Innovation & Tech Today Summer 2019 by Innovation & Tech Today

E3’S GREATEST REVEALS OF ALL TIME ■ THE NEW SPACE RACE ■ HOW 3D PRINTING IS TRANSFORMING HEALTHCARE

s ’ n i v l e M d n a l Le n i o s s i M t s e w Ne PLUS:

Celebrating 50 Years of Apollo 11 The Women Behind Your Favorite Video Games Innovator Profile: Nobel Peace Prize Winner Mary Wareham Experts Weigh In on 5G Tommy Corey: High-Fashion Photography Meets Hiking

Summer 2019

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FROM THE PUBLISHER

Charles Warner, Publisher/ Editor-in-Chief

“ Escapism tends to be an absolute need, especially in our modern stressful culture. And each issue, we hope to not only cover the entertainment landscape, but also add to it.”

Ready Player One Every year, our summer issue makes its debut at one of the season’s greatest events, E3. And every year, we see that gaming is so much more than just a hobby. Over the past few decades, it has become a real pillar of entertainment along the lines of movies, television, music, and books. Gaming has become massive in scope and reach. With that being said, our team definitely had gaming on the mind for the summer edition. One piece highlights the biggest reveals from E3’s history, including 2013’s console war between Sony and Microsoft and the massive reveal of games such as Fallout 4. Additionally, our team took a deeper look into the industry itself, highlighting the hard-working female developers that have helped create a number of major hits. Our standard “By the Numbers” section highlights the evolution of the gaming industry over the years, such as the breakdown of gaming by gender and age, the number of hours played across the U.S. each week, and the best-selling consoles of all time. Trust me, we’ve come a long way since Pong. Beyond entertainment, our team dug deep into the state of our country’s infrastructure, the truth behind the sustainability of the electric car, and the story of Anna Miller, an 11-year-old speaker and advocate who is dedicated to the idea that coding is meant for everybody. Additionally, this issue includes thoughtful stories on technology topics such as medically-focused 3D printing, the possible dangers of killer robots, and Disney’s latest theme park, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Last but certainly not least, our cover story is one we really love, featuring Leland Melvin. As not only a former astronaut with NASA but also

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

the STEM advisor to President Barack Obama, Melvin fits perfectly with Innovation & Tech Today. STEM education has always been a major focus of our publication, and our featured story with Melvin is a perfect reflection of our mission to show that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are essential for the next generation. This is best reflected in my favorite quote from the interview: “Kids might look at the night sky, but then they look down at their devices and tablets – and kind of get stuck there. I want to be sure they continue to look up, and get geared into their environment, their universe.” The issue you’re about to read is more than just a collection of stories covering a large number of topics. This issue is a reminder of how important entertainment is in our lives. Escapism tends to be an absolute need, especially in our modern stressful culture. And each issue, we hope to not only cover the entertainment landscape, but also add to it. Make sure to join the InnoTechToday conversation online and follow us on social media to win awesome prizes from our advertisers, like the #E3PrizePack and our upcoming #CESPrizePack. And so, E3 attendees, loyal subscribers, and new readers, I am proud to present to you the summer issue of Innovation & Tech Today.

SINCE LAST ISSUE

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Charles Warner cwarner@goipw.com SO MANY PEOPLE WE’D LIKE TO THANK… As mentioned in our Event Wrap-Ups (pg. 12), the Super Niche Awards is one of our favorite events due to its focus on the current state of media. And, once again, Innovative Properties Worldwide didn’t leave the event empty-handed, as Innovation & Tech Today sister publication Cannabis & Tech Today won the Nichee Award for “Best Magazine Launch.” With a growing number of readers and awards, Innovation & Tech Today, Cannabis & Tech Today, and the recently launched Residential Tech Today are showing off the power of niche-focused media. Make sure to keep an eye out for the whole family at your local Barnes & Noble. I&T 2.0 While the Innovation & Tech Today website has been a major outlet for our creative content since its inception, there have been plenty of recent changes to the platform. 2019 has seen our site get a brand new look, reach new heights in terms of readership, and continue to tackle the major topics in tech, sustainability, STEM, business, and so much more. Additionally, the website continues to be a main hub for stories from previous issues, product reviews, breaking news, and the official Innovation & Tech Today shop. Make sure to check out our new look and more at www.innotechtoday.com and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything I&T Today.

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Shane Brisson shane@goipw.com

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SPECIAL THANKS TO: WomeninGames.org Ambassador Program, Tommy Corey, Leland Melvin, E3, Environmental Land Management, Samuel Yu. 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!

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY – Issue 26, Summer 2019 is published quarterly for $19.95 per year by Innovative Properties Worldwide, 620 S Dahlia Circle M103, Denver, CO 80246. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to INNOVATION & TECH TODAY, 620 S Dahlia Circle M103, Denver, CO 80246

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

contents

SUMMER 2019

68 Leland Melvin’s Newest Mission By Robert Yehling Cover Photo: NASA

Departments 10 Event Wrap-Ups 12 By the Numbers 14 Quick Bytes 16 Dent Files 18 Wildlife 90 Product Revolution 94 Event Calendar 95 Coming Next Issue 96 Lighter Side

20 Innovator Profile Mary Wareham: World War AI

24 Connected Car Tackling the Truck of the Future 26 Autonomous Vehicles’ Data Problem

28 Outdoor+Adventure Tech A High-Fashion Hike 34 Gear Guide

38 Health Tech How 3D Printing is Transforming Healthcare One Layer at a Time 44 How Pimple Popping Became a Sensation with Dr. Pimple Popper

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

ASK FOR

contents

SUMMER 2019

48 Gaming+Entertainment Bringing Star Wars to Life 50 E3’s Greatest Reveals 54 The Women Behind Your Favorite Video Games

58 Tech Zone

Celebrating 50 Years of Apollo 11 60 Leland Melvin’s Newest Mission 64 Poppy Northcutt’s Wild Lunar Ride 66 Apollo’s PRODUCTive Legacy 68 Missions to the Moon: In Real-Time 72 The New Space Race

76 Connected Life Getting Some Perspective on 5G 80 Building a Better Grid

82 Sustainability Today Produced in Partnership with Sustainable Brands

Taking a Deeper Look at Electric Vehicles 86 Trees, Tech, and Climate Change

88 STEM Today

Produced in Partnership with the USA Science & Engineering Festival

Coding for Inclusivity with Anna Miller

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

Photo: iStockphoto.com/Zenobillis

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[ Event Wrap-Ups ]

Dent 2019 The Dent event has had one major theme since its inception in 2012: “Put a dent in the universe.” And, as this phrase originates from a Steve Jobs quote, it perfectly outlines the event’s focus on progressive change. Bringing together investors, creatives, technologists, entrepreneurs, and more to Santa Fe, NM, Dent 2019 provided four days of inspiring, innovative discussion.

Super Niche 2019 A true celebration of the world of nichefocused media, Super Niche is a yearly reminder of our rich, creative media landscape. One of the most essential parts of the event is the Nichee Awards, which present awards such as “Best Niche Media Company,” “Best Social Media Ecosystem,” and “Best B2B Event.” Innovation & Tech Today is no stranger to the event, having taken home the “Best Niche B2C Magazine” award in 2017.

Smart Cities Connect Bringing together leaders from the world of connected technology, the Smart Cities Connect Conference & Expo united individuals from 150 startups, universities, and established companies. Reflecting the massive growth of connected tech, the event showcased everything from blockchain and 5G to cybersecurity and smart infrastructure. Featuring a “Welcome Denver” portion by Mayor Michael Hancock, Smart Cities Connect celebrated connected technology and the growing tech hub of Denver alike.

Courtesy of Dent/Kris Krug

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

Photos courtesy of Super Niche via Facebook

Where do you want to be? Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take the same old journey. Be somewhere genuine. Be somewhere amazing. Be changed.

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The world of video games, from its culture and industry to its place in the mainstream, has morphed significantly from decade to decade. What was once seen as a mindless hobby has evolved into an entertainment phenomenon, with major game releases often garnering the attention of blockbuster movies or anticipated albums. Looking at the massive yearly E3 event, itself a reflection of the current state of gaming, you can see that preconceived notions of everything from gender to age are not entirely true. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take a look at some statistics that truly reflect how gaming as an entertainment medium seems to have unlimited lives.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

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Forgetting to Fly Let us start this section out by saying birds can fly. We know all the bird skeptics out there might hate us for saying that, but we’ve got to keep our scientific integrity here. Now, despite the fact that many are gifted with the ability to take to the skies, there are certain birds that are more comfortable on the ground, such as emus and ostriches. But what if we told you that, according to new research, both of these species were once able to spread their wings and take flight. You’d probably become mildly curious and read the next paragraph.

Photos: iStockphoto.com/GlobalP | AaronAmat

As it turns out, it’s entirely possible that birds from the kiwi to the cassowary could once traverse the sky. But why did certain species lose this ability? Well, you see, it appears that it was evolutionary changes to DNA that caused these creatures to be stuck in the no-fly zone. We just naturally assumed that, like the rest of us, they just got lazy and gained a few pounds. Interestingly enough, there are no known cases of species re-learning how to fly, meaning emus and ostriches will likely be grounded for eternity. This is definitely unprecedented news, as its equal to hearing that dolphins once walked on land, elephants used to know how to swim, or that pineapple is good on pizza. (It’s seriously not, you sickos.)

Photo: HBO

Photo: iStockphoto.com/pictafolio

25 Million Minutes to Unlock It’s happened to all of us. Some screen-hungry child wants to play Angry Birds, grabs your phone, tries to force your passcode, and ends up locking you out, forcing you to talk to real people. While this is undoubtedly obnoxious, it usually only lasts about five or ten minutes and you won’t have to wait until 2067 to use your device again. Well, unless your name is Evan Osnos. Earlier this year, New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos made the grave mistake of leaving his three-year-old child alone with his iPad. Of course, his child continually attempted to input the correct password, leading to an inevitable lockout. And how long until Osnos could access his iPad once more? According to his Tweet, a mere 25,536,442 minutes. Instead of being patient and waiting the 48 years for his iPad to unlock, Osnos impatiently seeked answers, asking his social media followers for advice on what to do. While he did end up restoring the iPad, he had to wade through brilliant responses telling him to time travel or put the device in a bag of rice. Hey, that’s still more helpful than Apple’s actual customer service.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

Stranger Than Fiction Game of Thrones, the show that both people who watch and people who don’t refuse to shut up about, came to a thrilling conclusion this spring. And, as per usual, the season was filled with gratuitous violence, gratuitous nudity, and gratuitous dragons. While watching the show, you may be likely to wonder about the real-world possibilities of the more supernatural elements of the series, specifically dragons. This begs the question: Are there any real-life animals that share qualities with these fire-breathing fictional creatures? Well, not exactly, but there are many animals that are just strange enough to fit within the world of Game of Thrones. According to University of Florida doctoral student Rachel Keefe, “There are no real animals that are flame resistant or flame immune,” disappointing dragon fans everywhere. However, there are still a handful of animals that seem dragon-esque in their abilities, such as the blinding venom-spitting cobra, the Strophurus gecko that can launch smelly goo from its tail, and the bombardier beetles whose toxic farts can force a predator to literally throw up. Something tells me that alone could have single handedly defeated the White Walkers.

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It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s … an Advertisement. Advertising is one of those “necessary evils” in life. It supports the economy, allows for a variety of free content, and, most importantly, tells you what to buy. However, sometimes advertising can get a little out of hand, especially with obnoxious pop-ups or obvious product placements. If you ask me, using those forms of advertising is as crazy as not starting each morning with a bowl of Frosted Flakes, part of a balanced breakfast. Well, a little-known soda company by the name of Pepsi decided that mere television commercials weren’t enough to let the public know about the smooth, refreshing taste of their product and decided to take to the skies. In a collaboration with startup StartRocket, PepsiCo test-launched an advertisement for Adrenaline Rush energy drink in the stratosphere utilizing tiny, reflective satellites. Unfortunately, you now have to pay for the premium version of life to look at the night sky ad-free. While this was merely a test and PepsiCo doesn’t appear to be looking for any more sky advertising, it does show the lengths that brands may someday go to in order to get the word out about their product. If you ask us, [this closing sentence brought to you by Denny’s, America’s diner] it’s starting to get [and new Pantene keratin-enhanced conditioner] a bit out of hand.

One Large Dump for All Mankind The Apollo 11 moon landing will always be seen as a defining moment in scientific history, pushing tech to its limits to travel outside of our own stratosphere and traverse an area once thought unthinkable. As a triumphant sign of this feat, an American flag was placed in the ground. However, if a simple flag isn’t enough evidence that man walked on the moon, perhaps the many bags of astronaut feces, urine, and vomit will clue future visitors.

What’s in a Kitty Name? While dogs may be known as man’s best friend, cats definitely deserve some recognition. Let’s look at the facts: cats are adorable, they most likely make up over 50 percent of the internet, and you can love them despite the fact that they appear constantly filled with contempt. However, while a dog will come galloping towards you at the mere mention of their name, are our feline friends aware of their monikers?

The Atlantic reported in 2012 that there are over 400,000 bags of trash around the moon, with 96 containing the aforementioned human waste. It’s good to know that humans are capable of littering anywhere across the universe.

According to a report from Scientific Reports, cats may actually be aware of the sound of their names, with the capability to recognize it amongst other words. So yes, if Mr. Whiskers isn’t responding, it most likely means that he’s just ignoring you. Additionally, it has been reported that cats can read facial expressions, meaning they really do know that you’re mad at them when they claw at the furniture.

However, there is good reason to retrieve all of this space garbage, and not just because it’s good to give a hoot and not pollute. Vox writer Brian Resnick opines that leaving the waste in space presents the opportunity for a fascinating look at microbial life’s state in that environment, giving us evidence of types of life forms that could exist in space. Kudos to the poor intern that has to open the bags once they get back.

The study by Sophia University psychologist Atsuko Saito analyzed cat’s responses to four separate nouns, finding that they responded most strongly to their own name. While it’s interesting to learn that they have this capability, the study was unfortunately inconclusive on the cats’ opinions on Mondays. Photo: iStockphoto.com/Sonsedska SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

DEPARTMENTS / Dent Files

Pixar and Cultural Ambidexterity By Steve Broback

repeatedly at delivering products that resonated with customers. Yet there’s hope for the majority of us who are in less ambidextrous organizations. We suggest you try one of these tips to improve your culture.

Photo: Pixar

Balance Your Team Members Try to ensure your team represents both ends of the arts/ technology spectrum. Even if you feel the balance is correct, bringing in new staffers with fresh perspectives can be an essential step in fostering an environment of creativity. De-silo the Communication Structure Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, instructs in a Harvard Business Review piece: “Members of any department should be able to approach anyone in another department to solve problems without having to go through ‘proper’ channels.”

What sets Pixar apart from so many other organizations in the tech and entertainment industries? What contributes to their successful and consistent track record? The release of Toy Story 4 this year marks 24 years after the first of the franchise was released. The enduring appeal of the franchise is a testament to Pixar’s excellence in storytelling, with the company having released 21 films, grossing over 13 billion dollars, since 1995. At one of Dent’s conferences, we delved into this topic with Pixar Co-Founder Alvy Ray Smith. One of the attributes Smith cited as being critical to Pixar’s success was something we at Dent refer to as “cultural ambidexterity.” Many successful organizations work to foster a culture of mutual respect and engagement across multiple domains – making their culture ambidextrous. At Pixar, this translates into what Smith calls a “mutual admiration society” where the technically creative people (ie, engineers) are comfortable with – and respect – artistically creative people, and vice versa. “Pixar is an excellent example of how the two

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

Pixar Co-Founder Alvy Ray Smith

types can and do work harmoniously together – with equal respect, dignity, salary, promotion opportunities, company ownership, and mutual admiration,” Smith said. “This is probably due to the self-selection of the employees there to those who actively look for harmonious relationships with ‘the other side.’” For Pixar, this cross-disciplinary culture came naturally. Smith has always considered himself to be both an artist and a technologist. More commonly, however, we see organizations with founders and CEOs who are either engineers or MBAs first and foremost. Smith worked for a time as an employee of a company with an engineering-first culture and saw them fail

Create a Safe Space for Creative Ideas Catmull stresses that “it must be safe for everyone to offer ideas.” Team members should feel empowered to present plans and projects that are incomplete or works-in-progress without fear of criticism. Offer Cross-Disciplinary Training and Classes Pixar University offers employee courses in everything from sculpture to screenplay writing in order to allow employees to collaborate and appreciate their co-workers’ domains and skills. Regardless of the strategies and tactics employed, it’s essential that upper management is dedicated to the cause and truly values the talents and knowledge each side contributes. The founders of Pixar run the art and science synthesis natively, and we at Dent believe organizations that can do the same will similarly prosper. ■

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DEPARTMENTS / Wildlife

Putting Wildlife to Work How Humans Are Finding Natural Solutions to Nature’s Problems By Alex Moersen

Technological advancements have been at the forefront of the sustainability movement. Electric vehicles have been developed to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Solar energy has been made so cheap that people can install panels on their homes. However, while we often look toward future technologies to assist in our sustainability efforts, the answer is often right in front of us: nature itself. Permaculture is a set of design principles that focus around natural processes to create a sustainable and eco-friendly system. Oftentimes, this includes introducing animals into a system to fight off pests and weeds. One of the most popular examples takes place across Asia, where ducks are often released into ricepaddies to eat pests and weeds and leave behind natural fertilizer. With these ducks on patrol, farmers can reduce and even eliminate their need for artificial fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides – all three major concerns in the realm of sustainability. The practice of integrating ducks into rice paddies isn’t necessarily new. It was first documented in China about 600 years ago, but farmers were quickly lured away from this ancient practice by quick-fix fertilizers and pesticides. But once these industrial technologies started to pose a threat to the environment, many farmers went back to this practice, referred to as “integrated riceduck farming.” The practice is so successful that a number of other industries have been applying it as well; for instance, a vineyard in South Africa, Vergenoegd Löw Wine Estate, reportedly hired 800 ducks for pest control and fertilization.

But animals can be put to work on more than just farms. Most recently, California has hired herds of goats to help mitigate future wildfires. If you recall, 2018 brought severe fires to the state of California, with a total of 8,527 fires burning a total area of 1,893,913 acres. When summer begins and the rain stops, California’s vegetation quickly turns crisp and brown; the tiniest spark could set off a major fire. What’s worse is there are few weapons against this threat. Prescribed burns can quickly get out of hand and chemicals could leach into the water supply. This conundrum led to a creative solution: goats. In December 2018, Reinette Senum, vice mayor of Nevada City, started a crowdfunding campaign – Goat Fund Me – in order to purchase goats that would clear the potentially dangerous vegetation in and around the city. The trend is so popular across California that a number of goat rental services are available: Goats R Us, Rent a Goat, Goats on the Go. Environmental Land Management operates a herd of 1,200 goats that work in cities throughout southern California. Their tireless appetite makes them ideal candidates for clearing brush and many herds are acclimated to working in urban environments. Sometimes the best answers are right in front of us. In the case of sustainability, sometimes the answer lies in trusting the ecosystem to take care of itself. Regardless, the ducks are happy, the goats are happy, and we can all rest a bit easier knowing our farms and communities are protected by these altruistic animals. ■ Photo: iStockphoto.com/bazilfoto

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

innovator profile

World War AI

Photo: Ralf Schlesener

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

One woman’s battle to stop a killer robot army from inciting an international arms race.

