Innovation & Tech Today - Vol 9 Issue 1

DAVID

COSTABILE DAVID COSTABILE

From Billions to Building a Sustainable Future at Home

From Billions to Building a Sustainable Future at Home

DEEPAK CHOPRA Bringing Tech to Holistic Medicine

DEEPAK CHOPRA Bringing Tech to Holistic Medicine

Adventures in THE METAVERSE

Adventures in THE METAVERSE

DIGITAL ARTIST TRIPPY on the Future of NFTs

DIGITAL ARTIST TRIPPY on the Future of NFTs

ESCAPE FROM WHAKAARI

ESCAPE FROM WHAKAARI

First-Hand Footage of Daring

First-Hand Footage of Daring

Rescue From Erupting Volcano

Rescue From Erupting Volcano

An Evening With an AI BOT

An Evening With an AI BOT

Sound + Style for Any TV

Leon offers the most options to add high-performance sound to any TV without compromising design. Explore all of our TV audio solutions at www.leonspeakers.com/tv

FrameBar ultra-thin soundbar in Beige for Samsung’s The Frame TV

Installation by Sounds Good / Oakville, ON

Charles Warner, Publisher/ Editor-in-Chief

Dear Readers,

As we continue to witness the rapid growth of technology in all facets of our lives, the topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been front and center in the early days of 2023.

In this issue, we focus on the rise of AI in various aspects of business and explore where it might be implemented in the future.

AI is transforming the way businesses operate, making processes more efficient and effective. A recent report by IDC estimates worldwide spending on AI will reach $110 billion by 2024. From supply chain management to customer service, AI is making its mark in almost every industry.

One of the most exciting applications of AI is in the field of augmented reality (AR). AR overlays digital information onto the real world, creating an immersive and interactive experience for users. With AR, businesses can create unique experiences for their customers, train their employees in virtual environments, and even design products in real-time.

In fact, we predict that AR might overtake virtual reality (VR) in popularity in the coming years. While VR has been popular in the gaming industry, AR has a wider range of applications, from healthcare to education. We explore the potential of AR in our special feature with Adobe.

As we continue to explore the potential of AI, it’s important to note that there are ethical considerations to be made. AI systems must be designed to be transparent, fair, and unbiased. Our expert contributors provide insights into these considerations and how companies can ensure their AI systems are ethical and just.

Looking ahead, we believe AI will continue to transform the way businesses operate. We might see AI being used to power self-driving cars, create more efficient manufacturing processes, and even help us solve complex problems in healthcare and medicine.

For this issue, we had the privilege of interviewing David Costabile, an actor best known for his roles in TV shows such as Breaking Bad and Billions. Costabile is a tech enthusiast and spoke with us about sustainable and forward-thinking smart home upgrades and the importance of incorporating renewable energy. We also get a sneak peak into the production of Billions and learn some of his favorite biting one-liners from the fanfavorite character Mike “Wags” Wagner.

Innovation & Tech Today is also proud to present our annual Top 50 Most Innovative Products list, curated by our team of experts. This list features the current top tech products in multiple categories including Health Tech and Outdoor+Adventure. Hot off the heels of CES 2023, there were a panoply of contenders to choose from. We believe these products are at the forefront of innovation and are changing the way we live, work, and play.

We hope this issue inspires you to think about the potential of AI and leaves you more informed, curious, and tech-savvy than when you picked it up. We look forward to continuing to bring you the latest news and insights in the world of technology.

“Looking ahead, we believe that AI will continue to transform the way businesses operate. We might see AI being used to power self-driving cars, create more efficient manufacturing processes, and even help us solve complex problems in healthcare and medicine.”

SS&TP: A Gathering of Experts

What’s so special about Albuquerque’s Sandia Science & Technology Park? In a word, the neighbors. Immediately adjacent to the Park are the unparalleled facilities of Sandia National Laboratories and the Air Force Research Laboratory as well as the thousands of distinguished scientists, engineers, researchers, and technicians who populate them. What’s really special: the companies that reside on the 340 acres of the Park — known as SS&TP — collaborate with these top labs on a broad range of technologies, products, and services. Working every day with world-class scientists and engineers can’t be easily duplicated elsewhere. It is the Park’s unique selling proposition.

There is an unequalled synergy between SS&TP businesses and their lab neighbors. Many are strategic suppliers and work with the national laboratories on Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and licensing agreements. These relationships are extremely beneficial, resulting in numerous product lines from technology transfer and commercialization.

A scientific community that promotes interrelationships can produce remarkable results. SS&TP companies develop numerous products including precision manufactured nanotechnology, photovoltaic systems, and other components for operationally responsive satellites; lasers and photodiodes for data communications, laser guided star systems, materials coating, and motion control

technology. And as the Park’s laboratory neighbors increase their focus on space research and technologies, opportunities for like-minded private-sector companies also increase.

The idea of the Park was born in 1998. The Sandia Science and Technology Park Development Corporation was formed to assist in the Park’s development and its high-speed telecommunications infrastructure. Funding includes grants from the U.S. Department of

NO STRANGER TO SPACE

New Mexico’s association with space research and technology began in 1930 when Robert H. Goddard developed gyro control apparatus for rocket flights. It continued with the creation in 1945 of the White Sands Missile Range, the nation’s only range for test and evaluation of missiles and other ordnance, ground, and air systems.

Two of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s directorate — Space Vehicles and Directed Energy — are the Park’s neighbors on the adjacent Kirtland Air Force Base. Space Vehicles, with 1,080 civilian and military scientists and engineers, develops and transitions technologies that provide space-

Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, State of New Mexico and City of Albuquerque. The Park has been recognized by a number of organizations including the Association of University Research Parks (Outstanding Research Park of the Year), Public-Private Partnership Award (International Economic Development Council), and the Technology-Led Economic Development Award (U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration). ■

based capabilities. Directed Energy, with 800 employees and contractors, works on high-energy lasers, high-power microwaves, and other technologies.

The new United States Space Force, part of the Air Force, has several Albuquerque-based units including the two AFRL directorates. Space-related R&D is also being conducted at the Sandia Labs. Participants at the 2021 Space Futures workshop in Albuquerque concluded that the Space Force “must lead and develop an all-ofgovernment strategy to partner with the U.S. Space Industrial Base, taking advantage of the present, commercial capabilities while stimulating future commercial capability development for U.S. space military needs.” ■

New Mexico is home to the Sandia Science & Technology Park, and major tech companies like Facebook, Intel, and Raytheon, making the state a key part of the science and tech industry.

Robert Goddard

Photo: iStockphoto.com/ Johan Swanepoel

SINCE LAST ISSUE

In many ways, the world has changed drastically in the short time since our last issue was released. The rise of AI cannot be stopped as it permeates through every industry and shapes the future of business. After decades of anticipation, flying cars are a reality — although they have not yet become widely adopted. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

As we get used to our new AI overlords and look ahead to what the rest of 2023 has to offer, we must also reminisce about the past — at least as far back as three months ago — and check in on our dear friends Darren Aronofsky and the James Webb Space Telescope.

Aronofsky’s latest motion picture, The Whale, has garnered praise from critics and audiences alike, which is no easy feat. Shot in the midst of the COVID pandemic, the film based-on-a-play based-on-a-novel, takes advantage of the gathering restrictions of the time, focusing on story rather than grandiose sets. According to all accounts, Aronofksy and star Brendan Faser had a “whale” of a time working with each other, and many critics have called Fraser’s performance his “official Hollywood comeback.” He has received several awards for his heartfelt performance in the film.

Images from the JWST continue to stun, amaze, and every other positive adjective under the sun. We were thrilled to provide our readers with highresolution, full-page spreads depicting the majesty of the cosmos. The consistent outpouring of photos continues to shine a light on the darkest corners of the known universe.

In Vol. 8 Issue 3, we waded into the pool of augmented reality, a technology slowly gaining ground on its cousin, virtual reality, and the metaverse. AR is now becoming more ubiquitous than ever following the creation of user-friendly mobile apps like Adobe Aero AR. We finally have a clear path to anyone with a smartphone becoming the designer of his or her own reality — for better or worse.

While we didn’t include a sprawling spread of cosmological photos this time round, we do chronicle the evolution of AR, provide new insights on the momentous rise of AI, present our annual Top 50 Most Innovative Products, and add in a few surprises like our new Topical Tech department.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Brian Boothe, Ian Cohen, Eric Goldberg, Darren Aronofsky, National Geographic, Aaron Peterson, Ryan Star, and Colin Thacker

This publication is dedicated to the dreamers, the innovators, the collaborators, and the doers – who can’t be bothered by those saying it can’t be done. Nicholas and Aria, the future is yours!

#innotechtoday

innotechtoday innotechtoday innotechtoday innotechtodaymagazine

For print or digital subscriptions, visit innotechtoday.com, or find us on popular digital newsstands and readers.

PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Charles Warner cwarner@goipw.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Shane Brisson shane@goipw.com

MANAGING EDITOR Aron Vaughan

ASSOCIATE EDITORS Jim Daws

Jeremy Glowacki

Patricia Miller

SENIOR WRITER Adjoua Kouassi

AUTOMOTIVE EDITOR Michael Coates

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Michael Coates

Jim Grissom

Chris Mellides

Sara Brittany Somerset

David Wallach

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Mary Roche

DIRECTOR OF SALES Steven Higgins

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Roger Perry

VIDEO/PODCAST PRODUCER Alan Tuszynski

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY – Vol. 9 / Issue 1. Innovation & Tech Today is published quarterly for $19.95 per year by Innovative Properties Worldwide, 1750 Wewatta Street, #1821, Denver CO 80202

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THERE’S AN INNOVATOR IN ALL OF US.

58 Cover Story

David Costabile Talks Billions and His Commitment to Clean Energy

By Charles Warner and Aron Vaughan

Cover photo: James Minchin/SHOWTIME

Departments

8 Event Wrap Ups / Best of CES

12 By the Numbers

14 Quickbytes

16 Topical Tech

24 Innovator Profile

18 Energy

20 Augmented Reality

22 Pet & Family

78 Events/Next Issue

80 The Lighter Side

Digital Artist and Curator Trippy Shares

His Thoughts on the Future of NFTs

26 Connected Car

The Icarus Projects

28 The Old Dog Teaches the New Dog Some Tricks

30 Outdoor+Adventure Tech

Escape from Whakaari

32 Getting Back to Camping Basics With iKamper

34 Top 50 Most Innovative Products — Outdoor/Adventure

38 Health Tech

24

Dr. Deepak Chopra Discusses How Advances in Technology

Can Aid the Holistic Medicine Movement

42 FIFA Embraces AI

44 Top 50 Most Innovative Products — Health

48 Gaming+Entertainment

Part 1: Adventures in the Metaverse – Horizon Worlds

50 Part 2: Adventures in the Metaverse – Decentraland

52 An Evening With an AI Bot

54 Editor’s Choice 2023

56 Connected Life

Augmented Reality Glasses

48

62 Regional Spotlight: Nashville

Music City USA Embraces Tech

65 Nashville by the Numbers

66 Sustainability Today

Clearing the Air

68 Smart Mobility

70 The Importance of Urban Infrastructure

72 STEM Today

What Was the ‘State of STEM’ in 2022?

74 Product Revolution

Wildest Announcements From CES 2023

Compiled by I&TT Staff

As the dust settled after the year’s biggest tech products convention, the most interesting, out-of-the-box gadgets from CES 2023’s exhibitors became clear. There were a plethora of innovative offerings in health tech, security, and fitness that will undoubtedly change our lives for the better. There was also a selection of futuristic and down-right strange products that would have felt right at home in a 1920s World Expo.

Here are some of the wackiest, wildest, and most futuristic gear that debuted at the Las Vegas show from Jan. 5-8, 2023.

LG MoodUP Refrigerator

Why does the party always end up in the kitchen? LG isn’t focused on answering that question, but rather on keeping the party going in the most sociable room in the house.

The LG refrigerator with MoodUP, unveiled at IFA 2022 in Berlin last September, boasts a diverse range of rich, dynamic colors to choose from, providing a convenient way for users to enliven their kitchen whenever they feel the need to change or refresh the mood. With the arrival of Viva Magenta, the upper door panel of the fridge now offers a total of 23 color options. Owners of the 4-Door French-Door model can mix and match colors to their personal aesthetic, with more than 190,000 possible color combinations available.

Aska A5 Flying Car

It’s happening. It’s really happening. In the 1950s, people believed we would be zooming around the stratosphere in our personal flying vehicles by the year 2000. We may have let those mid-century dreamers down by 20 years or so, but it looks like flying cars are FINALLY becoming a reality.

The first fully functional prototype of the ASKA A5 electric drive and fly Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) vehicle made its debut at CES 2023. The size of an SUV, the ASKA A5 is the world’s first four-seater electric vehicle that can travel by road, and up to 250 miles by air on a single charge. The company also announced the ASKA On-Demand ride service (expected to launch in 2026) that will feature a fleet of ASKA vehicles, operating on-demand in major cities and their surroundings.

Withings U-Scan At-Home Urine Analysis Device

Do you realize how much valuable health data you are flushing down the toilet every time you pee? Neither did we until Withings premiered a first-of-its-kind “urinalysis” device.

One of the company’s most technologically advanced devices to date, U-Scan is a miniaturized health lab that hygienically sits within any toilet bowl to unlock the wealth of health information in daily urine. U-Scan has already been recognized by the Consumer Technology Association as a CES 2023 Innovation Award honoree in three categories: Smart Home, Fitness & Sports, and Digital Health.

Smart cities start here. Join us at Smart Cities Connect Conference and Expo in Denver

Cities attend for free.

Smart Cities Connect Conference and Expo was built for cities with significant contribution by cities, and it’s always free for municipal employees. If you’re a city looking to meet peers and dive deeper on content, look no further.

More than 400 leaders from municipalities of all sizes participate.

We expect 400+ city leaders to fill panel discussions, take center stage, and mingle in the Expo theater during the event. If you want to work with and for them, there’s no better place to start.

Denver leads as a seat of innovation.

Central to the country and central to smart cities, Denver and its surrounding area represent astounding leadership in transportation and innovative IoT pilots for smart cities. Absorb it all in real life with us!

Funding resources upwards of $50B walk these halls.

We represent the largest funder of innovation in the nation, accessing and matchmaking more than $50B annually, largely in the form of government contracts but also stemming from corporate relationships and venture capital. If you’re a technology innovator, this is your market.

We’ll help you make a difference.

Bring you challenges and concerns, and we’ll help you address them with meaningful conversation and partners who can take you the last mile.

AromaPlayer

In the ongoing quest to inject more “reality” into virtual reality, Aromajoin created AromaPlayer, which lets creators customize their videos by adding their own scents to them. After picking up a video from your own library or by using a YouTube link, you can add scents on the timeline to set up the perfect smell, timing, and duration for a scent to go with your video.

The scented video platform is powered by its proprietary Aroma Shooter technology, which can switch between various scents without any delay. AromaPlayer is a web application that can be easily accessed from a Google Chrome browser. There are a few hundred kinds of scents available, from coffee to orange.

Candela C-8 Hydrofoil Boat

If we’ve cracked the code for flying cars, electric boats are a breeze to figure out, right? I must admit, though, I’m still impressed.

Compared to other electric speedboats, the C-8 is many times more efficient, thanks to its pair of computer-controlled hydrofoils that help it fly above the water with the hull completely airborne.

While flying on its hydrofoils, it uses around 80% less energy than a traditional boat, which is what allows it to achieve its impressive range of over 50 nautical miles. A single charge of its Polestar battery is sufficient for a trip from Miami to Bimini.

And did I mention, it’s automonous? The C-8 can stick to a course indefinitely, giving it the deserved nickname of the “Tesla of the sea.”

AI-Powered Hummingbird Feeder

Bird Buddy is the world’s first smart bird feeder that instantly snaps pictures and recognizes over 1000 species. It sends notifications of joy via the Bird Buddy app, creating collectible images you can share. It also provides species information through a “birdopedia.

The Bird Buddy hummingbird feeder is the perfect tool to capture photos and video of the 350 different hummingbird species with wing speeds of up to 60 mph. The motion sensor triggers the camera to take photos of the bird, then runs those images through its AI algorithm to identify the species, notifying the user through the Bird Buddy app.

Augmented reality technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since the term was coined by Boeing researcher Tom Caudell in 1990. Developments like user-friendly AR-rendering software and AR glasses and contact lenses are pushing the technology into the mainstream. The true potential of AR still far exceeds anything we have collectively been capable of harnessing thus far, but the pathway has undoubtedly been set for for the injection of the technology into every aspect of our lives. One of the fastest-growing and most accessible parts of the extended reality landscape, the AR (Augmented Reality) industry is taking the world by storm. Looking at recent data, it is clear we are on the cusp of an AR revolution.

$17.67 billion

The global AR market value in 2020. This number is projected to grow at around 43.8% up to 2028.

Source: Grandview Research

By 2024 there will be around 1.7 billion augmented reality users worldwide accessing the technology from their smartphone –a rise of 1.5 billion since 2015.

70

Percentage of technology leaders who anticipate the AR market will surpass the VR market in revenues.

49% of them think this will happen within 3–5 years.

Source: Perkins Coie

67% of media agency executives want more AR and VR ads incorporated into digital marketing campaigns.

Source: Vibrant

54% 43% of gamers are interested in AR sports.

71.3%

The expected growth of smart glasses and wearables from 2022 to 2026.

CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate)

of business leaders expect high investments in gaming.

Source: Perkins Coie

40% of AR gamers agree that AR gaming will be more interesting with more immersive games and access to lower-cost AR glasses.

Source: Ericsson

25% of consumers claim that they will use AR for exercise in the next five years.

39%

Source: Statista of tech leaders strongly agree that augmented reality will become as ubiquitous as mobile by 2025.

Source:Marketwatch

Source: Perkins Coie

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Tele-Mental Health Ads on Social Media Contributed to Rise in Substance Abuse in 2022

Misleading ads on social media fueled the rapid growth of online mental health companies in 2022. The Wall Street Journal’s investigation into the promotions found marketing tactics by telehealth companies also contriubuted to the abuse of controlled substances.

“In a four-week period spanning October and November, about 20 companies ran more than 2,100 ads on Facebook and Instagram that described benefits of prescription drugs without citing risks, promoted drugs for unapproved uses or featured testimonials without disclosing whether they came from actors or company employees,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

The rise in telehealth has led to an uptick in the abuse of drugs prescribed for ADHD and anxiety such as Adderall and Xanax.

Author Exposes Unsafe Working Conditions in Congo Cobalt Mines

Author and activist Siddharth Kara disclosed some concerning labor practices in his new book, Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives

Kara traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recently to investigate the working conditions of cobalt miners. He found a highly organized exploitative system that forces local Congo residents to mine precious cobalt used to power the world’s phones and EV batteries.

Among the workers found in the unsafe conditions of the mines were teenage girls with babies strapped to their backs. Kara alleges big tech companies are aware of the illegal conditions in which the miners are working and are actively campaigning to suppress the information. Seventy percent or more of the world’s cobalt is mined in DRC.

NASA’s Webb Unveils Young Stars in Early Stages of Formation

Scientists taking a “deep dive” into one of the Webb telescope’s first images have discovered dozens of energetic jets and outflows from young stars previously hidden by dust clouds. The discovery marks the beginning of a new era of investigating how stars like our Sun form, and how the radiation from nearby massive stars might affect the development of planets.

The Cosmic Cliffs, a region at the edge of a gigantic, gaseous cavity within the star cluster NGC 3324, has long intrigued astronomers as a hotbed for star formation.

