Innovations of the week
Interstellar lab
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This company wants to create the perfect climatic and atmospheric conditions for life whether that’s on Earth, in orbit, or on the surface of other worlds. Interstellar Lab's first product is BioPod, an inflatable dome that can be used as an advanced autonomous greenhouse. The terrestrial version of BioPod consists of a composite base filled with electronic and hydraulic equipment for controlling the environment. It recycles water and provides nutrients through a transparent membrane. They are currently building a full-scale prototype of its BioPod, which it claims can reduce water use by 98 percent, cut energy needs by a factor of 20, and improve yields.
Smoodi
This company created a smoothie machine for convenience stores, schools, or offices. Once paid you just have to scan the bar code, the machine will then start mixing the content of the bowl. The fruits are frozen so the stores can keep the inventory for some time. Once done the machine will clean itself before serving the next customer. This could become an alternative to sugary sodas or other juices that aren't as fresh.
Loft dynamics
Loft Dynamics, a swiss startup is creating virtual reality simulation technology for helicopter pilots. Their platform helps address the global pilot shortage. It also reduces many of the costs involved in going out in a real helicopter. Through this VR headset, new pilots can engage in realistic training scenarios including night-time flying and carryi out proficiency checks, with force-feedback to simulate system failures and other issues. Loft Dynamics has developed a slew of simulators for some of the most common helicopters. Because its simulators are around one-tenth of the size of traditional simulators, they are easier to deploy at scale without requiring purpose-built facilities.
Dyson
Dyson's 949$ air filtering headphones. According to Dyson, the electrostatic filters are rated to provide up to 12 months of use before they should be replaced. The filters feature a dual-layer design that incorporates potassium-enriched carbon to capture acidic gasses like nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and ozone. The company claims the filters will block 99% of particles, including ones that are as small as 0.1 microns. On the audio front, the Zone headphones are capable of up to 38 decibels of noise cancellation. Battery life will depend on how extensively you use the Zone’s air filtration feature. Up to 50 hours of listening time and two hours if you're using the air filtration system in intensive mode.
Energinet
Denmark is building two energy islands that could accelerate Europe's green transition. The islands will produce wind energy and green hydrogen power. The North Sea island will supply 3 GW of electricity at first, and will eventually have a capacity of 10 GW - enough to power 7 million homes.. It will be able to transmit electricity over much larger distances than traditional offshore wind farms. The energy islands could also produce green hydrogen for sectors like heavy industry, aviation, and shipping. The North Sea island is set to cost €28 billion.
Einride
Einride developed a cabin-less self-driving cargo truck that also can be controlled remotely by human operators if required. The company's business is based on self-driving technology for freight trucks, which has attracted investor attention in recent years as it is deemed to be cheaper as well as easier to roll out compared to self-driving cars. Self-driving freight services require less mapping than other technology as they run on fixed routes between predefined points, mostly on major highways without intersections or pedestrians.