Global Coordinator for the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots Mary Wareham

By Patricia Miller “Killer robot” isn’t a buzzword created to horrify the technologically challenged. The term refers to autonomous weaponry, a very real and growing sector of civil defense. Drones, unmanned aerial surveillance, and now lethal autonomous weapons (LAWs) are being developed in secret across the globe in a brand new arms race. If these robots could prevent young men and women from enduring the horrors of war, why are the world’s leading technologists urging national governments to sign a treaty banning their development? Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and thousands of others have signed an open letter requesting a ban on offensive autonomous weapons lacking in human control. To learn more about the real and perceived dangers of killer robots, we spoke with Mary Wareham, global coordinator for the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. Wareham won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1997 and serves as the advocacy director of the Arms Division of the Human Rights Watch. Innovation & Tech Today: Why would people support banning a technology that has yet to cause any harm? Mary Wareham: I hope people realize that we could prevent an avoidable tragedy… These are weapon systems that would be able to select, identify, and engage targets without any meaningful human control. Once activated, the machine or robot would be in control of undertaking those functions which, for the campaign, crosses a moral line… We are in this hard situation now where there are hardly any countries who will admit to developing killer robots, but we still see massive investments in weapons technology that is going

in this direction and it underscores the need for regulation… Today’s armed drones are just the beginning of a revolution in military war fighting, which is going to change everything about how war is conducted in the future, and that’s why there’s an urgent need to get down some rules of the road. Needless to say, the campaign is not only concerned about potential use of killer robots in warfare, but we’re equally concerned about potential use in law enforcement, policing, crowd control, and border control and enforcement. There are many other scenarios in which killer robots may be used and lots of people realize this could be on the streets, eventually, and that this is not a path the world should be going down… The killer robots challenge is very real and it needs a home in the form of new international law. That’s why we’re calling for the treaty. I&T Today: Based on your experience with the landmine treaty, how would the killer robots treaty be implemented and enforced? MW: Of all the different arms that have been prohibited to date, only the chemical weapons convention has an intrusive verification and compliance regime. All of the other instruments that I’ve been involved in, including the landmine treaty and the convention on cluster munitions, are more a combination of human rights, humanitarian, and asylum provisions based on the notion that if a state signs up for it, they’re willingly going to abide by it. We don’t come at this from the assumption that everybody is going to cheat and therefore there will need to be lots of means to verify and enforce compliance, though there will be

compliance and verification provisions in the eventual treaty. Nobody is talking about how to stop artificial intelligence or prevent militaries from incorporating autonomy into their uses, but where we’re talking about drawing the line is incorporating AI into weapon systems to the extent that it is no longer under meaningful human control. The whole reason why the AI experts, roboticists, computer scientists, and others have been supporting this effort is that they compare themselves to the nuclear scientists of the past, to the chemists of the past, who were concerned about the weaponization of that tech and who assisted to create new international law that commissioned the field of chemicals to be pursued and studied and expanded on for peaceful uses, but prohibited the use of the chemicals as a weapon of warfare. I think it’s a similar thing we’re looking to do here on killer robots and that’s definitely not impossible. I&T Today: How does the unpredictability of artificial intelligence add to your concerns about its use in warfare? MW: What it all comes down to is the fact that machine learning and AI can be completely unpredictable, especially when it is employed in what I’ve heard called “cluttered environments.” These are environments that are not static, environments that are constantly changing, and that have lots of different factors involved. A cluttered environment is a city, for example,

SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

innovator profile with lots of people and movement happening around it. The majority of war is now on foot in urban areas, so a concern there is, if you put killer robots in the mix, a weapon system that might be able to change its mission perimeters or change its target on the way to its destination, there are many different things the experts tell

us could go wrong. This lack of predictability is certainly a big reason for that and it’s been a big question and a big driver for everybody to knuckle down here and try to determine how to deal with this. I&T Today: If killer robots could be programmed with morals, would that make them more appealing? MW: It’s currently not possible to program the laws of war into a machine. The laws of war were written for humans, so to try and program them into a machine and have them make these binary decisions based on some very complex content is really... most people doubt that it is possible right now and have serious reservations about whether or not it would be possible in the near or distant future. Meanwhile, we are going to see fully autonomous weapons on the battlefield much earlier than that, and the concern is that you’re going to see the stupid autonomous weapons used before the smart ones that can do all these new fancy things and distinguish civilian from combatant. There are very few roboticists who will make the case that it is possible to create an ethical robot.

The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots regularly holds demonstrations outside of government facilities to raise awareness of the threat of autonomous weapons. Photos: Clare Conboy & Ralf Schlesener

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

It’s not possible now and what people are realizing is that humans do the programming and humans are also biased and bias can be programmed in. The systems may be very unreliable and unable to make the determinations that need to be made if you are going to avoid killing civilians in warfare. So this technical fix is something that people want to know about, but I think the concern that we’re crossing a moral line is also far more prevalent. We went to a market research company that conducted a brief

poll of 23 countries on killer robots two years ago and thought it would be really interesting to run that survey again with that exact same question, “How do you feel about these autonomous weapon systems being used in war?” It was very basic question, but it was nicely translated and easily understood because the first time they ran the poll at the end of 2016, it found 56 percent of those people were opposed to killer robots, that’s three in every five people. The second survey, which came out at the beginning of 2019, went back to those same twenty-three countries and three more and found that the numbers have risen to 61 percent opposed to killer robots. The survey showed public opinion is hardening against such weapon systems and the second survey also asks a follow-up question to the people who were concerned, asking them to elaborate on their concerns. Was it because such weapons might be unlawful or because of technical issues? The top concern expressed across the board in almost every country was this notion: by allowing killer robots on the battlefield, we’re outsourcing killing to machines. And we’re permitting machines to kill rather than humans; that’s a line too far. The other top concern was about accountability and the very likely accountability gap in the event that a fully autonomous weapon is deployed and a war crime is committed. The inability to hold people responsible if innocent people were killed, it would be very challenging, if not impossible, to hold the designer or the programmer accountable, or the manufacturer, or everybody involved even down to the commander who sends it off onto the operation. Human Rights Watch actually just conducted a report on this called “Mind the Gap,” so those are some of the reasons why I wanted to keep coming back to you on this notion of programming ethics into machines, it’s a very hot button subject in other areas as well, but in this one it’s steaming hot. We’re talking about people’s lives here. ■ For the full interview with Mary Wareham subscribe to www.InnoTechToday.com.

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TACKLING THE TRUCK OF THE FUTURE

How Toyota, Kenworth, and Shell Are Developing Fuel Cell Trucks By Michael Coates The old joke (and the fact that it’s still around says more than you’d like to know about it) is damning. Hydrogen, the molecule that supplies power for fuel cell vehicles, is the fuel of the future – and always will be! Light-duty fuel cell vehicles are now decades away from their early development stage and have been selling in small numbers at retail for several years. The infrastructure to refuel them is slowly growing to support the roughly 6,000 on the road today, almost all – cars and stations – in California. Three models are for sale: the new compact crossover Hyundai Nexo, Toyota’s Mirai sedan, and the Honda Clarity sedan. Sales numbers are not moving like battery electrics. With fuel cell passenger vehicle sales fairly stagnant, some industry folks started looking for new opportunities. Logically, the best place to explore is an area thought to be beyond the reach of battery electric vehicles – the heavyduty truck market. The presumption was that these over-the-road behemoths could not be electrified because of the cost and weight of the

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

amount of batteries needed to create a functional truck. Toyota showed the prototype Class 8 truck running on hydrogen in early 2017 and sparked some interest. Previously, some smaller companies had either proposed or shown similar rigs. Of course, Toyota doesn’t make Class 8 trucks, so the show truck didn’t seem to have a home, even though the truck appeared to be functional and ready to take over a new category. That was until Tesla unveiled its electric Class 8 Semi. Suddenly, it was quite competitive. The Toyota, which was clearly a debadged Kenworth, was basic. It had two Mirai fuel cell stacks and what looked like a blue tin house behind the cab, full of the cryogenic tanks used to store the on-board hydrogen. It was essentially a proof of concept. The key takeaway for the truck industry was that the truck worked; it could haul a load in and around the ports and not strain its 200-mile range. The overarching question after watching the truck in operation was, “Okay, it works, but

where can we refuel it?” So, Toyota next launched its Project Portal program to initiate testing of the vehicles, which ended up accumulating 14,000 miles of real-world drayage operations, working with a refueling station at Toyota’s port facilities. What hasn’t been specifically disclosed, but will be obvious when you read on, was that Toyota was already in conversations with at least one OEM during this time. For a commercial vehicle, refueling is not a simple question of locating the closest hydrogen station, although that’s a start. Instead, you’re asking: ▶ Is the station on or close to my travel route? ▶ Can my vehicle fit at the station? ▶ Can it refill fast enough so I’m not losing time? (i.e., is it comparable to diesel or even CNG refueling times?) Toyota came back recently with a second or third generation of its fuel cell big rig and things have changed. Rather than looking like something put together in Dr. Emmett Brown’s

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garage, this time the truck has a proper Kenworth badge (and its introduction included remarks by Kenworth engineers discussing their role in this version), and has the fuel cell stacks and storage tanks integrated into the new truck’s design. It still runs silently and is capable of hauling a standard 80,000-pound load of freight. Toyota, Kenworth, Shell, and the Ports of Los Angeles and Hueneme in California are now part of a just-launched project that will create a prototype of a heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell ecosystem. Completing the picture is a refueling infrastructure that will help put the trucks on existing service routes, performing tasks like ferrying imported fruit from the port to retail outlets. They call it “Shore-to-Store,” with the sweetener being that it’s done with zero tailpipe emissions. The state of California is dropping $41 million into the mega-project with the expectation that its heavy-duty fuel cell trucks will be close to being ready to go into production. The program (part of CARB’s ZANZEFF, Zero And Near-Zero Emissions Freight

Facilities) will deliver 10 Kenworth T680 Class 8 tractors featuring Toyota’s fuel cell technology. Many of the trucks will travel from the two ports to inland distribution centers where much of the freight is transferred to make its way to a final destination via rail or long-haul truck. Program partners include UPS, Total Transportation Services Inc., Southern Counties Express, and Toyota Logistics Services. In addition, some of the trucks will stretch to their 300-mile range heading further inland to Merced in the San Joaquin Valley. A key part of this program will be the addition of two new large capacity hydrogen refueling stations, one in Wilmington at the port and a second in the distribution area out in Ontario, CA. They join three existing stations to provide a rudimentary network for this new type of fuel and will include a portion of renewable hydrogen. One megawatt-size station at the Toyota Logistics Services facility in the Port of Long Beach uses agricultural waste to generate water, electricity, and hydrogen.

This is the biggest heavy-duty fuel cell initiative ever seen, but Toyota and Kenworth are not the only companies working on FCETs. Nikola Motor Company, a startup based in Phoenix, unveiled its prototype FCET in 2016 and had an updated version this year. The company has announced two things: a multibillion-dollar fundraising effort, and the purchase of almost 400 acres of Arizona desert, where the company will site it’s factory. It plans to start production this year and be delivering trucks in 2021. Another startup, U.S. Hybrid, has also produced a prototype FCET and demonstrated it in the ports The challenge is huge. In the Port of Los Angeles/Port of Long Beach terminals, a total of 16,000 trucks currently run. That number is expected to grow to 32,000 by 2030. Both the ports and the state, not to mention local residents, want to see a switch to zero emission trucks. The Toyota-Kenworth FCET could be a contender. ■

SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Autonomous Vehiclesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Data Problem By Michael Coates

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CONNECTED CAR As ride-hailing companies (Lyft and Uber) head into the public market, more financial details are being made public and the numbers tell a cautionary story about what we can expect from the coming world of autonomous vehicles (AV). Both companies have held out the hope for investors that eliminating the driver would help their companies drive toward profitability. But The Economist found that research showed the cost per mile of operating an autonomous vehicle-based ridehailing service is higher than a person driving their own car.

The data comes fast with cameras generating 20 to 40 mbps and radar adding 10 to 100 kbps. Lidar adds another 20 to 100 mbps. GPS systems another 50 kbps. Ultrasonic technology could add more. The number of individual inputs will vary from vehicle to vehicle, but as is being proved out in testing, having more sensing technologies is better. In fact, more sensors is critical to creating a functioning, safe AV. Current versions of fully autonomous cars have anywhere from 20 to 40 different kinds of sensors feeding data to the cloud or other computer systems.

One of the surprising costs that skews the numbers for AV services could be said to be sky high. Cloud computing companies like Amazon Web Services are critical to making AVs work. The data that the sensors, lidars, radars, and cameras must analyze constantly requires massive computing power and storage. Intel’s former CEO Brian Krzanich told journalists last year that eight hours of driving in an AV would generate 30 terabytes (that’s 3,000 gigabytes) of data. And, of course, that’s exactly what AVs are supposed to do – drive all day.

This is just from one car. If you’re a ridehailing service running a fleet of 100 cars in a city, the cloud computing bill becomes significant. For comparison, by one estimate, Twitter’s 270 million users generate 100 GB of data daily; a single AV will produce 3,000 times that. There’s more. That data might seem to be transitory, so that it could be dumped to make room for new data being created. But that may not be possible if it’s necessary to use it for the vehicle to learn new things to improve its

driving. Or the data for an AV may need to be stored as a record to protect the vehicle or its supplier from potential legal actions in case of failure or other issues in the field. Every byte of data may not need to be stored, but given the potential negative financial consequences, it’s a good bet more will be preserved rather than less. As it ramps up to launch its Cruise AVs, GM said it is building computer systems to store and process the AV data. It will use the data to analyze how its vehicles are performing and promote further development of its technology. According to media reports, GM’s two new data warehouses cost $288 million. Computing costs are rarely mentioned in stories about autonomous vehicles, which are often presented as technological wonders, but with little detail on this backend world. One approach to mitigating what appear to be exponentially growing costs is the drive to monetize some of this data and create revenue to offset those costs. That remains to be seen and will likely only come after a company spends money up front to capture, use, and store that data. ■

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High-Fashion Hiking One Photographerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Journey from Thru-hiker to Artist By Patricia Miller

(Above) Tommy Corey began his hike along the Pacific Crest Trail as a hiker with a camera. He ended his journey as an artist, capturing raw and iconic images of fellow backpackers turned friends.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

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Photographer Tommy Corey didn’t know he was a hiker at heart. He only discovered his love of the trail just a few years ago. The journey it’s taken him on since is one that has shaped the course of his life and his career, and perhaps spawned an entirely new form of art which Corey lovingly refers to as “Hiker Trash Vogue.” His photographs are now on sale through his website and in a book by the same name. His subjects are fellow hikers, those he’s met along the trail who inspired him with their vulnerability. There is a quality to his images that’s captivating, perhaps because it’s something that has become uncommon in our society. The people in his photographs look genuine. They have scratches, scars, tangles, and emotions. They don’t look photoshopped and their clothes weren’t inspired by the runway. Yet, they appear high-fashion. We spoke with Corey while he was hiking Mount Laguna, a section of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). We connected in a rare moment when he had cell phone service and his voice sounded as crisp as the mountain air through which he hiked. Innovation & Tech Today: What was your motivation to start your first hike along the Pacific Crest Trail? Tommy Corey: I lived with a guy in Portland who had hiked the Appalachian Trail and he was gearing up for a 2017 hike up the PCT. So in 2016, he invited me. At that point I’d been shooting a lot of weddings and was just… not in the place I wanted to be with my career. I was also bartending because work wasn’t consistent enough. So it was really like, “I just need a change; I need to go find my creativity again.” I’ve been shooting since I was 12, so photography is my life. I’ve always wanted it to be something that could just be a career and not have to do anything else. I felt like hiking the trail might bring me something different. It would challenge me, obviously physically and mentally, but also creatively.

and I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I thought I would. It’s funny; I was actually quite miserable through most of it. My body hurt and I just felt really out of shape. I did about 900 miles my first time around. When I got off the trail, after about two months, I went home to Portland. And only a few weeks went by and it was like, “Holy s***, that was such an amazing experience. I wish I would’ve stayed on trail.” That’s what made me come back last year and do a full thru-hike. I rehiked those 900 miles and then did the entire trail and had the most amazing time. I&T Today: What was your most valuable piece of technology on the hike, other than your camera? TC: My camera [laughs]. I mean... my phone. I edited all my pictures on my phone. I actually toyed with the idea of shooting film on my thruhike last year, because I learned on film. I shot film for probably six or seven years before I even picked up a digital camera. I’m a self-taught photographer, so I toyed with the idea of going back to my roots and shooting film. But, I know myself too well and I’m very impatient. I wanted that instant gratification, knowing like, “Cool, I hiked 25 miles today and I got some awesome photos.” I can sit in my tent at the end of the night and edit those photos and be really excited to show them to everyone the next day. Honestly, my project is probably the biggest reason I finished the trail last year. It kept me so motivated and it connected me with a lot of hikers. As I got further along the trail, more and more hikers would recognize me and want to be part of it. It was just a really beautiful experience. I&T Today: How did the trip help you to better understand yourself as an artist?

I&T Today: You didn’t complete the PCT on your first hike. Why did you return to it?

TC: I always felt kind of, I guess, pompous referring to myself as an artist because I was always shooting weddings. I would do side projects and take editorial style photos of people in my real life because that’s how I like to photograph. I’ve always liked fashion photography, since I was a kid.

TC: I started with the intention of having a full thru-hike, but it was a lot harder than I imagined

But as I got older, I went to school for a little bit and studied fashion for a semester because I

SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

PRESENTED BY

really wanted to be a fashion photographer. Once I dove into that and worked with a lot of the fashion kids, I realized, “Wow, these aren’t my peeps.” My project was a way of integrating these dreams I had as a kid into what is valuable to me now. And through that, I feel like, being on the trail, I was finally who I was, who I always wanted to be. I feel like the trail turned me into the adult I daydreamed I would be as a kid. I was finally feeling like my most authentic self, which also made me feel like my work was the most authentic it’s ever been. It was just very real and I was shooting what made me happy, doing something that made me so happy, and that was

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

High-Fashion Hiking

so challenging. I think, though, that I really realized this is what art is. Art is how you translate your life into what you’re passionate about. I&T Today: How do you decide how to pose your subjects? Was it the surroundings that inspired the pose or the person you were photographing? TC: I pose people depending on how I think they will look the best. Because what I’ve learned about my work, especially in the last couple of years, is I don’t want people just to like a photo of themselves. I want them to look at a photo of themselves and be like, “Wow.” Not just, “I look beautiful in that photo,” but,

“I felt beautiful.” That’s really important to me. And it’s so funny that some of these hikers would tell me that, yet we’re in the middle of the woods and we all smell like s*** and we haven’t showered for weeks at a time, sometimes. Yet we all feel so good about ourselves. It’s funny how thru-hiking turns you into this really vulnerable person, where you’re your most authentic self. And it’s really valuable to me to have someone feel beautiful from a photograph I’ve taken of them. I&T Today: When I think of vulnerability, I think of feeling open to threats or feeling unsafe. How do you see vulnerability as something to aspire to?

PRESENTED BY

Corey remarked that his subjects sometimes became frustrated with him for stopping to capture photographs. Ultimately though, he says the photos helped people to see their own beauty and encouraged subjects to feel glamorous even in their most primal state.

TC: I think it makes us more open to the world around us. When you put yourself in vulnerable situations people can see the authenticity in you more. I think it connects you better to other people, if that’s your goal. The people you meet on the trail just never compare to the friends you make in real life, because of what you go through, and because when you are out here you’re just this raw, stripped-down person. You can’t hide who you are on the trail. You’re tired, you’re sore, you’re irritable. But you’re also extremely happy. You’re extremely proud of yourself for making the miles you said you were going to do that day. We go through this wide range of emotions in this short six months and it completely changes

your life. And you experience that with so many other incredible people from around the world. I think that’s why, as thru-hikers, you become so incredibly close with people. You’re spending so much time with each other and we’re not just on our phone the whole time. We’re sitting around a campfire, we’re walking together, we’re having emotional conversations. That vulnerability is what really finds us. And it’s really hard to take back into your real life. You learn how to be present on trail. It’s funny when you get back in your real life, you start to kind of lose it and you have to remind yourself how to continue to be this raw, emotional person that you learned to be on trail.

I&T Today: Can you tell a difference between photographs you took on happy days versus those from days you were feeling low? TC: Yeah, so the PCT is separated in five different sections: Desert, Sierra, Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. Washington is the last section, so we only had 500 miles to go. I was so proud of myself for making it that far. I was also so incredibly ready for it to be done because my body was starting to hurt. But, I was also so sad it was ending. So, Washington was this incredible, insane mix of emotions I had never felt before. It’s something I can’t even describe. The only way

SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

PRESENTED BY

you can describe it is to other hikers, because they feel it too.

but not be too involved with it. Was that a goal on your hike?

It kind of feels like the first time you see the southern terminus, which represents the beginning of your journey. That feeling is like what you feel finishing a thru-hike. It’s this weird, fuzzy feeling around your heart and it almost feels sore.

TC: Maybe that’s a bad question for me, because most people know me because of my Instagram. And I love posting my work. I have over 10,000 people following me because of Hiker Trash Vogue. For me, it wasn’t like, “Oh cool, I have all these followers.” It was like, “Wow, this is awesome! I finally get to share my work with people from around the world.” Which is what I’ve wanted since I was a kid.