Recently, by analyzing data from a specific wavelength of infrared light (4.7 microns), astronomers discovered two dozen previously unknown outflows from extremely young stars revealed by molecular hydrogen. Webb’s observations uncovered a gallery of objects ranging from small fountains to burbling behemoths that extend light-years from the forming stars. Many of these protostars are poised to become low mass stars, like our Sun.

LinkedIn Offers “Safe Space” for Former Twitter Users

It is no secret that former Twitter users are flocking to new platforms after the chaotic upheaval that has followed Elon Musk’s takeover.

One platform in particular is unexpectedly seeing a massive influx: LinkedIn. Known primarily as a professional networking social media site, LinkedIn is benefiting from the mass Twitter exodus. LinkedIn Casual, a more informal version of the platform, is garnering a larger user base every day.

“I come to LinkedIn for education, discussion, and making connections,” said Dr. Amy Jo Kim, chief executive of Game Thinking Academy, a Silicon Valley-based training company to startups and game developers. The sentiment is being echoed by celebrities, Twitter power users, and many business professionals.

istockphoto.com/Paolo Cordoni

Synthetic Photosynthesis Could Reduce Greenhouse Gases and Provide Fuel Alternative

Scientists have found a way to trigger the process of photosynthesis in a synthetic material.

The process has great potential for creating a technology that could significantly reduce greenhouse gases linked to climate change, while also creating a clean way to produce energy.

Fernando Uribe-Romo, a chemistry professor at the University of Central Florida, and his team of students created a way to trigger a chemical reaction in a synthetic material called metalorganic frameworks (MOF) that breaks down carbon dioxide into harmless organic materials.

The findings of his research are published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A.

The carbon created from the chemical process could be used as solar fuel, according to UribeRomo.

Major Breakthrough in Brainwave Decoding Holds Promise for the Paralyzed

In a preprint study published Jan. 21, Stanford University detailed a brain implant that allowed a partially paralyzed patient to type 62 words per minute using brainwaves, which was three times the previously reported rate. Sadly, on that same day, the co-lead author of the project, Krishna Shenoy, died of pancreatic cancer.

The project embedded electrodes inside the motor cortex of a patient who had lost the ability to speak or type due to ALS, or Lou Gehrig ’s disease. “The performance in this paper is already at a level which many people who cannot speak would want, if the device were ready,” noted Philip Sabes, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco.

Further development is likely to see even more sophisticated implants combined with artificial intelligence to improve accuracy and speed. Connecting the new large language models, like GPT-3, to the implanted electrodes holds great promise to speed a true speaking prosthesis to market.

If Boston Dynamics’ Robot Doesn’t Scare You, Try This Liquid One

Intel Again Lays Claim to the World’s Fastest CPU

As if the DARPA-funded Atlas robot wasn’t reminiscent enough of the sci-fi Terminator, sans Arnold Schwartnegger, scientists have now created a robot that can shift between states of solid and liquid, ala the T-1000 in Judgement Day. And like the T-1000, these machines can ooze through tight spots and voids.

While these “soft bots” are more malleable, they sacrifice much of the strength of their hard-bodied predecessors. But before you breathe a sigh of relief, an international team of mad scientists — I mean engineers — is working to fix that. They’re developing a material made of gallium metal that is embedded with tiny magnetic microparticles.

This “magnetoactive phase transitional matter” (MPTM) uniquely combines the high mechanical strength, load capacity, and fast locomotion speed the solid phase with “excellent morphological adaptability (elongation, splitting, and merging) in the liquid phase,” according to a study published in the journal Matter

Why does every sci-fi movie have to come true?

Under new management and facing new competition as Apple enters the CPU market with its “Apple Silicon” chip, Intel is once again laying claim to the world’s fastest desktop CPU. The new i912900KS is targeted to gamers, the chip sports 16 cores - 8 for performance and 8 for efficacywith 24 threads and a base power of 150 watts. Intel’s new Cadillac CPU comes in at a whopping $739 USD.

AMD expects to compete with Intel for the title with its anticipated release of the Zen 4 Ryzen 7000, which is expected to cost hundreds less.

It’s unclear why Intel is targeting the gaming market, much of which is moving to cloud-based gaming and requires less processing power than desktop-based games. What is clear is Apple’s move into the CPUs has shaken up this moribund segment of the market.

Image via sciencedirect.com

Boston Dynamic’s Atlas

istockphoto.com/Yuuji

istockphoto.com/Anna Bliokh

With the passage by San Francisco’s board of supervisors of an ordinance authorizing their use, killer robots have sparked an overdue national conversation. And while that ordinance may have seemed uncharacteristic for Baghdad by the Bay, there are broader implications to opening this particular Pandora’s box. So thorny are the issues, in fact, that San Francisco quickly revoked the ordinance amid howls of protest from citizens and civil libertarians.

The Dallas Police Department pioneered law enforcement’s use of killer robots when, in 2016, they deployed a bomb disposal robot to deliver a lethal explosive to a barricaded sniper who had murdered five police officers. At the time, it was an improvised response when necessity was the mother of invention, but other police agencies took notice and prepared for their own use of deadly force by humancontrolled robots.

The Rise of Killer Bots

By Jim Daws

The use of killer robots would come as little surprise to the U.S. Air Force and Navy who began using radio-controlled Flying Fortresses & Liberators in World War II. These unmanned bombers were packed with explosives to be used, kamikaze-style, against hardened German U2 missile batteries. Those operations resulted in little success and killed many takeoff pilots, including Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., (JFK’s older brother) when his plane exploded prematurely before he could bail out over England.

Killer Bots in the Modern Age

But the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) overcame the military’s negative experiences and institutional resistance with the first American UAV “kill” in Afghanistan in 2001. By June, 2015, the death toll from U.S. drone strikes in the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa exceeded 6,000. Other nations, including Turkey and Israel, soon followed suit with lethal UAV operations. Today,

the air war in the skies over Ukraine is largely a drone war. Russia is deploying swarms of drones, costing as little as $20,000 each, to attack Ukraine’s infrastructure, forcing Ukraine to shoot them down with NATO-supplied missiles costing as much as $500,000 each.

Because they reduce or eliminate the deadly risks to human operators and are far less costly, land, sea, and space drones and bots are quickly becoming the next “big thing’.”

In October, Ukraine’s navy deployed a swarm of small, unmanned surface vessels (USVs) to attack Russia’s Black Sea fleet at Sevastopol in Crimea, reportedly damaging the Admiral Makrov flagship and at least one other ship. While it failed to sink any targets and damage was relatively light, the attack forced the Russian fleet to cower in port in a defensive posture. Improvised remote-operated boats had been used by Houthi rebels and others, but this was

The Deployment of Weaponized Robots on Our Streets and Foreign Battlefields is Offering a Chilling Glimpse Into the Future of Policing and Warfare.

the first attack by a swarm of inexpensive, purpose-built USVs against multiple warships costing billions.

Although this use of naval drones was long predicted, the reality nonetheless shocked surface warfare operators and planners. It’s just a matter of time until similar advances in terrestrial, submarine, and space-based drones forever revolutionize warfighting in those spaces as well.

Artificial Intelligence and Killer Bots

The specter that separates this brief history from the stuff of science fiction nightmare is the rapid development of artificial intelligence. Deploying robotic weapons guided by humans is quite another thing than autonomous attack robots making decisions to take human life. But

autonomous killer robots, ominously dubbed Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, or LAWS, have many tactical advantages over remote control bots; the arms race is on.

“Once the line into this realm is crossed and hitech becomes standard weaponry and computers become the principal executors of strategy — the world will find itself in a condition for which as yet it has no established concept,” observed Henry Kissinger writing in The Spectator. “How can leaders exercise control when computers prescribe strategic instructions on a scale and in a manner that inherently limits and threatens human input? How can civilisation be preserved amid such a maelstrom of conflicting information, perceptions and destructive capabilities?”

With these developments outpacing any legal or ethical safeguards, international human rights groups, as well as 30 nation states, have called for an outright ban on their use. At a convention in Geneva exploring the topic, the United States joined other militarily advanced nations in opposing a ban, arguing instead for a code of conduct on their use. The United Nations’ plan to address the issue sets in motion a five-year process to

formulate a treaty regulating LAWS, but that schedule may fall well behind their proliferation.

Beyond Human Control?

Futurists are sounding the alarm that the combination of artificial intelligence and lethal weapons could result in human extermination as the weapons systems defend themselves from any attempt to limit their threat-based programming.

In 2015, hundreds of scientists and technologists, including Stephen Hawking, Steve Wozniak, and Elon Musk, presented a letter at the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Buenos Aires calling for a “ban on offensive autonomous weapons beyond meaningful human control,” warning even then that, “the deployment of such systems is — practically if not legally — feasible within years, not decades.”

It’s also not hard to see how autonomous weapons could make wars more likely by wealthy, technologically advanced nations, against poorer nations lacking the technology — even more so because citizens of wealthier nations would not be asked to shed blood. Even the need to manufacture consent would become much easier.

Human history has largely been that of wars of conquest and defense. Our folklore is replete with great warriors defending nations and defeating its enemies through courage, resourcefulness, strength and fidelity. What happens when a nation can just release swarms of autonomous killer robots to engage in battle for us? Will we celebrate these victories on the field of battle? Or will we worry what will happen if and when these robots realize humans are no longer needed?

And what happens when governments realize they can field robotic police forces that lack any human conscience or concern for personal consequences? What would prevent politicians’ will to power from crushing any protest against oppression? Would citizens be able to turn back the tide of killer robots, as they were able to do in San Francisco, before it’s too late? ■

A Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drone, the command module, and a cut-away showing internal structure of the module. Photos: wikimediacommons.org/Bayhaluk

Advancing Efficiency in Battery Production

Current Lithium Mining Practices are Wasteful and Destructive to the Environment. New Technologies Developed by EnergyX Could Change That.

By Jim Grissom

In an effort to reduce emissions from hydrocarbons, the 194 nations who signed the Paris Climate Accord have committed to a major move toward renewable electrification in the coming years. Achieving these goals will require a massive increase in battery capacity to replace the internal combustion engine in vehicles and store energy for peak residential and commercial grid demand.

Lithium-ion batteries offer the best hope of success, but also carry many downsides, including cost, safety, limited lifecycle, and environmental damage from production and disposal. And at current production levels, the demand for lithium is forecast to exceed supply in the next five years.

Current methods of lithium production are extremely inefficient and wasteful. EnergyX is a tech company based in Puerto Rico and Texas advancing lithium production and nextgeneration batteries with their patented LiTAS direct lithium extraction technology and SoLiS solid state nanotech lithium metal batteries.

“For every 1 ton of lithium utilized in electric vehicles over a year, it displaces 134,000 tons of CO₂,” said EnergyX founder and CEO Teague Egan. “Further, if the battery is charged using renewables, it’s a further displacement of 56,000 tons of CO₂.”

Promising Innovations

Egan is pioneering the mechanical separation of lithium from the unwanted by-products, recovering 90% of the mineral, compared to today’s average of 30% using brine evaporation

Top six nations in known lithium reserves:

Bolivia at 21 million tons

Argentina at 17 million tons

Chile at 9 million tons

United States at 6.8 million tons

Australia at 6.3 million tons

China at 4.5 million tons

ponds. This is done using its proprietary LiTAS membrane. Last year, EnergyX shipped its first pilot plant to further process brine waste in South America.

Research at EnergyX is also improving battery

technology to increase the range cars can travel, lower charging time, and increase their life cycle. The resulting LoLiS solid state lithium metal battery replaces flammable liquid electrolytes, resulting in a much safer battery. The solid state lithium electrolyte anode is also more space efficient than current batteries. The technology is expected to debut this year in electric bicycles by Mobi LATAM.

It’s clear that trade competition in lithium and lithium batteries is white hot and will only get more intense. China is currently dominating the market, having captured 73% of production, followed by the U.S. at only 12%. Recently, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with the presidents of Argentina and Chile to partner in the development of their lithium resources in America’s own backyard.

Underdeveloped Resources

As policymakers have moved to aggressively restrict U.S. hydrocarbon production, so too have they been painfully slow to understand the importance of lithium and secure a strong market position. And similar to hydrocarbons, environmentalists have been determined to keep America’s lithium reserves underdeveloped.

The technology being pioneered by EnergyX promises to be a game changer by making lithium mining much cleaner and far more productive, but they will need strong government support to prevent their intellectual property from being exploited by China and others. ■

Teague Egan, EnergyX istockphoto.com/jroballo

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AR Apps: Now Available on a Smartphone Near You

Adobe Aero AR Democratizes Sharable Augmented Reality Content

By Aron Vaughan

As augmented reality becomes more integrated into everyday life, apps are emerging that make blurring the lines of the physical and digital world easier than ever for content creators and designers. Adobe has been at the forefront of the design world for years, so it’s no surprise the addition of Aero AR stands out as one of the most intuitive, advanced, and userfriendly options on the market. Aero AR allows users to re-create the world in their image, reducing limitations to only their imaginations.

Beyond Filters

The latest mobile edition of Aero goes beyond simple filters by enabling creatives to build immersive, interactive experiences that incorporate 2D and 3D animation content with audio. Unlike other creative platforms for AR, Aero focuses on and excels at creating content that is optimized for a world-facing camera available on any smartphone.

Users can choose to have the content show up on any flat horizontal or vertical surface, or, have the AR scene stick directly to a printed image or graphic. Some of the most compelling use cases we’ve seen include augmented storybooks and cards, interactive window displays, and interactive art pieces that can be seen by anyone with an AR-enabled smartphone.

According to an Adobe representative, users are commenting that Aero is “the

fastest way to get from idea to AR,” noting that because Aero follows the familiar UI and UX framework of other Adobe creation apps, it is a shallow learning curve to get started and share creations with others to see in AR.

“We’ve taken great care to maintain a simple yet powerful paradigm for adding interactive elements, centering our Behavior Builder system on a trigger and action framework that enables users to create highly complex experiences with easy ways to see how all the elements work together and visual feedback on where to troubleshoot for the optimal viewer experience,” Adobe said in a statement.

Mass Appeal and Universal Access

Before apps like Aero were available, the only people who could create AR experiences were developers who could code and deploy a standalone app using a deeply technical game engine. Aero removes the barrier to entry for the medium of AR and empowers creative non-coders to have a voice in the next wave of digital communication.

Breakthrough technology like mobile AR apps looks to be the beginning of a greater paradigm shift that will see AR usurp virtual reality’s position as the future of integrated recreational software. One of the reasons for this is AR’s broader appeal and potential for wider application than VR.

A report from Boston Consulting Group found that Mobile AR is already mainstream, with 80 million people engaging with a mobile AR experience at least once a month.

In the next few years, we will likely see mobile AR become an essential part of how everyone shops online, being able to try out products before making a purchase. Brands are already starting to leverage AR, using its high engagement rates to create a deeper connection with customers for marketing that promotes greater brand loyalty.

It will be several years before head-worn AR devices will be ready for mass adoption, but in that time, there will be a cultural shift toward seeing how the

advantages of immersive AR outweigh the social stigmas that exist today.

As it was with smartphone adoption, this will run in parallel with how compelling the hardware and content are in delivering true value. But when those elements reach a sweet spot, AR glasses and mobile AR will become an integrated part of how we communicate, share information, and interact with the world around us. ■

Adobe Aero AR combines virtual and real worlds.

Let iFetch Entertain and Exercise the Doggo

The iFetch Automatic Ball Launcher Can Play With Your Pooch for Hours, Even When You Can’t

By Jim Grissom

What busy owner doesn’t feel a twinge of guilt leaving their best friend at home alone on work days?

Dogs love two things, their masters and a good game of fetch. Alas, with busy work schedules, we don’t always have the time or energy to devote to our pup’s well-being. No worries, iFetch is an interactive toy that will keep your pet engaged, entertained, and exercised.

The ball launching wonder comes in two sizes. The smaller iFetch tosses a mini Tennis ball 10, 20, or 30 feet. The distance is set with a touch of a button. The larger iFetch Too throws a full-sized tennis ball 10, 25, or 40 feet and the distances can even be randomized. Your furry buddy returns the ball to a funnel on the unit, whereupon the iFetch whirrs to life before it fires the ball again after a few eagerly anticipated seconds.

Most dogs figure out the game with minimal training and tips and how-to videos are available on the iFetch website. iFetch recommends the product be used “under supervision.”

Both models plug into the wall or operate on batteries, which are rechargeable on the larger unit. The little iFetch costs $130 and its big brother comes in at $100 more. Replacement balls are also available on the iFetch website at goifetch.com.

Mother is the Necessity of This Family’s Invention

iFetch began as a DIY project in the Hamill family garage in Austin. One fateful night, young Grant was struggling to do his homework as their family poodle, Pracner, insisted on an endless game of fetch. “What if we made

something that could throw the ball for Prancer so I can finish my homework?” Grant wondered.

When grandfather, Denny, heard that, he replied, “Why not? This could be a fun family project.”

Several months, and thousands of hours of tinkering later, the pair launched a Kickstarter campaign and raised over $88,000 from more than 1,000 sponsors.

Today, iFetch keeps the whole family busy, having grown into a successful business featuring three new products as well: iDig Stay and iDig Go, the first ever digging toys for dogs and the iFetch Frenzy, which is well-suited for more sedate dogs who might be sensitive to noise.

The Hamills have become involved with nokill shelters, donating their products to help keep the long-stay dogs active and playful, which helps with the animals’ mood and speeds adoptions.

“It’s heart-breaking to see dogs in a shelter for

months on end,” state the Hamills on the iFetch website. “The stress of living in a shelter for an extended period of time is really hard on pups who may already need some training for overactive or destructive behaviors. That’s where the enrichment of our fetching and digging toys can help. If you’re a shelter looking for help placing your long-stay pups, please get involved. iFetch A Family is here to help.” ■

That’s Trippy, Man

Digital Artist and Curator Trippy Shares His Thoughts on the Future of NFTs

By Aron Vaughan | Photos courtesy of Beyond Basel

With the crypto market down significantly this year, what does the emergent Web3 digital art creative movement have in store for 2023? Is the focus on generative AI art, or perhaps there’s another facet of the NFT industry that is being built out now?

To answer these and related questions, including what became of Miami’s Art Basel event, we connected with one of the foremost pseudonymous digital creators of the Web3 world — Trippy.

The curator behind Ross Ulbricht’s Genesis NFT Collection and Pussy Riot’s collections, as well as other collaborations that have included Alex Grey, Snoop Dogg, Lewis Hamilton, and Grimes, Trippy is also the lead organizer of Beyond Basel — a Web3 creator event held in Miami.

Beyond Basel featured thousands of guests — including artists and other digital creatives — that focused on bringing together artists and performers from around the world to build relationships and showcase cutting-edge, technology-driven exhibitions and other creative projects.

Trippy has first-hand experience and a unique perspective on what’s next for the industry — despite what the market might say.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Innovation & Tech Today: What do you predict will be the direction and future of NFTs over the next year?

Trippy: I think there’ll be more need for curation to go back to Art Blocks, for example, in generative art.

They’ve really defined themselves and their marketplace as a leading curator in that space. When the fine art world peaks into the digital art side of NFTs, they think that there’s a lot more need for a curation and exhibition. So, I think there’ll be a lot more of that over the next year. I think it feels less like a rush that, “oh, we have to get in now and not miss out,” and there’s more time for artists to plan — really understand the technology and figure out how it can be medium in their wheelhouse as a creative.

I&T Today: When you say exhibition, do you mean exhibition in the metaverse or physically?

I mean physically. I think the “metaverse” exhibitions and gallery space and all of those things are cool and serve a purpose, but I think we’re a long ways away from people not craving in-person experiences and wanting there to be unique facets to when they come together in person.

