Month: April 2013

2013 Edison Awards Announced for Innovative Products and Services

The Edison Awards, which celebrate game-changing new products and services from around the world in the spirit of Thomas Edison, announced its 2013 winners Thursday night in Chicago at a ceremony attended by 400 international business leaders and innovators.

“It is important that such excellence in innovation be widely recognized and done so in the spirit of the world’s greatest inventor.”

Innovations honored last night crossed a broad spectrum of industries and applications.  Winning innovations ranged from a unique new barrier to harness tsunamis to a backpack bed with built-in mosquito netting for the homeless.

The winners, which are already successful in the marketplace, were judged by a panel of more than 3,000 peers, including business executives, past winners, academics and leaders in the fields of product development, design, engineering, science and medicine.

From consumer packaged goods to 21st century advances in regenerative medicine, award-winning innovations in this year’s competition will now align themselves with the Edison brand as an acknowledgement that a jury of prestigious judges deemed their inventive solutions worthy of the distinction.

“The awards demonstrate the incredible range and pace of innovation globally and across a wide variety of industries,” said Frank Bonafilia, executive director of the Edison Awards. He added: “It is important that such excellence in innovation be widely recognized and done so in the spirit of the world’s greatest inventor.”

One of the evening’s many highlights was the presentation of the prestigious Edison Achievement Award to Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated.

Sponsors of the 2013 Edison Awards included Nielsen, Discovery Communications; McAndrews Held & Malloy; Science Channel and USA Today.

About the Edison Awards™

The Edison Awards have been recognizing and honoring the best in innovations and innovators since 1987.  They honor game-changing innovations that are at the forefront of new product and service development, marketing and human-centered design, and are one of the highest accolades a company can receive in the name of successful innovation.  For more information about the Edison Awards and more information on the winners, visit www.edisonawards.com.  The Edison Awards is a program conducted by Edison Universe, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to fostering future innovators.

A complete list of 2013 winners follows:

Productivity Tools
Gold — Baxter by Rethink Robotics
Silver — MatrixSelect™ Automated Storage and Fulfillment System by Symbotic LLC
Bronze — Mixed Row Palletizing (MXRP) Gripper by Grenzebach Americas

 

Research and Collaborative Tools
Gold — Prodigy by WiTricity Corp.
Silver — Kingfisher Unmanned Surface Vessel by Clearpath Robotics
Bronze — iPad® Audience Measurement by Nielsen

Safety
Gold — Synthetic Vision on a Head-up Display by Rockwell Collins
Silver — Hermes by Advanced Optical Systems, Inc.
Bronze — Guideline™ Robotic Convoy System by Autonomous Solutions, Inc.
Bronze — APSE™ BioPhotonic Devices by Engeenuity

Smart Systems
Gold — OpenGN: Open Graphic Navigator for Building Monitoring and Control by The Mircom Group
Silver — Detroit® Virtual Technician,™ developed by Zonar
Bronze — Livio Connect by Livio
Finalist — MobileIron

CONSUMER PACKAGED GOODS

Beverage Preparation
Gold — Keurig® Vue® brewer
Silver — Senseo® Sarista by DE Masterblender 1753
Bronze — Verismo™ System by Starbucks

Cleaning Solutions
Gold — Cascades® Antibacterial Paper Towel
Silver — CleanWell Botanical Disinfectant
Bronze — SoapTime®
Finalist — Soft Scrub® 4-in-1 Toilet Care by Henkel

Household
Gold — iRobot Looj® 330 Gutter Cleaning Robot
Silver — Touchscreen DeadboltGYRO™™ by Schlage
Bronze — 4V MAX* Lithium Ion Screwdriver by Black & Decker®
Bronze — Clean Cubes
Personal Care
Gold — Everyday GLO™ Teeth Whitening Maintenance by GLO Science Inc.
Silver — Anew Clinical Pro Line Eraser Treatment by Avon Products, Inc.
Bronze — tn® by Yuhan Kimberly

ELECTRONICS & COMPUTERS

Content Management
Gold — ClickShare by Barco
Silver — KnowledgeVision with KV Track®
Bronze — Neon Thumbnails

Entertainment
Gold — AT&T U-verse Easy Remote App
Silver — Olive ONE Home Music Server
Bronze — Libratone Zipp
Finalist — Logitech UE™ 9000 Wireless Headphones

IT/Computing Solutions
Gold — AGIGARAM® Non-Volatile Memory Module by AgigA Tech, Inc.
Silver — Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ S4 MSM8960 processor
Bronze — Exede® Internet by ViaSat Inc.

