Activeion Spray Bottle

Being Earth Day and all, I thought it might be a good idea to talk about an emerging technology that is earth-friendly. The Activeion spray bottle takes everyday tap water and transforms it into ionized water that is germ-destroying. Unlike normal cleaning sprays, the Activeion spray bottle does not emit harmful chemicals into the atmosphere, that can destroy the ozone. These everyday cleaners are also often bad to inhale. Ionized water has been used in restaurants and hotels for years, but has never been available commerically. I think the Activeion spray bottle could revolutionize the way we clean. It could replace all cleaning chemicals that we spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on a year. This product could replace brands that we have known for years, such as Windex or Comet. I wonder what other forms of ionized water could be developed. I know that personally, as a person with allergies, cleaning agents often bother me. Using a product, such as the Activeion spray bottle could completely change the way I clean. http://www.gizmag.com/activeion-ionator-water-as-disinfectant/14865/

Car2go

This week's blog is not so much about an emerging technology, but more of an emerging program. The Car2go is a program that was tested in Austin, Texas. It is pretty much a fleet of cars are placed throughout the city and available for immediate rent from Car2go members. A member can go outside, find a Car2go parked in public parking, swipe their card in the scanner placed on the rear of the car, and then hop in and drive away. The driver can then park the car in either a public parking spot or a designated Car2go spot and go on with their life. The car is then available for another Car2go member. The trial went very well in Austin and the full program will be implemented in the near future. When I first read about this program, I can think of several possible problems with the program. However, the trial went well and the program is developed to be like one in Germany that has been very successful. This really promotes the idea of sharing a car and cooperating with other community members. It could potentially cut down on the number of cars on the road, help with traffic, and just be convenient for busy people. It would be so convenient to be able to just find a car on the street, hop in it, drive it, and not have to worry about gas, maintenance, and paying for parking. I can only imagine what other similar programs will be developed and implemented in larger cities in the near future.http://www.car2go.com/

Smartphones saving lives?

Today, I read on gizmag.com about a new technology that would be embedded into a smartphone and could possibly detect toxic chemicals. This technology is being developed by America's Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate. The article says that the chip would cost less than a dollar and could detect toxic chemicals in its' direct vicinity. It would then alert its user to the chemical. It absolutely amazes me how we are becoming more and more reliant on our mobile devices. It is hard for me to even grasp the idea that all of this technology has emerged over the past decade. When I was little we did not even have cell phones for everyday use and now they may be able to save your life by detecting a toxic chemical. My first thought of this was carbon monoxide poisoning. While growing up, my friend's family barely escaped their house when there was a carbon monoxide leak. Due to the gas being odorless, families must rely on detectors to warn them. Although their detector was faulty, they luckily heard the hiss of the leak and contacted the fire department. Now, just by having my Blackberry sitting in my home could alert me to an emergency that I was unaware of. I cannot even imagine what other kinds of smartphone detectors this could open the door for. http://www.gizmag.com/homeland-security-cell-all-initiative/14773/

Fully-Compostable Chip Bag

Yesteryday, SunChips introduced the world's first fully-compostable chip bag. The bag will completely compose in just 14 weeks. It took SunChips four years to develop this bag. I think that SunChips is a great company with a lot of corporate responsibility. First of all, they use solar energy to help produce their product. I think this is something that other companies should be looking into. I also think it is something that SunChips should advertise more. I do not think that people realize this is why they are called SunChips. Now, they have come up with this compostable chip bag. I am curious as to how long it will take for this bag to be seen on the market. I think it may increase the price consumers are willing to pay for their product. Knowing that the product you are buying does not hurt the environment is definitely a plus. http://www.sunchips.com/healthier_planet.shtml

Augmented Reality Windshield

GM and Carnegie Mellon have collaborated over the past 10 years and are finally making a breakthrough with the Augemented Reality Windshield. The windshield is a whole new kind of heads up display. My grandpa has a heads up display in his Grand Prix that I absolutely love. While driving, you can see your speed and any other vital information that is normally displayed in the dash. This new windshield would do things such as highlight landmarks, obstacles and road signs. The goal is to improve safety and navigation. I could see this working very well with built-in GPS. My only concern for this technology would be whether or not it would be distracting. The first time I drove my grandpa's car, I was definitely distracted by the small display. I cannot even imagine the whole windshield being a display and things lighting up. I feel that this technology would take all kinds of sensors in the car and would be very expensive. However, it could warn you when you were breaking traffic laws and of oncoming dangers. It should be interesting to see how this technology takes off. http://www.sunchips.com/healthier_planet.shtml