But, not in a painful way. It’s so hard to describe... But, if you look at the five sections in my work, Washington is my favorite because I was so emotional and I could see that in my work. Now, looking back, my work from Washington was dark and eerie, but also vibrant and beautiful. I feel like Washington was my most beautiful work from the entire trail because I felt like that’s when my heart was really exposed. I&T Today: Did thru-hiking make you reconsider your relationship with technology? You mentioned that you try to be mindful and keep your phone on airplane mode – call your mom, post some photos,

High-Fashion Hiking

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

Especially since I put so much time over the last 20 years, so much effort, so much money, in crafting this thing that is very unique to me. It feels really great to share it with the world. I get guilty sometimes for using my phone too much and being on Instagram a lot. But it also comes from a very authentic place. I’m just happy to share my work, and this is kind of how we share things now, through Instagram. I&T Today: So, in a way, it made you more appreciative of technology? TC: Oh, absolutely. I think, without

Instagram, I wouldn’t be able to share my work on such a large scale. I wouldn’t have the opportunities I’m experiencing. I probably wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. I&T Today: What advice would you offer other hikers who want to practice their art while they’re on the trail? TC: I say, whatever you feel you can bring to the trail, do it. Don’t worry about if it weighs too much and don’t worry about if people are going to see it or not. That’s not the point. I mean, I would’ve done Hiker Trash Vogue whether people saw it or not. I just somehow got lucky and maybe used the right hashtags or something. I don’t know. I think coming to the trail and doing something artistic changes your life because the trail changes your life even if you’re not making an art project. The biggest advice is: don’t think about it, just do it. And you will find the inspiration through the people, through the trail, and through the hardships that you go through. ■

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Gear Guide

Luci Solar Inflatable Base Light – Built for everything from emergency relief to camping, the Luci Solar Inflatable Base Light belongs in any adventurer’s duffel bag. With 50 hours of battery life and 300 lumens of brightness packed into an easily-flattened package, the Inflatable Base Light brightens your path without taking up too much space. $45

Lem Flow Mountain Bike Helmet – Giving you peace of mind on any bike trail, the Lem Flow Helmet provides the protection every cyclist needs. Add in a number of vibrant colors and a comfortable design and you have a helmet that should accompany you on all your two-wheeled adventures. $80

Polar Vantage M – As stylish as it is useful, the Polar Vantage M brings fashion and function to the world of fitness-focused smartwatches. Wrist-based heart monitoring, specialized sports settings, and sharable training data make the Vantage M an ideal accessory for any fitness enthusiast. $279

Switchblade Paddle – Intuitively designed for environmental conditions, the Switchblade Paddle combines quality and adaptability. Built with versatility in mind, the Switchblade paddle can be used for whitewater and touring kayaks, canoes, and stand-up paddle boards. Prices vary.

Orca Liddup – Ideal for a trip to the beach and a camping excursion alike, the Orca Liddup is a perfect cooler for the outdoor adventurer. A 35-quart storage capacity and specialized insulation for consistent temperature means you’ll have plenty of space while keeping food and drinks cool. $279

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Gear Guide GSI Glacier Stainless Base Camper – When you get back to the campsite after a long hike, you’ll want to be able to make a high-quality meal. The multi-faceted GSI Glacier Stainless Base Camper will help you replenish your energy around the campfire. $80

LOWA Renegade GTX Mid – Combining comfort and function into one foot-friendly package, the LOWA Renegade GTX Mid boots will help you go the extra mile on your next hike. Award-winning, rugged, and functional, these boots were made for hiking, and that’s just what they’ll do. $240

Seattle Sports Locodry Fordr – Whether you’re commuting to work or adventuring through the mountains, you’ll want a backpack that will help you go the extra mile. The Seattle Sports Locodry Fordr is durable, customizable, and easy on the body. $130

Zenbivy Light Bed – Featuring the

Henty Enduro 2.0 – Whether you’re

ability to switch between Quilt, Rectangular, and Mummy modes, the Zenbivy Light Bed makes the classic sleeping bag look like a relic of the past. Comfortable, flexible, and zipper-free, the Zenbivy Light Bed will add some much-needed comfort to your camping trip. $359-399

biking through the city or traversing a steep mountain hill, hydration is an obvious necessity. The Henty Enduro 2.0 is designed to not only keep H20 accessible, but also increase productivity thanks to its center of gravity and ventilation. $130

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

Health Tech Presented by

How 3D Printing is Transforming Healthcare One Layer at a Time By Scott Jung

Of all the technologies in the digital age, 3D printing is arguably one of the most revolutionary. It has helped to transform product development by optimizing the design and manufacturing process. Product manufacturers can quickly and inexpensively design, produce, and modify their prototypes and then expedite many of the complicated tooling processes needed for mass production.

With a low cost to print and the ability to easily customize the design, 3D printing is making it possible for more patients, particularly in developing nations, to receive bespoke, highquality prosthetic limbs.

volunteers to help design, print, and test basic prosthetic hands that can be provided to underserved populations. Their designs cost as little as $35 for materials and are available to anyone to print.

Mick Ebeling, founder and CEO of Not Impossible Labs, realized the advantages of 3D-printed limbs when, in November 2013, a simple project to print a prosthetic arm for a young boy named Daniel became a full-blown 3D printing lab for his entire village in war-torn South Sudan.

The rest of us might someday wear a 3D-printed device while nursing an injured limb. Instead of an itchy and smelly plaster cast, a breathable, lightweight, and sturdy splint could be printed on demand directly in the clinic to help immobilize an arm or foot.

3D printing has also democratized product design with inexpensive tools and materials that allow just about anyone to print their own creations. 3D printing plays an important role in Similarly, the organization e-NABLE maker culture, and it has greatly accelerated the mobilizes a global network of thousands of rise of the hacker movement responsible for consumers modifying and repairing their own 3D printing makes it possible for more patients to receive customized and high-quality prosthetic limbs. gadgets. One of the fastest-growing applications of 3D printing is in medicine and healthcare. Here are some ways in which 3D printing is improving our health. Helping Hands Over 30 million people worldwide are in need of prosthetic limbs, braces, or other mobility devices, but less than 20 percent have access to them. One of the reasons for the shortage is that the process of producing prosthetics can be timeconsuming. An uncomfortable or incorrectly worn prosthetic could quickly go unused and be more prone to damage, so itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important each prosthetic device be carefully fitted for its user. Moreover, the high costs of some prosthetic devices can make them difficult for users to afford or unsustainable for manufacturers to subsidize.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

One company, Colorado-based ActivArmor, offers such 3D-printed splints that are not only customized to perfectly fit the patient, but could be easily modified to accommodate medical devices that can promote healing or to expose incisions and surgical screws/pins to monitor for the risk of an infection. 3D printing technology can also give other mobility devices some TLC. As part of the hacker movement, broken and discarded wheelchairs, crutches, and mobility aids are being quickly and inexpensively repaired with printed parts. Some hackers are even modifying these devices with 3D-printed parts and electronics to make them more useful for patients. Giving Surgeons a Better Look Two of the most vital organs that support the entire body, the brain and the heart, are naturally considered the riskiest parts to operate on. Both contain certain anatomical features that are unique for every person, which often make them extremely delicate to navigate.

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Health Tech Presented by

How 3D Printing is Transforming Healthcare One Layer at a Time

Therefore, careful planning must be done before an operation so that the surgeon’s every movement and incision is precisely performed. Typically, surgeons plan for these complex procedures by studying images or 3D renderings on a screen generated from computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. Though useful, 3D renderings can’t offer surgeons any kind of tactile interaction, which can be invaluable in planning for any potential complications that might arise during the procedure. However, with printed models based on 3D renderings, surgeons can get a far better, more hands-on look. For example, a full-size body part can be printed using transparent or flexible materials to help surgeons see and feel its internal structures and even train on it with surgical tools and medical devices. Desired sections can be enlarged and printed separately to study the tiny, but crucial anatomical structures that require extra careful attention. And the prints can become a useful visual aid to help in conversations with patients, caregivers, and other healthcare professionals. Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona has printed over 260 hearts to date that have helped to save the lives of children born with congenital heart defects. The hearts have helped in surgical planning, as well as medical education and family consultation. Print Two and Call Me in the Morning While drugs are often touted as a panacea for a great number of health problems, the truth is that they don’t always work. Even worse, drugs that don’t work can still cause side effects. For this reason and others – such as finances, unclear instructions, or a confusing number of pills – patients are not taking their medications when they’re supposed to. Consequently, patients aren’t getting healthier, and medication noncompliance is costing our healthcare system billions of dollars in increased costs. Some patients don’t adhere to their medication because they simply have

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

(Top) An example of a 3D-printed heart. (Middle/Bottom) Instead of an itchy plaster cast, a breathable, lightweight, and sturdy splint could be printed on demand to help immobilize an arm or foot.

Health Tech Presented by

How 3D Printing is Transforming Healthcare One Layer at a Time

(Top Right) Physician Daniel Kraft presenting his 3D-printed PolyPills (bottom left). 3D-printing can also develop organic materials such as liver tissue (top left) and an actual heart valve (bottom right).

difficulty ingesting it. In 2015, the FDA approved an epilepsy drug called Spritam that addresses this problem; it’s 3D-printed with a porous structure to allow for rapid disintegration and easier ingestion. UK-based FabRx is researching how the size and shape of 3D-printed pills affect how quickly they dissolve and are absorbed in the body. They found that by increasing the surface area, the drug is released more rapidly. That could be great news, especially for children who might find it easier to take a rapidly dissolving pill in a fun shape instead of a capsule. Last year, Daniel Kraft, a physician and inventor, gave a TED talk where he presented the idea of a “PolyPill” that integrates multiple medications into a single capsule. The PolyPill would be 3D printed automatically in a patient’s home with custom-tailored doses of medication based on his or her medical needs. Additionally, the dose in each PolyPill could adapt to data received from smartwatches or other medical gadgets; an overnight increase in blood pressure, for example, could trigger a higher dose of blood pressure medication to be printed onto the PolyPill the following morning. Personalized, 3D-printed drugs like the PolyPill could potentially increase its effectiveness by helping patients stay compliant

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

to their treatment plan, as well as reduce the likelihood of nasty side effects that often come with a one-size-fits-all dosing approach. Body Parts On-Demand Of all the amazing uses for 3D printing, the ability to print a fully-functional replacement body part might seem the most fantastical. Yet, this technology, known as bio-printing, is actually one of the oldest applications of 3D printing in medicine. In 1999, Dr. Anthony Atala of Wake Forest University successfully used a modified inkjet printer to create the world’s first engineered organ – a human bladder. Since then, his team and numerous other researchers around the world have printed tissues and organs from nearly every part of the body. It’ll still likely be many years, however, before entire 3D-printed organs will be implanted in patients. Not only do they need to be structurally similar to their native counterparts, but bio-printed organs need to perform all the complex functions of real organs, as well as live in harmony with the rest of the body once they’re implanted. These complexities, as well as the high costs and time it takes to create an organ, will need to be resolved before the replacement organs can become viable. But while we haven’t implanted a completely

bio-printed organ into a human yet, research has steadily progressed toward the use of smaller and less complex bio-printed tissues. Functional ears, heart valves, and blood vessels are just some of the simpler parts that researchers have successfully printed over the past few years. Several groups have even developed a special bio-printer that can print new skin cells directly on top of wounds. Bio-printed tissues are already playing an important role in drug development and education. Since 2014, San Diego-based Organovo has offered a line of 3D-printed liver and kidney tissue that can be used to test the toxicity of drug candidates. And in 2017, Shanghai-based JALA Group, a cosmetic company, successfully bio-printed biologically accurate skin to test their products. The major benefit of these bio prints is that products can be tested on human-based tissues without harming animals. Both outside and inside our bodies, 3D printing has the potential to radically disrupt medical technology. While many of its applications have a long way to go before they become mainstream, we’re already starting to see some of the ways it’s making healthcare more accessible, affordable, and personalized for patients. ■

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KEYNOTES

Parks Associates’ sixth annual Connected Health Summit provides industry players with in-depth analysis on the growth of the connected health device and solutions markets.

Topics Empowering Consumers with Connected Health • Employee Wellness Programs and Consumer Engagement • AI in Health: Creating Personalized Insights • Choice in Care: Telehealth, Kiosks, and Retail Clinics • The Impact of MACRA and Telehealth Reimbursement for Connected Health • Enabling Independence: Addressing Seniors’ Health and Social Needs • Expanding Reach: Making Remote Patient Monitoring Work • The Role of Technology: Serving Social and Medical Needs Innovation and Partnerships • Smart Home Devices: Enhancing Wellness at Home • IoT Integration: Effective Connected Health Partnerships • Senior Tech Channels: Home Service Providers, Builders, In-home Care Agencies • Wearables: Crossing the Line from Consumer to Health Tech • Consumer Technology in Healthcare: Preparing for the Tech Giants • Innovation at Transformative Life Stages: New Parents and Caregivers • Investing in the Future of Connected Health

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How Pimple Popping Became a Sensation We sit down with Dr. Sandra Lee, host of TLCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dr. Pimple Popper, to discuss the phenomenon of pimple popping and the latest tech trends in skin care. By Alex Moersen

Dr. Sandra Lee, a.k.a. Dr. Pimple Popper, has seen a number of unique cases in her years as a dermatologist. She's been able to tell these fascinating stories via her TLC show, Dr. Pimple Popper.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

It’s polarizing. Some people find it incredibly soothing, while others find it nauseating. But, whether it is for relaxation or shock value, pimple popping videos still get shared all over the internet. Nobody knows this better than dermatologist Dr. Sandra Lee, who began sharing her own videos back in 2014. Today, her YouTube channel boasts over five million subscribers, and she is heading into the third season of her very own show on TLC, Dr. Pimple Popper.

of people, that would share popping videos on the internet.

We had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Lee about the virality of her videos and the latest trends in skin care technology.

I&T Today: What is it like moving from YouTube sensation to TV host?

Innovation & Tech Today: When you started posting videos of your work, did you know they were going to be so popular? Dr. Sandra Lee: No, in a short answer. But I think I quickly figured it out. You know, what happened is that, about four years ago, I opened an Instagram account, like a public page to post videos. I thought people might find my world a little interesting. I happened to, early on, post a blackhead extraction video and it definitely got a noticeable increase in attention. Not a ton, because I only had like a couple thousand followers, but, it got some attention. I thought that was really strange, so I did it again and it happened again. Through that process, I discovered that there was a subculture, a group

I thought, “Hey, this is the kind of thing I do at work, so why don’t I just try to upload videos and see what happens?” I started doing that, and I did it every day because I saw that people were responding to it. Then I think it went viral the first time BuzzFeed put a video out about my video, a reaction video. I think I started this in 2014 and it came out in March and that’s when it first went crazy.

SL: It’s definitely been crazy. With the YouTube channel, what I really wanted to do was start my own skin care line and use the money from YouTube and use the money from social media to create this unique skin care line. But beyond that, I wrote a book and then production companies were coming in, calling upon me. But the TV thing, I hesitated actually.

it. So it was really a little stressful for me to do that, certainly. Now it’s somebody else’s camera, not my camera. I really put a lot of trust in the production company. And I will say, I am more than pleased with how they have made the show. I’m really protective over my patients and their privacy. On YouTube, you don’t see who they are, but on the T.V. you are going to. I just want to make sure they’re not made fun of or bullied. There’s a fine line. Because a lot of these people have things that you would stare at if you saw them in real life. They’ve really treated it very well. I feel it’s so interesting because this show has been a hit. And this is so interesting to me; it’s because it’s like the opposite of reality shows these days.

They were pursuing me for a while before I finally decided to do a pilot or something, because I didn’t like the idea of a reality show. You’re still showing your life, you know? You hear everybody ends up divorced and you know it just brings drama to your life.

These days, the shows try to make a big deal at nothing – or throw tables or throw wine glasses or something. Here, it’s like people have something that is obviously a big deal and then you’re making it normal, so to speak. So it ends up being a very feel-good thing. I feel very lucky to be a part of it and that I can show how awesome dermatology is and what dermatologists can do, that we are not just pimple poppers.

And also, I lose control over what I do, you know? When I make my own videos, I control what’s on the video. I control everything about

I&T Today: After all the patients you have seen, do you have a case that stands out as the most interesting? SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

Health Tech Presented by

How Pimple Popping Became aSensation

SL: I have a few interesting cases and it has so much to do with the patient too. I think what makes my videos social media compelling is that it’s very much like “Humans of New York” or “On the Road with Charles Kuralt.” I have always liked these human interest stories where you don’t really know necessarily who that person is. Or you follow a truck driver through the day and you learn how interesting their life is. I feel like I talk to my patients and you never see who they are, but then you learn about them and you kind of fall in love with them... There was one guy early on; we call him Pops. His wife passed away right before I started doing amazing blackhead extractions on him and he talked about it on the video and it actually triggered a GoFundMe account and I think that we raised twelve or fourteen thousand dollars for him. There’s a video where we give it to him too and he’s floored. He was in trouble because he had to move out of his home because he couldn’t afford it. His wife just passed away. He was really devastated. But I think it really helped brighten his days. And for people from Europe and Asia and all around America to send him money without even knowing what he looks like? That was amazing to me! I&T Today: Could you talk about your new skincare line and what makes it unique? SL: I really always wanted to create something, then I had this opportunity here. I saw that I had

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

this platform of millions of people that were following me. I know that they trust my opinion, and I don’t take that lightly either. They know that I’m a dermatologist and they trust my opinion about skincare. So I really wanted to create a medical line, but something different. [Current brands] are all jumbled and I really wanted to create a line for people that can’t see dermatologists, because the vast majority of people can’t – or they don’t have the money, they don’t have the time, they don’t have insurance. I feel like my videos kind of trick them into educating themselves, too. And once they are educated about things, they can learn: “Oh, I have keratosis pilaris” or “That’s this condition!” Now they can go to my line and they can find things that are available that we as dermatologists would recommend to our own patients. And they can sort of treat themselves and feel proud about that too. Of course, that’s not going to happen to everybody because not everything is fixable with over-the-counter medications. But there are so many things out there! There’s foot fungus spray that can be used to treat other skin conditions on the body. Or there are eye drops that can be used to treat rosacea. There are so many different things out there that are available over-the-counter but are not recommended for people in the correct way to treat the specific skin conditions.

I&T Today: How have you seen skincare technology develop over the years? SL: Well, there’s always new things that come out that are super expensive and very technologically driven. There are always new lasers that come out that promise that they can shrink pores or get rid of hemangiomas. They are using technology and all the new things that we discover to try to turn back the clock. Those are the main things that we see, you know? There are also new developments in teledermatology where people are trying to see dermatologists remotely. There’s good and bad with that; obviously dermatology is probably the most visual field. But, I think that is a very great thing to do, especially for someone that lives in a rural area that can’t get somewhere and they need to have a treatment. I&T Today: Why do you think people are so fascinated by pimple popping? SL: A lot of people will watch my videos like a bedtime story, to decrease their anxiety, to maybe even decrease their own compulsions to pick at their own skin. Some viewers say my voice is very ASMR and you know how that has been a big trend…. But, I always joke that if more world leaders were popaholics, I think we’d have world peace. ■

BROUGHT TO YOU BY VIOLET DEFENSE

Now You See the Light

For fighting germs, UV Rays may be our best defense

When it comes to our health and wellness, most of us can agree on a common enemy: germs and bacteria. These bugs are an unseen source of harm, whether in a healthcare setting such as a clinic or hospital, an athletic center or gym, or even a household bathroom or kitchen. For many of us, a bottle of disinfecting spray is our weapon of choice. And yet, studies show that chemical cleaners aren’t always the most effective way to disinfect. Many cleaning products require that the surface remain wet for five to 10 minutes to truly kill germs, which may require more frequent spraying or wiping. And even people trained in proper disinfecting might reach for the wrong chemical cleaner now and again. Furthermore, the chemicals themselves likely have harmful side effects on both people and the environment, especially with repeated use. The European Community Respiratory Health Survey found that people who used sprays or other cleaning agents one or more times a week experienced a significant decline in measures of lung function. In a span of 10-20 years, the detrimental effect of cleaning products was found to be equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for that same amount of time. One solution that disinfects without the need for toxic chemicals is ultraviolet light. In fact,

UV rays projected throughout indoor spaces have provided sustainable disinfection to hospitals and other healthcare settings for decades. While the sanitizing effects of sunlight are nothing new — scientists have studied it for more than a century — there have been significant breakthroughs in UV germicidal protection for indoor environments in the last decade. “Our patented technology allows us to harness broad-spectrum lighting, including germicidal UV-C, UV-B, UV-A, and violet blue, each of which offers powerful germ-killing efficiency, and still make it small enough and cost-effective enough to be used in new and unique ways,” says Violet Defense CEO Terrance Berland. Puro Lighting is bringing Violet Defense’s patented technology to everyday spaces such as restaurants, athletic facilities, hotels and office buildings. These UV disinfecting lights can be installed in the ceiling and scheduled to run daily, or on demand to kill bacteria such as Norovirus, E. coli, and Salmonella without the need for harsh chemicals. With its much smaller footprint and more affordable starting price point, these devices can be operated with very little manual labor involved, set to run at specific times, or to

monitor occupancy in a space and switch on when unoccupied. In addition to systems that can be installed in a drop ceiling, there are mobile solutions — no bigger than the size of a book in some cases — that make it possible to disinfect different 10-foot by 10-foot spaces with ease from a desk or counter. “Puro Lighting, powered by Violet Defense technology, brings UV disinfection on demand to any room, any size, at any time. The pulsed Xenon UV disinfection lights can run autonomously to kill up to 99.9% of bacteria and viruses according to independent lab testing,” says Brian Stern, CEO of Puro Lighting. While they won’t take the trash out for you, these lights are making it far easier to sanitize indoor surfaces without the need for harsh chemicals. With proven technology and smart innovations, UV lighting can help protect people’s health and wellness, offering a sustainable, chemical-free way to disinfect everyday spaces. ■ To learn more about the solution or request a demo, contact Puro Lighting at www.purolighting.com. To learn more about UV technology and the patents behind these innovative solutions, visit Violet Defense at www.violetdefense.com. SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