ENERGY

Lighting
Gold — Intelligent Lighting System by Digital Lumens
Silver — Light Replicator™ by Telelumen
Bronze — 3M LED advanced light

Power Generation/Utilization
Gold — Wave Glider® by Liquid Robotics
Silver — HYACS (High-Yield Algae Cultivation System)™ by SEE ALGAE Technology GmbH
Bronze — The SOCCKET by Uncharted Play

Transportation
Gold — 787 Dreamliner by The Boeing Company Design Team and TEAGUE
Silver — 336E H hybrid excavator by Caterpillar Inc.
Bronze — GM Landfill-Free Program by General Motors Company

INNOVATIVE SERVICES

Business Optimization
Gold — Square Register™
Silver — DocuSign Ink®
Bronze — Intuit GoPayment by Intuit

Collaboration/Knowledge Management
Gold — Quill™ by Narrative Science
Silver — Business Sphere by Procter & Gamble Global Business Services
Bronze – Mindjet
Finalist — Thomson Reuters Eikon

Environment/Conservation
Gold — ecoATM®
Silver –Water Funds by The Nature Conservancy
Bronze — First e-Stewards Certification by e-Cycle LLC

Health Management
Gold — Mayo Clinic Patient App
Silver — Asthma Connected Care App
Bronze — TraceLink Life Sciences Cloud

Safety/Security
Gold — AIRprint by Advanced Optical Systems, Inc.
Silver — Family Link by OnStar
Bronze — Thermo Scientific TruNarc by Thermo Fisher Scientific

EDISON GREEN AWARD
Gold — Rubber Way® by World Recycling Surfacing Group
Silver — The Hartford Financial Services Group
Bronze — Picklex® 20 and Picklex® by International Chemical Products, Inc.

LIFESTYLE AND SOCIAL IMPACT

Funding Models
Gold — Healthy Heart for All by Medtronic, Inc.
Silver — The Future Vision Plan by The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International
Bronze — WellnessAd & EducationAd by CBS EcoMedia Inc.
Finalist — Carbon Disclosure Project

Personal Wellness
Gold — larklife by lark Technologies
Silver — Dakim® BrainFitness™
Bronze — CellHealth™ Institute
Finalist – ErgoErgo

Productivity Tools
Gold — Martian Watches by Martian Watches
Silver — Time Timer® for iPad

Quality of Life
Gold — Audioeye™ Accessibility Platform
Gold — Tuungane Project by The Nature Conservancy
Silver — Twin Wing Tsunami Barrier by Van der Noort Innovations BV
Bronze — M.I. Dengue® by Ecovec S.A.

Social Impact
Gold — Firefly Newborn Phototherapy by Design that Matters
Silver — Backpack Bed™ Tropical by Swags for Homeless
Bronze — Emergensee™ by Adlens®
Finalist — The John Lennon™ Collection by Adlens®

LIVING, WORKING & LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Collaborative Innovation/Service Delivery
Gold — Energy Advancement Center by Johnson Controls
Silver — KIN Catalyst: Mining Company of the Future by Kellogg Innovation Network
Bronze — InSource Program by Decipher

Learning Support/Behavior Change
Gold — Nature Works Everywhere by The Nature Conservancy
Silver — Trash Cancer™ by Cancer Schmancer®
Silver — Discovery Education Social Studies Techbook™
Bronze — Science Education Solutions by Hands-On Labs

THOMAS A. EDISON MARKETING AWARD

Communication/Campaign
Gold — AdHQ by Integrate
Silver — BeKnown by Monster Worldwide
Bronze — Uninterrupted shoppable video…Falling For You by Target Corporation

Measurement/Management Tools
Gold — Optify® by Optify Connect
Silver — The Behavior Platform by Badgeville
Bronze — Nielsen Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings

MATERIAL SCIENCE

Coatings
Gold — Eco Red Shield™ by Eco Building Products, Inc.
Silver — Blue Lantern Nano Coater by Integrated Surface Technologies
Bronze — invisibleSHIELD EXTREME by ZAGG Inc.