Skinput

This past week I gave a presentation on Skinput. This new technology allows your body to be turned into a touchscreen interface. Skinput uses an armband to project a display screen and it tracks the vibrations in your arm. It was developed by Microsoft and researchers at Carnegie Mellon University. The Skinput uses a series of sensors to track where a user taps on his or her arm. They are hoping for the next generation of Skinput to be a wristwatch, however neither the armband nor the wristwatch are currently consumer products. This technology is just now being developed. I find this technology to be very interesting because it may give us the opportunity to sync all of our electronic devices into a touchscreen on our arm. One researcher even played Guitar Hero using the armband and playing on his arm. The only potential problem I could see with Skinput is with the combining of all of a person's electronic devices into one armband, it would be very easy to steal a person's identity by stealing their armband or wristwatch. Besides this concern, I could see this being very useful and prominent in the future. http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/04/19/microsoft.skinput/index.html

The Baby Emotion Detector

Every baby has several different cries. After time and practice, a mother can usually tell what kind of cry a baby is producing and what exactly the baby wants or needs. Yet, this takes time and can often be frustrating for new mothers. While researching online, I found an article for the Baby Emotion Detector. According to gizmag.com, "Japanese scientists claim they have developed a statistical computer that can analyze the differences in a baby's cries. So, future baby monitors could be capable of alerting parents that their child is tired, hungry, needs a diaper change, or is in pain." I find this absolutely amazing. I feel that this would allow for healthier, happier babies. It is like a device that allows babies to communicate with their parents. I feel that this could greatly improve healthcare of children. I know that my parents have told me stories of me being an infant and I was sick and they did not know it. It is amazing to think that a device could decipher all of this for new parents. Can you imagine a world without crying, screaming children at restaurants? For some reason, this possible emerging technology reminds me of Nano Pets, the toys we played with as children. The small devices that told you if your digital pet was hungry or tired and what you needed to do for it. http://www.gizmag.com/baby-emotion-detector/14326/

Computerized Refrigeration

A couple of years ago Frigidaire released their idea of a refrigerator that had a touchscreen computer on the front of the appliance. They said this computer would be internet ready. I am not sure if any company has released an appliance like this to the consumer market, but I find this innovation very interesting. It could completely change the way grocery stores and consumers communicate. Some ideas developed around this product were very interesting. For example, when I did a little research on the internet about such refrigerators, one person said that it may be possible in the future to scan the barcode of every item you put in your refrigerator. Then when you run out of that product, you tell the computer, which then sends a digital grocery list to the grocery store. Your groceries are then delivered to your home. Can you imagine a world without going to the grocery store?!??! You would also have access to online recipes. Maybe the computer could suggest recipes that it knew you already had all the ingredients that were needed to prepare the dish. Another idea that I thought of was when you were out of a product, the computer could tell you which local store had the lowest price for that particular item. This would possibly eliminate the need for circulars put in newspapers by grocers. I think that this technology could possibly be life-altering. It only makes me wonder what other appliances we could add computers to.

Ipad

One of the most talked about emerging technologies right now is the Ipad by Apple. I find this product to be very interesting. Lots of people have said that it is going to replace the laptop in years to come, but I see it more as another type of laptop. I personally was very hesitant about hte Iphone. I do not have one, but my roommate does. Just the idea of the whole phone functioning as a touchpad makes me nervous. If you crack the screen or hurt it in some way, you have no way to use the phone. This makes me very nervous about the Ipad too. The Huffington Post had an article talking about the 9 worst things about the Ipad. I would like to discuss a couple of them. First, is that there isn't a flash player on the Ipad. So people can not watch videos on the Ipad If it is going to replace laptops, then it needs to be capable of everything that laptops do plus more. The Ipad also doesn't have a camera. This shocks me. I know that my laptop doesn't have a camera, but I could get one if I wanted one. Iphones have cameras. If the Ipad is a larger version of the Iphone plus more it should have all the features of the Iphone. Most importantly, the Ipad cannot run multiple apps at once. I think this is the biggest downside of the product because it does not allow people to be socializing, shopping, working, or doing research all at the same time. I think that laptops have taught people how to multitask and it is very convenient. I do not know how the Ipad can be expected to replace laptops if it does not have all the capabilites of a laptop. http://www.apple.com/ipad/

Introduction

Hello! I am writing this blog for a course at Purdue University, COM 435 Communication and Emerging Technologies. I will be discussing and giving my take on different emerging technologies. I would like to focus on new products and technologies for the home. Occasionally, I will also be reflecting on what we have discussed in class. I find it very interesting how products develop and become a part of our everyday lives.
So far, I find this class to be somewhat challenging. I use the technologies that we have discussed thus far in class, but I never really knew how they worked. I feel as though I am expected to know things for this class that I unfortunately do not know. For example, I use the internet, but I do not really understand how it works. I think this class will be helpful in the long run, but will be a lot of work. I hope that overtime my knowledge of emerging technologies continues to develop and that I become more technologically savvy. There will be more to come soon!