Bringing Star Wars to Life Scott Mallwitz, executive creative director of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, details Disney’s latest, and most immersive, park experience. By John Gaudiosi

When Disney acquired George Lucas’ Star Wars empire in 2012 for $4.05 billion, its Anaheim and Orlando theme parks already had a popular “Star Tours” attraction set in a galaxy far, far away. But this summer, guests will be the ones taking a real-life tour of the Star Wars universe with Galaxy’s Edge, Disney’s latest park expansion. Disney has built a pair of identical 14-acre parks at its Disneyland (which opened May 31) and Disney World resorts (opening August 29). At a cost of $1 billion each, it’s the largest single expansion Disney Parks & Resorts has ever created for one of its theme parks (and in this case, they designed a pair of lands simultaneously on two coasts). While the movies, TV shows, and video games have offered first looks at brand new planets within the universe, this marks the first time a theme park is debuting a Star Wars planet. Galaxy’s Edge focuses on the Black Spire Outpost village on the rocky planet Batuu.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

The one thing these photos don’t illustrate is the massive size of these themed worlds. Even though there are only two official rides within each park (Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run, open now, and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, opening later in 2019), each land is populated with cast members playing the roles of smugglers, spies, rebels, and First Order troopers. Popular characters like Chewbacca may even pop up from time to time. There are also aliens, droids, and all types of hidden Easter Eggs spread throughout the areas. For example, you’ll find Luke Skywalker’s X-34 landspeeder parked just outside the central plaza. There’s even a full-sized Dianoga monster from the original film’s Death Star trash compactor sequence, which you’ll find living in the sewer system by the drinking fountains and restrooms. Scott Mallwitz, executive creative director of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney Imagineering, is the man behind this massive multi-year undertaking. During a private tour of the still-under-construction land at Disney’s

Hollywood Studios in Orlando, he said the goal was to put guests in a place they’ve never been before. “But more importantly to bring them to a place where they can invent their own story,” Mallwitz added. “We’re not following the story of Luke, Leia, or Han. We’re actually allowing guests to experience part of the of the Star Wars universe that they’ve never seen, but it’s part of the culture and part of the ichnography of Star Wars. It’s great to see the immersion that we’re creating here.” These lands also mark the first time a full-scale replica of the Millennium Falcon has been created outside of a closed movie set. Guests will even be able to go on board and play the hologram chess game that was featured in the original film. And, of course, you’ll be able to fly it on a mission of Ohnaka Transport Solutions. “Guests will be grouped into pilot, co-pilot, a pair of gunners, and a pair of engineers,” Mallwitz said. “You’ll take the Corellian freighter on a secret mission for pirate Hondo Ohnaka [from

the Star Wars: The Clone Wars CGI series]. You have to retrieve something for a very important client. There are over 200 working buttons and controls in the ship, so I would take some time and get yourself up to speed because the ship does react to you and your decisions. The way you navigate, the way you interpret, the way you try to keep the ship together and functioning has implications on your mission.”

“There’s so much to experience in the village, the ancient market,” Mallwitz explained. “To understand what it’s like to be in a trading port on the edge of wild space, we provide a full array of the sights, the sounds, the smells to bring the whole experience together … Once you’ve assembled a droid, it will help you navigate our land. It’s an incredible level of immersion we’ve never been able to achieve before.”

Depending on how you interact with characters, the app, and the droids, your story is going to be different than other guests.

Galaxy’s Edge is also home to a number of interactive experiences, including Savi’s Workshop, where aspiring Jedi will be able to select their own saber crystal and design a custom lightsaber for $200 (which includes a carrying case). There’s also a Droid Depot shop that allows anyone to act like a Jawa and build their own custom droid for $100. You can also purchase a replica DJ R-3X droid for $150, the former Star Tours pilot that’s now a DJ at Oga’s Cantina on Batuu. Speaking of the cantina, an assortment of exotic drinks like the Cliff Dweller will come with collectibles like Porg or Endor mugs.

Guests will also be able to unlock adventures through the Disney Play app, which works across the Disney parks.

And more is coming soon. The most immersive experience ever created at a Disney theme park is just around the corner, once “Rise of the Resistance” opens for business.

“We can deliver more content and more depth, more experience for the devoted fans using our Play app,” Mallwitz said. “We’re leveraging the handheld technology to actually discover parts of the world that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to discover; to unlock doors, to interpret codes, to go on missions. If you don’t want to experience that level of immersion, you don’t have to. But it’s there for those people to share and experience as they navigate this wonderful space port.”

“Your decisions matter,” Mallwitz said. “There are a lot of implications here as you’re asked to interpret messages for people or interact with bartenders or negotiate a purchase price for droids with shopkeepers.”

“We’re leveraging technology in a way that forwards and furthers the storytelling,” Mallwitz explained. “The technology we’re bringing forth in Rise of the Resistance is like nothing we’ve ever seen. The integration of those ride systems is incredible to put you in the middle of a battle between the First Order and the Resistance for the first time and come face-to-face with Kylo Ren.” ■ SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

E3’s

GREATEST REVEALS

Each year, E3 unites thousands of gamers in the Los Angeles Convention Center to check out the newest games, biggest announcements, and gallons of sweat being poured by excited gamers from around the globe. And, each year, there are tons of huge reveals from Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and other major gaming companies. But in over twenty years of the show, what are the most awe-inspiring moments that made us say, “I would like to purchase this product?” Here are a handful of E3 moments that will go down in history. By Anthony Elio

Back to the Beginning What better place to start off than the very first E3 event in 1995? Years before it became a household name, the first E3 was full of excitement, drama, and murder. OK, maybe not the last one. However, there was plenty of noteworthy activity, such as: Sega announcing that their new Saturn console was both $399 and already rushed to retail stores; Sony having the shortest keynote ever by simply announcing that the price of their Playstation would be $299; Nintendo showing off their headache-inducing failed Virtual Boy console; and the 3DO Company showcasing their M2 console which … was never released. Let’s be honest, this was definitely not the crown jewel of E3 events, but it’s important to get through your awkward phase and grow up. Trust me. I used to shop at Hot Topic. Photos: iStockphoto.com/CTRPhotos

Final Fantasy VII Again! One of video games’ longest running series, Final Fantasy has spawned tons of games, sold millions of copies, and made us all wish we could pull off the look of spiky anime hair with a leather trench coat. Undoubtedly one of the most popular entries in the series is Final Fantasy VII, which originally debuted on the Playstation in 1997. And, because of people’s natural desire to not try anything new, fans have been clamoring for a remake for years. Well, in 2015, a trailer for a full remake was unveiled. Since then? Well, we haven’t gotten much news. But don’t worry – it only took Square Enix six years to finish Kingdom Hearts 3 after it was revealed. Check back with me in 2021.

Falling in Love with Fallout Fallout is a popular game series that gives us a look at the world through a depressing, post-apocalyptic lense. If you haven’t played the games themselves, just walk through a mall after Black Friday and you’ll get the same feeling. Before E3 2015, there were numerous questions about the state of the franchise, which hadn’t gotten a new entry in roughly five years. This made the 30-minute feature detailing Fallout 4’s incredible graphics and addicting gameplay much more satisfying. For those of us constantly paranoid of the impending apocalypse, the game provides both a survival guide for the future and some entertainment before civilization collapses.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

E3’s Greatest Reveals

Newell Eats Crow One of the most popular games of the modern era, Portal utilized an innovative “portal” system to solve puzzles and explore levels. Naturally, this system allows for fairly endless possibilities, meaning a sequel was not only expected, but almost necessary. However, it was looking increasingly unlikely that a new game would appear on modern consoles, with Valve co-founder Gabe Newell referring to the PS3 as a “waste of everybody’s time.” This made it a major surprise when, during Sony’s 2010 E3 presentation, Newell came on stage to announce Portal 2 would indeed be coming to the Playstation 3. Gabe Newell also legitimately thanked Sony for not punching him in the face. Not a dry eye in the house.

Smash Hit Last year’s E3 was definitely packed with huge reveals, from Elder Scrolls VI to Ghost of Tsushima. However, Nintendo’s presentation was dominated by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, detailing facts about the game and revealing the fact that every single character from previous games would return. Did this pay off? Well, considering the game has sold over 12 million copies since its December release, achieved massive critical acclaim, and most likely got us one step closer to world peace, we’d say so.

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Blood Drawn in the Console Wars Nintendo’s Swordplay Display Nintendo has always been known for getting wacky at E3, using puppets, claymation, and cat ears to help announce and promote new projects. However, 2004 in particular was a perfect showcase of the company’s creativity, with a trailer announcing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess followed by Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto appearing on stage, with sword and shield in hand. Say what you will about Nintendo, but you’re definitely not going to see Tim Cook do that at a conference anytime soon.

2013 was one of the most memorable years in E3’s history for one reason alone: the blazing fires of the console wars. During the conference, Microsoft and Sony revealed the Xbox One and Playstation 4 respectively. However, it didn’t go exactly as planned. You see, the Xbox One announcement revealed the console’s need to constantly be online, inability to play used games, and Kinect requirement. Not only did fans react extremely negatively, but Sony also decided to use this negativity to their advantage, with comical commercials detailing their “used game policy” of … letting you share games with each other. It’s good to see that even giant corporations making entertainment for us nerds can get their Mean Girls moment. ■ Photos: iStockphoto.com/bigtunaonline

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

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The Women Behind Your Favorite Video Games An inside look at gaming from the women working behind the scenes. By Patricia Miller While one would hope the gaming industry includes a diverse workforce as varied as the characters and worlds we see on the screen, that’s often not the case. In fact, according to Statista, less than 21 percent of people employed in the gaming industry identify as female. To learn more about the unique challenges of being a woman in a largely male field, we spoke with some of the talented women working behind the scenes on your favorite games.

Amy Scott

Producer at Lucid Games, Ltd. Do you see yourself represented in the games being developed today? Not at all. I have seen characters such as Ellie in The Last of Us and Clementine in The Walking Dead, who could be good role models for younger girls. There is also Lara Croft, whose physical portrayal has progressed massively! I remember the day I went into the computer store for a copy of Catz for the PC and bumped into Lara’s mannequin and nearly had both eyes taken out. I haven’t come across a character who I think represents me. Name a game with a short, quite angry, Irish woman who dresses as a child and I will eat my wicker hat. Seriously though, I can see games trying and that’s what’s important. We might not be there yet, but there are definitive moves in the right direction. What would you consider your greatest success in the video game industry? My greatest success in the video game industry is my tenacity and resilience. When I was strong enough to say, “No,” to all the times I was being treated unfairly, for trusting my gut instinct, being patient, and by recognizing a good opportunity… I was educated in a Catholic convent for girls and I was very interested in art, math, and physics. I wanted to work in a creative industry but didn’t know what the industries were or how to go about it. Unfortunately, my career advisor was pathetically ignorant, so I was told artist isn’t a lucrative career. I left after my GCSEs and went to a sixth form college. The careers advisor there told me that a career in media was too competitive so not to bother. I asked him, “What if I am the competition?” The fact that I am here, and I have worked my way up from the first rung of the ladder to be a producer for a company who makes content to be proud of, is a success. I am looking forward to continuing my career with Lucid Games for as long as I can, full of creative talented people, and a place where I have the space and positive energy to grow alongside them.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

Marina Diez Pereiro

Freelance Game Designer What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a woman in a male-dominated industry? I feel that I constantly need to demonstrate that I’m talented and valuable. It’s not only that you need to demonstrate that you are a good professional, but also you need to be successful in other stuff, like social media, and of course being hot and pretty – everything at the same time. This is something that is not openly asked of women, but it’s implicit in society and not only in the games industry. Do you see yourself represented in the games being developed today? Undoubtedly I feel more represented now than when I played Pokémon Yellow for the first time when I was five years old and discovered that my gender was “male” by default. However, we still need to work on diversity and inclusion, not only with women, but also with minorities. What advice would you offer other women who are interested in a career in gaming? My advice for women, not only for those interested in a career in gaming but in general, is that they must do whatever they want and whatever makes them happy without listening to others’ opinions. It seems very basic, but society teaches women very well that they need to care about others while forgetting what they really want.

Robyn Gray

In general, inclusivity is an issue. Cultural and racial inclusivity is also pretty awful in games. What we’ve been trying to do with protagonists in our games is trying to make them diverse or give you the options to be diverse and to be represented.

Chief Creative Officer & Cofounder at Otherworld Interactive Have you experienced any challenges that are unique to being a woman in a male-dominated industry? I don’t think I’ve experienced any of that… I think, because my brother did all these – he’s nine years older than me – I saw him do X, Y, or Z and assumed I could do it, because why wouldn’t I be able to do it?

There’s definitely a hiring issue, obviously. But I think what’s more important, or at least as important, is you have all these women or people of color who play games and love playing games, but they’re always stuck playing the white guy. I think as we hire more women and generally hire more diversely, hopefully their influence will create more experiences where you can be diverse protagonists which would, in turn, encourage the continued and increased hiring of more women.

But really, I couldn’t admit being a woman would impact my life until Gamergate started really coming up and I started going, “I guess I am a woman.” But I don’t really think of myself that way. I just think of myself as a person trying to get stuff done. How do you think the gaming industry could become a more inclusive space for women?

Megan Garrett

Digital Account Associate at Activision Blizzard What is one of your favorite games of all time? This is a difficult question as I have so many, but if I had to pick one, Persona 5 (Atlus). On the outside: a very charming, stylish, and very Japanese RPG, but there is a lot more to it. I loved the narrative and the connections between all the characters. Taking away the imagery, the female characters were empowering and independent and not used in supportive roles to see the males through their mission. They were a unit and, having spent almost 100 hours playing this game, I was sad to see it end. Do you see yourself represented in the games being developed today? Female characters are becoming less of a support or as a prize for the male lead characters in video games. Characters like Claire Redfield (Resident Evil 2), Lara Croft (Tomb Raider), and Aloy (Horizon Zero Dawn) I can relate to so much. Young women trying to strive towards their goal with obstacles in their way. It’s not easy, but in the end they push themselves to achieve what they set out to do. I believe, like me, this is something every woman in the industry can relate to. How can young women become more involved in the gaming space? Attend as many events as they can, whether development talks or big shows such as EGX, Gamescom, or E3. The industry is all about building a strong network, so if more young women attended public events they would have the opportunity to start building that by talking to other women in the industry.

SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

The Women Behind Your Favorite Video Games Rhianna Pratchett

Lead Writer for Crystal Dynamics on Tomb Raider (2013) and Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) How were you able to create a fresh, modern story around Lara Croft, such a well-known character? The developers, Crystal Dynamics, had a fairly blank slate going into the reboot, and we could pick and choose elements we wanted to keep, enhance, or do away with all together. We weren’t beholden to any particular element. We decided to focus the story on a younger, greener Lara, who is on her first big adventure, fresh out of college. She’s facing things she’s never experienced before, which make her question what she knows of the world and herself. Eventually, she realizes she has to rise to the challenge if she has any hope of surviving. Focusing on a younger Lara allowed us to show the “Tomb Raider” bubbling to the surface, and it also meant we could explore themes such as the human vs. the hero and sacrifice vs. loss. How do you see gaming evolving in the next decade? I think we’ll see VR, MR, and AR improving in leaps and bounds, both the tech and the games themselves. Hopefully we’ll see more studios embracing episodic gaming in the way Telltale Games and DontNod have, and create different ways of bringing story to players. It would be good to see a new flourish in middle-ground development too. One which embraces the freedom and creativity of indie development, with the production values of AAA. Do you see yourself represented in the games that are being developed today? Certainly my gaming tastes, yes. Although there aren’t too many 42-year-old women starring in games, which is a shame. Hopefully, as we start to embrace diversity more, we will expand it out to age, background, and experience, as well as other areas.

Special thanks to the WomenInGames.org Ambassador Program. For full interviews, stay tuned to www.innotechtoday.com ■

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

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Take Charge of Your Device With all the charging technology out there, how can you stay powered up? ChargeHub Elite

options have become standard: the portable power bank and the desktop charging pad. The power bank option — such as the Limitless Innovations ChargeHubGo+ — can be charged at home then easily tossed in a backpack or briefcase as a backup power bank that can travel with you so you’re not strapped to an outlet. No matter what cord you need, look for charging cords and charging technology by Limitless Innovations.

There’s a good chance you’ve got a device in your pocket, purse or backpack. In fact, studies by the Pew Research Center suggest that 95% of Americans own a cell phone and that 75% of them are smartphones. These tech devices bring convenience and connection to our lives, and many of us use them nonstop, with screen-time reports to prove it. But for people on the go, there’s one big problem: how to stay powered up. Our smartphones and devices are getting smarter, but all that power uses a lot of energy. There’s an optimal amount of charge that a device can accept, but the best charger for your device might not be the cord that came in the box. So, how can you get the best charging power for your dollar and feel confident you’ll stay charged up on the go? Here are the three latest and most commonly used charging methods on the market, with tips on how to select between them: Lightning chargers Users of Apple devices from iPhones to iPods to iPads will recognize Lightning chargers. These are the proprietary oval-shaped adapters

with a white and gold piano key-like port on one end and a USB on the other. On the newer iPhones, the lightning port is used both for charging and for wired headphones. With Lightning chargers, it’s important to look for the label indicating MFi, or Made for iPhone, to ensure proper charging standards are met. Type-C chargers The evolving USB to Type-C charger is the newest variety of charger on the market, seen on the Samsung S9 Plus, newer Apple Macbooks, and the Nintendo Switch, among other devices. Unlike the angled micro ports in earlier generation Samsung phones and older cameras, Type-C chargers are oval-shaped and provide a different level of power. Type-C is the fastest charging method out there, tripling the charging speed of micro or even Lightning connectors.

Their patented SmartSpeed® Technology enhances multi-port USB charging by providing non-dedicated USB charging ports that give you the charging power and compatibility you need for your device. Limitless innovations USB to Type-C, Lighting, and wireless chargers deliver 2.4 amps compared to the 1-amp output of the chargers that come standard with phones, meaning you get a quicker charge that won’t overpower your device. We depend on our phones and tablets, but they’re no good if they’re not powered up. For the most reliable solutions, consider investing in high-end, high-power chargers to simplify your charging needs for the long haul. ■ To learn more about charging solutions from Limitless Innovations, visit https:// limitlessinnovations.com.