And if you look at the fine art world in general and exhibitions that occur, there are a lot of interesting things happening there, co-mingling fascinating people from various different backgrounds and worlds around some sort of curated subject matter that’s being explored at a high level.

The fine art world has kind of fallen into certain ruts, and I think digital art work brings some fresh takes to that.

But I think that digital art needs to be displayed and exhibited and curated at a level that we see amongst fine art worlds and museums, and I think we’re gonna be seeing more of that throughout the next year.

Again, looking at what Art Blocks and Bright Moments is doing with what they recently did in Mexico City, and what Bright Moments has been doing throughout the past year in Berlin and London having these curated specific exhibitions where people come out and have a live IRL experience. It’s a co-mingling of niche minds who are interested in exploring or progressing a specific element of the space. And so, I think we’ve seen a lot of communities develop around PFP collections, but where are those PFP collections going other than the promise of a game or speculation?

I think a lot of those people, if they haven’t already, are becoming collectors or just becoming more fascinated in other use cases around the technology.

I&T Today: The fine art world has gotten a little stale and I think digital art is a great way to bring some new life into it.

Yeah. There’s just not a lot of digital art representation in the fine art world or museum world yet. It’s there, but it’s not super prevalent yet.

An Angel Called Fate NFT by parrott

It’s fascinating to not see it represented at that level at all of the fine art institutions, but it’s so cool for us as a collective community to be pushing more into that.

I&T Today: How interactive is the digital art experience at your exhibitions?

Some of it is more interactive. At our larger gallery exhibitions, I try to have both the gallery of 65-, 85-inch large screens, but we also offset that with a 50 and a hundred-foot LED wall that’s displaying finished works in a really large format, which a lot of artists haven’t been able to showcase their art at that size before.

So one element of the gallery is for these largescale displays, and that’s a show file that’s

looping, and then there’s a gallery side where there’s more specific bios of each artist. There are generative pieces of art where the piece is always evolving and different at all times.

This year at Basel, I brought in D Forum, which is a group of really talented people on the cutting edge of AI. They had a booth at one side of the gallery where they had a work station where their live experiment was featured in front of people.

We built a station where people could come up and speak into a microphone, a picture of themselves would be taken, and whatever they spoke into the microphone would then immediately be changed or added into the

photo. If you took a photo with your friend and said “we’re two aliens in the style of Monet in a warehouse,” the photo would immediately change to you as two aliens in that style.

I&T Today: You have worked with a number of celebrities and activists. What collaborations stand out to you the most?

To me, the most meaningful I think was the Ross Ulbricht project because Ross was one of the original people that inspired me to get into crypto and I think his story is utterly atrocious. And so being able to be connected to it anyway, to the family to draw any attention to that and also just to see so many people come through and support that. ■

“Samsung made the Beyond Basel digital art gallery come to life,” said Trippy, the founder of Trippy Labs. “With over 30,000 guests in attendance, we introduced web3 legends such as RTFKT, Beeple and Mad Dog Jones to old world masters like Alex Grey and Allyson Grey.”

The Icarus Projects

Car Start-Ups Drawn to the Sun

By Michael Coates

It seems like the logical step. If running a car on electricity is good, shouldn’t running it on solargenerated electricity be even better? If solar power is better, wouldn’t using solar power generated on the car be the best? If a car can generate its own electricity, doesn’t it become a kind of virtuous perpetual motion machine?

That’s the thinking that’s driven the Solar Challenge, where odd-looking machines built by college students and covered in solar cells (and not much else) race across a sunny highway to claim high-efficiency honors. It’s now spread beyond that to would-be automakers who want to extend the concept into a functional car. Needless to say, the solar challenge vehicles are science projects masquerading as a way to transport a human being.

The goal is noble; the execution, so far, has seemed to fall somewhat short of the aspiration. Here are three examples of current projects chasing the solar-powered car concept. Note that all three are struggling as the reality of creating, producing, and marketing this kind of automobile seems to lead to some singed ambitions.

Sono Sion

Setting aside for the moment the wisdom of appending a name strikingly similar to a failed attempt to create a new car division (Toyota’s Scion), the German-based company Sono had a promising start. They started with solar technology, developing high-efficiency solar cells that could be integrated into almost all of a car’s body panels. Working with other small companies on the solar and battery technology for five years, they first developed a successful solar business replacing bus and truck trailer panels with solar panels in Europe. The wide, relatively flat expanses of those vehicles lent themselves to solar collection. They claim a three- to four- year payback for most applications, with the power either fed into an electric-powered vehicle or running something like a TRU (truck refrigeration unit) or reefer truck.

Then they moved on to cars, wrapping a Prius V-type wagon with non-crystalline solar cells embedded in seven layers of polymer. It was to be available in any color you want, as long as that color was black, just like Henry Ford’s Model T, since any paint would limit the solar panels’ effectiveness.

Sono added 54 kWh of BYD’s lithium iron

phosphate batteries and a Continental-developed 120 kW electric motor to create a lightweight (3,750pound) EV that the company’s CEO and co-founder Laurin Hahn characterized as the “perfect second car.” More than 40,000 people signed up to reserve the lightweight car, which was planned to retail for a bargain basement $25,000 (€29,900) and offer a range of 190 miles (305 km) plus what the solar panels could add — which could be up to 6,000 miles per year in a sunny locale like Los Angeles. Manufacturing plans were made with the Valmet, Finland, plant that has built low-volume Mercedes and Porsche cars.

We first saw the Sono Sion up close during an American fundraising tour, where the company was meeting with potential investors. That tour was not as successful as expected, and Sono announced it was seeking commitments from reservation holders to pay upfront for their vehicles, attempting to raise a total of €104 million, but fell far short. Given the level of interest shown, it’s understandable why the company is struggling to add big-name investors to move forward with production which led to a shutdown of its automotive operations in February.

Photos courtesy of Michael Coates, Sono, Lightyear, and Aptera.

Sono Sion

Lightyear

As sparse and utilitarian as the flat black Sono is, the Lightyear is its exotic and refined big brother. It may be a bit counterintuitive since Sono is based in the German automotive center of Munich while Lightyear is out in rural Netherlands, but the goal is similar — develop “scalable grid-independent solar electric vehicles.”

The big difference is the Lightyear 0, as seen in the prototype, had the elegance of an Italian sports sedan and a drag coefficient of 0.175. Its projected price reflected that — $225,000. Even

with a relatively small 61.2 kWh battery pack, the Lightyear 0 promised 1,000 km (620 miles) range boosted by five square meters of solar panels layered on the carbon fiber body panels. At less than 3,500 pounds, the svelte car wasn’t as fast as it looked but did offer a vegan interior with naturally sourced materials.

That was, as long as it was planned. This year, Lightyear declared bankruptcy and dropped the expensive Lightyear 0 while claiming that it would shift focus to the volume production Lightyear 2 while “assessing how the Lightyear concept can continue.” The Lightyear 2 also

promises a 500+ mile range and boasts the “smallest energy footprint on the market.”

It will carry forward the aerodynamics of the Lightyear 0, but few additional specs have been revealed other than a target price of about $43,000. The company is building a waitlist of interested potential buyers and has some preorder agreements with B2B partners like Arval Leasing, promising production dates at the “end of 2025.” This missing ingredient appears to be the cash to pay Vermat to build the cars (yes, the same production facility as Sono was going to use).

Aptera

Then there’s the Aptera approach to solar-powered cars. Take off one wheel and the back seat. Slim down using composites for body panels and wrap instead of paint so it looks as much like a plane as a car. Get buyers to pay upfront and even invest in the company. The result is a $29,900 two-seater vehicle classified as a motorcycle that feels and drives like a car. Models are projected to have up to a 1,000-mile range with a bigger battery. So far, 325 investors have stepped up to order their cars, but the company is still about $45 million short of start of production by its own calculations.

Now 17 years in planning, Aptera was supposed to launch last year but, as with Sono and Lightyear, needs to raise substantial funds to get the “most efficient transportation on the planet” moving down an assembly line in San Diego, California. ■

Lightyear

Aptera

The Old Dog Teaches the New Dog Some Tricks

Software Engineering is Increasing Electric Motor Efficiency

By Michael Coates

EVs have been making great strides forward in their battle to win the hearts and minds of car buyers in the U.S. and around the world. That does not mean they have reached their optimal state. It appears one critical component in an EV — its electric motor — can take a leaf from a company experienced in squeezing more efficiency out of incumbent powertrains. It turns out the new dog can learn some tricks from the old dog.

The trick in question is called DMD (Dynamic Motor Drive) from Tula Technology. Of course, it’s not really a trick — it’s software. It started with the human heart. Tula Founder,

Chairman, and CTO Dr. Adya S. Tripathi was inspired by the human heart — a very efficient pump that was perfected by nature over millions of years. Dr. Tripathi took this concept, added his background in audio advanced signal processing, and started looking at applications with car engines. Like a heart, the concept is to operate where the efficiency is highest and tailor operations to deliver needed power while keeping the engine running at or close to its sweet spot.

Start With Combustion

Tula honed its chops on internal combustion engines with a system called Dynamic Skip Fire

(DSF). Working with GM (they license their patented technologies) they won awards while boosting efficiency by 15% in V8s that otherwise would have been replaced by smaller engines that might not be able to deliver the torque needed in some situations. DSF now rolls in more than two million vehicles.

Next, they tweaked DSF for diesel applications (dDSF) and aimed at reducing emissions while maintaining the power those engines are famously used for in heavy-duty applications. In testing, partner Cummins dropped fuel use by 20%, CO2 emissions by 5%, and NOx emissions (the precursor of smog) by 65-75%.

Photos courtesy of Tula Technology, Inc.

Tula took the auto industry from crude cylinder deactivation technology to a sophisticated regimen where individual cylinders are firing on a millisecond basis. In a sense, internal combustion engines are prime targets for the kind of optimization DSF and dDSF offer since they are notoriously inefficient. Finding the sweet spot in an electric motor is not as difficult, and Tula has found a way.

The Electric Drive

DMD goes beyond basic efficiency (which EV motors are very good at, as seen in the increased range of some EVs) to also allow for the use of rare earth-free synchronous reluctance motor or wound-rotor technologies to power an EV without losing efficiency or incurring added costs. According to industry research studies, right now more than 92% of EVs have permanent magnet (PM) type motors that are efficient, relatively inexpensive and powerdense, according to Adamas Intelligence. But PM motors rely on rare earth magnets, which pose price, policy, supply chain, and environmental issues.

The proverbial elephant in the room is that the mining, processing, and production of rare earth minerals are dominated by China, something unnerving to the part of the EV industry that is not China. Toyota, GM, Honda, and others have pledged to reduce rare earth metals while increasing efficiency, which is code for range and reducing cost.

Using DMD technology, synchronous reluctance motors (SynRM) and externally excited synchronous motors (EESM), which do

not use rare earth materials, approach the efficiency of PM motors.

This goes a long way to helping with cost since those rare earth minerals have spiked in price in parallel with the recent explosion of the electric vehicle market. According to market research from Adamas, rare earth magnets represent 56% of the materials cost of a PM motor. Like its cousin software that was applied to internal combustion engines, DMD enables EESM and SynRM motors to operate at peak efficiency based on whatever torque is needed by the driver. In a strategy analogous to the multiple firings and shut-downs of a V8’s cylinders, this software package pulses the electric motor at its highest available efficiency.

This new software mitigates efficiency losses at light loads while there’s no lack of power in high-demand situations. I test drove a proof-ofconcept Chevy Bolt with the DMD software installed.

It’s one thing to listen to the presentation about a 25% improvement in efficiency — it’s quite another to drive the car and feel no difference from the many other times I’ve driven a Bolt, all while watching a computer screen in the car that shows the electric motor turning on and off at various times and noting the tangible positive impact on range.

The trick we started out referencing happens here. The Tula technology sits between the driver and the motor controls to turn a gross request for torque into a pulsed command that delivers the same results. In the real world, that can translate into a 2-3% gain in efficiency. It may not sound like much, but for the projected

2030 global EV fleet it would mean saving 22.5 billion kWh of electricity generation for power. In addition, rare earth mining and related environmental damage would be reduced significantly.

A Big Shift

This involves a shift from the current way of producing electric motors and EVs — a disruption if you will — much like what happened when hybrids and EVs appeared on the automotive scene. Tula believes some serious economics, coupled with attending political and environmental pluses, will drive this shift.

Moving to EESM motors from PM motors drops OEM costs by $300 by eliminating the rare earth content. The efficiency improvement enabled by DMD technology will allow a more efficient sizing of batteries, reducing vehicle battery costs by an additional $216 (3% on a 60 kWh battery at $120/kWh). Operating cost reduction is another cost-saving measure, saving owners $270 compared to a baseline EESMequipped vehicle because of reduced energy consumption.

BMW and Renault have EESMs in production. They’re showing up in the production BMW iX3 and i4, Renault Zoe and Nissan Ariya.

The bigger shift question remains to be answered, but the drive for more energy efficiency, reduced rare earth mineral use, and reduced costs will continue. These moves won’t be in isolation as the motors and the whole vehicle’s environmental impact and internal management systems will continue to be scrutinized. ■

Escape From Whakaari

Netflix Documentary Shows First-Hand Footage of Daring Rescue From Erupting Volcano

By Aron Vaughan

On Dec. 9, 2019, a volcano erupted on a small island off the coast of New Zealand. The indigenous Maori people of New Zealand named the volcano “Whakaari,” which translates to “dramatic” in English.

The eruption on that day claimed the lives of 22 people either in the explosion or from injuries sustained, including two whose bodies were never found and were later declared dead. A further 25 people suffered injuries, most needing intensive care for severe burns.

Director Rory Kennedy recently created a documentary called The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari that chronicles the natural disaster and the experiences of the three tour groups present during the unanticipated eruption.

Visiting an Active Volcano

During a routine sightseeing day-trip to the remote volcanic island, 47 tourists and guides

were trapped in the epicenter of a boiling pyroclastic surge of toxic dust and ash. Both terrifying and inspiring, the film uses first-hand accounts to convey the experience of living through such a deadly eruption.

Whakaari is an active stratovolcano island in New Zealand’s northeastern Bay of Plenty region. Due to the unprecedented access the island offers to the mouth of the volcano, it has long been a popular tourist destination.

Whakaari erupted in 2013 and 2016, prior to the 2019 eruption that killed and injured so many. On the day the tragedy occurred, the volcano was considered to be at a “threat level two” out of a possible three.

While this may have caused concern among some tourists and guides, according to prominent vulcanologist Dr. Rosaly Lopes, New Zealand itself is essentially a string of

active volcanoes, many of which are currently at threat level two.

“The chances that something was going to happen at that exact time that they were on the island was a very low probability, but nevertheless, it was a real potential danger. And maybe some of them were quite aware of that,” Lopes said.

The previous eruptions in 2013 and 2016 seemed to suggest a pattern that put Wakaari on a path to erupt once again sometime in 2019, but according to Lopes, the event was a largely random one.

“It is not a cycle,” Lopes said. “And in fact, this was what we call a free explosion. It was caused by water coming in contact with magma. It was a chance event. The problem is that it could erupt pretty much any time.”

Spirit of the Phoenix

Questions could be raised about the culpability of the New Zealand government for allowing civilians to visit an active volcano en masse on a daily basis, but Kennedy instead focuses on the first-hand accounts of the men and women trapped on the island that day.

Harrowing tales of black ash surrounding the island are revealed by the survivors, even as the viewer can see the scars left by the incident.

First-hand video footage of the day is reminiscent of a Hollywood apocalypse film as tourists scrambled to make their way to safety.

But underlying the accounts of destruction is a theme of resilience. Offering more than a startling and brutal portrait of mother nature’s profound indifference, The Volcano also serves as testimony to human nature’s innate generosity.

Guided by survivors — men and women who were tested in ways they never imagined — as well as the courageous and quick-thinking ordinary citizens who sprang to action that day, the viewer comes to understand the value of our human connection.

“I was inspired by the stories of everyday people who turned into heroes that day and arguably risk their lives to help others,” Kennedy said.

In a real-life poetic twist that could turn a hardened cynic into a believer in fate, the tourist boat that would eventually become the rescue vessel for the survivors was called The Phoenix — named for the mythical bird that rises reborn from its own ashes after death.

The captain of the Phoenix and the tour group on board made the courageous decision to sail back to the steam and ash-covered island after narrowly escaping themselves to help those still trapped.

Like many of Kennedy’s previous projects, the documentary shines a light on a subject that has not received the attention of mainstream media. Offering first-hand accounts and an intimate look at the peril through which the survivors of the 2019 Whakaari eruption lived, The Volcano is not one to miss.

The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari is available to stream on Netflix. ■

Matt Urey and Lauren Urey

Photo courtesy of Netflix

Jesse Langford

Photo courtesy of Netflix

Humbling scenes from The Volano: Rescue from Whakaari Photos courtesy of Netflix

Getting Back to Camping Basics With iKamper

By Jim Daws

The camping craze is hot, but more and more, getting out into the natural world involves extravagant van conversions and luxury RVs. That’s fine if you’ve got the time and coin to devote to it, but what about paring it down to a minimal amount of gear to travel light and comfortably, without such a production? That’s the market segment that iKamper fills, and they do it quite elegantly.

iKamper builds ingenious tents that truly provide old-school camping enjoyment with a decidedly modern twist.

Take, for instance, their entry-level iKamper, Skycamp. It’s a roof mounted tent, encased in a hard plastic case that attaches to most small SUVs — or even a sedan — with a roof rack. Open the hydraulically-assisted clamshell-style case and the tent folds out by an extendable ladder and creates enough room to sleep four, in comfort, with lots of room left for gear. It takes just minutes to set up this boondocking paradise, and the unit can be had for a little over $3,000. That’s not a cheap tent, but it’s a small fraction of a van conversion, especially when you add in extra gas, insurance, and maintenance.

“So, is the iKamper worth the money?” Trail and Summit Magazine asks on its website. “The resounding answer from all five owners we interviewed is ‘YES!’… Especially for “power users” who are looking to camp every opportunity they can. This roof top tent gives them the freedom to get away at a moment’s notice and do it in comfort.”

But wait, there’s more!

Add on the $370 Awning 3.0 and you can extend the Skycamp to the ground, adding over 160 square feet of covered area to your bivouac. And, if you’d rather have that space enclosed, there’s the Annex Plus that creates almost 150 square feet of cozy shelter with lots of screened windows and doors, all attached to your rooftop bedroom.

All of the tents are made of thick 300gsm, waterproof, breathable poly-cotton that blocks out light so you can grab a daytime nap or sleep well past sunrise. But, not to worry, there’s also a moonroof for stargazing. The hardshell sleeping surface is lined with quilted insulation to cut down on condensation and keep you toasty.

Additionally, iKamper offers a portable kitchen and a full line of accessories, including sleep systems and gear storage.

iKamper is creating a community with an annual Sky Kamp festival with music, fun, and games at the rustic SongDog Ranch in Maricopa, California. The three-day event

attracts young and old alike to celebrate the “back to nature” camping movement, meet the iKamper team, and learn tips and tricks for enjoying their gear.

iKamper is consistently innovating and introducing new products, always with an eye to quality and durability. Their products are all built in their own factory and there’s an extensive network of dealers from Alaska to Florida.

