Innovative startups of the week

Cruz Foam

This company creates a compostable packaging material out of crab shells. They're using Chitin, which makes up the shells of most crustaceans, like crabs, shrimp, lobsters, and many land insects. This material is available for taking outside of every seafood processing facility. It is durable, stable, completely biodegradable, and abundant. They are focusing on those two initial areas – packaging that replaces petrol-derived foam and consumer packaged goods.

https://www.cruzfoam.com/

Tesla bot

Tesla Bot recently showcased its strength by lifting a piano with a single motor. One of Tesla Bot’s two primary leg actuators lifting a half-ton/500kg concert grand piano. At its AI Day, Tesla did note that it believes its latest robot equipped with its own actuators should be able to walk in the coming weeks.

Oxitec

This company genetically modifies mosquitos so they can't transmit sickness. The male mosquitoes, which don’t bite humans, are genetically modified to transmit a gene to female offspring that causes them to die before they can reproduce and spread illness. The recent release of genetically modified male mosquitoes into a city in Brazil temporarily cut the virus-carrying insects population by up to 96%. Although not a permanent fix, periodically releasing such mosquitoes could reduce infections like dengue or malaria.

https://www.oxitec.com/

Michelin

A maritime company just installed the first automated, retractable, inflatable wing sail technology on a merchant ship. The prototype wing can be mounted on both commercial and recreational vessels. It is believed that by using wind energy, the technology could reduce fuel use by up to 20 % per ship. The wing sail system can be added during the design phase of the ship as original equipment, or retrofitted on an already-in-service ship. This solution could allow ships to increase their efficiency and save fuel while also becoming more environmentally friendly.

Drone deploy & Boston dynamics

Robot dogs are being trained to carry out Google Maps-style 360 virtual walkthrough tours in construction sites. While a virtual tour of a street may only need updating once every few years, a construction site is constantly changing and needs to be closely monitored. This is where Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot comes in useful. Spot excels in maneuvering difficult terrain and can be programmed to automatically walk a specified route. Workers can then identify any issues as seen by Spot and make notes for colleagues to read and fix.

https://www.dronedeploy.com/product/ground-robotics/

RoboTire

The RoboTire System is designed to be easily integrated into existing tire shops. It can replace four tires on a passenger vehicle in less than 25 minutes instead of the hour it usually takes when done manually. The system was recently installed at a leading US tire shop. It will remove, lift, and install tire and wheel assemblies, helping to reduce technician injuries that can occur with repetitive heavy lifting. Human technicians will operate the systems and provide tire pressure monitoring and balancing services needed.

https://www.robotire.com/

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND HISTORY (INAH)

Scientist uses laser technology to reveal the extent of a Maya city beneath the jungle canopy. Calakmul, a region in the southeast of Mexico, was the capital of the Kingdom of the Snake and had a population of 50,000 inhabitants in 750 B C. LIDAR technology uses pulsed laser light to measure distances to the Earth and compile a 3-D digital map of the landscape. The results revealed that Calakmul was a dense urban sprawl with 60 individual structures grouped around temples, sanctuaries, and plazas. A survey revealed that the city's landscape had been modified to provide maximum food security and sufficient water for the inhabitants.