This is a podcast created to let people know about Brilliant Brainstorms - a future-based company with a goal of creating new solar power options. Let me know what you think!
Brilliant Brainstorms Podcast
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Music by mirandum
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Holographic Virtual Room
Innovation: holographic room allowing true immersion in a virtual environment
Forces that would influence this innovation:
Supporting:
Social – uses for the holographic room could be related to gaming and entertainment. The comfort level of users, price points for the technology, and types of activities available would determine whether the end users would embrace the technology or not. Games and entertainment in today’s world are social and interactive – as people are deciding what platform to purchase for their entertainment needs, one factor that is important is how many others are available to “play” with them, and what experiences can be shared.
Political – another use for this type of technology would be for more realistic training opportunities for those in the military, life-saving personnel, etc. Funding for this type of technology could come as a result of political pressure to expose trainees to realistic simulations of potentially harmful events. Haptic feedback (already present on my cell phone) could be used to apply a buzz or small “zap” to the user to provide an alert that the trainee has been injured in some way.
Opposing:
Technical – the technology for immersive virtual environments is in its early stages and being developed rapidly. The current technology does not allow for truly immersive experiences. Over time, research and development would have to progress in order to allow this innovation to develop and be able to be marketed.
Financial – along with the need to create the technology, comes the need to make it affordable and supportable with existing infrastructure (space, power requirements, zoning issues, noise ordinances, etc.) If the cost to purchase and install the unit exceeds perceived value, the innovation will fail to take root and thrive.
I would use the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) to explore this issue. Because of the potential for the innovation to be heavily social in implementation, getting groups to agree on the features important to a particular audience could focus development methods. I would explore training and entertainment options separately, as I feel these are distinctly different market segments with divergent needs and expectations. Respondents in an NGT process exploring consumer views benefit from high involvement and commitment, and the ranking process provides structure to the data collected. Providing a structured process in collecting data can help researchers avoid problems with individual opinion dominating overall discussion. (Claxton, Ritchie, & Zaichkowsky, 1980) This technique seems most suitable for getting rankings of which features are considered most important in the development of the holographic virtual environment.
Reference: Claxton, J. D., Ritchie, J. R., & Zaichkowsky, J. (1980). The Nominal Group Technique in Consumer Research. Journal of Consumer Research , 7, 6.
Forces that would influence this innovation:
Supporting:
Social – uses for the holographic room could be related to gaming and entertainment. The comfort level of users, price points for the technology, and types of activities available would determine whether the end users would embrace the technology or not. Games and entertainment in today’s world are social and interactive – as people are deciding what platform to purchase for their entertainment needs, one factor that is important is how many others are available to “play” with them, and what experiences can be shared.
Political – another use for this type of technology would be for more realistic training opportunities for those in the military, life-saving personnel, etc. Funding for this type of technology could come as a result of political pressure to expose trainees to realistic simulations of potentially harmful events. Haptic feedback (already present on my cell phone) could be used to apply a buzz or small “zap” to the user to provide an alert that the trainee has been injured in some way.
Opposing:
Technical – the technology for immersive virtual environments is in its early stages and being developed rapidly. The current technology does not allow for truly immersive experiences. Over time, research and development would have to progress in order to allow this innovation to develop and be able to be marketed.
Financial – along with the need to create the technology, comes the need to make it affordable and supportable with existing infrastructure (space, power requirements, zoning issues, noise ordinances, etc.) If the cost to purchase and install the unit exceeds perceived value, the innovation will fail to take root and thrive.
I would use the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) to explore this issue. Because of the potential for the innovation to be heavily social in implementation, getting groups to agree on the features important to a particular audience could focus development methods. I would explore training and entertainment options separately, as I feel these are distinctly different market segments with divergent needs and expectations. Respondents in an NGT process exploring consumer views benefit from high involvement and commitment, and the ranking process provides structure to the data collected. Providing a structured process in collecting data can help researchers avoid problems with individual opinion dominating overall discussion. (Claxton, Ritchie, & Zaichkowsky, 1980) This technique seems most suitable for getting rankings of which features are considered most important in the development of the holographic virtual environment.
Reference: Claxton, J. D., Ritchie, J. R., & Zaichkowsky, J. (1980). The Nominal Group Technique in Consumer Research. Journal of Consumer Research , 7, 6.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Animoto Solar Power Video Short
Solar Power Can Save the World
I created a short video on Animoto to showcase Solar Power. The process was simple, but the features in the free account were fairly frustrating. I started with 12 carefully selected items, based on the information in the site about shorts and what they contain. I ended with 8 - all that would fit in the free format. Too much time on Animoto's background, too little on the actual images and text I chose. However, it was an interesting process overall. Images are from Animoto or are Creative Commons licensed from Flickr.