Composites
Gold — Rawlings S100® Pro Comp™ Batting Helmet
Silver — UltraLot Whitetopping® by Rabine Group
Bronze — Spicer® Diamond Series™ Driveshaft by Dana Holding Corporation
Finalist — RPT™ – Reactive Protection Technology by G-Form LLC

Processes
Gold — Advanced Robotic Laser Coating Removal System (ARLCRS) by Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center and Concurrent Technologies Corporation
Silver — The Elevance Biorefinery by Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc.
Bronze — Sustainable production of lithium and other critical materials by Simbol Materials

MEDIA

Connectivity
Gold — ScreenBeam by Actiontec Electronics
Silver – Logitech® TV Cam HD
Bronze — SmartStick™ by FAVI Entertainment

Design
Gold — MakerBot® Replicator® 2 Desktop 3D Printer
Silver – zSpace
Bronze — Netpage

SCIENCE/MEDICAL

Aesthetics
Gold — ARTAS® Robotic System by Restoration Robotics, Inc.
Silver — LAVIV® (azficel-T) by Fibrocell Science, Inc.
Bronze — NEWA by EndyMed Medical Ltd.

Assistive Devices
Gold — Magellan™ Microprocessor Foot Ankle system by Orthocare Innovations
Silver — Freedom® portable driver by SynCardia Systems, Inc.
Bronze — mySentry™ Remote Glucose Monitor by Medtronic Diabetes

Diagnostic/Analytic Systems
Gold — AccuVein AV400
Silver — 3M™ Molecular Detection System
Bronze — Aura™ by Verisante Technology, Inc.
Finalist — Efficient Human Physics & Data Management by Dynamic Athletic Research Institute

Game Changer
Gold — Bioprinters for Regenerative Medicine by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Surgical Aids
Gold — TissuGlu® Surgical Adhesive by Cohera Medical, Inc.®
Silver — LARIAT® Suture Delivery Device by SentreHEART®
Bronze — Relieva® Spin Balloon Sinuplasty™ System by Acclarent, Inc.

STUDENT INNOVATOR
Gold — Non-Toxic by TOXIC by Middle School Students from Sedona Science Academy in Tucson’s First Lego League Robotics Team

TRANSPORTATION
Gold — Delphi Connected Car by Delphi Automotive
Silver — MICHELIN® X-Tweel™ SSL by Michelin North America, Inc.
Bronze — Parker™ by Streetline, Inc.

Contacts

The Dilenschneider Group
Jonathan Dedmon
T. 312-553-0700
C. 312-415-1352
jdedmon@dgi-chicago.com

 

Drawing on its RSS expertise, leading Canadian tech start-up WellRead Inc. has accelerated development and recently launched a web-based platform that aims to simplify how readers can keep up with fast-moving traditional news and their own social media networks.

“Our solution is the next generation for Google Reader users now scrambling for the effective tools they need.  Now is the time to switch,” explains Rob Darling , CEO and founder of WellRead, among this year’s leading tech startups.

“We are like Google Reader plus Google News and Google Alerts for your personalized sources.  We offer the simplicity of an RRS reader enhanced with smarts, collaboration and sharing.  It’s a better way to get news, from traditional channels as well as your social and professional networks, all in one place – more efficiently and with more user control than Google.”

The rise of social media and the Internet has made mountains of information available to everyone, he explains.  “Yet the sheer volume of “news” (traditional and/or social) and the number of places we have to go to get it makes it nearly impossible to stay on top of everything.”

To help you with this, WellRead automatically brings together news from leading sources such as newspapers, magazines and broadcast networks and social content from Twitter, Facebook and other popular sites to identify what’s important to you, so you can read what really matters.

“We do this by looking at the relationships between all of your favourite sources and bring this personalized information together in a way that ensures you never miss what’s important.”

“On a personal level it’s a great tool, as well, in a corporate context, it can keep teams on the same page and feed in relevant news they need to know.  In fact, we are seeing significant interest from companies seeking better information management tools and ways to keep individuals, teams, and entire organizations better informed as well as far more efficient.”

In January, WellRead which is based in the high tech hub of Waterloo, Ontario was among 11 of the most promising companies chosen by the 1,000 member technology association Communitech to join HYPERDRIVE, a $30-million-plus incubator program that provides enhanced mentorship, accelerated development, access to capital and other life cycle services needed by emerging leading-edge technology firms.

To sign up for WellRead, please visit their website at www.wellread.me

To watch an overview video on the simplicity and though WellRead tools, please click here (below).

WellRead.me Overview from WellRead Inc. on Vimeo.

THE NEXT BIG IDEA IN RECYCLING

Out of nearly 50 proposals submitted, we are pleased to announce that nine finalists have been selected to compete in the 2013 Recycling Innovators Forum!

The Recycling Innovators Forum seeks to recognize and reward original and actionable innovations that have the potential to transform the recycling industry.  Though only in its first year, the Forum has long-term goals of fostering invention, originality and measurable improvement in recycling customer experiences, processes, technology and markets.  The nine finalists offer promising and innovative ideas covering a broad range of topics including plastics sortation and processing, new opportunities for recycled glass, multi-family recycling, social-local-mobile technology and more.  Keep reading for a sneak peek of these nine innovative ideas.