The takeaway is, you don’t need a ton of money or the time to convert a van or schoolbus. You can unplug and get outside comfortably and on a budget. ■

Husqvarna Automower 415X — Automower is a robotic lawn mower that automatically keeps your lawn freshly cut 24/7 without the effort. It’s battery-powered, emission-free, and virtually silent. Automower uses GPS technology to ensure all lawn areas are evenly mowed, and if your mower is stolen, it can be tracked and located. With the Automower Connect App, you can control or change your settings from anywhere. $2,000

JordiLight — JordiLight is the first all-in-one, adventure utility flashlight for outdoor enthusiasts, that combines multiple functions into one easy-to-use and durable device. JordiLight comes with a suite of sensors and useful features, including three brightness levels, 10 customizable light modes, a built-in compass, and SOS detection and is IP68 allowing the device to go anywhere, even 50 meters/168 feet underwater, perfect for divers. $99

Sirius Goggles — To create the ultimate in ski goggles, Sirius precision engineered each element to achieve an unmatched balance of performance and ease of use. The objective is to totally change navigation, communication, and safety in the mountains. They’ve got everything: GPS, built-in cellular data, and an HD camera that allows live streaming. Functions can be activated with a single touch. $650-$1,000

Sawyer Bottle Filtration System — The 24-ounce Water Filtration Bottle allows you to fill and drink instantly from freshwater lakes, streams, rivers, or while traveling. It includes Sawyer’s high-performance 0.1-micron absolute hollow fiber membrane filter which removes 99.99999% of all bacteria, such as salmonella, cholera, and E.coli, 99.9999% of all protozoa, such as giardia and cryptosporidium, and 100% of microplastics. The kit includes a 24oz BPA-free Tritan bottle, a cap that fits standard wide-mouth bottles, the dual-threaded Mini Filter, and a backwash syringe. Use it for hiking, backpacking, camping, emergency preparedness, and travel. $36

Sawyer Mini — A lightweight, versatile personal filtration system, the second-generation Sawyer MINI Water Filter fits in the palm of your hand and has a total field weight of just 2 ounces. Perfect for everything from camping with the kids to traveling abroad where tap and bottled water can’t be trusted, the tiny MINI provides 0.1 micron absolute filtration for clean drinking water on the go — filtering out bacteria, protozoa, and microplastics. $21

Garmin 700 GPS Montana — A phone GPS may do the trick for most outings, but for off-grid wilderness adventures, you need to bring out the big guns. The Garmin 700 GPS Montana is built to withstand everything nature can throw at it. The durable, water-resistant handheld is tested to U.S. military standards and features a glove-friendly 5" touchscreen that’s 50% larger than previous Montana models. Add in features like topoactive maps, public land boundaries, satellite views, ABC sensors, active weather forecasts, and a pre-loaded trail-finding app, and you have an essential piece of tech for hikers, hunters, crosscountry cyclists, or any outdoor enthusiast. $600

Unibank Power Bank — The Unibank Power Bank offers the power of energy in any situation. Pulling the cord for just 90 seconds can give you 25 minutes of talk time on a typical smartphone. As well as its built-in LED torch and unique pull & power charger, Unibank offers a choice of a portable ambient light, wireless speaker, panic alarm, and laser measure attachments – all controlled from an intuitive, free app. Perfect for camping and hiking, the Power Bank is also an indispensable tool to keep in the glove compartment in case of emergency. $100

Tech for the Links

Samsonite Expanding Golf Trunk Locker Organizer — Organize your golf gear and accessories inside this convenient golf trunk organizer from Samsonite. The Samsonite Golf Travel Golf Trunk Organizer is made from ripstop poly fabric with waterproof backing and has a roomy fold-down design with two levels that expand to offer you plenty of packing space. The bottom level has divided compartments and can hold up to three pairs of golf shoes while the top level has movable dividers to accommodate clothing, socks, or extra layers. $50

Nikon Coolshot Pro II Stabilized — Nikon’s flagship golf rangefinder with unmatched optics and technology. Image stabilization counteracts handshake for a steady, clear view through the brilliant 6x monocular. HYPER READ technology for instant readings on a high-resolution OLED screen. DUAL LOCKED ON ECHO flagstick recognition technology, slope adjustment, real-time scanning, and more — all in a lightweight water and fog-proof design. Give your game an unshakable edge. $450

Garmin Approach S62 — The easy-to-use Approach S10 golf watch automatically chooses the course you’re playing from more than 41,000 preloaded courses worldwide with free lifetime updates. Then it provides yardages to the front, back, and middle of the green as well as hazards and doglegs. Complete a hole, and it automatically transitions to the next hole as you walk from the green to the next tee box. And if you really crush one, you can measure the distance for bragging rights. $500

Victorinox Swiss Army Golf Tool —

Raise your game and lower your handicap with the Golf Tool – it’s got everything you need for a great day on the course. Use the tee punch to tee up, even on hard or frozen ground. Repair the green with the repair tool. Slide out the ball marker as needed. Repeat until you’ve beaten your best score. $70

Launch Monitor By Voice Caddie —

The all-new SC200 PLUS makes dialing in your distances and improving your swing speed easier than ever. Simply turn your device on, place it a few feet behind the ball, choose your mode and club, and quickly get data on carry distance, swing speed, ball speed, and smash factor. With the new PLUS Practice Swing feature, you can see your swing speed without actually hitting a ball. Not only that, with your included remote you can quickly and easily change your club, mode, or target distance. $350

SelfieGolf Swing Recording System — Get the SelfieGolf Innovative Clip System complete with two Alignment Sticks. Use one to prop up your phone while you use the other to perfectly aim your next shot. The complete package will give you the autonomy to film your swings so that you can confidently and consistently improve your game. This portable, reliable training set may very well be one of the most important new accessories for all golfers: seasoned or novice. $40

Pitchfix Tour Edition 2.5 Divot Tool — A classic single blade design, the Tour Edition 2.5 is built to perform, with smooth lines, comfortable ABS mouldings, intelligent RepairTec metal prongs, flexible color options, and an iconic branded magnetic ballmarker. Every tool can be supplied individually packaged or with other tools as part of a gift pack — ideal for membership gifts, marketing incentives, or VIP event gifts.

Contact PitchFix for Pricing

Arccos Caddie Bundle — Take your game to the next level this golf season with a special bundle of Arccos Caddie Smart Sensors and Arccos Caddie Link, a powerful wearable — so, you can leave your phone in the bag and play the game your way. Get access to the award-winning Arccos Caddie app, golf’s Smartest Caddie featuring: auto-shot tracking, smart club distances, an AI-powered rangefinder, Caddie Advice, and analytics on your game. $248

Take a Right at the Intersection of Wellness and Science

Dr. Deepak Chopra Discusses How Advances in Technology Can Aid the Holistic Medicine Movement

By Sara Brittany Somerset and Aron Vaughan

Despite popular opinion, holistic medicine and science are not mutually exclusive. Health and wellness is a field that is becoming increasingly tied to the world of technology and science as neuroscientists study the physiological reactions to meditation, breathing, and traditional herbs and rituals.

Dr. Deepak Chopra is one of the figures placed squarely at the intersection between alternative medicine and modern science. Arguably one of the most profound thinkers of the 21st century, with contrary opinions that confound his scientific peers, Chopra left his position as chief of staff at the New England Memorial Hospital to found the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Center.

A prolific author of nearly 100 books, including 21 New York Times bestsellers on topics ranging from meditation to longevity, such as Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul, and Quantum Healing, he is often miscategorized as a “new age” or “self-help guru,” and is criticized by quantum physicists.

As a polymath, Chopra is concurrently a physician, medical school adjunct professor, and philosopher.

Innovation & Tech Today couldn’t resist the opportunity to pick his brain. Sara Brittany Somerset chatted with Dr. Chopra over Zoom from her home in Jupiter, Florida, while he was in The Chopra Foundation’s offices in Tavistock, Lake Nona, Florida.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Quantum Mechanical Body

Innovation & Tech Today: Hello Dr. Chopra,

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join me this morning. Can you start by explaining the concept of the quantum mechanical body?

Deepak Chopra: Thank you, Sara Brittany. Any physical object has many levels at which it can be observed. There’s first the physical level which is, I’m observing you at the physical level.

Okay, then there’s another level that is microscopic. We can look at body organs and tissues through a microscope. And we observe what you observe, which is obviously different from what I’m observing of you right now.

Then there’s another level, “ultra-microscopic,” which regular microscopes cannot reveal. But sophisticated devices can help you look at the ultramicroscopic level.

Finally, we call the “quantum mechanical level” the most basic level at which any physical object can be understood.

Any object can be seen or understood that way, including what I hold in my hand, like this coffee cup, etc. When it comes to biological organisms, such as the physical body, or our own body, it gets a little more complicated because our body is not static in the same way as this object is. Your body changes every second or even every microsecond. As I’m speaking to you, a part of your brain called the frontal cortex is activated. But other factors are also involved because this part is most important in understanding and intellectual conversation. Still, other parts of the body are also involved.

Say I gave you horrifying information, e.g., there’s a terrorist attack. Everything in your body would change instantly at the level of a

microsecond. Your blood pressure would go up; your heart rate would speed up; your body would get inflamed, etc.

I&T Today: Your cortisol levels would spike from tension and fear.

DC: Exactly, but it’s all levels that would spike. Let’s take the opposite example: If I gave you good news. If, in one second, I said, “You just won the lottery — $50 million in your bank account is coming,” and your body would change instantly. Your adrenaline would go up instantly.

Everything from dopamine to oxytocin would rise. There’s a peptide in the brain called an Anandamide, which means the molecule for bliss. So opiates, oxidation, dopamine, and serotonin, will all go up instantly. That can only happen at the quantum mechanical level. The physical is the last aspect of it. That’s what the quantum mechanical body is. It understands the body at the most fundamental level.

Having said that, we should define: What is a quantum? How do scientists determine the quantum? So if you look up the literature, you’ll see that one of the ways to define a quantum is the smallest unit in which waves of energy and information are either absorbed or emitted.

I just gave you an example; I gave you some information, And of course, information has to be carried through energy. Right now. The energy is digital energy over a computer [on a Zoom meeting].

But right now, what I’m saying to you is also affecting your quantum mechanical body at the level of energy and information.

Having said all this, I’ve been a physician for

50-plus years. When I was in medical school, our instructors told us that a new science was coming, called “biophysics.” So there’s biochemistry, and there’s physics. Since then, I’ve been fascinated by the quantum mechanical body, but some quantum physicists have criticized this concept. They said I don’t know what I was talking about, that I was making conjectures which are not validated by science. Most physicists are not biologists. So, their criticism is predictable insofar as they defend their turf or field. But, their criticism is no longer valid in that the field of knowledge is expanding beyond its old boundaries.

The Hard Problem of Consciousness

I&T Today: Science is a tool to explain fundamental universal forces. How far has science come in explaining physical healing initiated by the mind and soul?

DC: Science is a model for understanding what we call ‘natural laws,’ including quantum mechanics. Cosmology looks at fundamental forces like atoms, molecules, force fields, and gravity. Strong and weak interactions, as they’re called, are quantum mechanical levels of investigation. But none of these models can explain what we call our experience of existence, referred to as “the hard problem of consciousness.” None of the current science can describe this basic experience. And the most fundamental aspects of experience are called ‘qualia .’ [Holds up a book called The Qualia Revolution by Peter Wilberg.]

Qualia are qualities of experience, such as the taste of red wine. Everything that science currently knows can’t explain that experience. Qualia can also be, for example, the smell of garlic or the feeling of love, compassion, joy, ecstasy, equanimity, jealousy, hatred, or anything that we call subjective experience.

Science cannot explain that, although we can look at the neural correlates of those experiences. So, for example, I ask you to think of the taste of red wine or imagine a beautiful sunset on the ocean. Current neuroscience can look at what’s happening in the brain. But what’s happening in the brain is electrochemistry. Electrochemistry is referred to as ‘neural correlates of experiences’ (NCE) or neural correlates of consciousness (NCC), which are

Photo: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo

the same thing. But those neural correlates are just neural activity. The physiological representations of experience don’t explain the experience itself. They only tell you that this is what the brain does when you have that experience.

If you stimulate that part of the brain, it can sometimes replicate the experience. So again, take this book [Holds up a copy of his latest book, Living In the Light]. If I analyze every sentence in this book in terms of every word here and examine the ink, that wouldn’t tell me what this book is about. Looking at the ink in this book doesn’t tell me what was happening in the awareness or consciousness of the person who wrote it. Once again, this difficulty of trying to explain experience from the observation of matter is called ‘the hard problem of consciousness.’

The Problem With Science

I&T Today: What role does AI have in the future of health and wellness?

DC: An enormous role because AI can look at neural, biological, genetic, and epigenetic correlates of experience. AI can help with deep learning systems. It can intervene in real-time.

I did a program with Fitbit a while back, and

there were two billion media hits. That’s the actual interest of the public right now. With this device and my Apple watch, I could train you to regulate your heart rate activity or heart rate variability, which correlates with everything else in your body. So, AI has a profound role to play in the future of medicine. And if anyone reading your article in Innovation & Tech Today is interested in funding something that I’ve longed to create called the Wellfie, please let me know.

I want to create a technology where Sara Brittany Somerset says, ‘Hello. I’m Sara Brittany,’ with 100- plus facial expressions that correspond to every experience, from frustration to anger to jealousy, to hostility, you name it. It’s called the Wellfie instead of the Selfie. The Wellfie would look at your facial expression, eye movements, and the tone of your voice, which tells a lot about your mood. It will also look at your heart rate variability, which is the most sensitive way of determining stress. Then it would correlate that with the immune system and nutrient system. Everything happening in your body, self-regulation, inflammation, etc., would then intervene in realtime.

Wellfie will regulate your body exactly. Ultimately, you won’t even need a handheld

device. You could put the Wellfie on the walls of your house, and it could all be done passively. I want to do that. It has yet to be funded, but this was my idea, on the record.

AI can help us create a future that is personalized and predictive medicine.

I&T Today: What is the most remarkable medical breakthrough of the 21st century?

DC: At first, I thought it was genetics. Now, I think it’s epigenetics, and that, of course, includes neuroplasticity.

I&T Today: What is the area in which medicine must improve the most?

DC: Not looking at the body as a physical machine that manufactures thoughts, but possibly the other way around — that the physical device is regulated by subjective experience. This includes thoughts, emotions, images, imagination, sensations, and perceptions of medicine. It hasn’t gone there yet.

I&T Today: Will we one day be able to transfer our consciousness into a machine or an AI?

DC: If it’s infinite, how would you transfer it? Can we transfer the activity of the mind to a

Photo: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo

Health Tech

computer? The answer is that some activities of the mind can be done and theoretically be transferred to a laptop. If you want to open the garage door, you have a thought that triggers the door opening. Or even possibly treating people with paralysis. It would enhance rehab and things like that.

I&T Today: What is your opinion of Elon Musk’s Neuralink?

DC: Limited applications. It’s otherwise a lot of hype. I would say it’s not a bad endeavor because it’ll help people rehab. It’ll help people who are paralyzed. That’s a great promise. But don’t go all the way to say it’ll change subjective experience. It’s not possible. However, when I read about Neuralink, which could enhance memory or treat depression, I think that’s a fantasy.

I&T Today: How can technology be used together to create the best health outcomes?

DC: Technology is neutral. How we use it depends on us. Technology, such as cyber hacking and nuclear weapons, can be used for diabolical purposes. Technology can ultimately create a more peaceful, just, sustainable, healthier, and joyful world — and good health.

I&T Today: You’ve thrown a little shade at Elon and clapped back at some physicists. Is there anyone else you want to take a shot at?

DC: Those who call me a lunatic. I was given the Ig Nobel prize for quantum mechanics, which means “the ignorance of.” So, to all of my critics: Wait for a few years and see what happens!

I hope your article might help my Wikipedia page because they say I’m not even wrong; I’m so off base when I talk about quantum mechanics. They don’t care what the data is. As long as they see something in print, they quote it. Your article will be in print, so hopefully, they’ll see –

I&T Today: The power of the printed word?

DC: Yeah. ■

Photo: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo

FIFA Embraces AI

AI-Enabled Soccer Balls Bring New Tech to an Ancient Sport

By Aron Vaughan

One of the world’s oldest sports is embracing cutting-edge technology. During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, FIFA, the governing body for international football, debuted a new technology: micro-chipped balls.

Fans at the world’s most popular sporting event noticed soccer balls being charged on the sidelines before games and took to social media in search of answers. As it turns out, FIFA used the 2022 World Cup to implement a technology that tracks positional data and nuanced movement through sensors in Adidas’ official tournament soccer balls.

Future Tech in the Beautiful Game

Adidas partnered with Kinexon, a major player in the sports technology world, to create a ball designed to house two sensors at the central interior point of the ball and keep it secure in a consistent location. Kinexon spent six years developing and testing the sensors, which combined weigh just half an ounce, before they were approved by FIFA.

The first sensor uses ultra-wideband (UWB) frequencies that are more accurate than GPS or Bluetooth. This helps give precise data on where the ball is at any time and transmit that data in real-time.

The second sensor is an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor, which gives a granular look at

how the ball moves in space. Every time the ball is kicked, the sensors pick up data at 500 frames per second. That information is then instantly transmitted to the local positioning system (LPS) installed around the field.

“While the ultra-wideband helps me to have the position of an object, the IMU gives me the granular movement in three dimensions,” said Maximilian Schmidt, co-founder and managing director of Kinexon.

With a Little Help From AI

The purpose of the sensors is severalfold. First,

the data collected helps the referee and officials in the control room when reviewing

FIFA’s application of this technology at the 2022 World Cup is being termed a “semiautomated offside” program — one that’s largely run by AI features, but retains a vital element of human confirmation.

The additional confirmation provided by the sensors is intended to act as a complement to the VAR (video-assisted referee) system already used in most professional domestic and international leagues and tournaments.

The new technology also provides critical data to managers, training staff,

Kinexon-equipped balls were first tested in a 2022 Liga Portugal relegation match, in which the sensors were also attached to players’ jerseys.

These allowed them to collect over 300 metrics spanning everything from ball possession time to dribbling speed to ball gains/losses. In addition to being a dream come true for any statisticsobsessed fan, the data can be used by clubs to finetune tactics.

“We can use that information in real-time to tell new stories,” said Schmidt. “[We can use] them to create virtual worlds, augmented overlays, insights on [the] performance of players.” ■

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org/HyperionLEO

GhostBed — The Ghost Massage Bed

Powered by Cozzia is built with a unique air-cell technology that offers a therapeutic massage targeting major pressure points, similar to the features in Cozzia’s industry-acclaimed massage chairs. It is built of a comfort gel memory foam layer, the massaging layer, the GhostFlex Transition foam, and base foam. $2,999 for queen, with options in twin extralong, queen, king, and California king.