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
I created a short video on Animoto to showcase Solar Power. The process was simple, but the features in the free account were fairly frustrating. I started with 12 carefully selected items, based on the information in the site about shorts and what they contain. I ended with 8 - all that would fit in the free format. Too much time on Animoto's background, too little on the actual images and text I chose. However, it was an interesting process overall. Images are from Animoto or are Creative Commons licensed from Flickr.
In the wake of the earthquake and subsequent radiation leaks from the nuclear power plant in Japan, my thoughts jumped back to this prediction from our discussion of Herman Kahn's predictions in The Fortune Sellers and in our lecture (Sherden, 1998). One of his predictions was the use of nuclear explosives for excavation and power. We have nuclear power, but the leaks from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have lead to a spate of reactionary monologues on talk radio and online. Driving home from work, I heard one of the "talking heads" scream "I WANT COAL. KEEP BURNING COAL UNTIL THERE IS NOT A BRICK LEFT!" I don't know the name of the particular announcer, but the sentiment is not unique.
Although the disaster zone is in Japan, the US media seems focused more on possible damage to the US than I would have anticipated. Two of the top 8 articles (25%) of the articles from a recent CNN.com search discussed possible implications to the US from leaking radiation. One of the remaining articles focused on evacuation of US citizens within a certain radius of the reactors. The media focus on the hazards and their potential to spread to the US feeds the hysteria of the groups that think nuclear power generation should never have been allowed.
One of the forces that helped nuclear power generation succeed was the economic incentives created by inexpensive power usage. Political forces also come to bear - government regulation of utilities leads to close scrutiny of the actions of those companies. In some cases, nuclear power plants are government owned and operated; in others government funding subsidized the building of the plants. In Japan, nuclear power allows for generation of power for the millions living there. The close proximity to water has been a key component of the geographic placement of nuclear power plants, and as an island nation, Japan has plenty of access to land near water.
Forces also exist that limit the potential of nuclear energy uses. Fears of what the radiation leaks will do in the long term limit the availability of future excavators and power companies to construct reactors or nuclear bombs for business purposes. Another negative potential impact of this type of event is the reduction in funding for nuclear-based research. Nuclear fission reactions generate enormous energy, and researchers have worked diligently to make the end results better - more power generation, safer and lower quantities of radioactive waste, etc. Continuing to provide funding for research is necessary to make the technology safer. The US funded a long-running set of projects (Project Plowshare) that explored alternate uses of nuclear explosions. Although many of the options showed promise in the projects, eventually the political climate changed and the research was abandoned (Madrigal, 2009). Existing political opposition is coupled with concerns for long-term environmental impact. These issues will limit the potential for the complete fulfillment of Kahn's prophesy. In fact, given sufficient pressure, the uses we have seen for nuclear power may regress in the long run.
This may actually prove to be a positive end result, although the time-line may be 50+ years in the making. If the pressure caused by medical and environmental concerns from radiation forces the eventual closure of nuclear power plants, perhaps more funding and attention will be available for sustainable energy initiatives. Solar power and other alternatives may be the beneficiaries of this tragedy.
References:
Madrigal, A. (2009, April 10). 7 (Crazy) Civilian Uses for Nuclear Bombs. Retrieved March 17, 2011, from Wired Science: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/yourfriendatom/
Sherden, W. A. (1998). The Fortune Sellers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Although the disaster zone is in Japan, the US media seems focused more on possible damage to the US than I would have anticipated. Two of the top 8 articles (25%) of the articles from a recent CNN.com search discussed possible implications to the US from leaking radiation. One of the remaining articles focused on evacuation of US citizens within a certain radius of the reactors. The media focus on the hazards and their potential to spread to the US feeds the hysteria of the groups that think nuclear power generation should never have been allowed.
One of the forces that helped nuclear power generation succeed was the economic incentives created by inexpensive power usage. Political forces also come to bear - government regulation of utilities leads to close scrutiny of the actions of those companies. In some cases, nuclear power plants are government owned and operated; in others government funding subsidized the building of the plants. In Japan, nuclear power allows for generation of power for the millions living there. The close proximity to water has been a key component of the geographic placement of nuclear power plants, and as an island nation, Japan has plenty of access to land near water.
Forces also exist that limit the potential of nuclear energy uses. Fears of what the radiation leaks will do in the long term limit the availability of future excavators and power companies to construct reactors or nuclear bombs for business purposes. Another negative potential impact of this type of event is the reduction in funding for nuclear-based research. Nuclear fission reactions generate enormous energy, and researchers have worked diligently to make the end results better - more power generation, safer and lower quantities of radioactive waste, etc. Continuing to provide funding for research is necessary to make the technology safer. The US funded a long-running set of projects (Project Plowshare) that explored alternate uses of nuclear explosions. Although many of the options showed promise in the projects, eventually the political climate changed and the research was abandoned (Madrigal, 2009). Existing political opposition is coupled with concerns for long-term environmental impact. These issues will limit the potential for the complete fulfillment of Kahn's prophesy. In fact, given sufficient pressure, the uses we have seen for nuclear power may regress in the long run.