ChargeHubGo+

Wireless chargers Wireless charging has grown in popularity recently, and two

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NASA

50 Years Ago, an Eagle Landed

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

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NASA

On July 20, 1969, more than 150 million Americans, and a billion others around the globe, huddled around their TV sets to watch two astronauts land, and walk, on the moon for the very first time. Eight years earlier, President John F. Kennedy had made it the United States’ goal to travel to the moon and back by the end of the decade. Needless to say, Kennedy would have been thrilled to watch Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin’s awe-inspiring mission beyond the stratosphere. Their journey was truly one to behold. After traversing 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 successfully brought Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin into lunar orbit. The mission’s key moment came when the Apollo lunar module, better known as The Eagle, would descend upon the moon’s untouched surface, resulting in a truly unforgettable quote and an iconic image that’s honored to this day. It can be easy to forget just how pivotal that one small step has been, not just for the U.S., but the scientific community as a whole. And, while the feeling of waking up on that one July day to see history occur live on television may be impossible to recreate, celebrating the incredible achievement of NASA’s giant leap for mankind half a century ago is a fitting tribute. Photos NASA

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NASA

Leland Melvinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Newest Mission

The former NASA astronaut and STEM advisor to President Obama focuses his energies on his greatest passion: prepping todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s students for Mars. By Robert Yehling

Leland Melvin, NASA Associate Administrator for Education and former astronaut, is interviewed by sixth grade students from the Broadcast Media Class at Eliot Hine Middle School on Friday, March 1, 2013 in Washington. The radio club program, Eliot Hine Radio, is broadcast live on the internet. Photo NASA/Carla Cioffi

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recurring thought crosses Leland Melvin’s mind sometimes when he looks up at the night sky. As he peers into the stars from his Virginia home, and sees the darkness of space he has twice visited, he recalls the ‘the sky is the limit’ sentiment of his childhood, and wonders how to make it equally magical for students. “Kids might look at the night sky, but then they look down at their devices and tablets – and kind of get stuck there,” he says. “I want to be sure they continue to look up, and get geared into their environment, their universe. I also want them to understand we might have to gear up and look at another body, a planet, an exoplanet. I want them to have this vision.” In a sense, Melvin sounds like thousands of teachers: how do we bring vision into our students’ education? Unlike those teachers, he is coming at it as a NASA astronaut, NASA Head of Education, and, for five years, co-chair of the White House’s Federal Coordination in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S.T.E.M.) Education Task Force. His job? To come up with a five-year STEM plan for national education and regularly advise thenPresident Obama. The federal guidelines and standards that inform all STEM teachers today came from Melvin and his team. Melvin is also coming at it as the author of two books (including Chasing Space: An Astronaut’s Story of Grace, Grit and Second Chances), and technical advisor on the National Geographic Channel series MARS, created in 2017 by Apollo 13 director Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. Prior

to that, Melvin and seven other astronauts costarred in NatGeo’s One Strange Rock, sharing experiences of Earth from the rare perspective of being a space traveler. Meanwhile, the pieces of humankind’s greatest exploration are falling into place quickly. In late November, NASA’s InSight robotic lander touched down on Mars for the first-ever deep core and underground exploration of the planet. Space X, NASA, and soon Virgin Galactic are launching both satellites and early prototype machinery for a Mars mission. In the meantime, kids from coast to coast are engrossed in STEM curriculum, robotics, and related classes. Throw in that 2019 is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon, and Melvin feels the time is now to inject vision, creativity, and purpose into the way we present STEM – with a serving of astronautics included. “When I was a kid, growing up in the late 60s and 70s, going to school was a lot of fun,” he recalled. “Look at what we aspired to in the classroom. We were sending astronauts into Earth orbit and to the moon. Even then, we were drawing pictures of flying cars and landing on Mars on our school folders, and the experts were talking matter-of-fact about Mars being the natural extension of walking on the moon. The things everyone is talking about today, we talked about then. Since we didn’t have devices and couldn’t go online to Google and look at footage from our telescopes, or deep space vehicles, we had to imagine it. Envision it. So my generation was a generation of dreamers. The difference is, technology is catching up to us now so we can focus on truly sending manned missions to

NASA

Mars. I’m confident it can happen in my lifetime.” Melvin’s work on MARS, on which he is one of two astronaut advisors (Dr. Mae Jemison being the other), cuts to the areas he’s most passionate about: matching STEM education with real and imagined space duties, enhancing creativity and vision by throwing the all important “A” into STEAM – arts curriculum – and focusing on the day-to-day of not only fulfilling experiments and tasks, but also existing as a tiny family or community. That, Melvin points out, is particularly critical. “What we need to understand going into this is that the first mission or two may be a one-way trip, with the astronauts colonizing and staying there,” Melvin says. “We do a lot of things in MARS, from blending documentary with liveaction, science with drama, but we also look at the dynamics of the group as they work together, and get used to their newer, much more hostile environment. So while Season 1 was about the novelty of being there, Season 2 focuses on the dynamics of the colonists, along with a major challenge – will it be a private or public operation to mine the resources from beneath the surface? Earth challenges will become Mars challenges at times; we need to show that. Working together is going to be critical, but so is living together.” To that end, Melvin was thrilled to see Howard and Grazer create and cast a female commander for the mission (played by KoreanAmerican actress Jihae). He felt that sent the proper message not only for the global diversity it represents, but also empowering girls and young women to focus more on science, tech

Associate Administrator for Education and Astronaut Leland Melvin talks with school children during the “Build the Future” activity where students created their vision of the future in space with LEGO bricks and elements inside a tent that was set up on the launch viewing area at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Monday, Nov. 1, 2010. NASA and The LEGO Group signed a Space Act Agreement to spark children's interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Photo NASA/Bill Ingalls

SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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NASA

Leland Melvin’s Newest Mission

Former presidential STEM advisor Leland Melvin (second adult from right) high-fives a space enthusiast with fellow members of one of the two Space Shuttle Endeavor missions that he flew. Melvin was in space twice over a two-year period. Photo NASA/Bill Ingalls

and potentially astronautic careers. “I love the fact there’s a female Asian commander running things with empathy and love,” Melvin said. “This whole thing about representation matters. Through that commander, more kids can see themselves being the commander of a Mars mission, or being on a Mars mission. “We’re seeing more and more girls involved with STEM, with STEAM, and looking at the four components of STEM in making their continuing education and career choices. Everything from engineering to robotics, geology to astronautics matters a lot, but so does empowering students to feel like they can get us to Mars – because the actual build-up and manned mission to Mars will happen under their watch, and these kids will be performing jobs that don’t even exist yet.” Most of all, Melvin lauded the way Howard, Grazer, and the rest of the team dove deeply into his and other advisors’ direct experiences and threaded some of them into the shows. Consequently, he feels MARS will serve as a catalyst to further focus younger viewers on a space component in their STEM-based careers. “When I was in space, I experienced this shift called the ‘overworld perspective’, which happens to a lot of astronauts when they spend considerable time in orbit, like I did — or who

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

explored a foreign body, like the Apollo astronauts did fifty years ago,” he explained. “I realized that to bring kids fully into the space experience, we needed to match the science and exploration with some form of entertainment – and in MARS, we have it. We have edutainment, where we have experts talk about it, but also this dramatic show that entertains the kids, so they can see what it might be like to live there. There are babies, dogs, fighting, bars… but a lot of the time, they don’t think astronauts working and living in space is really like that.” Leland Melvin looks a lot more like a retired NFL receiver than one of the world’s greatest STEM and STEAM influencers who holds five honorary Ph.D.’s plus the doctorate he earned in school. He’s big, powerful, an avid participant in many sports, and a mover and shaker wherever he goes. He finds time in his life for photography, playing piano, reading, music, cycling, tennis, and snowboarding. He undertakes every mission like a player breaking down film, whether an interview or writing a book, and comes out having empowered adults and students alike. It makes sense: he was a star student and athlete in high school, the son of teachers who emphasized developing diverse interests, and deeply inspired by his personal hero, the late tennis great Arthur Ashe. “It was Arthur Ashe, what he had to put up with to become a great tennis player, the issues

of race at the time, and how he maintained his focus and his integrity that really inspired me,” Melvin said. “I grew up wanting to be a great tennis player like Arthur, to follow in his footsteps, but life has a funny way of redirecting us. I learned then that when it redirects you, and the redirection feels right and leads to an outcome you’d love to see, that you go in that direction.” His first redirection was onto the football field. Melvin took his near-perfect high school transcript, walked on at the University of Richmond and became a fine wide receiver, good enough to be drafted in the 7th round by the Detroit Lions in 1986. The Lions were good then, and he craved the opportunity to be on the same field as their superstar running back, Barry Sanders. “I felt like I had a chance,” Melvin recalled, “but I injured my leg twice in a short period of time, during camp, and if you’re a 7th round draft choice with a blown-out leg, it’s not going to work out.” Disappointed but armed with vision, determination, and an acute scientific and creative mind, Melvin decided to try something he’d never thought about as a kid: becoming an astronaut. In 1989, NASA hired Melvin to work in nondestructive testing, creating optical fiber sensors for measuring damage in aerospace vehicles. Twenty years later, Melvin flew two shuttle missions on Atlantis in 2008 and 2009 as

(Above) Melvin rode on the NASA Glenn Research Center float that depicted the Space Shuttle Discovery. The float won the Janice C. Meyer award for exceptional merit during the parade. Photo NASA/Chris Lynch. (Left) NASA’s Assistant Administrator for Education Leland Melvin tries his hand at controlling a robotics workstation during a tour of AERO Institute’s Space Shuttle teacher workshop area in Palmdale, CA. Photo NASA/Tom Tschida. (Right) Mayor James Ledford of the City of Palmdale, CA, and NASA’s Assistant Administrator for Education Leland Melvin get a laugh out of a poster depicting the “Up-Goer Five” caricature of a large multi-stage rocket during Melvin’s visit to the AERO Institute in Palmdale. The AERO Institute is operated under a partnership between the City of Palmdale, NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, and several universities. Photo NASA/Tom Tschida

a payload specialist, logging 565 hours in space – a little over three weeks. Today, the only American astronaut to ever sign a professional sports contract is the proud owner of the NFL Players Association’s “Award for Excellence” for inspiring academic achievement and excellence among current and former players. While Melvin, a masterful storyteller, can spend days engrossed in space station stories, he prefers to focus on what happened after he returned to earth. A long-held desire to educate younger people to the mystery and opportunity of space travel, exploration, and research found its vital missing piece: his three-week experience on the International Space Station. By 2010, he was sitting with President Obama, writing federal STEM guidelines, heading up NASA’s Education program – including Space Camp – and turning his love of science, the arts, exploration, and learning into something that helped explode the STEM curriculum. Through it all, he has written books and taken on highprofile projects to emphasize how today’s educational tracks are well-poised to deliver tomorrow’s explorers.

“When kids sign up for robotics, or IT, or their STEM classes, and when they play on their mobile devices, they’re doing things that feed right into what we need moving forward on Mars and deep space exploration,” Melvin said. “They have no problem switching to new programs, apps, technologies when they come out, and they know how to put things together and problem solve difficult challenges. What they could be a part of is the next chapter in our history as human beings. “What often is forgotten about the Apollo years is that, from 1961 to 1969, we went from a seemingly impossible pipe dream of a young, new President to landing on the Moon. While I doubt we will see a government effort like that again, we did put 400,000 people to work on the space program, and we still use technologies today that were developed for those missions. Since only a very few will get the chance to fly to Mars, I like to focus on the STEM students who are literally going to create the next set of new technologies, new ways of doing things. And if they bring in the creative piece, the ‘A’ in STEAM, their arts piece – whatever it may be – will give us the story, creative problem-solving,

vision, and perspective to help others wrap themselves around future space exploration.” The beat goes on – and so do the accolades. Melvin was chosen as an ICON MANN with Quincy Jones, Forrest Whitaker, Steve Harvey, and 24 other men selected for their ability to inspire people of all ages through their vision and commitment to creating positive change throughout the world. He also served on the prestigious International Space Education Board. “My life turned out a lot differently than I imagined,” Melvin said. “I never thought of being an NFL player, really, but when I was drafted, I definitely thought I had a good chance to make the Lions and have that kind of career. It didn’t work out, but because I had a good education and a pretty good idea that I would work in something that combines science and this vision of a better world, I was open to opportunities – and I ended up at NASA.” So did the hopes of countless thousands of STEM students and teachers who have been touched by Melvin’s work throughout this decade, whether or not they know it. ■ SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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NASA

Poppy Northcutt’s Wild Lunar Ride A young Texas mathematical whiz figured out lunar orbital trajectories — and became the first woman to work in Mission Control. Her mission? Apollo Interview By Beth Covington

Photo: Robert Yehling

(Above) Poppy Northcutt with Apollo: Missions to the Moon director Tom Jennings. (Right) Poppy Northcutt, a mathematician at the Houston Operations of TRW's Systems Group, staffs a console in NASA's Mission Control Center-Houston and is responsible for computing maneuvers which would bring the Apollo spacecraft home from the Moon. Poppy was on duty in the Control Center when Apollo 8 and Apollo 10 launched out of lunar orbit for their return to the Earth. Photo Alamy.com

Poppy Northcutt understands what all the fuss is about — and loves every minute of it. Finally, five decades after her precise calculations enabled nine teams of Apollo astronauts to orbit the moon and return safely to earth (six teams walked; three worked in orbit), her huge role in mankind’s greatest voyage to date is chronicled in chronicled in Apollo: Missions to the Moon, on the NatGeo Channel in July. In a decade that has brought out the huge roles women played in our space program, highlighted by the movie Hidden Figures and the first episode of the CNN series 1969, Poppy has become a minor celebrity. While the computresses in Hidden Figures actually started in the mid-1940s (the movie focuses on the late 1950s and early 1960s), Poppy went to work for TRW in 1965. Soon, the mathematical and engineering whiz had a new assignment: the fledgling Apollo program.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

“I, of course, was aware of computresses at NASA, but I worked in a different capacity. I was on the (Apollo) project from the beginning, to develop a return-to-earth capacity, to figure out the trajectory maneuvers to get a spacecraft from the moon to earth with three astronauts aboard,” she said. In Apollo, director Tom Jennings became the perfect person to present Polly’s story, since Apollo 8 —highlighted by the immortal Christmas Eve 1968 live telecast from lunar orbit — is also Jennings’ favorite childhood memory. “Her story is not only important because of what she did — helped figure out how to get us back from the moon — but because of the legacy. Every girl and young woman entering aerospace, or any STEM program, can watch this movie and see who one of the true godmothers of STEM-in-action is. Polly will never say that, but that’s the case. It’s

also the case that she’s one of the unsung heroes of our space program.” Currently the Texas chapter president of the National Organization for Women, Poppy still cuts a tall, stately swath through any room she enters. Her brilliant mind and sharp-tongued wit speak of a woman who held her own in the formerly men’s-only environment of Mission Control, but also one so committed to getting men to the moon and back home that she routinely worked 80 to 100-hour weeks — as did everyone in the 1960s and early 1970s. “I would do simulations before 8 a.m., then go across the street for 4 to 6 hours a day, as we were still de-bugging the program. Then work some more on it. We’d already blown through several ‘mission kill’ deadlines, things that would stop a program dead today. Then, it was like, ‘We’re flying 8. By God, we’re getting up there.’

tech zone That was the feeling — we are going, so we damn well better be ready.” Innovation & Tech Today: You started working with TRW, then you were assigned to NASA for the Apollo space program. Then the Apollo 1 launch pad fire happened. How did we get from a disaster that would’ve shut down the program for years if it happened now, to lunar orbit in less than two years? Poppy Northcutt: Apollo 8 was accelerated; we first heard rumors of it in the summer of 1968. This was before Apollo 7 even launched, an earth-orbit mission, our first since the Apollo 1 fire. We hadn’t even proven we could launch an Apollo capsule with three men into earth orbit – let alone the moon. So, the rumors were initially laughable to me. We were considered a critical program – if you do go to the moon, you want to come back – and we weren’t ready. We weren’t tested. In August [1968], they made it official: We’re going to fly Apollo 8 in December. We had tremendous pressure. We had to finish the testing. Plus, the retrofire officers at NASA had never done return-to-earth maneuvers. It’s a whole different game to come back from the moon, as opposed to returning to earth from our own orbit. Then one day, someone came to me and said, “You’re going to move over and help out in Mission Control.” I just thought, “Wow!” I was the only woman there, and what a time — to be part of the first mission to try to go to the Moon. I&T Today: What was the feeling in Mission Control when Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and Jim Lovell flew to the moon in December 1968? PN: Exhilirating. Stressful. Really stressful at times. We at TRW had created a rock-solid return-to-earth trajectory program with IBM’s computers, and it was well-tested. So we were confident. However, the astronauts could not configure their own return on board, in case something went wrong. It all had to be read up to them. Apollo 8 was particularly grueling, because every time they lost contact on the other side [of the moon], when they came into radio range again, they’d have to give guidance data to Mission Control, then we’d have to give them a return trajectory for the next time they

were behind the moon — or, if there was a problem, abort the mission immediately and get them right home. We also had to project a second and third orbit ahead, because they had no on-board capacity. The most stressful time was that first loss of communication. They were going to do a big orbital maneuver they had never done before, a lunar orbit insertion, with no communication — on the back side of the moon. As they came back around that first time, there was a big clock in Mission Control — the countdown to radio acquisition. We didn’t hear anything. They were late. They weren’t out on time. You could hear the CapCom calling out to them. No one was breathing, not a breath being taken in that place.

NASA

what was the definition of a successful mission? PN: I considered it a successful mission when we brought our boys back alive. So did everyone else at NASA. Did I have thoughts about us losing people in space? Of course. We all did. Especially on Apollo 13. To have this explosion on the way out, on a non free-return trajectory… I&T Today: Which is?

The reason they were late was because there were landmass concentrations on the moon – mountains – that had never been mapped, so their orbit was a little disturbed. That was the most nerve-wracking thing. If they had overburned or under-burned — either one — we might have to go into an emergency situation.

PN: A free return means the spacecraft will automatically fly around the back of the moon and return to earth on a computer program. Apollo 13 was not on that trajectory; it was the first mission we did that was non-free return, to give the astronauts options in case something went wrong on either our end or theirs. So they were a little out of the (earth re-entry) angle. The maneuver they did, with a ruined spacecraft, put them on free return. We did the free return to get them back here. We didn’t know if they would be dead or alive, but we had to get them home to find out what the hell happened.

I&T Today: Give us a sense of how precise your calculations and their execution had to be.

I&T Today: How do you view the Apollo 13 mission today?

PN: Well, when I started, there were still engineers walking around with slide rules, doing open mental calculations and desk calculations. We had computers, but the real intensity of computers was just coming into being. And we needed all we could get. That computer development — that first use of what we call ‘big data’ today — got us to the moon and back.

PN: Some people saw that as a mission failure. I saw it as a mission success. To me, the most successful mission is when they get back alive. It also showed we could recover from something horrible in space, and bring our boys back alive. That was an immense achievement.

Then they finally answered.

You could not come back to earth from the moon without high-speed computers. The precision was so high, and the distances so great, that a tiny error when it’s time to come back to earth — a millimeter off, a hundredth of a millimeter — meant you could miss earth reentry entirely. If you’re orbiting the earth, and you slow down the vehicle, eventually, you will come back to earth. Maybe not through the reentry corridor you want, the place you want, or even alive, but you will come back at some point… You can’t say that about coming back from the moon. I&T Today: You also worked to bring the astronauts home from the Apollo 13 service module explosion. From your perspective,

I&T Today: It’s now 50 years later, we’re celebrating the historic achievement of Apollo 11 and the Apollo space program, and you’re telling the story again. What do you remember most about the work atmosphere, the sense of what you were trying to achieve? PN: We felt everything you feel when you’re doing something that has potential earthshattering consequences — pride, purpose, a sense of urgency, the sense of something bigger than ourselves. All of those things. Think about it: my job was important, yes, but I had one of 400,000 important jobs. They all had to come together. So I’d think that everyone alive out of those 400,000 space program workers is feeling a lot of pride right now. We had a saying: Failure is impossible. I’d love to see more of that sense in the way we work today. ■ SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Apollo’s PRODUCTive Legacy By Beth Covington

This summer, we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of the greatest achievement in the history of both humankind and technology: putting men on the moon. That we did it in 1969, just eight years after President John F. Kennedy issued the challenge, spoke mightily to what is possible when a nation takes on a supreme challenge and syncs together as a massive team.

Everything was created specifically for the Apollo moon effort. Much of it was experimental by nature, simply because we really didn’t know what to expect beyond Earth’s orbit, how the body would behave or instruments would work. Scientists worried about that every day, while the country focused on the amazing adventure of visiting another planetary body.

In this case, more than 400,000 scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and tech experts created a national effort to get us to the moon and back – highlighted by Apollo’s six moonwalk missions. Those workers built the rockets, spacecraft, systems, launch pads, centers, parts, and even tools to make it happen, creating a source of national pride we have not seen since.

After the Apollo space program wound down, NASA officials and outside manufacturers realized many of the items they’d developed for space could become cutting-edge instruments, equipment, appliances, and even foods for consumers. “We get better airplanes, or we get better weather forecasting from space stuff, sure, but we also get better-fed chicken,” said David Lockney, program executive in technology transfer and spinoff partnerships at NASA. “That kind of stuff, people don’t necessarily associate.”

They also did something else – invented many technologies, far ahead of their time, that we use in our everyday lives. The Apollo space program is a perfect example of how powerful innovation spins off far more products – with far more uses – than originally intended.

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Here are a dozen of the creations from the first Space Age that we use today: • Wireless Headsets: We wear them for our game consoles, at work, and when listening to

our beats and tunes. Wireless headsets are everywhere – but where did we first hear this technology? When Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong took the first step on the moon and uttered into his wireless headset, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” • Reflective Materials: Today, propylene and mylar are regularly found in our home insulation, and on various types of outdoor and camping equipment. We even have mylar balloons. 50 years ago, before it became public, this material helped protect astronauts from radiation and heat. • Credit Card Swipe Devices: We swipe and chip-feed our credit and debit cards on transactions, maybe even use Square readers or similar to swipe others’ cards. It all began as software used to manage complex systems on the Apollo spacecraft. • Integrated circuit: The key to our lives on screen, the computer microchip, was invented by Intel’s Robert Noyce and integrated into Apollo spacecrafts by Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments. They needed to condense systems

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Scratch-resistant lenses, memory foam, freeze-dried foods, space blankets, and even ingredients found in baby food were originally developed for space travel. As with so many industries, the space program spawned an evolution in technology and left a legacy which we still rely on today.

