Great Idea: Shoe Power

http://host.madison.com/news/local/education/university/article_82a17e5c-cdec-11e0-a7b6-001cc4c03286.html

            With the threat of global warming constantly looming overhead, people all around the world have started to search for new ways of creating energy that don’t generate the greenhouse gasses responsible for this trend. So far, things like wind farms and hydrogen power have been developed as possible alternatives to things like burning gasoline and coal, but they have not been enough to completely curb our addiction to fossil fuels.

            

            Tom Krupenkin and J. Ashley Taylor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison have come up with their own device to combat this issue.  Attempting to utilize the convenient and abundant power generated through the process of walking, these scientists have invented a device that fits inside the bottom of a shoe and transforms the force of every step into usable electricity. Utilizing a process called “reverse electro-wetting”, these scientists have developed a working prototype. The idea is basically that two pouches of a water/oil mixture rest at the heel and toe of the shoe respectively. With every step, the foot puts pressure on one of the pouches and transfers the liquid through a small tube lined with electrodes connecting the two pouches. When the water is forced through the electrode lined tube electricity is generated. This also transfers the liquid to the opposite pouch and the process is repeated over and over again. Their proposal is to use this electricity to power cells phones, which they have found a way to wirelessly connect to their shoe device which they call a “footwear-embedded harvester”.

The basic idea
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-11/capturing-electricity-shoe

            

           While it may not be able to single-handedly solve our need for an efficient source of clean energy, the footwear-embedded harvester is definitely a clever step in the right direction. Scientists need to be looking for situations where there is already potential to generate energy and capitalize on them. If there is potential to harvest energy from just walking around every day, think of all the other possible opportunities that we just haven’t thought of yet. Their ability to recognize this particular opportunity and create a way to take advantage of it is a great idea.

Great Ideas: Charlie Todd and Improv Everywhere

http://improveverywhere.com/charlie_todd/

Charlie Todd moved to New York city with a passion for acting, comedy, and most of all improv. Without access to a real stage, he decided to turn the city of New York into one. Now, ten years later, his performance arts group called Improv Everywhere has carried out dozens of very public pranks (which they call “missions”) all over the city in an attempt to cause scenes of "chaos and joy”.

Some of their “missions” have included things like the Black Tie Beach day, in which a large group of people volunteered to dawn formal attire and spend a day at the beach, some even going for a swim. Another example is the Human Mirror, in which fifteen pairs of twins were recruited, dressed identically to their partner, and stationed on opposite’s sides of a subway car while mimicking the exact movements of their twin, creating a literal Human Mirror to entertain the patrons of New York’s Subway system.

These kinds of events may not seem very traditionally productive to most people; all they do is cause a little confusion and chaos for the people of New York. But the reason Charlie Todd’s group is such a great idea, is because everything his Improv Everywhere does is simply to make the people who see them perform a little happier. In a world where most people are completely caught up in their own lives and their own problems, Improv Everywhere is the much needed (and almost always welcomed) interruption to their day. In a way, the events Charlie Todd organizes are the purest form of altruism: making people’s lives better for the sole purpose of making people’s lives better. Causing harmless, entertaining chaos is a dying art, which makes Improv Everywhere a great idea.

For more about Improv Everywhere:
http://improveverywhere.com/ 
http://www.ted.com/talks/charlie_todd_the_shared_experience_of_absurdity.html

For more of their missions:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ImprovEverywhere

Great Idea: Texting for Safety

http://www.prlog.org/11488900-firetext-retail-pack.jpg

          

               In an age where communication devices like cell phones are all too often the cause of harm (for example, texting while driving) it’s nice to see these technologies being applied on behalf of safety. A new wave of security devices are being developed which allow for homeowners to monitor and even remotely make adjustments to their homes from their mobile devices. Things like the FireText Smoke Alarm (seen above) will help homeowners better protect their home by using modern communication technology (like texting) to alert the homeowner to a possible threat or disturbance in their home more quickly than ever before possible. 

           This will allow the homeowner to react more quickly (this is especially helpful is the homeowners are far away from their homes) than ever before possible and hopefully result in more productive and efficient reactions to threats.

            Some security devices are even taking it a step further, not only alerting homeowners to possible threats but actually helping them to react to these threats. Devices like the Craftsman Assurelink garage door opener allow homeowners to remotely close and open their garage doors. This may sound like just a convenience but an open garage door is like an invitation for burglars and other criminals to trespass into your home, and this device allows for you to prevent this from happening even if you are away from home.

           

            It’s good to know that all of our innovation isn’t just going towards building the shiniest new car or the sleekest new cell phone, and that there are technologies being developed that will help make our world a little safer. Using our advancements in technology and communication to make advances on behalf of our safety is definitely a great idea.

Great Ideas: Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs. Digital image. YaLibnan. 28 Feb. 2011. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. <http://www.yalibnan.com/2011/02/28/steve-jobs-is-a-biological-arab-american-with-roots-in-syria-apple/>.

     
      If one wants to talk about people with great ideas, it is impossible not to mention Steve Jobs. This man changed the world with his innovation, his passion, his ideas, and his inventions. Apple products are sold (and happily purchased) all around the globe.

    

     Interestingly enough, many of the good ideas that make his products so popular have stemmed directly from his life experiences. For example, Jobs has never included an off button on any of his handheld devices. The reason? Jobs was quoted by his biographer, Walter Isaacson, in saying, "But ever since I’ve had cancer, I’ve been thinking about it more. And I find myself believing a bit more. I kind of – maybe it’s ’cause I want to believe in an afterlife. That when you die, it doesn’t just all disappear. The wisdom you’ve accumulated. Somehow it lives on, but sometimes I think it’s just like an on-off switch. Click and you’re gone. And that’s why I don’t like putting on-off switches on Apple devices". A change seemingly so minor has actually proved to be one of the most innovative aspects of inventions like the iPod and iPad, and his customers are very thankful for it. 

       Another good idea born out of his life experience is the fact that Apple devices have as few buttons as possible (in the most recent device, the iPad's, case there are merely four small buttons). He did this because he disagreed with the idea that technology is cold and heartless. He wanted technology to be more personal. Therefore, he began using a touch interface instead of lots of buttons, so that people could feel more connected with the technology. This innovation paid off as it is another one of the most popular aspects of Apple devices.

    It is a tragedy that a man with so many good ideas and so much to offer the world has passed on so soon. His inventions may one day become obsolete but his ideas have already changed the world far too much for his legacy to ever be forgotten. From the Macintosh computer to the iPad, it is absolutely certain that Steve Jobs was full of great ideas.