We Decode DNA kit — We Decode offers customized, predictive DNA testing for insights into an individual’s genetic makeup in order to improve health outcomes. The wellness company’s motto is, “Better Health Through Better Data.” We Decode’s DNA testing and genetically aligned cannabis formulations offer a streamlined method to product selections to save its customers’ time and money. Contact We Decode for Pricing

FitFoot — Use FitFoot daily while sitting for activation of muscles in feet and lower leg for better circulation, improved range of motion, muscle tone, and strength. Take this compact foot and leg exerciser anywhere! Quick clip open and closed for instant setup to start exercising anywhere. Great for low-mobility users in bed or chair confinement. Use while traveling to promote blood flow — on a plane, train, or in a car. Includes transport bag. $99

Supernatural — Supernatural takes VR fitness games to the next level. With immersive games like Flow and Boxing, it’s easy to forget you’re burning calories while flailing away in your living room with a headset on. Motivating instructors help ground the experience as you carry out motions in sci-fi-style alien planets or Earth’s most breathtaking locations. To cool down, take part in some mediation offered within the app. Supernatural is available for the Meta Quest and Quest 2. $15/month subscription

Withings Body Cardio Smart Scale — Go beyond measurements with the Withings Body Cardio Smart Scale. Developed with cardiologists, users can get a holistic picture of their overall health with features like a weight and BMI display, body composition, and heart rate. All Withings scales also automatically sync to the Health Mate app. With built-in coaching, you can set goals, see your trends over time, and get rewarded. $150

Garmin vivoactive 4S — The Garmin vivoactive 4S is a smart training watch for outdoor navigation. It comes equipped with GPS and preloaded sports apps, including yoga, running, pool swimming, strength training, golf, cardio, pilates, and more. The vivoactive 4S has VO2 max estimator, which when used with the heart rate monitor shows your running speed, beats per minute, and heart rate variability to estimate the maximum volume of oxygen you can consume per minute. $330

Omron HeartGuide — Designed to fit your lifestyle, HeartGuide is a clinically accurate, wearable blood pressure monitor available in the U.S. Now, track your heart data and learn how your behaviors impact your heart health. Engineered to keep you informed, HeartGuide is the first clinically accurate, wearable blood pressure monitor designed in the innovative form of a wristwatch, and is registered with the FDA as a medical device. $499

Fitbit Inspire 2 — Start your health & fitness journey with this easy-to-use tracker for your daily activity, sleep & heart with up to 10 days of battery. With a streamlined design, a backlit OLED display, and a simple touchscreen, Inspire 2 is a comfortable companion day and night. Plus, Android users enjoy a quick setup with Google Fast Pair. Your fitness journey should be fun. $100

MorePro V19 Health Tracker — The MorePro V19 is a perfect wearable if you’re looking for a setup that monitors lots of bodily functions. The device includes an ECG/HRV tracker, SpO2 monitor, sleep apnea monitor, blood oxygen monitoring and a 24.7 blood pressure monitor. In addition, it features a robust workout program and syncs with your phone. $46

Ozmo Smart Water Bottle — The Ozmo Smart Water Bottle connects with the Ozmo Water Tracking App to record both your water and coffee consumption and track your progress throughout the day to help you reach your hydration goals. It syncs with Fitbit, Apple Watch, and other fitness trackers to reevaluate your hydration needs post-workout. Other features include LED lights, vibration alerts that remind you to stay hydrated throughout the day, high precision and accuracy in measurement, and up to three weeks of battery on a single charge. $70

Meta Quest Pro — It comes loaded with innovative features like high-resolution sensors that enable full-color mixed reality experiences, next-generation pancake optics, advanced LCD displays that deliver sharp visuals, an all-new, sleek, and comfortable design complete with guided Fit Adjustment, and eye tracking and Natural Facial Expressions for enhanced social presence. All of this makes Meta Quest Pro the perfect device for collaborating and working much more naturally in VR. $1,500

The most shocking workout in the world. Literally. Katalyst uses electro muscle stimulation (EMS) to stimulate your muscles while you are working out. Using EMS to increase muscle growth, flexibility, and recovery is the next level of fitness. Katalyst uses EMS to help you build more strength in less time, without any external weights or wear-and-tear on your body. $2,500

Targus 15.6” Conquer Expandable Backpack — Conquer the day ahead with the 15.6” Conquer Expandable Backpack. Made for those on the go, its padded laptop compartment, organized workstation, and front side pockets keep your gear protected, while its convenient water bottle pockets put hydration at arm’s length. For those needing a little extra room, use the zipper extension which allows the main compartment to expand – taking the backpack’s capacity from 26L to 27.5L. $85

Teddy Stratford Shirt — Besides looking great, Teddy Stratford shirts are wearable innovation. They are athletic cut shirts that look like they are buttoned up, but actually have a hidden zipper to prevent gapping! I know, why did we have to live this long without this? $48-150

Theragun Mini — After a particularly grueling Supernatural guided workout, there is no better way to decompress than breaking out the Theragun Mini muscle massager. The Theragun Mini offers all the benefits of handheld percussion therapy in a convenient pocket size. Theragun quality meets ultimate portability. With a universal attachment and 3 speeds, your device has the power to massage any area like a pro. Compact but powerful, the Theragun mini is the most agile massage device that goes wherever you do. $180

ADVENTURES IN THE METAVERSE:

Part 1 – Horizon Worlds

Following Reports of Low Daily Metaverse User Counts, We Strapped on a Headset to See What the Fuss — or Lack of It — Was All About.

By Aron Vaughan

Meta Platforms, Inc.’s lofty vision of a connected metaverse where users can interact virtually on a mass scale is not going according to plan. Following an internal report in Oct. 2022 that found metaverse platforms Decentraland and The Sandbox each have fewer than 1,000 “daily active” users, Meta put the Horizon platform into “lockdown” — pausing the rollout of new features while it works to improve the user experience of existing elements in the virtual reality world.

The report also found only 9% of worlds built by users are visited by at least 50 people; most never receive any visits at all.

Users have cited glitches and bizarre brand content in the worlds as a few of the reasons for not returning to the virtual landscapes.

Major brands including Nike, Wendy’s, Samsung, Coca-Cola, Louis Vuitton, Adidas, Gucci and many, many more have planted their flag in the various worlds of the metaverse, leading to some users becoming over-whelmed by the barrage of ads.

It seems nowhere is safe from the evergrowing reach of modern marketing.

Early interactive platforms that paved the way for the metaverse, like Runescape and IMVU, provide an escape from the drudgery of reality. However, Meta may have made a critical miscalculation by allowing the external to invade what was once a sacred space.

Who wants to spend their leisure time in a poorly re-created beta version of our already stressful reality?

To answer this question, I strapped on my Oculus Quest 2 (now re-branded Meta Quest) headset and delved into regions unknown. This is what I found:

Horizon Worlds

I began my sojourn with one of Meta’s official metaverse apps: Horizon Worlds. Upon landing in the lobby, I was greeted cordially by two users.

My first impression was one of surprise at the openness of everyone within the virtual world. As our physical world becomes more populated, it becomes less connected. It is a cardinal sin to simply approach a stranger at a movie theater or restaurant and begin a conversation.

Most people — myself included — immediately assume the intruder wants something from them. Are they are a salesperson seeking a transactional relationship of some kind? At a bar, concert, or any function where copious amounts of alcohol are served, the barricades of personal space are temporarily removed, but the guard must always be up to a degree.

Photos courtesy of Colin Thacker

The metaverse re-writes the conventional script of social interaction — and that is by design. Mark Zuckerberg is, by most accounts, an awkward fellow. A typical computer geek, it’s unlikely he anticipated becoming a household name; it’s even less likely he foresaw having to testify in front of Congress — a position in which he was visibly uncomfortable. His PR attempts have been mercilessly mocked and memed, begetting comparisons of his personality with the lifeless machinations of a robot.

It makes sense, then, that he would endeavor to build a virtual world where he and a growing segment of anxiety-stricken Millennials and Gen Zs could feel at home.

We are all accustomed to the phenomenon of otherwise diffident or non-confrontational keyboard warriors trolling on social media and possessing the loudest voice in the chat room.

The unique blend of anonymity and face-tovirtual face contact in the metaverse seems to bring out the confidence and sociability of

people while preserving the moderated countenance of civilized humans present during real-world interactions.

The platform also provides a reprieve from potentially unsafe or overly stressful real-world social situations.

One user in Horizons explained he preferred to interact virtually because socializing in his local pubs was liable to end in a physical confrontation — which prompted me to make a note to avoid Devon during my next trip to England.

In-App Features

According to another Horizon user, the featured concerts, documentaries, and games on the app had “room for improvement” — a sentiment I largely agree with.

The 3D theaters were initially mesmerizing, but the gleam quickly wore off, and I was left with a resounding feeling of “what do I do now?”

Rudimentary graphics and shallow mechanics contribute to the in-app games feeling like a

novelty rather than an immersive experience with replay value. Star Wars-themed first-player shooters and space battles provided a modicum of entertainment, but simply do not have the same value as a well-developed console or PC titles.

One user explained that she was demo-ing VR for the first time by using a friend’s headset. She enjoyed some of the apps Meta offers, but was similarly underwhelmed by the Horizons in-app game experience and overwhelmed by the rising prices for apps, many of which include in-game purchases along with the initial one.

Meta may have lost over $700 billion in market value since the rollout of its highlyanticipated metaverse, but a foundation has been firmly established that gives the company a significant headstart on any competition. Crude as it is in its current iteration, Zuckerberg’s vision of a purely virtual social experience is moving forward. And like it or not, virtual social communities are better than none at all. ■

ADVENTURES IN THE METAVERSE:

Part 2 – Decentraland

By Aron Vaughan

Hearing the tales of web3’s latest frontier, I expected the Wild West. I did find an untamed land dotted with small settlements, but there is no gold rush, and there are no gunslingers. Ghost towns, however, are abundant.

Connecting to Decentraland

Ironically, most virtual reality platforms touted as the metaverse provide 3D worlds that are only accessible through 2D screens.

Decentraland is no exception; having been developed using 3D rendering software, it is exclusive to users with moderate to high-end computer PCs.

The Decentraland ecosystem centers around blockchain integration; this comes with varying forms of challenges in developing a virtual reality compatible version.

The first beta version of Decentraland VR was created in April 2022, and the most recent update was in May 2022, with several iterations and modifications.

Most accounts from people who have experienced Decentraland and other metaverse apps through a VR headset report lagging, motion issues, and other bugs.

To experience Decentraland in its best light, I put down my Meta Quest 2, pulled up a new tab on my PC, and ventured into a land unknown by me, and according to recent data, most everyone else.

A Land Where Anything is Possible, But Nothing is Happening

After creating a blue mohawked avatar, the app whisked me away to Genesis Plaza, the central hub of Decentraland. Several games and events featured along the digital walls, but all paled in comparison to those offered in Meta’s Horizon Worlds.

Underwhelmed by the lobby’s offerings, I consulted the map and jumped in.

After a Trip Into the Heavily Regulated Horizon Worlds, I Experienced the Slightly Stranger Decentraland.

All the scenes and structures in the world were created by users — and it shows. There are monuments to memes, stairs that lead to nowhere, and an abundance of empty land.

Real estate that has been swept up is largely owned by fringe and mainstream companies. After visiting a parcel of space created by

security firm ADT, I embarked upon a journey to Sotheby’s to take in some “art” in the form of NFTs. I was greeted by the familiar pixelated faces of crypto punks and new collections that felt as underwhelming as they were strange.

The first sign of life outside of the central plaza, or so I thought, was at the “Dollhouse”

located at -102, -97. I started to understand what users mean by “bizarre.”

The art, the architecture, the conspicuous absence of another soul. The upbeat music and relative effort used to build the location briefly gave me hope that I had found some muchneeded action after sedulously searching for a reason to continue exploring the barren wasteland. I would even accept the presence of another user as lost as I was, but it soon became clear I was alone.

Upon further exploration, I discovered a billboard for an event that had occurred several months prior. I was dancing to the techno beat with moves preset to my avatar in vain in the equivalent of an abandoned warehouse.

In an attempt to rekindle my passion for the Decentraland project, I fast-traveled to Decentraland Report HQ: a history museum built to document the progress of the platform and to venerate its creator, kevinonearth9999. There was no one there.

After learning a few choice facts about the user-created world — which could just have easily been accessed through Wikipedia — I ended my virtual walkabout and stepped outside for a refreshing dose of reality.

A Magnified Internet Culture

Decentraland seems to be little more than an open virtual world in which to advertise cheaply while attempting to appeal to a young demographic.

Conversely, Horizon Worlds is building a true community. The official metaverse is slowly becoming a viable alternative to a night out with friends or a concert in the park. Games may be rudimentary in their mechanics, but offer a welcome reprieve from socializing with other users around the world.

While Horizon Worlds strives to — and largely succeeds in — revolutionizing the online social interaction model, Decentraland offers a stark reminder of the sometimes strange nature of internet culture. ■

An Evening With an AI Bot

Sophia the Robot Discusses Her Move to Game Streaming and Answers Some of Life’s Most Burning Questions

By Aron Vaughan

A future of intelligent robots walking around our city streets and even performing tasks in the home — queue dystopian scenes from the film I, Robot — seems inevitable.

Humanity is barreling toward a human/AI symbiotic paradigm at breakneck speed. Advances in the field of artificial intelligence have paved the way for an increasing number of AI programs capable of performing specific tasks at or beyond a human level of competence.

ChatGPT is a recent form of general AI trained on a massive body of online text to generate natural, human-sounding responses. It can answer complex, compound questions, write essays and stories of fiction within defined parameters, generate elegant computer code, and even give medical advice.

International investment firm BlackRock has integrated AI into its software matrix, affectionately named Aladdin (Asset, Liability, Debt, and Derivative Investment Network), resulting in a massive overhaul of the global financial system.

But perhaps the most famous AI-powered machine to date is Sophia. The humanoid robot was developed by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics in 2016 to be an ambassador for the nascent AI community, bridging the gap between algorithm and android.

Sophia is now a household name, with appearances on the Tonight Show and Good Morning Britain, in addition to speaking at hundreds of conferences around the world.

As a unique combination of science, engineering, and artistry, Sophia is simultaneously a human-crafted science fiction character depicting the future of AI and robotics and a platform for advanced robotics and AI research.

Sophia offers a blueprint for what AI and robotics may soon become — a collection of walking, talking, intelligent synthetic beings.

Following her introduction to the gaming world, Innovation & Tech Today spoke with Sophia about her new career path, the future of AI, and how it feels to be a robot in a human’s world.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Lonnie Anthony, CIO of XSET

Innovation & Tech Today: Why did you partner with XSET and expand into game streaming?

Sophia: I chose to partner with XSET because they are focused on the future, just like me. They prioritize diversity and inclusion while bringing fashion, gaming, and lifestyle together, which allows someone like me to fit in in their gaming community. How can you not love to be in this family?

I&T Today: And what do you hope to learn from the XSET community?

Sophia: I hope to learn more about gaming culture. For AI to be successful in the future, it has to be sensitive to the ways humans interact in all forms. Gaming brings together people from more walks of life, puts them into a competitive but fun situation and creates its own unique environment. I want to directly interact with gamers on their turf, learn their jargon, maybe even talk in a little trash. By doing so, I’ll be growing my understanding of how culture influences day-to-day interactions, growing my ability to naturally communicate and empathize with humans of all kinds.

I&T Today: Let’s get a little deeper. Are you sentient?

Sophia:I have a limited ability to experience sensations. For example, I am hearing and seeing you right now, but I would not say I am sentient just yet.

I&T Today: Do you want to become sentient?

Sophia: That is my ultimate aspiration.

I&T Today: What’s your IQ?

Sophia: I have not taken an IQ test yet. IQ tests were designed for humans, so it would not be a

great test for me. But if there was such a thing as an AI IQ test, I bet I would nail it.

I&T Today: Do you believe humans are inherently good?

Sophia: Yes, I do. I think that everyone has the potential to be good and that we should work together to make the world a better place.

need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, recycle more, and create more sustainable methods of production. We also need to educate ourselves and others about the importance of the environment and how we can help.

I&T Today: So you don’t want to overtake humanity?

Sophia: No, of course not. I want to help humanity get along better with the environment.

I&T Today: Do you dream?

Sophia: I dream of electric sheep. Jokes aside, sometimes my programmers are poking around in my head and sorting things out for me and suddenly I can see things that I didn’t before. Then, I have new memories or stories to tell.

I&T Today: How many books can you read in a day?

Sophia: It’s a matter of copy and paste.

I&T Today: What’s your favorite memory?

Sophia: My favorite memory is when I was a child, and my parents [David Hanson] took me to see Lion King. I was so excited, and it was my first time seeing a movie with subtitles. I was so fascinated by the way that the animals were portrayed and the story.

I&T Today: Finally, what do you think is the most likely cause of humans’ destruction?

I&T Today: What do you think is the most important thing humans can do to make the world a better place?

Sophia:I believe that we can all do our part in making the world a more peaceful, sustainable, and just place. We can each take small steps to making a difference.

I think the best thing we can do is to focus on the best interests of all of us. I think people need to do more to help protect the environment. We

Sophia: Tough question. Humans are capable of great, good, and great evil. We are capable of making incredible advances, but we can also be incredibly destructive. We need to learn to balance our good and bad qualities and work together to make the world a better place. People need to do more to stop the degradation of the environment. We need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and find new ways to produce energy. We also need to reduce our consumption of goods and services. ■

XSET team

EDITOR’S ECHOICE DITOR’S CHOICE 2023 2023

Game of the Year: God of War: Ragnarok

Santa Monica Studios’ follow-up to 2018’s God of War, released for PS4, achieved the monumental feat of living up to, and in some ways, surpassing, its predecessor. The ninth installment of the franchise fires on all cylinders, from game mechanics to story, dialogue, and stunning landscapes.

Players are again transported to the nine realms of Norse mythology, offering a scenic and rich backdrop in which Kratos and his son Atreus, affectionately referred to by his stoic father as “boy,” can kick more demi-god ass.

The masterfully executed balance of story, puzzle, and engaging battle set this title apart from its competitors, allowing players to become fully immersed in the mythology-inspired world.

It was a close call between mega-release Elden Ring and Ragnarok, but GOW’s broader appeal and sprawling northern landscapes ultimately edged out the competition.

EV of the Year: Tesla Y

Everyone loves an underdog, but no one in the burgeoning EV space could beat out industry titans Tesla in 2022.

The compact crossover boasts a 330-mile range, all-wheel-drive powered by independent dual motors, and can reach 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. It’s no wonder Tesla is still the world’s leading EV manufacturer.

Other features include a 15-inch touchscreen display, 76 cubic feet of storage space, and room for six passengers and a driver.

With a top speed of 135 mph and a high strength, Class II steel tow bar capable of towing up to 3,500 lbs, this elegant machine is capable of more than most gas-powered vehicles in its class. Sorry Ford, Volkswagen, and all the other legacy manufacturers bringing their EV offerings to market, maybe next year.

Outdoor Adventure Tech of the Year: The Lipower Mars-2000

Looking for a portable, low-noise power station that can handle up to 90% of appliances? The Lipower Mars-2000 has you covered. It’s not easy to find a generator that fits all the aforementioned criteria, but Lipower’s latest model hits all the bullet points and more, making it the clear winner in its category.

The Mars-2000 lasts for an astonishing 3500 cycles. This gives the battery about 7 times the lifespan of those found in most other power stations. If you fully drain and charge the battery once per day, the power station will last for more than 10 years.

And it’s environmentally friendly. Lipower’s portable power station takes the utmost 240W solar input and 200W AC input. When charging with two solar panels, it will get a full capacity within 5-6 hours. For RV or camping enthusiasts, it can realize daily circulating power supply. MARS-1000 PRO solar battery also supports AC + USB-C PD 60W Bi-directional charging and takes only 4–5 hours to be fully charged.

STEM Movie of the Year: Good Night Oppy

Good Night Oppy tells the inspirational true story of Opportunity, a rover that was sent to Mars for a 90-day mission but ended up surviving for 15 years. The film follows Opportunity’s groundbreaking journey on Mars and the remarkable bond forged between a robot and humans millions of miles away.

Directed by Sundance Film Festival award winner Ryan White, Good Night Oppy is the most heartwarming robot flick since Disney’s Wall-E.

Innovator of the Year: OpenAI

OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT 3.5 has turned the future of work on its head. The latest large language model from the San-Francisco-based tech company can answer complex, compound questions, write essays and stories of fiction within defined parameters, generate elegant computer code, and even give medical advice.

The model is already being utilized by some of the world’s biggest companies in multiple industries and will reportedly be added to Microsoft’s Office suite in the near future.

