breaking down phthalates—a harmful plasticizer.

Playing the Paper Drums

Creative scientist Kate Stone discusses how sheep herding and love of paper inspired her to develop interactive electronics using ink and conventional printing processes--and she plays the drums.

Powering Your Phone with Pee

Dr. Ioannis Ieropoulous has developed the world’s first microbial fuel cell powered by urine and efficient enough to power a cell phone, potentially turning home and public bathrooms into new sources of energy.

Physically Manipulating the Virtual World

Pushing the boundary between the actual and virtual world, designer and engineer Jinha Lee explores the ways people can penetrate digital space in order to manipulate digital objects.

Printing with Liquid Metal

A team from North Caroline State University has developed a 3D printing technology that uses liquid metal a room temperature to create free-standing structures, opening the door the next generation of more flexible electronics.

Interpol Global Complex of Innovation

The proposed complex is to be a cutting-edge, proactive research and development facility for the identification of crimes and criminals, innovative training, operational support and partnerships.

Stealth Ink Barcode System

Hatachi Solutions has developed a new item management system which helps to improve traceability in manufacturing facilities. Item IDs are printed using stealth ink, which is hard to see with the naked eye, but made visible with UV light. Each ID is associated with unique production data.

3D-Printed Lithium Battery the Size of a Grain of Sand

Researchers at Harvard have utilized 3D printing and nanotechnology to create a microbattery that has electrochemical performance comparable to commercial batteries in terms of charge and discharge rate, cycle life and energy densities. The microbatteries can be used to power very small devices.

Device to Prevent Repeated Breast Cancer Surgeries

Breast tissue is high in fat content: it does not freeze well nor is it easy to slice without smudging. This novel device provides stability and cohesion that prevents the sample from smudging, helping to prevent the need for repeat lumpectomies.

Privacy Visor Glasses Prevent Recognition

The Privacy visor glasses are a response to the growing privacy concerns surrounding the advent of Google Glass, and will interfere with facial recognition systems.

Combating Poverty with Better Housing

Architect Paul Pholeros discusses Healthabitat’s projects designed to reduce poverty through practical designs in living environments, such as access to washing facilities and cooking with biogas.

TouchMover Screen Pushes Back

The prototype, robot-accented TouchMover haptic feedback screen from Microsoft lets users ‘feel’ textures, forces and contours, including the properties of skull bones and brain tissue.

The Amazing Abilities of Quadcopters

Raffaello D’Andrea invites us into the robot lab at TEDGlobal to demonstrate the impressive problem-solving abilities of his flying quadcopters.

DARPA Muscle/Nerve Interface Provides Sensory Feedback

By taking advantage of the residual nerves within a patient’s body, DARPA researchers have developed a prosthetic able to communicate with these nerves and deliver sensory feedback to the patient.

Flying Drone is a Loyal Follower

Designed to follow the user automatically and at a consistent distance, the Parrot AR.Drone from Falkor Systems could give extreme athletes, such as base jumpers, a new way to capture their action—and hints at our future relationships with robots.

Hacking the World

Jay Silver discusses the scientific pleasure and validity of simply exploring the world around us—similar to the way a child plays—and demonstrates his MaKey MaKey kit, which allows people to ‘hack’ everyday objects.

Ultrasound Opens Doors to Non-Invasive Surgery

Considered the global leader in Focused Ultrasound Surgery, InSightec has developed a non-invasive surgical system that offers an alternative to treatments traditionally requiring incisions or hospitalization.

Quadcopter Lands on Ceilings and Walls

Inspired by the dry-adhesive developed for glass-clinging, gecko-like robots, researchers have created a quadcopter able to stick upside down to a smooth surface—opening the door for a new breed of search and rescue (or spy) robots.

Creating Energy from Leftover Weapons

Taylor Wilson, who built a nuclear fusion reactor when he was 14 years old, discusses how his design for small, modular, molten salt fission reactors fueled by down-blended weapon pits could provide a new source of energy.

Zoomboard Brings Keyboards to the Wrist

Created with smartwatches in mind, the Zoomboard is a tiny, penny-sized touchscreen keyboard that will magnify a small segment of keys when touched by the wearer, making typing much easier.

Haptography: The Evolving Uses of Haptic Feedback

Using an accelerometer to incorporate the sense of touch onto virtual objects could allow online shoppers to feel the fabric of a potential purchase, allow dentists to learn the feel of a cavity and create table surfaces that simulate reality.

Printing Smart Objects

TED Fellow Skylar Tibbits discusses the possibilities of 4D printing, a technology that allows the user to print smart objects that can change after printing, self-assembling or reshaping themselves over time.

Smartphone Controlled Prosthetic Hand

The new smart prosthetic hand from Touch Bionics features i-limb technology that allows the fingers to move independently and comes with an iOS app that lets the user choose and edit grip patterns on a smartphone.

Printing Tissues with Water Drops

By encapsulating water droplets within lipid films, researchers from Oxford University have developed a 3D printer that can build synthetic tissues able to carry out the some of the functions of normal tissues.

BionicOpter Robotic Dragonfly

German researchers, from the pneumatic and electric automation company Festo, have designed a bio-inspired robotic dragonfly able to hover in place, glide without moving its wings and assume almost any position in space.

Making Microbes Happy

Jessica Green discusses how engineers and architects can design interior spaces that direct microbes naturally, encouraging a healthy microbial landscape.

Monkey Games Could Lead to Thought-Controlled Robots

Miguel Nicolelies discusses an experiment in which a monkey learned to control a robotic arm with only its thoughts—an achievement that brings thought-controlled robotic exoskeletons a step closer to reality.

Playing With Smart Materials is Smart

Catarina Mota explores the world of smart materials, such as inks that conduct electricity and music-making jelly, and encourages us to learn by experiment and fun.

Ultra Ever Dry Coating Repels Most Liquids

The super hydrophobic coating Ultra Ever Dry uses nanotechnology to repel almost any liquid, including mud, paint and concrete, and can be used on a variety of materials.

Printing Medicine On Demand

Chemist Lee Cronin is developing a 3D printer able to print molecules, opening the door to the potential of printing one’s own medicine as needed.

E Ink Smartphone

The smartphone prototype E Ink Android can perform all the functions of conventional smartphones, yet it is lighter, less expensive and has a battery life of up to a month.

Crowdsourcing Killer Outbreaks

As the worst E. coli outbreak in history spread through Europe, crowdsourcing helped scientists to better track and understand the disease, and introduced a new method of analyzing outbreaks that could be applied to future epidemics of both human and plant diseases.

Innovation VIDEOS