This may actually prove to be a positive end result, although the time-line may be 50+ years in the making. If the pressure caused by medical and environmental concerns from radiation forces the eventual closure of nuclear power plants, perhaps more funding and attention will be available for sustainable energy initiatives. Solar power and other alternatives may be the beneficiaries of this tragedy.
References:
Madrigal, A. (2009, April 10). 7 (Crazy) Civilian Uses for Nuclear Bombs. Retrieved March 17, 2011, from Wired Science: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/yourfriendatom/
Sherden, W. A. (1998). The Fortune Sellers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
GoogleDocs for Innovation
I have been using GoogleDocs to share files with my Teaching Assistants since 2008. I have searched the web off and on over the last several weeks to try and find something newer, better, stronger, faster to support my Socio-Technical Innovation, and have come back to the site I know. My innovation revolves around creating better technology for harnessing the power of the sun, and then deploying that technology in creative ways to improve life.
One of the first areas I would like to exploit is the desalination of sea water. A solar-powered facility could purify and pump water potentially long distances, with periodic aggregation and redistribution sites as needed. In order to make solar power a viable long-term solution, the cost of power production must decline, while the durability of products must increase. This will involve getting together a team of scientists, engineers and materials experts in order to generate the flow of ideas that will lead to the next great solar power breakthroughs.
GoogleDocs is helpful in this kind of collaboration because (1) it creates a cloud-based file storage system with built-in ability to share or hide information. A major bonus of the system is the easy accessibility of files from any location with internet access. Files can also be downloaded for working offline, then uploaded when modifications are complete. (2) GoogleDocs keeps track of revisions, so you know who made the most recent changes to the documents. Because I have used this tool so effectively in my own work, I see it as a critical component of collaboration and innovation. It is a great combination of technical innovation leading to superior, practical sharing of ideas across time and distance.
Ideally research would be funded by non-profit groups, and experts world-wide could collaborate to create improved solar power technologies for humanitarian purposes. The research could also be shared, and modified by those wishing to pursue profits from the new advances. In the long run, everyone can benefit from an open project to improve solar power options.
GoogleDocs
One of the first areas I would like to exploit is the desalination of sea water. A solar-powered facility could purify and pump water potentially long distances, with periodic aggregation and redistribution sites as needed. In order to make solar power a viable long-term solution, the cost of power production must decline, while the durability of products must increase. This will involve getting together a team of scientists, engineers and materials experts in order to generate the flow of ideas that will lead to the next great solar power breakthroughs.
Ideally research would be funded by non-profit groups, and experts world-wide could collaborate to create improved solar power technologies for humanitarian purposes. The research could also be shared, and modified by those wishing to pursue profits from the new advances. In the long run, everyone can benefit from an open project to improve solar power options.
GoogleDocs
Biogenetic Medicine
In Technology's Promise, Halal speculates on a variety of potential future technological developments. One area he discusses is biogenetic medicine. The DNA mapping has already lead to the discovery of specific genetic markers for inheritable diseases. Stem cell research holds the promise of potentially replacing diseased or damaged organs. We can (and do) manipulate the DNA of crops to make them more hardy, pest-resistant, etc. Bacteria and retro-viruses have been modified to offer methods of introducing specific DNA into a particular host organism. Over time, DNA modification could be used to attempt to replace a specific genome sequence indicating high probability for breast cancer with a healthy sequence inserted at that point through some type of "infection" mechanism, so new cells would replicate with the healthy sequence rather than the unhealthy. Such technological advances come with a host of ethical, moral, and environmental issues. Aside from the basic "is it ethical to do this" questions, we also have a question of "is it advantageous to the planet as a whole to do this?" If we prolong the lives of people on the planet now substantially and exponentially (by decades rather than the current incremental improvements in longevity) how do we ensure our population is sustainable with the resources at hand? How do we modify and manage birth rates to keep from over-crowding our finite planetary options? Or, do we need to explore similar growth in planetary expansion and settlement to avoid over-population and ecosystem destruction here on Earth? Reaching further down this path, if we prolong life indefinitely, and restrict reproduction in order to remain sustainable, what do we give up in innovation and creativity? If the next Einstein, Mozart, etc. is never born due to population controls, where do we get the next great innovation. Do we run the risk of creating a stagnating society because fresh ideas and fresh energy do not come along every generation to replace our existing outdated thinking?
Curing sickness is good. Prolonging life is good. But I have to wonder, how do we know when too much of a good thing turns bad...
Curing sickness is good. Prolonging life is good. But I have to wonder, how do we know when too much of a good thing turns bad...
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