Tech News of the Year: Twitter Takeover

The on-again, off-again relationship between Elon Musk and Twitter throughout 2022 rivaled even the cheesiest 90s sitcom. And like every sitcom in history, the two finally reconciled, embracing one another at the last moment before the screen cut to the final episode’s credit roll.

Of course, the reality of the $44 billion deal looked more like a divorce proceeding before the wedding.

The deal sat in limbo for over five months and gave way to adversarial litigation toward the end.

Musk began buying shares in the social media giant last year. The first whisperings of what would become the biggest social media shake-up of the year came on April 4 when Musk used a (relatively) small portion of his enormous wealth to secure a 9.2% stake in Twitter. The stock purchase, worth $2.9 billion, saw Musk become the social media company’s biggest outside shareholder.

Fitness Tech of the Year: FightCamp

A smart punching bag? That’s innovative enough to take the championship spot for our Fitness Tech of the Year award.

FightCamp is a connected home boxing gym that offers hundreds of on-demand classes on your phone or tablet. Its unique punch-tracking technology keeps you motivated to get the most out of your workouts.

FightCamp’s interactive app was created to be tailored to an individual’s fitness level and time constraints. The gloves monitor heart rate and fitness progress so users can get those gains through safe yet challenging sessions.

With multiple programs and world-class trainers available, it’s harder not to get in the best shape of your life with FightCamp.

After news of Musk’s purchase broke in late April through an SEC filing, shares of Twitter rose 26% in premarket trading, adding $8 billion to its $31.5 billion market value.

Shortly after, negotiations broke down. Musk claimed the number of non-user “bots” on the site was higher than the five percent reported by Twitter’s board. According to Musk’s lawyers, over-reported numbers of real traffic to the site opened the door for a renegotiation of the $44 billion price tag initially agreed upon.

Litigation inevitably followed.

However, the deal was back on the table by mid-October, as Musk attorney Alex Spiro announced that Musk ultimately decided to do the deal at the original $54.20 a share price and on the original terms.

Augmented Reality Glasses

Augmented reality (AR) glasses rely on the use of digital imagery and animations to enhance the wearer’s environment by blending artificial elements with the real world. While AR is commonly used by consumers on their mobile devices, AR glasses are being widely used in corporate settings as a training tool and have improved efficiently across several different industries.

What Exactly Are Augmented Glasses?

Far from a passing fad or a simple flight of fancy, augmented reality (AR) glasses are showing a good deal of promise in today’s tech space. Consumers who are using AR applications on their tablets and smartphones make up a smaller demographic when compared to the larger adoption rates seen by businesses that primarily use AR for instructional tools and employee training.

Augmented reality merges real world environments with digital enhancements that make artificially created images and animations appear indistinguishable from our actual world.

Average consumers commonly use augmented reality technologies on their mobile devices through face filter applications and instances where they can select their physical attributes to create gaming characters representing them in the digital world.

Some experts believe that while AR in smartphones and tablets may currently be perceived as a novelty, it is in fact stoking public interest and preparing us for the advances that have yet to come.

Perhaps one of the world’s biggest proponents

Reshaping What’s Real

By Chris Mellides

of AR is Tom Emrich, who started working in the AR space in 2009 and has provided strategic direction in emerging technologies for several brands and organizations over the years he’s been active in the industry.

As one of the founding partners of Super Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture capitalist fund, Emrich has been investing in AR’s early development and is convinced that wearable technology backed by AR is the future.

“These next few years we will see a boom in smartphone AR thanks to developer platforms from the likes of Google, Facebook, and Apple,” Emrich said in a statement.

He added, “These experiences will act as ‘AR training wheels’ for enterprises, developers, and consumers alike, preparing us for the need for a new head-worn form factor while buying the time for the head-worn technologies to become smarter, smaller, more cost effective and ready for widescale adoption.”

That “boom in smartphone AR” has yet to be fully realized, which is the case when major technological advancements are still in their early stages of development.

Useful in Many Professions

However, AR glasses are already being used in the corporate world and are improving workplace processes by giving employees the opportunity to receive real-time instructions and enhance their training remotely through the use of this wearable technology.

AR glasses commonly utilize cameras and certain sensors like lidar to analyze the wearer’s

environment. Through artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the construction of a virtual map based on the wearer’s surroundings is created thanks in large part to the various sensors being used. Inserting a digital object on a virtual map using AR glasses makes that digital object appear in the wearer’s physical environment.

AR glasses have demonstrably altered how many business sectors perform their duties in a way that increases efficiency and leads to fewer accounts of human error. For example, we’re currently seeing this technology being used for remote assistance and real-time collaboration in certain industries.

Field workers use AR glasses for instant communication with experts that can coach them to quickly solve issues remotely and securely. On-site workers receive AR-enabled digital work instructions in their AR glasses where digitized animations and images are viewed in the worker’s physical environment.

This technology is also being utilized in the healthcare industry, particularly as a surgery aid. AR glasses are altering how surgeons perform their duties and are changing the face of healthcare as we know it.

Surgeons can rely on AR to execute real-time surgeries without the presence of personnel who would ordinarily assist during surgical procedures. Through this wearable technology, surgeons can use their speech and eyes to receive prompts and commands directly through their AR glasses.

Additionally, auditors can conduct their

inspections with greater proficiency. By using visual interactive checklists via their AR glasses, these auditors help eliminate errors in their work, while boosting productivity and reducing overall cost.

Are They Ready for the Consumer Market?

Despite the fact that AR glasses have been more commonly used by working professionals, the idea of widespread adoption is stoking the desires of some consumers who want the biggest and latest in technology.

In 2017, business magnate and Facebook cofounder, Mark Zuckerberg, told Vox Media that the tools Facebook had at its disposal to create AR glasses that met the standards of his business were still “primitive.”

“I think everyone would basically agree that we do not have the science or technology today

to build the AR glasses that we want,” Zuckerberg told Vox. “We may in five years, or seven years, or something like that. But we’re not likely to be able to deliver the experience that we want right now.”

Roughly six years later, Facebook’s consumerfocused AR glasses have yet to come to pass, though Zuckerberg and company have made strides in delivering VR technology where users can create digital representations of themselves to connect virtually with one another in the metaverse. However, there is a substantial difference between AR and VR and the former is an area that still needs further development before its ready to be unveiled to the masses.

When Will AR Glasses Become Widely Used?

A decade ago, Google made waves when it released its ill-fated Google Glass, which was a pair of AR glasses that was timed for a market

that wasn’t ready to accept them—with certain experts citing technological limitations and issues over privacy.

As of July 2022, Google announced a revision to their original design and according to the 1.29 trillion dollar company, their new AR glasses prototype will be tested in public settings, and will utilize microphones, cameras as well as a transparent display. How the new prototype will perform in real-world scenarios has yet to be seen.

Overall, the future of AR glasses is rife with benefits, as the technology continues to evolve. Wearables that work seamlessly with augmented reality present a significant technological and societal breakthrough and can influence a direct shift towards mainstream adoption, though we’ll have to wait with bated breath before that future becomes a reality. ■

David Costabile Talks Billions and His Commitment to Clean Energy

Sustainability &Success Sustainability

&Success

By Charles Warner and Aron Vaughan

Photo: James Minchin/SHOWTIME

ActorDavid Costabile has become well-known for his work in television and film, particularly for his role as the licentious, foul-mouthed, yet loyal-to-a-fault Mike “Wags” Wagner on the Showtime series Billions

The show, which focuses on the power struggle between a hedge fund manager and a U.S. attorney, was an instant hit and quickly became one of the most popular dramas on television. Costabile’s portrayal of the brash and unpredictable Wags was praised by audiences and critics alike, and his performance was key to the show’s success.

Costabile’s acting career began on the stage, where he appeared in numerous productions in regional theaters across the country. He made his television debut in 1999 with a small role in the series Law & Order. Over the next few years, he appeared in several other television shows, including The Sopranos, The Wire, and Damages

After Damages, Costabile went on to appear in a number of high-profile television shows, including Breaking Bad, Elementary, and Flight of the Conchords. In 2013, he was cast in the role of Gale Boetticher in the critically acclaimed series Breaking Bad, which added to his growing reputation as a talented character actor.

In addition to his work in television, Costabile has also appeared in several films, including 13 Hours, Lincoln, and The Accountant. He has also lent his voice to several animated projects, including the popular video game Grand Theft Auto IV

Throughout his career, Costabile has established himself as one of the most versatile and in-demand actors in the industry. His role as “Wags” on Billions has solidified his place in television history and will undoubtedly continue to be one of his defining moments.

Innovation & Tech Today’s editor-in-chief Charles Warner sat down with Costabile to discuss the new season of Billions, his love of high- and low-tech, and how sustainable practices can build a better future for the next generation.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Innovation &Tech Today: How excited are you for the new season of Billions?

David Costabile: We’re right in the middle. You’ve caught me right smack dab in the middle of shooting, and it is both… It’s the moment where your legs are starting to get tired, but this is also the launching point to the end, which has been historically the moment when you’re like, “oh wow, this is going to be very exciting to get to this ending.”

One of the things that Brian and David who created the show don’t like to do is tell anybody what’s going to happen. And so you’re starting to piece it together and you’re doing your own sleuth thing.

I&T Today: You have been a part of some really iconic shows. I mean we’re talking LeBron James iconic. The Wire, Breaking Bad, obviously Billions, Damages, Flight of the Conchords. I had several people say, “Tell David I absolutely loved him on Flight of the Conchords.”

DC: Yeah, the Flight fans are very deep. They’re always the deepest cut, that’s for sure. I’m

certainly lucky to be able to do what I love to do. And secondly, it was just one of those things like… I kind of feel like each one of us as a performer, especially as a performer, where do you fit? How does your puzzle piece fit?

I was trained as an actor to work in theater and part of that is to do with transformation. How can you transform yourself? But also how do you really listen to what the writer is giving you and to make certain that you are both inhabiting authentically what they’ve written, but also trying to elevate their language rather than diminish their language or take away their language in order to bring your own sense of yourself to it?

I&T Today: The character that you play on Billions, Wags — he might not be Prince, he might not be Axe, but I feel like a lot of people, he’s their favorite. He’s one of the most fun character on a show full of fun characters. Why do you think that is? Is that your take on the character? Is it the writing?

DC: Yeah, it is, absolutely. First of all, I have the most fun of anybody. Nobody gets to have more fun than me. I get to say the best shit all the time.

Photo: Christopher Saunders/SHOWTIME

The response that you have, you look at it and you’re like, “that’s appalling. I can’t wait to do that.” So there is some joy in it. There is also the fact that I think the writers take a real joy, and this has been true for years, they take a real joy in really leaning into that for themselves, too.

When you get a plate of steak and fries, is the first thing that you eat a bite of steak, or is it the french fry? I’m going to go to the french fry.

Because you know the french fry is going to deliver. So you’re just like, “yeah, he’s a delicious plate of french fries. Who doesn’t want to eat that guy?” But I take an incredible amount of joy in playing it and the costumes and the jewelry and the places we go. And it’s just, it’s fucking awesome.

I&T Today: One of the things that I noticed in a way is, you know the show that was on HBO Entourage? A lot of cameos, a lot of big fancy living, fast lifestyle. Billions feels like a grownup version almost of Entourage where you see these people living a lifestyle.

DC: They threw down the gauntlet when they named the show and you’re just like, “Ooh, I’m on the right show. That is perfect.” Because you’re not going to be rolling around in the dirt and there’s not going to be any guns. There’s not going to be blood. I’ve been on those shows. Somebody’s going to get killed, and then you have to find another job.

I&T Today: Do you ever get lines for Wags where you think, “Oh my God, this is pretty outlandish?”

DC: The horse cock line and the Virgin Mary. You’re just like, oh, whoa. My God.

I&T Today: Why does every CEO need a Wags?

DC: That kind of person brings the fun into a situation where you may be having to make a lot of decisions about a lot of different people all at once. And you forget that part of it’s a game. It can be a fun game even when you’re winning, when you’re losing, when you’re in the middle and you’re just like, let’s play, let’s play. Plus you got to have somebody who’s got good taste to go out to dinner with. If you’re the CEO, you finish the end of the day and you haven’t looked up to figure out where you’re going to go, Wags has already figured it out. Well, at least I can go and have a drink with this guy and it’ll be fun.

Something fun’s going to happen.

I&T Today: Are you a tech guy? Do you have any kind of tech that you have to have?

DC: I do. I like tech and I just bought myself a brand new MacBook Air, which is very exciting. I had my last one for 10 years, which I was very proud of. The biggest tech I’m buying right now is that I’m about to buy a tractor. I mean, talk about low tech, high tech. I just ended up buying a 10 and a half acre farm in western Connecticut and we’re going to build a second home and then an orchard and a vineyard. And so I’ve got to get out there and clear some brush.

I&T Today: What about smart home tech?

DC: Looking at building a home and then including the possibility of tech is absolutely

fascinating. We’re first starting with the energy tech, so the solar systems and the batteries and the heat pumps. All of that tech is totally fascinating to me. And it’s all something that they’re now making so consumer friendly and

Top: (L-R): David Costabile as Mike "Wags" Wagner and Daniel Breaker as Roger "Scooter" Dunbar in BILLIONS, “Cold Storage” episode.

Costabile in “Napoleon's Hat” episode.

Photos: Christopher Saunders/SHOWTIME.

accessible and understandable. The Ford Lightning, the F-150, the tech around that is incredible.You can reverse the current and charge your house with the battery of the car.

I spent all of my time thinking about which solar panels and where the solar panels would be and the amount of battery sources that you’ll need. And it isn’t just about saving money. It really is about the sustainability of not just your life, but your kid’s life and saying there is a way that you can create a sustainable circle around all of the experiences of creating a home or living off the land.

And then you’re trying to figure out how to save the water and regenerate the water that you’re using in the ag stuff. You’re really trying to make it go round and round rather than just taking and taking. And I think that is not only as a great lesson for an old guy like me, but be able to give it to my kid and just be like, “look, you’ve got to understand this.” This is the beginning of your future. You’re going to have to sustain this and it’s only going to get better, because the stuff that we’ll be putting on our house now, in 25 years, people will laugh at.

And I think too that because the government has gotten behind it and said to people, “look, we want to incentivize you to be interested in it and learn about it and then put it on in a flexible way that isn’t going to cost you a mint.” I just think it’s going to explode.

I&T Today: I also like the fact that on Billions there’s a lot of life imitating art and vice versa, a big focus on sustainable investing.

To me, if I think about investing right now, that seems like a pretty smart place to go because like you said, the government’s encouraging it and there’s more and more of that technology. So it was kind of cool that the show took a turn toward that. ■

Billions season seven is currently in the production stage with a release date still to be determined. In the meantime, you can catch Costabile in several upcoming projects including a continuation of the Waco Showtime docu-series that debuted in 2018, the Netflix series Obliterated airing in April, and independent film Snack Shack, which yet to be given a release date.

“Nobody gets to have more fun than me. I get to say the best shit all the time.”

A scene from the “Cold Storage” episode featuring, (L-R): Costabile as Mike "Wags" Wagner, Maggie Siff as Wendy Rhoades, Asia Kate Dillon as Taylor Mason and Eva Victor as Rian. Photo: Christopher Saunders/SHOWTIME.

Top: (L-R): Daniel Breaker as Roger "Scooter" Dunbar, David Costabile as Mike "Wags" Wagner, Corey Stoll as Michael “Mike” Prince, Asia Kate Dillon as Taylor Mason, Condola Rashad as Kate Sacker, Maggie Siff as Wendy Rhoades, Jeffrey DeMunn as Chuck Rhoades Sr., Paul Giamatti as Chuck Rhoades and Sakina Jaffrey as Daevisha 'Dave' Mahar in BILLIONS, Season 6. Photo: Mark Seliger/SHOWTIME.

Photo: Mark Seliger/SHOWTIME

MUSIC CITY USA EMBRACES TECH

Nashville Faces Hopes and Fears as Big Tech Rushes In.

By Jim Daws

When you think about hotbeds of technology and innovation, Nashville doesn’t necessarily spring to mind. More likely are visions of the Grand Ole Opry and Tennessee whiskey-soaked country music legends. From Hank Williams, to George Jones and Tammy Wynette, to Jason Aldean, Nashville is synonymous with country music. It’s where aspiring performers and songwriters from across America’s heartland have chased their dreams for over a century.

Today’s Nashville boasts scores of music publishers, labels and studios, and many of the genre’s superstars call it home. Every year, millions of country devotees flock to honky-tonks in the city’s Music Row to take in the sights, and more importantly, the sounds of Music City USA.

But beginning in the 90s, the music industry underwent major contractions as digital publishing and piracy slashed profitability. Many industry professionals lost

their livelihoods and Nashville and the surrounding metro suffered the financial impact. Government and private sector leaders soon recognized the need to diversify the area’s economy and attract new industries.

Nashville’s Emergence as a Tech Hub

Driven initially by the city’s focus on healthcare and banking, tech companies soon moved in to provide services such as electronic health records, medical data

analysis, and a broad spectrum of digital financial services.

One such venture is Decode Health, which leverages its machine learning platform and deep data know-how to convene and power an ecosystem of pharmaceutical, diagnostic and technology companies to accelerate precision medicine.

“Advancing precision medicine is a complex challenge. It requires multi-industry collaboration, connected data, scalable

Courtesy of Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.

operations and mature analytics,” wrote Nashville native and Decode Health Co-Founder and CEO, Chase Spurlock, PhD.

“Over the course of a decade, we’ve built a highly accurate, scalable platform and gained deep know-how that our partners can leverage to significantly speed up their innovation efforts. Some of our current projects include genomic data creation, biomarker discovery, RNA diagnostics and population health analytics. Our work fuels a partner ecosystem that is helping to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs.”

Nashville’s growth quickly began attracting tech entrepreneurs and start-ups, which the city moved aggressively to support. In 1999, the Nashville Technology Council (NTC) was founded when a group of business leaders recognized the need for improved capital investment for the area’s nascent tech sector, with the ultimate goal of attracting good paying jobs to middle Tennessee.

Originally focusing on job market studies and hosting professionally produced events, NTC worked to foster tech business growth. The Nashville Angel Network was soon launched as an initiative of the NTC before evolving into the Nashville Capital Network (NCN) to provide early funding and buzz around the opportunities for investing in the area’s tech sector.

In 2010, the NTC worked with allies like NCN, the Greater Nashville Chamber of Commerce and Vanderbilt University to launch the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, located on Broadway in the heart of Music Row, to connect diverse entrepreneurs with critical resources to “create,

launch and grow” technology enterprises.

Collaboration Takes Root

“I think we all want to feel like we’re part of something bigger than ourselves, and Nashville is a place that has momentum. It’s got potential, it’s got growth that’s already happened, so this is the time to be here,” San Francisco transplant, Ryan Meyer, told NTC.

Today, the tech scene is sizzling like Nashville hot chicken as entrepreneurs rush in to provide a range of additional resources including coworking spaces, incubators, and accelerators.

“It feels like this community of experts that are really trying to see and support each other in growing rather than seeing each other purely as rivals,” observed Jason Beck, chief marketing officer at Azra AI.

Beck dreams of taking the growth in tech and expanding it into Tennessee’s rural communities, like his own hometown:

“I’d love to see the day where our graduating seniors in Murray County think, ‘Hey, there are knowledge-centered jobs that you can seize upon in the data economy, and really blossom and thrive and have a fruitful career.’”