All photos via iStockphoto.com

and cut weight. It was the first time all the components of a system were on a chip, rather than using individual transistors and circuit components. This led to the PC revolution in the 1980s… and we know the rest of the story. • Email: Yep – the first emails were otherworldly. During the Apollo years, Mission Control ran two broadcast channels. One was for the massive television audience to hear when missions were telecast, the other for private communication between mission controllers and the astronauts. They also had messaging pads where they typed messages and transmitted them – electronic mail. • Cordless Tools: Would you believe that the Dustbuster, the first cordless vacuum cleaner, began as a portable, self-contained drill on the Apollo missions invented by Black & Decker? They needed to extract core samples from the surface of the moon, which involved getting past the coat of dust on top. Now, we use cordless power drills and screwdrivers every day – as well as Dustbusters and Swiffers.

• Scratch-Resistant Lenses: Everyone who’s ever worn glasses or sunglasses has jumped for joy since these lenses began appearing in the 1970s. Originally, the abrasion-resistant lens coating was used to protect plastic surfaces of Gemini and Apollo spacecraft and other equipment from harsh environments.

• Memory Foam: The foam that keeps our seats feeling cushy began as a need to keep astronauts comfortable in their spacecraft without having to switch out custom seats to fit different body types. NASA released it to the public in the early 1980s – and revolutionized the chair and seat industry.

• Flame-Resistant Clothing: We’re used to seeing firefighters, military, and other emergency responders dash into burning scenes and come out safely, due to their fire-resistant gear. This invaluable contributor to our safety emerged from the tragedy of the Apollo 1 launch pad fire in 1967, which killed all three astronauts. Their spacesuits were not flame-resistant.

• Formulaid: This huge step up in nutritional baby formula began as an algae-based vegetable oil by two NASA scientists studying algae’s potential as a recycling agent for long-duration space travel. It is now in most enriched baby foods in the U.S., and in 65 different countries.

• Space Blankets: If you’ve ever run a road race, or a marathon, chances are you’ve had a heat or space blanket. Same if you’ve covered garden vegetables or fruit trees to protect against frost. They reduce heat loss from the body – which was the intent when NASA invented them in 1964. They were also more resistant to the hostile environment of space. Now, they keep our gardens and us warm.

• Freeze-Dried Foods: Most of us have eaten freeze-dried foods at some point, especially campers and backpackers. The military uses MREs (meals ready to eat) daily. While the process was invented in 1906 and used for blood serum preservation in World War II, freezedried foods were refined for the Apollo astronauts and then broke big in the U.S. starting in the 1970s, because of the public fascination. We all wanted to follow suit. ■ SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Missions to the Moon: In Real-Time

Tom Jennings’ Narrative Journey into Apollo’s Legacy By Robert Yehling

Boys watch Christmas Eve broadcast from Apollo 8 astronauts in space.

Photo: Robert Yehling

The media world will be abuzz all summer with retrospectives about the Apollo moon missions, for good reason: July 20 marks the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the lunar surface. For most over 55, this is a moment to relive a defining moment of childhood and young adulthood — not to mention human exploration. For all others, this is a chance to revisit America’s greatest moment as a working nation, when a country, its people, industry, technology, ingenuity, and purpose united behind a visionary (and Cold War-influenced) President’s directive to send a man to the moon and return him safely to the earth by the end of 1969. That we pulled off nine trips to the moon

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

Photo: Bruce Dale/National Geographic

Apollo 11 astronauts (L-R) Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin stand near the spacecraft in the bright Florida sun. Photo: Otis Imboden/National Geographic Creative

between 1968-72, with technology far weaker and incapable than the smartphone in your pocket, continues to speak to what is possible when we work together and invest in resources accordingly. One of the “over 55s” is Tom Jennings, director of Apollo: Missions to the Moon, a very special film that will air on NatGeo beginning July 1. Apollo is not your ordinary documentary: it is created entirely with interviews and footage taken during the Apollo years. This was part of Jennings’ desire to again give us the experience of being glued to our TVs and to feel what those of us over 55 felt… something you never forget. “We try to give viewers the experience of watching it as though it were happening in real-

time,” Jennings said. “It’s as close to reality as possible, almost like making a motion picture out of archival footage – although, with us, we can’t go into a second take, because there is none. We went through thousands of hours of video, audio, radio interviews and still photos to create a narrative story. “In this case, it’s one that’s much like The Hero’s Journey from Joseph Campbell. [The] Apollo 1 [launch pad fire, which killed astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee] was a great tragedy, but it gave NASA and the people working for NASA a greater sense of urgency and purpose to their mission. People can die doing this! Not only do we have to figure out how to get up there, but also how to bring them back home alive.”

Jennings needed no sweeping soundtrack, silkvoiced narrator, or script for Apollo. The breakneck pace of getting missions up and back, all while trying to beat the Soviet Union to the moon – and fulfill President Kennedy’s admonition – set both the tone and the stakes. You can feel all the emotions and qualities that swirled in the 1960s – excitement, adventure, purpose, urgency, fear, bravery, commitment, and, most of all, pride in pulling off the seemingly impossible. “It’s no accident, the way our film plays out. It’s literally a hero’s journey on multiple layers,” Jennings said. “Not just the astronauts, but the ships themselves, the work of Mission Control, the families, the American and worldwide audience at the time – how they experienced it.

We also focus on the three days that, in my opinion, the world stopped: The Christmas Eve 1968 broadcast of Apollo 8 from lunar orbit, showing the Earth; at the time, the largest worldwide broadcast ever. The day the Apollo 11 moon landing happened, July 20, 1969. And the day the Apollo 13 astronauts returned home alive, April 17, 1970.

impact on culture – they’re narrating the story for us, at the time it happened. It’s as immediate as you can possibly be. Since it’s such a big anniversary year, everyone will focus on 11, rightly so – it’s the 50th anniversary of man’s first steps on the moon – but we put the moment on broader shoulders. How did they get there? And what happened?”

“The no-narration, no-interview format, I feel, is a really effective way to tell an immersive story about an iconic moment in time. I kind of joke that when someone watches Apollo, and it begins, they’re waiting for the narrator to come and save the day – but the narrator never shows. So you have to engage with the film, pay attention. The people in it – from Walt Disney to Bob Hope to the astronauts to Poppy, to the

The day that time stood still for Jennings remains the Apollo 8 mission. “I remember that more vividly than Apollo 11, though I do remember watching Apollo 11 on TV,” he said. It seems an odd response when the world is getting ready to pop the champagne cork on 50 years of Apollo 11.

Photo: NASA

However, Jennings’ reasons are far more personal – and poignant. “During 11, my mom

Photo: NASA

Flurry of handshakes erupts after successful launch of Apollo 11. Photo: NASA

Astronauts on Moon for Apollo 15.

Apollo flight engineers direct a mission-in-progress from Mission Control. Photo: Otis Imboden/National Geographic Creative

Apollo 11 Launch.

Aerial view of spectators around their campsites awaiting the Apollo 11 launch. Photo: Otis Imboden/National Geographic Creative

SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Missions to the Moon: In Real-Time Photo: NASA

David Scott performing side hatch EVA during Apollo 9.

was dying of cancer, so there was a lot of chaos in the house,” he said. “Apollo 8 for me was the big memory, because it was prior to her getting sick, things were more normal in our home in Cleveland…. Christmas Eve, walking to the store in the snow, seven years old, hurrying back because I didn’t want to miss the Christmas Eve broadcast everyone was talking about. I remember looking up at the moon, rushing to my house, thinking, ‘I’ve got to get home to be in front of TV to watch the guys up there.’ I kept that close to me, but I hadn’t actually seen the Apollo 8 footage again until we got to work on this film. And the Genesis prayer… memories flooded in from Apollo.” Because of his focus on Apollo 8, Jennings wove in the amazing story of Poppy Northcutt (see page 64), then a 24-year-old TRW engineer and mathematics whiz – and the only woman working in NASA’s Mission Control. She was responsible for figuring out lunar orbit insertions for Apollo spacecraft – and did so with a candor and passion for her work that made her a sought-after guest TV commentator by the time of Apollo 17 in 1972. “She was interviewed a lot back then, and we found many with her – including one she had not remembered, where she talked about treatment of women at NASA,” Jennings recalled as Northcutt sat alongside him. “The reason she was interviewed often is because she was the only woman on Mission Control. The newsrooms were the same, so males interviewed her. If it wasn’t the first question, it was the second: ‘What’s it like to be a woman working with all these guys?’”

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Photo: Otis Imboden/National Geographic Creative

An Apollo astronaut practices lunar module liftoffs and landings in California’s Mojave Desert.

Jennings turned to Northcutt, now 75. “You had a very funny answer, the one we put in the film.” Northcutt leaned back and chuckled. “That was the one about males dominating NASA. My response was, ‘I don’t think it’s dominated by males. I think it’s dominated by computers and hardware.’” After the laughter subsided, she added, “There’s some significance to that. The Apollo program represented the first leap into the world of big data, which is now quite prevalent.” Jennings said that Apollo came together differently than any other documentary he’s created during his illustrious career. For starters, the process seemed backwards: while the most dramatic moments happened in the first twothirds of the movie’s timeline – up to the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission – the images were far better from Apollos 14 through 17, when crews stayed on the moon for several days and shot with color cameras. “From a filmmaking point of view, the way Apollo ends is kind of frustrating. The best images come from Apollos 14 through 17, but they have the least amount of overall drama compared to the other missions, which were highly dramatic: the Apollo 1 tragedy; orbiting the moon on Apollo 8, then dropping to within eight miles of the surface in Apollo 10; the Apollo 11 moonwalk; Pete Conrad nearly hitting the landing target bull’s-eye on Apollo 12; and, finally, the Apollo 13 disaster. At the end, though, they did discover oxidized soil on the moon – a very big deal.

“We end the movie with Ray Bradbury talking about how we will eventually have to leave the planet because it’s going to fall apart in a million years, or a billion years… and that we have to keep on exploring. And yet, after [Apollo] 17, everything was done. We stayed home, in Earth’s orbit. It leaves you with a bittersweet sense of ‘What if?’ What if we had continued? But we didn’t, and the story just kind of stopped.” Now it’s started again big-time, with the dual massive efforts with NASA and private industry to set up a sustainable work station on the moon, then fly to Mars. Jennings feels Apollo brings home both the human side of being an astronaut, and the promise of what can happen when everyone is focused on the same goal – with available resources and buy-in. “Another thing that caught me when making the film was seeing the Apollo astronauts appear on The Bob Hope Show. It made it a lot of fun, really humanized them. When you look back to those astronauts, The Right Stuff pilots and Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts, their lifestyles … they were a lot of fun. Deadly serious, brilliant men and brilliant flyers who had a lot of fun. “Many of us who were kids in the 1960s see them as almost iconic gods, these action figures we can’t get close to – then you find out they’re normal guys with great senses of humor. They laughed hard, worked harder – and so did the 400,000 workers who had something to do with putting us on the moon. It’s an ultimate story of human achievement. I’m honored to get to tell it with actual footage.” ■

H U N T S V I L L E ,

A L A B A M A

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 2019 with Space Camp! Programs are available for adults, families and children ages 9-18.

Make plans to join us in 2019 for a fullyimmersive astronaut training experience in the birthplace of the Saturn V moon rocket, Huntsville, Alabama. Call 1-800-637-7223 to plan your summer trip now. Prime spots are filling fast!

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The New Space Race 50 years after Apollo 11, the nation and world look forward to a multi-pronged space program built on cooperation between NASA and many commercial ventures. By Robert Yehling

Monumental scenes defined the Sixties: Vietnam, Civil Rights, the “Love Generation,” Woodstock and Monterey, the advent of color TV, the arrival of mainframe computers in large business settings – and the Space Race. Now, 50 years after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle onto Tranquility Base and first walked on the moon, we’re blasting off again. What a time to be honoring Armstrong, Aldrin, and the other 10 men who walked on the moon. We’re seeing excitement in the space program we haven’t seen since the Apollo era, with four generations involved, from older, nostalgic Apollo observers to robotics-building elementary school kids. Instead of operating under the central mission of beating the Soviets to the moon, we’re now venturing into an expanded program of deep-space exploration

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with probes and telescopes, near-Earth science and technology in our continued Space Station program, commercial space ventures that involve people and payloads, sustainable manned missions to the moon, and the sexiest ruby red “where no man has gone before” jewel in our astronautic grasp – Mars. Rather than focusing all experiments and technology on getting to the moon and back – which seized a nation’s consciousness for eight years in the Sixties – we now conduct earth science, medical, robotics, technological, materials development, and many other experiments in space. The technology we developed, then and now, serves our society in thousands of ways. And, we have increasingly deep buy-in from hundreds of commercial space ventures. The scene at May’s Space Tech Expo 2019 at the Pasadena Convention Center, near

NASA’s JPL lab (where the Mars missions are monitored) was rife with optimism: more than 250 space industry suppliers showed off everything from missile defense systems to cyro technology and tools for extracting minerals from the moon – or, possibly even Mars. Today’s excitement reminds over-55 NASA officials, scientists, astronauts, and their partners in government and the commercial space world of what they felt as kids in those dreamy 1960s, when twenty manned missions launched into Earth and lunar orbits – almost all fraught with danger and the unknown. “The things everyone is talking about today, we talked about then,” former Deputy NASA Administrator and two-time Space Shuttle astronaut Leland Melvin recalled. “Even then (in school), we were drawing pictures of flying cars and landing on Mars on our school folders,

Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

“ The difference is, technology is catching up to us now so we can focus on truly sending manned missions to Mars. I’m confident it can happen in my lifetime.” ~ Leland Melvin

Photo: iStockphoto.com/shulz

and the experts were talking matter-of-fact about Mars being the natural extension of walking on the moon. Since we didn’t have devices and couldn’t go online to look at footage, we had to imagine it, envision it. So my generation was a generation of dreamers. “The difference is, technology is catching up to us now so we can focus on truly sending manned missions to Mars. I’m confident it can happen in my lifetime.” Added Apollo 8 flight engineer Poppy Northcutt, the first woman to work in Mission Control during lunar missions, “If I were a young boy or girl today, I’d be as happy as the Baby Boomer kids were in the ‘60s – but kids today have more opportunity to fly later, or work in the space program. I’m really impressed with how robotics and technology are things they already understand.”

The buzz builds every day. For starters, this 50th anniversary year has been far more than a nostalgic tribute to a specific date in time, though that will come July 20. Now, we’re awash with anticipation about a habitable, sustainable workstation growing on the lunar South Pole next decade, including NASA’s goal of sending a manned crew by 2024. One can hear those test-pilot, Right Stuff oldtimer moonwalkers sighing and saying, “Finally.” Here is what Apollo 11’s Buzz Aldrin, a passionate Mars mission enthusiast throughout, said to this writer in 1993, for One Giant Leap for Mankind, NASA’s 25th anniversary commemorative salute: “I think we’ll go to the poles of the moon first (before Mars). It gives you access to the far side, access to the potential shaded areas and access to some continuous sunlit regions for energy generation.

Then we will probably visit the asteroids with robots, to explore the commercial recovery of asteroid material. Then as we’re converting some of this lunar knowledge to the expedition of Mars, I think we’ll have private citizens visiting space.” Look at Aldrin’s quarter-century-old remarks against a few recent developments: • Three entrepreneurial titans have entered the commercial space ring big-time. Elon Musk’s Space X has sent dozens of satellites into orbit, including a nest of 60 internet satellites. Along with Virgin Galactic (Richard Branson) and Blue Origin ( Jeff Bezos), the trio will be among those leading the way in commercial spaceflights for private citizens, while Blue Origin is also squarely focused on the South Pole of the Moon. SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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The New Space Race

• In January, China landed its Chang’e 4 lander near the lunar South Pole – the first soft landing ever on the far side. Last year, it was verified that between 10,000 and one million gallons of water lie at the South Pole; difficult to extract, but it’s there. • Earlier this year, NASA reported great success at exploring unexpected asteroid environments from OSIRIS-REx, the probe that landed on the asteroid Bennu; and Hayabasa 2, a Japanese probe.

Photo: Space X

• Our anticipation for a Mars mission is on overdrive, with shows like NatGeo Channel’s Mars, the movie The Martian, Stephan Petranek’s book of the same name, the passionate advocacy of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos reboot, the curriculum at U.S. Space Camp, and considerable technological work at NASA and private contractors pointing in one direction: we’re going. • No less than 20 nations now have a space program. In 1969, there were just three nations – the U.S., USSR, and China. • For the first time in 20 years, money is being poured into NASA and commercial space interests rather than draining from it. Like his fellow astronauts, Aldrin was chagrined when NASA ended the moon exploration program in 1972, following Eugene Cernan’s final walk on Apollo 17. Their anxiety and concern was evident in 1993, when our space program was at a low point. Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon (and who died in 2017), put it succinctly: “I think I will remain the last man to have left his footprints on the moon for probably another generation, and that’s a sad commentary.” Make that two generations – and counting. Further, we’d lost Challenger six years prior, our nation was in a recession, the Cold War (and reason for having a space program) was over, incoming President Clinton promised to cut NASA funds, and our focus was on two new objects in near-earth orbit – the International Space Station and Hubble Telescope, which unlocked the observable universe to us.

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Photo: Virgin Galactic

A few of their concerns and predictions: Aldrin: “For a better future, we must relinquish present greed for future greatness. To do that, you first have to have a strategic plan, which we don’t.” (Now, happily, we do). Apollo 11’s Michael Collins: “Some day in the future, going into space will be extremely important and will definitely change the face of the Earth.” Apollo 14’s Alan Shepard, also the first American in space in 1961: “Basic research is too abstract for the American public. It’s difficult to specify gain because one thing generates another, but by and large we all benefit from space research. But only the excitement of exploration will turn on the average individual.” Apollo 12 commander Pete Conrad, the third man to walk on the Moon: “You have to show the public that they are getting some return on their investment. The space program and programs like it are creative programs because they create not only new technology, which also

creates new materials, devices, and industries… The space program is like drilling for oil. You might hit a number of dry holes but when you’ve hit, you’ve got a gusher.” Conrad, who died in 1999, worked passionately toward deeper-space missions. He flew twice on Gemini, commanded Apollo 12, and was our first Skylab commander. He was working on commercial manned launch vehicles at the time of his death, and rumored to be en route to Earth orbit as the second “legacy” astronaut NASA would send for a “thank you” ride ( John Glenn being the first, in 1998). Conrad’s commitment to developing space program technology was fierce, and also pointed to the greatest benefit the program has given us innovations and tech breakthroughs (see story on page 76), medical and Earth science, and materials development and engineering design. We will see how far we’ve come when we start extruding materials from the moon, asteroids, and Mars to sustain habitation and to refuel missions – beginning with how we treat those native environments.