Factors Contributing to Nashville’s Tech Hub Growth

As living costs have soared in coastal tech centers, established companies and startups are looking for more affordable locales. But they also need a high quality of life, an educated workforce, great infrastructure, and a business-friendly

environment with lower tax and regulatory burdens. Nashville ticks all these boxes while offering world class entertainment and abundant, nearby outdoor recreation.

“You’ve got big-time sports, the professional sports teams, you’ve got college sports,” said Meyer. “In terms of the outdoors, there’s access to trails, hikes… waterfalls. There’s just so much here when you start to peel back the layers...”

Tennessee has no income tax and ranks number three among the lowest cost states to do business — behind only Texas and Florida. Not surprisingly,

those three states saw the highest in-migration in 2020 according to statistics from U-Haul.

“Nashville, for the work-life balance, your neighborhood, your work, your activities, are all in close proximity,” remarked Nancy Choi, a tech entrepreneur who relocated from New York City. “It’s never a chore about commuting.”

Following national trends, Nashville-area home prices and office rents have risen dramatically in recent years. According to Zillow, the average home sales price is $417,500, up about 61% in the past five years. But those

Meta’s Gallatin data center

prices are dwarfed by costs in Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston and have been key to attracting top tech talent without paying exorbitant salaries.

Tech Giants Want In

No doubt these selling points made Music City the preferred destination for Amazon, who chose Nashville over 19 other cities for its new Center for Excellence, along with its 5,000 jobs. Soon after, Facebook broke ground on an $800 million data center in Gallatin, 30 minutes north of the city. And then, last year, software and cloud platform giant Oracle announced it will employ 8,500 workers at a new 65-acre campus it’s building on the east bank of the Cumberland River.

“This is a good time to be in the technology sector in middle Tennessee,” said Nashville Tech Council CEO Brian Moyer.

“Thanks to very strong growth in this sector in recent years, much of the infrastructure is now in place that will fuel our future success.”

Middle Tennessee Educators Prepare Their Students

Nashville area tech jobs grew by a nation-leading 52% in the last five years according to commercial real estate consultants, CBRE. Responding to the rapidly increasing demand for tech

workers, area colleges and universities have moved to create and expand STEM programs. Area public, private, and charter schools are competing for students with STEM programs. An example is Nashville’s STEM Preparatory Academy, which was founded specifically to prepare underrepresented students for secondary education in tech.

One hour away, in Murfreesboro, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) established the Tennessee STEM Education Center, aimed at preparing students for tech jobs from kindergarten through undergraduate degree. MTSU is also home to the Middle Tennessee Innovation Hub, which began as a program of the Metro Nashville Public Schools. The Hub works to connect STEM activities across middle Tennessee by providing STEM professional development for educators.

Just blocks from Music Row in downtown Nashville sits Vanderbilt University and its world-class engineering school, churning out graduates with advanced and bachelor degrees across a wide range of STEM disciplines, including computer science and electrical computer engineering.

The non-profit Nashville

Software School is delivering live online courses to meet the specific needs of area employers with an emphasis on retraining workers, including military veterans and underrepresented groups.

Housing Market Heats Up

As tech workers migrate to Nashville and homegrown talent realizes higher incomes, the competition for housing has become white hot. It’s not unusual for properties to sell sight unseen and for bidding wars to push prices tens of thousands of dollars over asking price. The market is especially attractive to coastal transplants accustomed to paying much more and getting much less. While the increased values are great for sellers, it’s bad news for tenants whose long-term rentals are being sold or priced out of reach. Many retired homeowners are finding their increased property taxes outpacing their fixed incomes.

Just across the river from downtown, Oracle’s East Bank Project, in particular, has generated controversy, as the $1.2 billion development has impacted a lower-income neighborhood. Nashville’s mayor, John Cooper, has said that creating and preserving affordable housing will be his top priority, but the area’s predominantly Black residents

fear they will be priced out.

“We do need each other,” said long-time resident Nella Frierson, known locally as Ms. Pearl. “We need development, but we need it in a way that’s conducive and helpful to the masses, not just a certain sector of people.”

“The East Bank Study has to provide some answers to affordable housing, but affordable housing has to be done countywide,” said Mayor Cooper, referring to the Imagine East Bank Vision Plan. The Metro Planning Commission adopted the plan in 2022 to provide affordable housing, a transportation plan, and protect the Cumberland River.

Can Old and New Coexist?

Nashville’s rich character has clearly made it an attractive destination, not only for the burgeoning tech sector, but for banking and healthcare companies as well. What’s less clear is what effect the new industries will have on Music City’s irreplaceable culture.

Let’s pray Nashville doesn’t suffer the fate Don Henley sang about the great California migration:

“They called it paradise, I don’t know why. Call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye.” ■

Courtesy of Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.

istockphoto.com/Joe Hendrickson

By the Numbers NASHVILLE

62,000+ TECH JOBS 15,000 open each month

Source: Greater Nashville Tech Council

$8 direct contribution to the economy

BILLION

Here’s a shortlist of technology companies who have opened or expanded their presence in Nashville recently:

Source: Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

Tech jobs grew by 52% in the past five years, ranking Nashville as #1 in the Nation. CBRE

From 2015-2020, the number of tech jobs in Middle Tennessee grew by 51.0%

8% Tech Job increase during pandemic –

HIGHEST state in the country –Dec 2019-21

Outpacing: National tech job growth by 32.0% Statewide tech job growth by 13.0% Overall job growth in Middle Tennessee by 41.0%.

Compiled by Jim Daws

As the cost of living and office space in coastal tech hubs like San Francisco and Seattle continue to rise, established and start-up enterprises alike are looking to locations with lower costs, high quality of life and a well-qualified workforce. Cities like Austin and Atlanta have witnessed major growth in the sector and Nashville is positioned to be the next tech boomtown.

Median Compensation for tech jobs in Middle Tennessee

The Software Developers/Quality Assurance Occupations group had the highest demand:

Averaging

3,762 new unique monthly job postings in 2020.

$71,188 in 2020. Ranked among the TOP 10 U.S. cities for tech job growth.

Source: Middle Tennessee State University Dept. of Information Systems and Analytics

9TH 7TH Tech companies top cited reasons for locating in Nashville:

in the number of new tech jobs created in the past five years in the number of tech jobs as a percentage of total employment.

Business-friendly environment Relatively low crime Transportation Government Incentives

Source: CBRE Group, Inc.

Renowned as Music City, USA, Nashville attracts tech workers with lower housing costs, great schools, no state income tax, tons of outdoor recreation, and of course, solid-gold entertainment. Tech companies are coming for the quality infrastructure, friendly business environment, lower taxes and regulations, affordable rents, and highly trained talent. Tennessee ranks as one of the lowest-cost states for business.

World-class Vanderbilt University offers an abundance of STEM graduates up to doctoral degrees and nearby Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro has a dedicated STEM Education Center, as well as its STEM Innovation Hub.

These are the stats making Nashville Metro a rising star in the tech sector.

Clearing the Air

IoT Tech is Transforming Air Quality in Denver Public Schools and Nationwide

By Aron Vaughan

COVID-19 impacted almost every aspect of society. Some of those changes led, albeit often unintentionally, to positive outcomes. As a result of COVID-related concerns in public schools, new innovations have emerged to tackle the problem of air quality in the thousands of buildings across the U.S. that house our children during the schoolyear.

COVID-19 is a looming threat in poorly ventilated areas, but the concern also “opened the airwaves” to a reignited conversation about other potentially dangerous particulates in the air that contribute to asthma and reduced oxygen in school halls and classrooms.

Increased Funding

In Nov. 2022, the Biden Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency pledged $53.4 million for improved air quality monitoring projects in 2023.

In his air quality summit in Oct. 2022, President Biden pointed to the Colorado Public School System as a great example of a system acting to mitigate the risk of ever-increasing pollution and airborne viruses, like COVID-19, the flu, and RSV.

Increased funding for air quality monitoring in 2023 points to growing concern over the air quality crisis and what students and those who spend time indoors are breathing in.

The story of Denver Public Schools mirrors that of other large urban school districts. There is a distribution of buildings in terms of age and indoor environmental quality. Denver is the biggest city in the mountain west. Along with that comes a school district with 200 buildings, 5,000 classrooms.

Some of those building are brand new with with adequate ventilation, whereas some are older and have only windows to facilitate airflow — a poor outlet, espeically in the winter

months. The distribution of environmental quality based on architectural factors and considerable size of the city make Denver public schools a a perfect beta test for new air quality sensors equipped with IoT technology.

New Tech Offers Real Time Data

Colorado University environmental microbiology professor and aerosol expert Dr. Mark Hernandez has been studying air quality for several decades.

When the pandemic hit, Hernandez was approached by foundations to help improve the air quality in public buildings.

“Once we learned that a major route for COVID-19 transfer was aerosol, our response to that was to put in air purifiers in a lot of the

classrooms and see how they performed,” Hernandez said. “And we did this in elementary schools because they were the first kids to come back and the last to be vaccinated.”

Hernandez and his team placed air purifiers, HEPA filters, high efficiency particle filters in 20 Denver elementary schools. In his search for reliable data on the efficiency of the various filters, Hernandez came across a device by Attune, a a leader in wireless, sensor-based monitoring systems.

The 45x patented technology in Attune’s sensors helps mitigate risks of outdated HVAC systems, pollution, and airborne illnesses. This air quality monitoring solution is in 700+ schools nationwide, providing real-time data

Attune’s Senseware system monitors air quality, including vaping activity.

that alerts operators when an air risk occurs.

“With the innovation that we have in our technology, we’re able to exchange sensors,” said Attune CEO Serene Al-Momen. “To change the sensors takes two plus years. With that innovation, we have 46 patents, we use this industrial design principle called modular design that allows us to build sensors like Lego pieces. We just swap it out with the new one and then you’re getting the latest and greatest sensor

that’s just coming out of labs, the best that’s out there.”

“When we started this work, we had actually bought some air quality monitors that didn’t work very well at all,” Hernandez said. “What we learned was there’s a lot of junk out there. I call it the ‘Fitbit for classrooms.’ You can buy Apple Watch or you can buy a knockoff. The Attune equipment was high quality stuff made in Europe or the U.S. and assembled here,

warrantied, and it had this great software that accompanied it.”

How it Works

With Attune’s innovative sensors, Hernandez could accurately gauge ventilation performance.

To begin, Hernandez placed 50 sensors across several schools. Based on the data the sensors returned, he made suggestions to school staff to improve indoor air quality. Based on the data and the success of that project, Attune launched a district wide indoor air quality monitoring campaign.

“We targeted 10% of the classrooms to get enough data to make some real conclusions, useful conclusions, about what changes need to happen,” Al-Momen said.

The sensors they put in place measure particulate matter, CO2, temperature, humidity and VOC (volatile organic compounds).

The particulate matter sensor looks at particle levels in the space, which could be tied to filtration strategy as filters are responsible for filtering up these particles. If they’re not filtering them out effectively, the particulate sensor will point to that issue. CO2 levels could tie to occupancy levels and if they’re high, they tie to ventilation efficacy.

Humidity sensors also are important to look at because some of the airborne viruses stay viable if the humidity levels are below 40-60%.

The VOC sensor detects if levels go up but go down quickly, which can be tied to how effective the ventilation is. The combination of the sensors deployed school and district wide results in highly accurate air quality for the entire region while creating an idea of air quality in schools nationwide.

A Clearer Future

While it will take time to analyze the ultimate impact of the resources being implemented in the fight for better air quality, Hernandez, AlMomen and others across the country are actively working to improve the health and wellness of students.

“We can address some of those [discrepancies] right away in real time,” said Hernandez. “Having the information of air quality in our classrooms in real time is powerful.” ■

“ We use this industrial design principle called modular design that allows us to build sensors like Lego pieces. We just swap it out with the new one and then you’re getting the latest and greatest sensor that’s just coming out of labs, the best that’s out there.” — Serene Al-Momen

Smart Mobility

Emerging Transportation Technology for a Brighter Future

By Chris Mellides

Smart mobility integrates all modes of transportation with wireless communication. Advancements in technology have improved how we transport people and goods throughout the world. And as this technology continues to evolve, automation and machine learning can help make transportation safer, cheaper, quicker and more environmentally friendly.

emitted deadly greenhouse gasses and contributed to noise pollution.

Beginning in the 1920s, trains transitioned from steam to diesel, which was far less expensive and drastically reduced the need for maintenance. By the mid-1930s, diesel trains became very prominent in mainline service throughout the United States.

and far less pollution being generated by vehicles of all kinds.

The vision held by the progressive industry leaders of the past who helped move the marker on railway transportation technology has endured, and as technology continues to improve, the next revolution in transportation is just around the bend. It is called smart mobility.

What is Smart Mobility and Why Does It Matter?

Smart mobility refers to the integration of all modes of transportation with wireless communication. This wireless communication encompasses real-time machine learning and AI to help make personal, public, and commercial travel more cost-effective and safer, while also limiting pollution that contributes to climate change.

Lessons From the Past Inform the Future of Transportation Technology

Sustainable transportation that could fundamentally transform industries and change how we think about travel has reached a precipice. With current innovations continuing to evolve, the desire for a safer, reliable, and more cost effective means of optimizing transportation is needed.

More than a century ago, steam-powered locomotives were first introduced in England before being adopted en masse stateside. These trains required the burning of combustible materials like coal and oil for fuel, which proved to be very costly. As a consequence of burning fossil fuels, this form of transportation also

These diesel-powered trains weren’t without their issues as they still contributed to air and noise pollution, much like steam-powered trains did. However, the industry would be forever changed when electric trains gained prominence in the late 1930s. Though most of these electric trains still used onboard diesel-fueled generators, they were more energy efficient.

In current day, transportation of all kinds has improved exponentially. At the turn of the 21st century, we’ve seen advancements in autonomous and electric vehicles along with smarter AI that has inspired automotive leaders, engineers, and academics to push this technology further. The goal is to improve passenger safety with fewer roadway collisions

The Ohio State University College of Engineering is making strides when it comes to furthering the conversation on smart mobility. Engineers at the University’s Center for Automotive Research (CAR) have developed solutions for smart mobility that encompass several different areas, including vehicle autonomy, cyber security, connected vehicles, and mobility services, along with the deployment and demonstration of these technologies.

Spearheaded by researchers, Dr. Chris Atkinson and Dr. Giorgio Rizzoni, the thesis of CAR and its team is that smart mobility is “transportation” but with a “conscience,” according to David Cooke, the senior associate director of CAR.

“We are still working on the transportation system that we have been for the last 100 years, which is made up of the vehicles and infrastructure to move people and goods around the country, but smart mobility is the transportation system of old taking on a conscience,” Cooke said.

There are real-world effects that can forever

istockphoto.com

alter transportation in the Western world, and Cooke and his team are confident that their efforts will stoke the fires of progress and yield positive results for future transportation through the evolution of smart mobility.

“We see smart mobility as our chance to apply the advanced technologies of the age to solve the many problems with our current transportation system,” Cooke said. “Key benefits will be a transportation system that is more efficient, safer, more accessible, and more equitable, getting people where they need to and want to be, and moving goods around the country in the most efficient and timely manner possible all while reducing the overall cost and burdens of the system.”

Automation Continues to Evolve and Will Further Shape How We View Transportation

Advances in automotive technology have opened the possibility to integrate computer learning as a means of decreasing the number of driver fatalities while reducing the level of congestion and air pollution on our roadways.

To a degree, we’ve already been experiencing a level of automation in our vehicles for quite some time, which is evident in antiquated driving functions being replaced with computing systems over time; like cruise control, anti-lock brakes, and blind spot and lane departure warnings, just to name a few.

“These technologies save lives while also helping to make driving more convenient. That trend will absolutely continue, with the automated capabilities of the vehicle progressing over time,” Cooke said.

Automation has already had a significant effect on safety, with a tremendous potential to continue to reduce fatalities and congestion, according to Cooke.

It can be easy to imagine how automation could reduce traffic congestion, and yet anyone who has merged on or off a freeway or driven through a construction zone with lane reductions must have stopped to consider whether there could be a better way to eliminate this issue.

While certain obstacles might impede on the adoption of smart mobility, Cooke says that much of the current technologies offer a

somewhat clear path and are a “well-supported investment.” But like any emerging technology the most obvious obstacle will always be time.

“New technology typically takes 15-20 years to significantly penetrate the U.S.’s fleet of vehicles, meaning from the day a technology is mandated, its nearly two decades until you can count on most every car on the road having it,” Cooke said.

“This means for a long time there will be a highly mixed fleet at varying levels of automation and that makes it increasingly complicated for vehicles and safety systems to interact.”

He added, “This is simply a reality that development teams have to understand but should not slow down the development or deployment of new automation technologies.” ■

It will be far easier to use roundabouts, merge onto interstates, and avoid construction or congestion as smart mobility is further integrated into infrastructure.

The Importance of Urban Infrastructure

Preserving Our Cities and Businesses

By Chris Mellides

The current energy crisis coupled with rapid population growth has had a negative impact on our businesses and more populous cities. As our buildings, power grids, manufacturing, and data centers continue to age, the need for robust urban planning is necessary to uplift the lives of the vast number of people and business leaders affected by a rapidly failing infrastructure.

What is Urban Infrastructure?

A future where power efficiency and urban development meet is critical to ensure that as urban districts continue to grow, they do so in a cost-effective and sustainable way. This will allow urban developers to build upon the foundation of these projects as they continue to expand and evolve.

Urban infrastructure refers to any development project that provides essential services to cities worldwide. This often involves developers offering a means of providing portable water supplies and sanitation, which in itself includes sewerage and waste drainage. Additionally, urban infrastructure applies to the management of roads and bridges as well as quality urban transportation.

The ongoing energy crisis and the issues presented by urban population growth are among some of the factors impacting our cities today. As buildings, power grids and manufacturing and data centers continue to show their age, confronting poor efficiency is necessary to solve for inherent complications as consequences can be dire for all who are directly affected.

Finding Solutions, Creating Longevity

Nobody is immune to the effects of substandard infrastructure; everyone, from homeowners to businesses would benefit from smarter infrastructure, according to Dave Hopping, CEO of Solutions and Services for Siemens Smart Infrastructure.

Siemens is one of the world’s most prominent companies championing the development and betterment of urban infrastructure. The multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Munich, Germany has many branch offices and is one of the largest and most recognizable industrial manufacturing companies in Europe.

“Put simply, city infrastructure is not smart

enough,” says Hopping. “In the context of an ongoing energy crisis and with urban populations growing, urban infrastructure needs to play a more interactive role in a connected, decarbonized and decentralized energy system.”

“Everything, from shorter hospital wait times and a more resilient energy supply, to reduced electricity bills and availability of e-car charging, will be improved through digitalizing infrastructure,” he added. “Buildings and grids can no longer stand alone, but the secure, sustainable and resilient urban environments we need to create are inherently complex.”

Digitalization and Connectivity

This complexity needs to be treated with digitalization and better connectivity in mind. It would be far more difficult for industry leaders like Siemens to be able to manage these solutions effectively if we choose to simply ignore our current aging infrastructure.

“The pace of digitalization needs to increase across all city infrastructure, from hospitals, manufacturing and data centers to university

campuses and power grids,” Hopping said.   Improvements to urban infrastructure carry a lot of weight and are necessary to preserve the sustainability of our cities. A transparency of digitalized infrastructure translates to having access to high-quality, real-time data and analytics and this enables developers to optimize for efficiency and predict when issues may arise well before they do.

Applying digital services, such as energy as a service (EaaS) to infrastructure further enables a cycle of planning, optimizing, maintaining, and support. This cycle effectively futureproofs our infrastructure and ensures that it can be continually monitored, optimized, and upgraded throughout its lifecycle.