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• Vulcan Aerospace, USA (Orbital launches that rely on high-atmosphere planes to develop small payloads into Earth orbit; founded by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen); • Odyne Space, USA (Getting nanosatellites into space cheaper by working on more efficient rockets for smaller amounts of cargo); • Rocket Lab, New Zealand (creation of a launch vehicle designed for manufacture at scale; its first rocket, launched in 2015, cost just $4.9 million); • Ixion, USA (working with NanoRacks, Space Systems Loral, and the United Launch Alliance to convert upper stages of rockets (which have considerable hollow interior space) into long-term habitable environments for Earth orbit, the moon, or even Mars); • Firefly Space, USA (light rocket design for nanosatellite payloads of as many as 100 small satellites per mission). Photo: Blue Origin

“How we get at the water, or any other resource, is going to be critical to that planet’s sustainability of us moving forward,” author Antonia Juhasz, a consultant on NatGeo’s Mars series, said. “On Earth, we’ve extracted, polluted, and killed to the point where, even now, the planet cannot sustain most of us in a healthy manner. That’s only happened in the last 150 years of industrialization. Before that, we have thousands of years of living in harmony with our planet; we know how to do it. We can carry that part forward. If we learn that lesson, then we can live on Mars for a very long time – and hopefully, become more sustainable on Earth as well so we maintain and protect this planet.” As we move ahead, it’s time to stop looking at space travel as a NASA or American launch, or a Russian launch, or a Chinese launch. We’re more than NASA now. On any given launch, products and materials from upwards of a dozen nations are on the trip. Furthermore, commercial space plans are developing just as quickly as NASA’s. It’s time to view our push forward to the moon, and Mars, and our nearearth orbit and deep space efforts as a fleet of missions, built around the driving forces of

exploration, discovery, technology development, and our furtherance as a species. Besides Space X, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic, new companies making big moves include: • Space IL, Israel (lunar rover deployment); • Axiom, USA (space station to replace ISS when it retires in the 2020s; for astronauts, space tourists, and in-orbit research; missions tentatively scheduled to start in late 2019); • SpacePharma, USA (production of bacteria for help with Earth-borne diseases); • The Cohu Experience and Space Nation, Finland (open competition to send a space tourist to the ISS to conduct experiments); • Deep Space Industries, USA, partnering with Luxembourg (mining asteroids for metallic resources, water, and ice for potential waystation refuels on future Mars missions); • Bigelow Aerospace, USA (constructing portable habitats for astronauts. “We believe crews traveling to the moon, Mars, asteroids, or other destinations could use them as habitable structures or as labs or work areas,” said NASA Project Manager Rajib Dasgupta.);

Within these and many other initiatives, the Apollo and Gemini astronauts still alive can enjoy their legacies stretching on new wings. From Aldrin’s Mars fascination to Shepard’s focus on Earth sciences and the environment, from Cernan’s angst over no more manned exploration to Conrad’s determination to press the technology forward, we’re seeing their visions, views, and hopes come to pass. “I think it’s really important for a society to have optimism and to see a future for itself and be a player in its own destiny. Exploring space is such a perfect metaphor for that,” said Casey Dreier of The Planetary Society. “You have to create new technologies and processes from scratch. You have to work together with other people, internationally. You’re doing it for curiosity, science, maybe extending human presence different than what we’ve done in the past. We have to take care of ourselves – and the act of exploring space will bring that benefit to us. If we can get ourselves together and organize ourselves properly, I feel we will see this in our lifetime.” What an exciting next 50 years it’s going to be. ■ EDITOR’S NOTE: This article also references and pulls from One Giant Leap for Mankind, edited and compiled by Robert Yehling, which NASA commissioned in 1993 as its 25th anniversary commemorative publication for Apollo 11. SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

connected life

Getting Some Perspective on 5G Smart tech leaders from Verizon and Fybr give their opinion on the state of 5G By Anthony Elio

Photo: iStockphoto.com/metamorworks

According to Statista, there are currently over 1.5 billion 4G subscribers around the world, a number that has ballooned substantially since 2010, when there were only a little over a million subscribers. However, especially in the smartphone age, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re always ready for the next big thing. And the next big thing dominating many conversations in the tech space recently? 5G. With some comparing 5Gâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rollout to the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution, there is definitely no shortage of hype when it comes to this next wave of data. Per Statista, the number of 5G subscriptions looks to be 0.04 billion in 2020. By 2025, that number will grow to 2.61 billion, over double

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the amount of current 4G subscribers. However, despite all the broad headlines about how 5G will completely change the game in terms of data, there is still plenty of mystery and misconception around the new tech. Because of this, we conducted exclusive interviews with the Vice President of Smart Cities at Verizon and IoT solution providers at Fybr to analyze 5G through the lens of infrastructure, cybersecurity, and the future.

ground. With 5G, obviously, we need to be able to have our communications infrastructure all through the city so that we can ensure that connectivity is available to citizens when they need it. Smart Cities is very similar in that we have sensors that are going to need to be put on the ground, on light poles, and in key areas where people are interacting and we want to be able to have that exchange between our environment and the individuals who are doing activities through that environment.

Lani Ingram, Vice President, Smart Cities at Verizon Smart Cities and 5G both require a tremendous amount of infrastructure in the

So very similarly, we need to be able to create partnerships with cities. To be able to ensure that the infrastructure is put in place in a timely fashion and is also put in place in a way that

Infrastructure

We don’t just make cities smarter, we make them resilient.

Intelligent data leads to endless possibilities. Virtually limitless amounts of information can be collected in today’s smart cities – from measuring storm run-off and soil moisture to monitoring traffic and parking. The Fybr Platform can collect that information and turn it in to actionable insights – allowing communities large and small to reduce operational costs, minimize their carbon footprint, increase efficiency, and improve overall quality of life.

Improved Parking

30%

LESS TRAFFIC

Access

Intelligent hang tags for campus, residential, loading and event parking communicate with the network – allowing controlled access

Fybr’s smartphone app Parking GeniusTM leads drivers to open spots in addition to delivering pricing and other information

Safe & Orderly Streets Sensors and enforcement tools no-parking zones clear

Safety & Security Safety

Structural Integrity Vibrations are monitored in buildings and bridges

Motion-based street lighting increases safety while reducing energy consumption. Noise, motion and crowd detection lead to safer neighborhoods

Item Location in warehouses, buildings or streets for asset control. Plus, stolen property can be tracked for recovery

Health & Security Nuclear, chemical and biological monitoring help prevent emergencies – leading to public health and well-being

Environmental Sensing Weather

Sensing for precipitation, air and ground temperatures

Agriculture

Soil moisture tracking for improved yield

Electromagnetic Emissions Power lines, cellular and other emitters monitored for regulatory compliance

Air & Water Quality Pollution can be measured remotely and can trigger

Utility Monitoring Leak Detection

Accidents and loss due to leaky underground gas and water pipes is prevented

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Sewer Monitoring

Waste Management

Fluid levels are tracked to

Dumpsters are able to automatically

Storm Drain Run-off

Rainwater run-off levels are monitored to gauge infrastructure

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Getting Some Perspective on 5G

“ Let’s say that you have 100,000 street lights, you don’t want some hacker turning them on and off at their whim.” Edwin Horton, Fybr

Photo: iStockphoto.com/MF3d

really directly benefits the citizen. Infrastructure for 5G is something that is massive. It is a big task to be able to ensure that the U.S. stays in the lead in 5G. Verizon is the first in 5G and we want to keep that momentum moving. That requires us to really have deep relationships with our city leaders so that we not only put in that infrastructure for the connectivity, but we can see that benefit going straight to the citizen. Edwin Horton, Chief Scientist, Fybr We’re going through cities these days looking at replacing street lights with LED lights, and the whole infrastructure of the city changes. Ultimately, these 5G micro cells will be small enough, but they’re not here yet. You know, that’s just another one of those roadblocks. Of course, satellites take away that part of it. But, boy, is it expensive. I just can’t imagine. I mean, Elon Musk with SpaceX. They own Starlink. I think they’ve got the approval so far for 12,000 satellites. I can’t even imagine what that costs. You know, there’s a lot happening, and it’s all wonderful technology, no question about it. But you know there’s always the balance for companies like us, that you sort of want to use the latest available technology that you can afford, but also that it suits your needs.

Security

Lani Ingram, Vice President, Smart Cities at Verizon

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

How do we also deal with the risk of going into something new? We’ve got to be able to think about privacy concerns, data security. There’s a lot of really important things that have to be focused on in order to be able to really roll some of these solutions out at scale. These are some of the challenges that we work on with other industry leaders, as well as with city leaders, all the time so that we could actually get these industries moving and scaled the way that we know they can be. Edwin Horton, Chief Scientist, Fybr Security is a big part of smart city deployment. Let’s say that you have 100,000 street lights, you don’t want some hacker turning them on and off at their whim. Obviously, you have to have a separate control so the cops can do it. But we keep coming back to security and reliability. I think that if you don’t have that in the marketing deployment, you’re out of luck. You might as well hang it up.

Future of 5G

Bob Glatz, Chief Executive Officer, Fybr I honestly don’t think in the next five years 5G is going to make a whole lot of difference to us. If we’re in a particular area and we have a problem with one cell carrier, we can switch to another cell carrier. So we can always optimize that way. The speed at which we get data back, it does

matter in [something like] parking. But our ability to get an answer back to somebody on a parking event is only a few seconds. When I just pulled into the lot a few minutes ago, before my car was settled, it had changed. So, it’s really, really fast. If you’re going to think about everything else we do, if you’re going to pull gas leak information, whether you get that information in one second or you get in three and a half seconds, it really doesn’t matter that much. Lani Ingram, Vice President, Smart Cities at Verizon 5G has such a strong role in smart cities because there’s so much of the sensoring capabilities that is going to be leveraged in our day-to-day lives to improve things like safety of our communities, our mobility aspects, as well as other things around sustainability and environmental activities. There’s just a lot of engagement between our environment and the technology that really needs some of that extra push with the connectivity. 5G gives us a tremendous amount of latency and bandwidth that is needed to be able to especially work on some of those solutions that require a lot of data to be processed incredibly fast. So we think about things like autonomous vehicles or other video based solutions. 5G solutions are really important to be able to move those capabilities to the forefront. ■

Electric Car Charging Safety Some of the best-selling EV Charging Stations are not safety-tested and certified

fter deciding to buy a plug-in electric vehicle, often the next decision is to purchase a Level 2 charging station for faster charging at home. The technical name as defined in the National Electric Code for these products is EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment), commonly called charging stations. Safety might not be the first consideration when selecting a charging station, but safety is actually the most important thing to consider. The primary function of a plug-in vehicle charging station is to provide electrical safety for the operator and electrical infrastructure throughout the charging process and specifically to address the risks of fire and electric shock. The good news is charging an electric vehicle is actually very safe and easy when done with proper, independently safety-certified equipment. The challenge is that not all charging stations on the market are independently safety tested and certified. When a charging station manufacturer develops a new product, or makes even a minor change to an existing product, they should send samples to a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL), such as Intertek (ETL mark) or Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL mark). Safety engineers at these labs perform months of extensive safety testing that the products must pass before they can be safety certified and made available to the public for sale. Only products with these marks appearing on the manufactured product’s rating plate are safety certified. Look for these (ETL or UL) certification marks on the station itself when shopping for a charging station:

Do a quick experiment in your own home: look around at the electrical appliances purchased from a reputable source and you will see they are all marked with a safety label. If you find a product that plugs into the wall that is not marked, you might want to consider not using it.

Be Cautious of These Things:

Deceptive Markings - Some manufacturers use officiallooking marks such as the CE logo. If you only see a CE mark then the product has not been independently certified. CE is a self-certifying mark and it should not be trusted in the US, Canada, and Mexico. A CE mark in addition to the UL or ETL mark is acceptable. Do NOT use a product that only has a CE mark.

Uncertified Products are being sold by what seems like a reputable seller - Buying the product from what seems to be a reputable seller doesn’t mean the charging station has been safety certified. Most large home improvement retailer stores like Lowes and Home Depot have standards in place that require NRTL certification for electrical appliances. However, there are online retailers, such as Amazon, direct sellers, and sources from outside the United States that DO carry and sell unlisted products. Deceptive Claims - When selecting a charging station, if you are unsure about the NRTL certification status of a product, reach out to the product supplier and ask them to provide confirmation that the product you are interested in is NRTL (UL or ETL) certified. Non-Grounded Plugs - If you are purchasing a plug-in charging station, NEVER buy a station with a NEMA 10-30 or 10-50 plug. The NEMA 10-30 and NEMA 10-50 style outlets do not have an earth ground connection. There is NO possibility that a charging station delivered with one of these plugs is properly NRTL safety certified. One of the key safety functions of a charging station is providing an earth ground connection to the vehicle. This assures the vehicle body is safely grounded during charging. For more information: www.ClipperCreek.com/Safety

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Building A Better Grid

New technologies may hold the key to helping communities bounce back from natural disasters. By Patricia Miller

(Left) A magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Alaska destroyed roads and infrastructure throughout the state. Shockingly, officials had major roadways repaired in less than a week thanks to training and preparation. (Right) Adam Duran, program manager at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, works with Shell’s GameChanger Accelerator program developing the next generation of power grid technology.

At 8:30 AM on a Friday, when many people were starting their morning commute, the ground in Anchorage, Alaska began to quake. The single road leading into the state’s largest city twisted and churned into crumpled piles of asphalt.

it’s a byproduct of planning and ensuring the right technologies are in place before they are needed. It’s also something the U.S. is largely under-prioritizing. The chaos after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico is a stark reminder of what a lack of resilience looks like.

In all, eight major roadways in Anchorage were damaged or destroyed. Five short days later, all eight had reopened. How was one of the United States’ most remote cities, deep in the throes of winter, able to repair so much so quickly?

Puerto Rico faced a complete loss of their infrastructure, from power to communication. If the island had reliable energy generation and storage capabilities, perhaps some of the 2,795 people who perished would have survived.

Simply put, they were prepared. Alaskan officials had a plan in place, they had the proper equipment and machinery on hand, and they had a specific set of operations to follow in the event of an earthquake. Their preparation made them resilient and able to recover more quickly from the unpredictability of nature’s wrath.

Fostering Resilience

Resilience isn’t something that just happens,

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

The Rise of Resilient Tech

Advancements in energy storage could change the outlook for disaster recovery on a global scale. Renewable energies are now costcompetitive with traditional power generation methods, but the challenge is how to store that power effectively when the sun’s not shining or the wind isn’t blowing, and how to make that power accessible for the people who need it.

The energy grid is one of the most vulnerable components of American infrastructure. Often, loss of power can easily equate to a loss of life. Just ask Zaida Maldonado, whose son relies on a ventilator to breathe.

To mitigate the effects of natural disasters like Hurricane Maria, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is working to develop new methods of power storage. These technologies could help build a stronger, more resilient energy grid and contribute to the development of more microgrids.

In the days following Hurricane Maria, Maldonado and her family scrambled from hospital to hospital in search of reliable power. According to an NPR report, one week after Maria made landfall, only 11 out of 69 hospitals had electricity or fuel for their generators.

Adam Duran, program manager at NREL, explains: “Microgrids take a lot of different forms and scales. They are often a localized group of electric sources and loads. So on the smallest scale, your house could be its own microgrid. All of the appliances in your house

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The Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL is an incubator program working to solve renewable energy challenges, particularly those centered around battery storage options. Experts at NREL assist the startups with expertise, financing, and networking to help them bring their products to market.

would be the load, then let’s say you have a solar array on your roof that generates your electricity. If you keep that contained, that is its own house microgrid.” In Maldonado’s case, a microgrid would have allowed her to generate enough energy to operate her home and advanced energy storage solutions would have enabled her to do so indefinitely. In an emergency situation, that capability could be the deciding factor in whether her son takes his next breath.

Energy Storage Solutions

To address these life-threatening issues, NREL partnered with energy company Shell to establish the Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL, or GCxN. The program works to solve renewable energy challenges and is currently focused on creating battery storage options to enhance grid resiliency. Duran explained how the technology may impact energy infrastructure: “When we think about the utility grid of the future, we’re looking at multi-source generation. Whether it be conventional energy production with the carbon sources we have, we’ll have that integrated with renewable generation. Then we’ll have a really flexible, smart way to do that distribution and transmission through the line.”

He continued, “We used to work our way down from regional generation. The viewpoint now is to start thinking about it from the individual household and working our way up, then using that as a means of coordinating the grid and all the demand and generation that goes with that.” One company participating in the GCxN program is Electric Grid Monitoring (EGM), which uses sensors throughout the grid in tandem with wireless networks to communicate with utilities operators. Technicians can then respond faster to outages or problems and send resources where they’re most needed. In the case of Puerto Rico’s outages, the system would have been able to communicate which hospitals had power so government agencies could route patients more effectively. Other companies working within the GCxN program are exploring concepts like solid/liquid zinc energy storage and thermal energy storage to create longer lasting batteries that are cheaper and more efficient than existing options. The ability to store power from a sunny day and use it on a cloudy day could be pivotal to maintaining grid operation.

Mastering the Microgrid

Duran elaborated, “These new technologies

are helping provide resilience, especially when we start talking about the broader topic of microgrids and how we can start – whether it be at the household level, the neighborhood level, or this broader grid-specific level – helping to provide opportunities for backup storage power sources. Being able to store that energy when it’s inexpensive or when the grid is operating at full capacity and then being able to draw off of it when it’s expensive energy or when we lose access due to natural disasters is one of the big benefits.” As extreme environmental disasters become more common, microgrids could eliminate power failures. Heat waves, brown outs, floods, earthquakes, and forest fires would no longer threaten a region’s ability to provide power to its citizens. In a future where every home or neighborhood generates and stores its own power, the fear of power outages could become a distant memory. Families like those of Zaria Maldonado could rest easier at night, knowing their power is renewable, sustainable, and reliable. Man-made machines may be the cause of increasing climate instability, but technological innovation may also be the defining factor in whether we succumb, survive, or thrive in the years ahead. ■ SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Taking a Closer Look at Electric Vehicles Produced in partnership with

It’s no secret that electric vehicles have a number of environmental benefits; however, it’s important that we take a critical look at this technology, rather than blindly follow it as our environmental savior. By Alex Moersen

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“We will not stop until every car on the road is electric.” – Elon Musk This quote, credited to what many consider the Father of the Electric Car Craze, paints a picture for an electric future. While it may be some time before every car on the road is electric, there is a definite trend in that direction. According to Statista, over 1.93 million electric vehicles were in use, worldwide, in 2017, up from 1.18 million in 2016. Produced in partnership with

While Elon Musk may have pioneered the trend, his feelings about electric cars aren’t completely unique. Carlos Ghosn, former CEO of Renault-Nissan, was once quoted, “The time is right for electric cars – in fact, the time is critical.” The excitement around electric cars makes sense. Electric vehicles (EVs) are much more eco-friendly than their gas-guzzling counterparts. A focus on EVs reduces our dependence on fossil fuels. EVs are also being made more affordable as more and more companies are producing them. In fact, a number of mainstream automobile manufacturers have pledged to go full electric. In 2017, Volvo pledged that all of their vehicles produced after 2019 would be electric or hybrid. That same year, Jaguar made the same pledge starting after 2020. Big rig trucks are also moving in the direction of electric. Even Harley Davidson has been developing an electric motorcycle. However, with any popular technology, it’s important to take a critical look. Electric vehicles have become popular for their low emissions, but how low is their environmental

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

(Top) Illustration showing battery pack re-use system. (Bottom) Re-used Toyota Camry Hybrid battery packs store energy generated by solar panels in an innovative distributed energy system now online at the Lamar Buffalo Ranch field campus in Yellowstone National Park. Photos Toyota USA

impact, really? Emissions is just one part of the equation. In the case of EVs, two main issues to consider are a concept called “well-to-wheel” emissions and the end-life of EV batteries.

Well-to-Wheel Emissions Well-to-wheel emissions is an overarching term which includes the greenhouse gases and air pollutants that are emitted to produce the energy being used to power an EV. While EVs don’t run on gasoline, the energy they run on has to come from somewhere. Vehicle emissions can be divided into two general categories: air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs). In the case of conventional vehicles with an internal combustion engine, pollutants and GHGs are emitted directly through the tailpipe, as well as

through evaporation from the vehicle’s fuel system and during the fueling process. On the other hand, what is so intriguing about EVs is that they produce zero tailpipe emissions, significantly lowering their direct emissions. This is where well-to-wheel emissions come in, including all pollutants and GHGs related to fuel production, processing, distribution, and use. For gasoline, this involves the extraction, refinement, distribution, and use of petroleum. On the other hand, most electric power plants produce emissions, too, and those emissions should be taken into account when considering the environmental impact of EVs. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, fully electric vehicles emit an average of 4,450 pounds of CO2 each year. For comparison,

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Taking a Deeper Look at Electric Vehicles

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(Left) Audi tests factory vehicles powered by used lithium-ion batteries from electric cars. After the batteries have been taken back, they can continue to be used sensibly and sustainably. Photos Audi

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conventional cars emit over twice as much annually. While EVs do produce fewer emissions, it is important to remember that this isn’t a perfect technology. People should not blindly assume that EVs are a no-emission super-technology. In order to truly be carbon neutral, EVs would need to get their energy from renewable energy resources. This means utilizing solar-powered charging stations or connecting your home to a local wind farm or installing solar panels on your home. Where your energy comes from affects the emission impact of your EV. Currently, across the U.S., 35.24 percent of energy comes from natural gas and 27.52 percent comes from coal. Alternatively, only 6.86 percent, 6.6 percent, and 1.6 percent of energy comes from hydro, wind, and solar power respectively, meaning that EVs are only as sustainable as their energy source.