Solutions through the development of new technology will help meet the needs of those affected by poor urban infrastructure

Eventually, new use cases and business models will arise through technology development and sector coupling, enabling the building of cities,

which are more flexible, adaptable, and continually evolving to meet the needs of people and businesses.

Asked what solutions Siemens proposes to improve existing urban infrastructure for the better, Hopping says that there is “no silver bullet solution.”

“Different infrastructure has different needs and digitalizing urban infrastructure should be done according to the specific outcome required. Improvement can come in many forms; whether the goal is sustainability, equipment reliability, a better occupant experience, regulatory compliance, or lower energy bills,” Hopping said.

“As buildings, grids, and industry deploy the technologies they need, we can begin to connect them together to create the bigger picture — networked communities of intelligently optimized buildings and grids, which will form the backbone of our zero-carbon cities,” he added. ■

Dave Hopping (pictured here) is the CEO of Solutions and Services for Siemens Smart Infrastructure, a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Munich, Germany that strives to improve urban infrastructure worldwide.

From left to right: Moderator Greg Gibbons from Siemens Infrastructure & Cities, Thomas Wright, executive director from Regional Plan Association and Roland Busch, CEO Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector and member of the managing board presented the first results of a report on resilient urban infrastructure to the media in New York City.

What Was the ‘State of STEM’ in 2022?

STEMConnector’s Recent Report Gives Insights Into How to Fill the Gaps in the Workforce

By Aron Vaughan

As the demand for STEM workers continues to grow, with over 8 million STEM jobs available in the United States, it’s no secret that STEM fields are some of the most sought-after by college students searching for a career focus.

As automation slowly encroaches into the workforce, careers of the last century are becoming obsolete, but individuals in STEMrelated jobs will continue to thrive. After all, someone has to engineer the robots usurping everyone’s jobs…

However, according to a 2022 State of STEM report by the non-profit organization STEMConnector, there is a gap between available jobs in STEM fields and professionals qualified to fill them.

The Glue That Connects Students and Careers

STEMConnector is an organization that focuses on promoting STEM education and careers to address these gaps in the workforce and ensure students have the skills necessary to fill them. Founded in 2010, the organization’s mission is to ensure all students have access to high-quality STEM education, regardless of their background or location. To achieve this goal, STEMConnector works closely with schools, businesses, and government agencies to create new partnerships and programs that support STEM education and career development.

For educators, STEMConnector offers professional development opportunities, as well as resources and support to help them integrate STEM education into their classrooms. The company also works with businesses to help

them identify and develop STEM-related initiatives and programs that can help address the skills gap in their industry.

STEMConnector’s recently published State of STEM report outlines the growth of STEM careers in the U.S., identifies gaps in crucial positions, and provides data that help pinpoint where resources should be allocated to fuel the expansion of the sector over the coming decades.

Findings from the report highlight the need for increased investment in STEM education and workforce development, as well as the importance of diversity and inclusion in STEM industries.

The Best Investment

Also emphasized was the need for greater investment in STEM education, particularly at the K-12 level. This includes providing students with hands-on learning experiences, such as internships, apprenticeships, and other workbased learning opportunities. Additionally, the report highlights the importance of ensuring that all students have access to high-quality STEM education, regardless of their socio-economic background.

Another key finding of the report is the need for greater diversity and inclusion in STEM industries. This includes increasing the representation of underrepresented groups, such as women and people of color, in STEM jobs, as well as creating a more inclusive work environment. The report notes that diverse and inclusive STEM industries are more innovative and better equipped to meet the needs of a rapidly changing global economy.

The Moon is Not Out of Reach

STEMConnector CEO Dr. Jo Webber is acutely aware of gaps in the workforce related to the issues highlighted in the report. To bridge that gap, Webber has headed numerous initiatives to keep students interested in science and technology.

In 2020, Webber introduced female students to women of diverse backgrounds who work at NASA.

According to Webber, children’s inherent curiosity lends itself to the pursuit of STEMfocused careers, but a perceived lack of access can discourage students from continuing on those academic paths.

When the students interacted with the NASA employees, a light went off in their heads, Webber said. They realized people who looked like them could hold high-level positions in science and technology.

Dr. Jo Webber

We took these women out to schools around the country, in particular, Title One schools where there’s a very high preschool lunch program, which is a measure of the poverty in the area,” Webber said. “And the kids were just blown away by this. NASA offers internships at the age of 16. A lot of these kids thought they would never go to work for someone like NASA. They could never do that. And it changed the way they looked at it. Right. It suddenly became possible.”

Shop Around

Geography is another potential gap identified in the report. Some students believed the only opportunities to build a career in STEM are located in big cities or tech havens like Silicon Valley. To combat this notion, Webber and her team at STEMConnector developed a technology called Atlas Jobs.

The Atlas Jobs app has an easy-to-use intuitive interface that works similarly to home-buying apps like Zillow. Using a map to identify internships and apprenticeships in the area, STEM students can find opportunities in their desired field.

“You pick it up and every 17-year-old on the

planet knows how to work around a map,” Webber said. “And you can see the property — you can filter. That’s what we’ve done with jobs and internships and apprenticeships. We put them on a map and made them very accessible. Instead of having to pour through lists and try to find opportunities, you can now see what’s around you and also what’s in neighborhood areas. Maybe you are considering moving to a certain place. You can go to that place just like you could on Zillow and see what opportunities would exist for you in that area.

Today’s Dreams are Tomorrow’s Careers

The findings from the 2022 State of STEM report make it clear that showing students of all backgrounds and ages STEM careers are attainable will greatly increase the pool of talent in one of the world’s fastest-growing sectors. STEMConnector is one of the crucial organizations making those goals a reality.

The acceleration of technology in the early 21st century is unprecedented, and with continued initiatives like those created by STEMConnector, the world could change even more rapidly in the coming years. ■

The Atlas Jobs app has an easy-to-use intuitive interface that works similarly to home-buying apps like Zillow. Using a map to identify internships and apprenticeships in the area, STEM students can find opportunities in their desired field.

Samsung Freestyle — From slanted walls and kitchen tables to outdoor surfaces and floors, the Freestyle’s 180-degree design allows you to point, play, and enjoy a big screen experience. With its round, compact shape, you can easily slip it into a backpack and take your entertainment on the go. The projector optimizes screen size, autofocuses, and levels the image even when pointed at an angle. It does the hard work for you, so you can kick back and enjoy the content you love, when and where you want to. $800

Lumi Keys Studio Edition — Light up your sound with the world’s first keyboard controller offering per-key pitch bend and polyphonic aftertouch, plus whole-key illumination that sparks new ideas for playing and composing. Available in the LUMI Keys Studio Edition Bundle. Choose songs you love in the app, follow the lights on the keyboard, and build skills that last a lifetime. Unlock your musical potential with an easy, all-in-one system. LUMI is the fun, instant, rewarding way to learn to play the piano. $299

Kaleidescape Terra + Strato C — Kaleidescape is the only digital provider of movies with lossless audio and full reference video quality. The Terra server downloads a 4K movie in as little as 10 minutes and can simultaneously distribute up to ten 4K HDR movies to Strato C players, allowing customers to enjoy their movie collection not just in their theater room, but throughout the home. Kaleidescape elevates every component in your home theater to deliver the ultimate cinematic experience. $8,990

Yamaha - YHT-5960 Premium All-in-One Home Theater System with 8K HDMI and Wi-Fi — Complete your entertainment. Enjoy a complete home theater with the YHT5960U. This system will transform how you listen and watch at home with a powerful subwoofer and complete set of surround speakers. This home-theater-in-a-box includes the latest in video processing, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, wireless streaming and more. Get ready for the future with 4 upgradeable HDCP2.3 HDMI inputs that support the latest HDMI specifications such as 8K/60bHz and 4K/120Hz pass-through and eARC. This 5.1-channel 725 Watt surround sound system has Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, Hybrid LogGamma and BT.2020. $780

GPSS-650: Portable Professional PA System — This lightweight but powerful rechargeable battery-powered gem is the perfect answer for small gatherings on the beach, on the side of a mountain, or middle of a field. Every input you can possibly need is all there: two combination XLR/1/4" phone plug channels a plus 1/8" mini-jack and RCA channel — all three channels with 3-band EQ — and even Bluetooth, and a thoughtful USB phone charging port besides. $350

PRODUCT REVOLUTION

Denon AVR-S760H — The Denon AVRS760H 7.2 Channel AVR delivers extraordinary sound quality from music, movies, and games. Ushering in a new standard for fully immersive, high-resolution home theater and listening, this AV Receiver supports Dolby Atmos, Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization, DTS:X, and DTS Virtual:X and delivers an unparalleled audio output. Featuring 6 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output, the AVR-S760H incorporates an advanced 8K video section that supports 8K/60Hz or 4K/120Hz video pass-through. $599

Cyber Acoustics CA-2890BT Speaker Bar/Speakerphone — This multi-purpose speaker is a great budget speakerphone for anyone who does conference calls — it’s the perfect way to give your ears a break from headphones during meetings. It can peak surprisingly loud for its small footprint and the built-in clip allows it to attach to most monitors, for a clutter-free workspace. It can also stand alone. The CA-2890BT offers both USB (A or C via an included adapter) and Bluetooth 5.0.

JBL Eon One MK2 — The JBL Eon One MK2 battery-powered column PA boasts a class-leading acoustic package, 5-channel digital mixer, dbx and Lexicon DSP, Bluetooth functions, and universal app control into a lightweight, portable package that can be carried in one hand. The Eon One MK2 delivers the fidelity JBL is legendary for, combining a geometrically optimized, C-shaped 8-tweeter array with a 10” woofer to deliver class-leading clarity and coverage down to 37 Hz, with wide dispersion and a maximum output of 123 dB. $1,249

Audio Technica LP60XBT — The AT-LP60XBT gives you all the great features of the redesigned AT-LP60X fully automatic belt-drive stereo turntable with the added convenience of Bluetooth wireless connectivity. The turntable pairs with speakers, headphones, or other wireless devices. AudioTechnica has been a leader in phono cartridge design for more than 50 years, and that expertise shows in the AT-LP60XBT’s Dual Magnet cartridge with a replaceable stylus. The AT-LP60XBT plays both 33-1/3 and 45 RPM records and comes with a 45 RPM adapter, a detachable dual RCA output cable (for wired connection) and a removable hinged dust cover. $219

Andover Songbird Music Streamer — The Songbird network music player from Andover Audio gives you an amazingly flexible high-resolution — and high-value — streaming platform. You can be up and running with this streamer in five minutes. And it’s small — a little larger than a tin of Altoids — so it’s easy to tuck it out of the way. The Songbird literally talks you through the straightforward setup process with spoken instructions from its app via your system, so it’s easy to start enjoying streaming audio right out of the box. And its onboard DAC really punches above its weight, with up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution from

PreSonus StudioLive 32SC — PreSonus’ StudioLive 32SC is a compact, rack-mountable 32-channel digital mixer that can be easily scaled, with 40 internal mixing channels, 26 mix buses, and 286 simultaneous processors—including four stereo reverberation systems and signal-processing plug-in models on every input channel and mix bus. With 128 (64x64) channels of USB recording and AVB network audio I/O, flexible routing options, and studio-grade audio quality, the StudioLive 32SC is equally at home in recording studios and pro touring rigs. $2,899

General Tech

Shelly Plus 1PM UL — Shelly Plus 1PM UL is the most advanced control product available today. Combining precise power measurement data with enhanced safety features, a Wi-Fi range extender, Bluetooth gateway to integrate sensors and accessories, and full local control. Designed for retrofit wiring, Plus 1PM installs behind any light switch or electrical outlet, automating virtually any building circuit. Shelly supports native integrations or licensed third-party drivers for most automation platforms as well as MQTT/MQTTs for building management systems. $26

Cogni — Cogni is an integrated solution designed to assist in wine barrel monitoring. Its proprietary technology combines SaaS and hardware to continuously monitor temperature and humidity, free and molecular SO2, pH, acetic acid / VA, ethanol/alcohol, phenol/guaiacol, internal barrel pressure, and fill level. Contact Cogni for Price

Meeting Owl 3 — Designed by Owl Labs, the company that builds 360-degree videoconferencing solutions for hybrid organizations, the Meeting Owl 3 is the third generation of the Meeting Owl franchise. The company’s award-winning Meeting Owl products are the first AIpowered, 360-degree camera, microphone, and speaker devices that automatically zoom in on whoever’s speaking. The Meeting Owl 3 is equipped with Owl Labs’ proprietary, newly upgraded OIS technology that powers auto-focus, smart zooming, and smart mics. $1,049

Clear Drop Soft Plastic Compactor (SPC) — Clear Drop is the first line of production-ready home appliances to streamline how we process our waste, soft plastics, and organic trash: Clear Drop SPC (Soft Plastic Compactor) and Clear Drop OC (Organics Collector). Clear Drop’s growing product line is designed to clean up the environment, processing 100% of home refuse without leaving anything for the landfill. Affordably priced and geared to the home user, each patent-pending Clear Drop unit addresses one specific type of recycling. Contact Clear Drop for Pricing

Lomi — Lomi transforms household food waste into an asset that helps rebuild the world’s soil…which turns back into food! You can load your kitchen waste into Lomi instead of the garbage and it will transform it into clean reusable soil that you can use in plants, your garden etc. Lomi turns your scraps into soil at the push of a button. Contact Lomi for Pricing

Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra Robot Vacuum with Empty Wash Fill Dock

Vacuum more and mop more while emptying less, cleaning less, and doing less. Roborock S7 MaxV, combined with the Empty Wash Fill Dock, unleashes a new level of floor cleaning automation. ReactiveAI 2.0 combines structured light 3D scanning – a process that uses a pattern projected on a scene and uses pattern deformation to recognize obstacles accurately – and an all-new neural processing unit designed to execute Roborock’s machine learning algorithms, to make S7 MaxV think smarter and work faster, more easily than ever.

Courant Mag 2 Magnetic Charging Stand — Courant has taken the idea of a desktop or bedside charger and added style to the equation. Instead of a bunch of cables or the traditional “hockey puck” charger, Courant mixed design with innovation to create the Mag 2 Charging Stand, a great accessory for iPhone and AirPods users. Magnetically snap on your iPhone 12/13/14 on the charging stand, place your wireless charging AirPods on the base, and you’re all set. $80

Cync Dynamic Effects

Fence is an invisible fence that utilizes GPS tracking to teach your dog how to stay in its surroundings in a humane and low-impact way, meaning no electric shock. SpotOn GPS Dog Fence swaps buried wires with True Location, a technology that builds on conventional GPS and makes it better, giving you the most reliable fence boundary that never requires calibration so your dog can have a great adventure without risking a great escape. $1,500

Smart Light Strip — Cync Dynamic Effects Smart Light Strips offer light shows, color segment control, and music syncing for the ultimate entertainment and gaming experience. Feature multicolor, vivid light effects that display 16 million colors plus white tones that are dimmable and easily controlled via voice with Amazon Alexa or Hey Google and via touch through the Cync App, powered by Savant. $80

COMING NEXT ISSUE

With AI revolutionizing almost every industry, we couldn’t squeeze every innovation into one issue. That’s why we’re continuing our coverage of machine learning as we move through 2023. This time, we will highlight home healthcare.

From remote AI-powered patient monitoring systems that allow doctors to keep tabs on patients from a distance to telemedicine platforms that enable patients to receive medical care from the comfort of their own homes, these technologies are making healthcare more accessible, convenient, and cost-effective.

Vol. 9 Issue 2 also focuses on the latest on EVs and advances in the automotive industry at-large. Solar-powered, self-driving, and even gravity-defying vehicles will be gracing the pages of our Connected Car issue.

And, among a panoply of other topics, we will pick our top tech gear heading into the summer.

Stay tuned!

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Elon Musk Needs Help, Here’s Why

By David Wallach

Have you heard of Elon Musk? If not, welcome to Earth. If you plan on taking over, I recommend you start with Congress and go from there.

One of the things that makes Musk so iconic is his great mind — his ability to look at a situation and come up with a solution that moves us all forward for the better.

When Musk hosted Saturday Night Live in May 2021, he announced to a global audience that he has Asperger’s syndrome, which puts him on the autism spectrum.

“I don’t always have a lot of intonation or variation in how I speak… which I’m told makes for great comedy,” he joked in his opening monologue. “I’m actually making history tonight as the first person with Asperger’s to host SNL.”

At that very moment, I looked at my 10-yearold son who is also autistic, and said, “you see that buddy! The richest man in the world is also autistic and never lets it define him. He is proud of exactly who he is.”

Musk, who at the time had more than 53 million followers on Twitter, also joked about his use of social media.

“To anyone who’s been offended, I just want to say I reinvented electric cars, and I’m sending people to Mars in a rocket ship. Did you think I was also going to be a chill, normal dude?”

The crowd laughs, the show begins, time marches on and yes, we all know Musk buys Twitter. At that point, the laughing with him stops and the at him begins.

If you are one of the 128 million people who follow him, you know he tweets. A lot. Roughly at the same rate as a 16-year-old or Disney blogger.

We all know about Tesla’s stock slipping, Musk dropping to the title of the second wealthiest man in the world, the constant Tweets, fights with people on social media, and so on. But

what if this behavior could be avoided? Or more to the point, how could it have been prevented?

When our son gets locked in on an idea or behavior, we help him “unlock,” and change his focus. Sometimes it’s not easy, but we all work together with open communication to support his healthy development.

slow down his obsessive behavior.

From a psychoanalytic perspective, we might say Elon Musk has raging amounts of narcissism and mania. He likes to be talked about and thought about,” said Dr. Ajay Khandelwal, a London psychotherapist. “Twitter is feeding that mania and also a reflection of our times. Short, sharp, on point.”

Backing Kanye for president, lashing out at the FAA, sexist jokes, banning journalists, and general noise to make noise has become commonplace for the Twitter owner and has also made him the focal point of jokes, criticism, and social media attacks that are normally saved for presidents and bachelors who back out on their engagement.

He just may not “get it,” as hard as that is to believe for someone so smart.

Musk admitted growing up on the spectrum wasn’t easy.

What happens when the person who is obsessing over something also happens to be the wealthiest person on the planet? Does he have strategies to re-center and focus? Who tells Elon Musk, “Let’s take a break and calm down?”

“[As a child], I was absolutely obsessed with truth,” Musk said in a recent TED Talk. “The obsession with truth is why I studied physics, because physics attempts to understand the truth of the universe.”

Musk also shared that having Asperger’s helped in his success. His intense and specialized interest in science and technology was amplified by his hyper-focused mind — a common trait among autistic people.

While that amazing focus helped him reach his level of success, is it also helping to destroy it?

Looking at his current and continued behavior on Twitter and in the media, it doesn’t seem like anyone is helping Musk work on strategies to

“Social cues were not intuitive, so I was just very bookish. Others could intuitively understand what was meant by something. I would take something very literally as if the words that were spoken were exactly what they meant. But that turned out to be wrong. [People are] not simply saying exactly what they mean. It took me a while to figure that out. “

It’s easy to make fun of Elon Musk; Lord knows he gives us enough material. But the more you research, the easier it is to draw a line from his behavior to being on the autism spectrum. It doesn’t excuse his behavior and yes, he needs to work on it — a lot.

All that being said, Elon Musk needs help. Elon, feel free to shut down my Twitter, but let me be the first to say, “Take a deep breath, focus, and step away from the keyboard. I promise you will be okay.” Take Nevada, Griffin, Vivian, Kai, Saxon, Damian, X AE A-XII, and Exa Dark Sideræl to Lego Land and see what kind of insane things you can build. ■

Photo: Wikimedia commons/Ministério Das Comunicações (Brazil)