End of Life There is one key question that has loomed over the EV industry since its inception: what to do with the lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) when they wear out. If unfamiliar with the concept of a lithium-ion battery, look no further than the smartphone in your pocket. A LIB is a type of rechargeable battery often used for portable electronics, and also used in EVs. While these batteries are rechargeable, they do

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

not last forever, and eventually their ability to hold a charge will deplete. What happens after that is a bit complicated. The Guardian reported that in the EU, as few as five percent of lithiumion batteries are recycled. Not only do these batteries carry a risk of giving off toxic gases if damaged, but core ingredients such as lithium and cobalt are finite and extraction can lead to water pollution and depletion. (However, it should be acknowledged that at least part of the reason for the low recycle rate of LIBs is that many old electronics get stowed away in the bottom of drawers.) Because of this low recycling rate, certain regulations are being established to motivate EV manufacturers to take more responsibility for their product’s end-of-life processes. In the EU, the makers of batteries are required to finance the costs of collecting, treating, and recycling all collected batteries. This has even led to certain partnerships between manufacturers and recycling companies. Umicore, a battery recycling giant in Europe, has deals with both Tesla and Toyota to recycle their batteries. Unfortunately, the problem doesn’t end there. While commercial smelting processes can easily recover many metals, like cobalt and nickel, they can’t recover lithium – that costs extra. In June 2017, Morgan Stanley forecasted no recycling of lithium in the decade ahead, and that there risked being insufficient recycling

infrastructure in place when the current wave of batteries die. “There’s a difference between being able to do something and it making economic sense,” explained Jessica Alsford, head of Morgan Stanley’s global sustainable research team. It would seem that the finances and infrastructure just aren’t quite there for full recycling capabilities, at least not yet. In the meantime, the answer could be reusing. Nissan, for instance, partnered with power management firm Eaton to have its car batteries reused for home energy storage. Aceleron, which was recognized by Forbes as one of the 30 most exciting tech startups in Europe in 2017, also believes in the reusability of these batteries. According to the startup, car batteries can still have up to 70 percent of their capacity when they stop being good enough to power electric vehicles, which makes them perfect for functions such as home energy storage. Aceleron has a patented process for breaking down, testing, and repackaging the batteries for home use. It’s a reminder that technology needs to be viewed through a critical lense. While EVs, and those who develop them, have helped curb emissions, it’s important to acknowledge the weaknesses of this new technology. It is only by this constant scrutinization that we’ll be able to achieve a more sustainable future. ■

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Trees, Tech, and Climate Change Produced in partnership with

An inside look at the technologies protecting our nation’s forests.

By Patricia Miller It could be turtles at risk, or frogs, or different species that need special consideration.” Produced in partnership with

She continued, “We now can take water from the pool and have DNA testing to say, ‘From this vernal pool there are all sorts of species in there. So, let’s not harvest in that area. Let’s go over here, where there isn’t that type of impact.’ The technology is just so cool in terms of how we can manage things now.”

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From paper goods to lumber and wildlife habitat to recreation, our forests provide value in countless ways. However, forest management is a complex science. It requires advanced technology, collaboration, and an eye toward sustainability. Forest management has advanced rapidly since the days of lumber mills and surveyors. The sector is exploding with technological advancements that are improving data collection, enhancing efficiency, and helping to maintain the delicate forest ecosystems on which we rely. One technology being implemented throughout the forestry industry is LIDAR, a remote sensing method which uses light to measure distances. Forest management services can now use LIDAR to map forest canopy surfaces, tree structures, and underlying forest topography.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

Kathy Abusow, president and CEO of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, shared her insights on the technology’s applications: “LIDAR helps people see how things are being managed, which is really important so they see this emerging transparency in the supply chain. The technology is increasingly being used to help us understand biodiversity needs as well, because you can’t send people everywhere all the time. LIDAR is just an amazing tool for a forest manager and planner.” The forestry sector is also using DNA testing to chart biodiversity within forest ecosystems. For example, DNA sampling from vernal pools tells researchers how many species exist in a certain location and helps them make better decisions for the health of the forest. Abusow explains, “We have to understand where we can harvest trees because some of these vernal pools are really rich in biodiversity.

Drones are also playing an active part in forest maintenance as unmanned aerial surveillance systems (UAS) become more affordable and accessible. Chief of the USDA Forest Service Vicki Christiansen spoke about the life-saving value of UAS: “In our wildland fire response, having good data about the active fires… is really important. Putting people in harm’s way to gather that intelligence is not something we want to expose people to. So, using UAS is escalating our abilities in wildland fire response and in many other natural resource applications.” Vegetation management is another area benefiting from innovation. Christiansen explains, “We need to thin these forests through timber and hazardous fuel sales. Now, we can put up virtual boundaries.” She continued, “We can write the prescriptions [for thinnings] electronically on handheld devices… we can do that all digitally and we don’t have to mark with paint.” Between digital thinning prescriptions, UAS fire intelligence, DNA sampling, and LIDAR, the forest sector is embracing advanced technologies with open arms. But forest management requires more than managing trees, it requires managing people. Coordinating 25,000 full-time employees and 10,000 seasonal hires is no simple feat. Christiansen knows firsthand the challenges of effective communication among so many

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(Opposite page) Kathy Abusow, president and CEO of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. (Top Left) Several female leaders gathered to speak at the Sustainable Forestry Initiative in Denver, Colorado to share their strategies for bringing more diversity into the forestry sector. (Top Right) Chief of the USDA Forest Service Vicki Christiansen (Bottom) The USDA Forest Service, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and Project Learning Tree host various training programs throughout the year to educate children and adults about the importance of sustainable forest management.

workers. “It is a challenge to stay real-time coordinated and communicate… We’ve come a long way since the start of the Forest Service when we had to string telephone lines to just have one conversation, maybe once a week. Now, we take full use of our technology.”

multiple stressors… extended drought, a changing climate, and much longer fire seasons. Our scientists have studied this and we have at least a 78-day increase in fire seasons than we did just 15 years ago. We need to really look at our climate adaptation,” noted Christiansen.

In the United States, there are over 766 million acres of national-, private-, state-, and tribalowned forest lands. Managing employees to maintain and oversee that much acreage requires significant coordination. Christiansen said of the challenge: “We are a networked organization. We can’t operate just as one unit at a time, so it’s a real priority of mine, and at the Forest Service that we stay connected internally… It’s only together that we can leverage what is the conservation challenge of our time.”

The sector is working thoughtfully to mitigate the impacts of environmental stressors. Christiansen remarked on the Forest Service’s approach to climate adaptation: “We think about resiliency and how we can be adaptable… There’s really good science that indicates this risk, so we’re trying to anticipate ahead of time what treatments, even what kind of species we plant, that will help us maintain these forests.”

At the core of forest management is conservation, a word which has taken on new significance in the era of climate change. “The forest sector as a whole needs to look at the health and resilience of our forests. We have

The Forest Service has instituted several programs to bring more money and fresh ideas into the sector. Their Wood Innovations Grants funding program, for example, encourages the creation and adoption of new technologies to reduce management costs, promote economic health, and improve forest health while

supporting long-term management of National Forest systems. Another program, Project Learning Tree, aims to raise awareness among children of the importance of forest conservation and management. Abusow spoke about the program during our recent interview: “Project Learning Tree (PLT) is a program we are very proud of and want to grow. Anyone interested in supporting PLT can donate to our website, PLT. org. We will take all the support we can get to help grow the next generation of future forest and conservation leaders.” Ultimately, the mission of the U.S. Forest Service is one that every person should support. Its goal is to maintain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands for the benefit of current and future generations. It’s a message of conservation, and surprisingly, one that will require everevolving technological innovation to ensure its success. ■ SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Coding for Inclusivity 11-Year-Old Speaker, Coder, and Advocate Anna Miller on Why Coding is for Everybody By Anthony Elio

Anna Miller’s story is one of inspiration, adversity, and hope. An orphan originally from Russia, Miller was adopted at the age of three, ending up in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, with her new family. Born with the genetic bone disorder Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Miller has made it her mission to show the world that no matter who you are coding is for you. Her enthusiasm for technology has resulted in a number of speaking opportunities, with Miller aspiring to someday create a coding camp specifically for young girls and an app to assist the lives of individuals with disabilities. Miller’s advocacy, story, and speaking prowess are being recognized, as seen with her

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

appearance at WE Day, the largest youth empowerment event in the world, alongside host Neil Patrick Harris and celebrity speakers such as Mahershala Ali and Bill Nye. In this exclusive interview, Miller reveals what got her interested in technology, the main message she wants to convey, and what she envisions for her ambitious future. Innovation & Tech Today: What originally piqued your interest in technology? Anna Miller: I went to a tech program at Digital Harbor Foundation. One of my teachers there, she introduced me to one coding program in particular called Scratch. And ever since I’ve been doing that, I’ve really just felt like this is

something that I could do. This is something that I was going to be good at, that would break down barriers for me. I&T Today: Why do you believe technology as a whole, especially when it comes to coding, is so important for this generation? AM: Well, we live in a world where a lot of people overlook people like me, overlook girls or people with disabilities. So really, I think that coding is for everyone. Everyone can do it no matter who you are or what you decide to be in the future. And I think that it’s really good because it’s something that you don’t have to be good at, and you can prove to people that if you can do this, then you can do anything.

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“ We live in a world where people say no, and I want to live in a world where people say yes. So, if they say no to you, you say yes.”

A major part of Anna Miller’s advocacy is her speaking engagements at various events. One of the most exciting examples is her appearance at the upcoming WE Day, a televised celebration highlighting positive social change, airing August 9, 2019, on ABC at 8PM EST.

I&T Today: One of your aspirations is to create a camp for girls to learn to code. Can you tell me a little bit about that? AM: I want to teach girls about what really opened the doors for me, and I want them to really experience what coding is like. So I want to make something that really gets girls together and we can just share ideas and code whatever they like and set goals and challenges that they can overcome and just really work together and see how much coding can make a difference.

app where it’s easy to get to the building and where it’s easy to find that accessible entrance. Even in the bathroom, some stalls might be hard to get into, and I want to make sure that they know which stall is the best for them. My overall plan is to try to build the app and just make sure that people can find the accessible route and learn more about the app, about how to make it and learn the coding programs to try to help out with it and collect the data. And in time, users can add their own experience.

I&T Today: And you’re planning on developing an app as well?

I&T Today: What do you think is the main message that you really want to get across while speaking at events such as WE Day?

AM: So usually when I go somewhere, I sometimes have trouble getting into a building because it might be hard for me to find the accessible entrance. I don’t want that to be a problem for other people. So I want to build an

AM: That coding is for everyone, and no matter who you are, or what you want to be, coding will help you with whatever job you have in the future. Boys, girls, and people with disabilities, anybody can code.

If you’re willing to work hard and really learn more about coding, it can be something really fun, and it can change the world. Even if people say your ideas are weird, or something that’s not going to work. Because we live in a world where people say no, and I want to live in a world where people say yes. So, if they say no to you, you say yes. I&T Today: What would you say is the best way for people to learn to code? AM: You can take classes. You can read about coding. You can do all these different coding kits; I’ve had some very good coding kits. You can just learn more about coding in any way, really, that makes you feel comfortable. And really, coding is something that is simple; it’s fun. If you really achieve your goal of learning more, then you can really do something with it. ■ SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

ChargeHubGo+ – The perfect way to combat dwindling battery life, the Chargehub Go+ from Limitless Innovations can power up your devices on the go. With a wireless charging pad and two built-in charging cables compatible with a large number of devices, the Chargehub Go+ works for anybody. $40

R650 Power Base – The most innovative product in the Reverie lineup, with a tilt motor that introduces inversion and lounge positions for pressure relief. The R650 features infinite head and foot adjustability, a night light, plus 3D-Wave massage technology. The Bluetooth-enabled power bed has nine voice-activated commands and the ReverieNightstand app eliminates the need for a remote for everyday functions.

Away Carry-On Suitcase – The ideal suitcase for the casual traveller and frequent flier alike, the Carry-On from Away is designed to fit in most mainstream airline overhead bins. With the ability to charge your devices and an ejectable battery to line up with airline policies, the Carry-On will be your new favorite travel companion. $225

Smart Rope – Adding smart tech to the classic jump rope, the Smart Rope utilizes 23 LEDs and the Smart Gym mobile app to display and track fitness data. Fun and fitness-forward, the Smart Rope is a tech-enhanced way to get you moving. $80

ShockWave Therapy – This high-tech, self-administered healing therapy provides painless, safe, high-quality physiotherapy treatment. It accelerates the body’s healing process to regenerate damaged tissue by stimulating the metabolism and improving blood circulation. The Extracorporeal ShockWave applies strong energy pulses for short periods creating micro-cavitation bubbles that expand and burst. The resulting force penetrates tissues to stimulate connective tissues and bone healing cells, helping the body cure itself. For more information visit

ShockWaveTherapyMD.com or call 1-888-763-4221. 90

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

$1,699/Queen

Snooz White Noise Machine – Between loud neighbors, snoring partners, and buzzing smartphones, everyone needs something to drown out the noise. The Snooz White Noise Machine has an integrated fan, allowing for white noise on the go without the energy consumption of a regular fan. $80

Como Audio Amico – Named after the Italian word for “friend,” the Amico from Como Audio will truly be your best buddy for audio content. Showcasing a teak wood veneer that resists weather, wireless streaming, and multi-room capability, the Amico fills all your audio needs and looks good doing it. $280

Dash Compact Air Fryer – Utilizing specialized AirCrisp technology to cook your food oil-free, the Compact Air Fryer deserves a spot on your kitchen counter. Reducing added fat anywhere from 70 percent to 80 percent, this is the ideal appliance for healthy food that keeps its quality. $70

Sphero Mini – Showing that edutainment can be found in the tiniest packages, the Sphero Mini makes your child’s toybox smarter. App-enabled and perfect for young STEM enthusiasts, the Sphero Mini is ideal for playtime and learning to code alike. $49

Chirps Cricket Protein Powder – While best known for their line of “cricket chips,” Chirps has introduced their protein powder composed of chia seeds, rice, and, most importantly, protein-rich crickets. Sustainable, appetizing, and packed with nutrients, Chirps Cricket Protein Powder is an example of the superfood future of crickets. $40 SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

Toshiba e-STUDIO 5015AC – With A3 color output and incredibly fast 50ppm printing speed, the Toshiba e-STUDIO5015AC is a high-end printer for the modern office. Featuring an easyto-use display similar to a tablet for control and customization, this printer can fill all your office’s needs. Visit

toshiba-business.com to request a quote. Ngomad Eclipse Enhancer – Reducing reflection by 70 percent, increasing outdoor visibility, and protecting your screen, the Eclipse Enhancer will make you forget your old screen protector. Compatible with a wide variety of iPhones, Eclipse allows you to maximize your mobile experience while keeping your phone safe.

$46-52 Quill Wooden Rollerball Pen – Meant to stimulate the creative mind, the Quill Wooden Rollerball Pen lets you write in style. Hewn from reclaimed hardwood and featuring a full-grain leather carrying case, this pen set is the perfect tool for starting your first novel. $130

Turtle Shell 3.0 – A rugged speaker that maintains a sleek appearance, the Turtle Shell 3.0 is the perfect waterproof speaker for your outdoor party. With 20 hours of battery life and the ability to connect to multiple other speakers, the Turtle Shell 3.0 will bring your summer barbecue to life. $100

Otter + Pop – A perfect combination of the protective OtterBox case and a useful PopSocket, the Otter + Pop is a truly all-in-one mobile accessory. Featuring a customizable appearance, the Otter + Pop is ideal for protection and comfort while using your phone. $42-57

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

AURAI II RIO – A water-propelled eye massager utilizing medical grade eco-friendly materials, the Aurai Eye Massager provides a unique, relaxing experience. And, with the ability to switch between warm and cool temperatures with the push of a button, the Aurai Eye Massager allows you to take control of your self-care. $179

GoBone Smart Dog Bone – Designed to be played with all day long, the GoBone is a durable, smart dog toy for your four-legged friend to play with while you’re busy. With app connectivity to turn it into a game device for your dog, the GoBone truly levels up puppy playtime. $200

BOOSTUP Wireless Charging Dock – In a world

Eufy Smart Scale P1 – An accurate smart scale for the whole family, the Eufy Smart Scale P1 allows you to track the health info of 16 different users. Featuring the ability to instantly see 14 different measurements, including everything from BMI to muscle mass, this sleek piece of smart tech deserves a place in your bathroom. $45

with constantly dwindling battery life, the BOOSTUP Wireless Charging Dock will be a welcome addtion to your bedside table, kitchen counter, or desk. Featuring the fastest available wireless charging for the iPhone and Apple Watch, this charging dock is an essential for any Apple fanatic. $160

Tribit XSound Go – Designed to go the extra mile, the portable Tribit XSound Go can keep the music playing for 24 straight hours on a single charge. The best part? You can bring this waterproof speaker anywhere from the beach to the shower without worry. $33

SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

Events

Missing your technology fix between issues of Innovation & Tech Today? We don’t blame you. Luckily, it’s not hard to find a gathering of innovative people in a city near you. Have an event you’d like us to include? Email submit@innotechtoday.com

18 FutureIT

9-11 Knowledge Fest

6-8 Rocky Mountain Audio Festival

18-21 Comic Con International

13-14 ELEV8 Blockchain Cryptocurrency/

10-12 Digital Book World

Dallas, TX

San Diego, CA

Dallas, TX

Denver, CO

ELEV8 Health, New York, NY

16-18 Silicon Valley Comic Con San Jose, CA You can’t be everywhere and we understand that. If you feel like you’re missing out, stay tuned to our website and social channels for premier event coverage.

27-29 Connected Health Summit:

Nashville, TN

23-26 Solar Power International Salt Lake City, UT

23-26 Energy Storage International Salt Lake City, UT

Engaging Consumers San Diego, CA

See the convergence of technology & energy SPI, ESI, and North America Smart Energy Week bring together 19,000 attendees and 700 exhibitors from around the world to discover the latest smart energy solutions and applications.

September 23-26, 2019 Salt Palace Convention Center Salt Lake City, UT

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

LEARN MORE: www.smartenergyweek.com

coming next issue

Fall 2019 What to See at CEDIA The CEDIA Expo is one of the most vital tech events of the year, and the proof is in the pudding with the growth of the $19-billion home tech industry. Taking place in the Colorado Convention Center, the CEDIA Expo features 30,000 members of the industry and 3,700 worldwide companies. Utilizing print and online avenues alike, Innovation & Tech Today will keep you up to date on the major tech announcements while providing interviews with industry leaders throughout the show.

Back to STEM While summer is a time to relax young minds, fall is the season to shake off the cobwebs and get ready for the new school year. Of course, this means that STEM education deserves to be in the conversation more than ever. How important is it to learn coding early on? What role does gaming play in STEM education? These questions and more will be answered in the fall edition of Innovation & Tech Today.

This Fall, Sports Rise The leaves arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the only thing changing during the fall, as it also happens to be a major time for sporting events. With baseball wrapping up, football kicking off, and winter sports on the horizon, most of us have outdoor activities on the mind each autumn. As such, we are featuring perspectives from professional athletes that are changing the game. And, as with every issue, the fall edition will highlight the newest generation of sports tech that will push athletic competition to the next level.

Exploring the IoT

Photo: iStockphoto.com/Maximusnd

Now that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a household name in the tech world, the Internet of Things (IoT) has revolutionized everything from education to entertainment and beyond. Keeping with this theme, our upcoming fall edition will not only highlight the brightest minds in connected technology, but also analyze the trends that look to shape the future of the IoT.

SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

The Lighter Side What I Have Learned About BlockChain By Bridget Callahan

As a modern woman and a comedian, staying aware and in touch with the latest in tech news is very important to me. After all, what if I end up stranded in an abandoned DOJ complex in Georgia while the apocalypse rages outside, and the only way to trade for food and supplies is Bitcoin, but my dumb ass only has whole coins? What if I meet the love of my life, but he can’t love me because I don’t understand the longterm future information strategies of smart cities? Now of course as a highly educated person, I am skeptical of all sources of information until thoroughly vetted. The internet is full of liars who want to sell you a flip phone. Which is why you can believe me when I say my brother Chad definitely knows more than, like, anyone about high tech things like cryptocurrency or Twitch. And according to Chad, blockchain is the biggest security innovation to hit humanity since the invention of the wax seal. But since not all of you are lucky enough to live with an expert like Chad, I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned about this exciting new data security.

Blockchain’s Beginnings Blockchain was invented by a person or a group of persons from Japan, who all met through a mutual love for cats. But soon they discovered they were all really good at coding, and they invented blockchain as a way to transfer fake money around to their friends to buy stuff like digital cats and accessories for digital cats.

How it Works Blockchain is a series of records, all of which are stamped with time and data information every time they change hands. When you add a block to the chain, you have to balance it really carefully, or it will fall off and you won’t be able to access any of your money, even if its millions of dollars and that makes no sense. Because there is no middle man verification needed, like waiting for banks to open, waiting for banks to clear checks, or waiting for banks to actually do their job, blockchain requires way less fake smiling. It also has the added benefit of never reassuring you at any point that what you’re doing is above board or legal. And life is more exciting that way.

Benefits of Blockchain The first and most important function of blockchain is to make it sound like you know what you’re talking about on any given patio during any given work event. The second most important job of blockchain is to keep your money perfectly safe in a digital currency wallet that you could lose complete access to at any time, with no recourse. And thirdly, blockchain has created many mining opportunities all over the world! Especially in places like China that really need to play catch-up when it comes to tech. And someday, blockchain will keep everything we do safe, from paying for porn to paying for more porn to voting.

Come back next week, when Chad teaches me about using dating apps for laundering World of Warcraft credits. ■ Bridget Callahan is a comedian and writer from Fort Collins, CO, who enjoys weird museums, Christmas lights, and fighting off mountain lions while hiking.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2019

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