Finalists will present will their ideas to a panel of judges and an audience of recycling professionals, venture capitalists and clean-tech investors on August 26th at the Louisville Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky.  The judges, recognized leaders in recycling and market development, will choose three top finalists who will receive honorariums of $20,000 (first place), $5,000 (second place) and $2,000 (third place).  Anyone can attend the Recycling Innovators Forum to learn more about these nine innovations.

To get more information about the Recycling Innovators Forum event on the afternoon of August 26, contact us at info@recyclinginnovators.com

TeTechS Inc. would be participating in the Terahertz Technology rank.

The 2013 Edition of the Branham300 marks the 20^th Anniversary of the listing. The Branham300 is the definitive listing of Canada’s top publicly traded and privately held Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies, as ranked by revenues.

The 2013 Edition of the Branham300 consists of the following major listings:

• Top 250 Canadian ICT Companies
• The Next 50 Canadian ICT Companies
• Top 25 ICT Multinational Companies operating in Canada
• Top 25 Up and Coming ICT Companies

Branham300 has ranked Magnet Forensics Inc. to its 20th annual list of the Next 50 Canadian ICT Companies, as ranked by revenue; and the Top 25 Up-and-Coming ICT Companies – The Top 25 Canadian ICT Up and Comers listing is not based on revenues. Companies are selected based on creativity and innovation whether in a new technology area or optimizing existing technology in an innovative manner.

Take Any Event from Idea to Execution with New Online Event Solution Eventastic

Eventastic, a new online event planning solution announced today takes direct aim at the hundred thousand plus event planners working in North America today, offering these professional party planners a suite of tools that take an event from start to finish, with brand new features never before seen on the online event planning landscape.

Event spending worldwide is close to $500 billion, and 90% of non-profits indicate that events are extremely important to the success of their campaigns, and yet 59% of event planners do not today use social media to promote their events, Eventastic harnesses this for them.

Eventastic, which launches today after nearly a year of beta testing, takes event planning to the next level with such capabilities as:

• Video Invitations: proven to increase open rates for email distribution, Eventastic’s video invitation feature allows event planners to keep the entire event process paper-free and green, while transforming the invitation process into a unique interactive experience for guests.
• Online Ticketing: Using the Eventastic platform, event planners and organizers can handle all ticketing online to drive the best revenue returns.
• Photo Sharing: Using Eventastic’s photo sharing feature, event attendees and party guests can upload and share candid snaps taken with their smartphones and live stream them at the venue.
• Cash Gifting: Gift pooling has never been easier for guests.  Using Eventastic’s cash gifting feature, guests celebrating special events such as birthdays, anniversaries or Mitzva’s can contribute a specific dollar toward a larger group gift with payment processed safely through PayPal.
• Cash Donations: Event organizers planning charity or other fundraising events can collect donations and meet financial goals more easily through Eventastic’s cash donation feature, again processed through PayPal.
• Video thank you’s: At the close of an event, event organizers can tap into the video feature again to send out thank you videos to attendees, and remind them of upcoming events.
• Social Media: Eventastic is completely wired into all popular social media, allowing event organizers to promote events through channels such as Facebook and Twitter.

“Any event planner would agree that staying organized is probably the single most important aspect of planning a successful event and the use of technology can alleviate stress from an organizational standpoint.  Eventastic can help manage any event of any size – from a small family reunion to the largest of charity galas, this platform was designed to meet every events need,” says Eventastic founder, Randy Bird.

Eventastic offers a free sign up and is free to use for all non-cash generating events.  For more information or to register today visit the site at www.eventastic.com

Additional Social Media Links:

Twitter: @EventasticMe
Facebook

New Online Diagnostic Tool Helps Parents Determine if Their Toddler’s Language Development is On Track
Language assessment tool used by speech pathologists around the world now widely accessible – reducing parental anxiety and allowing for earlier intervention

Knowledge in Development, publisher of the language assessment measure, the Language Use Inventory (LUI), announced today the launch of My Child’s Talk, an online portal where concerned parents can quickly find out if their 2- or 3-year-olds’ spoken language is on track.

Approximately 1 in 10 children under the age of 5 are estimated to be at-risk for delays in their language development. Delays in language development can affect a child’s development in many other areas, such as making friends, transitioning to school, and learning to read, or in some cases may an indicator of a more serious developmental problem.

Parents are often the first to be concerned about a language delay. But in seeking help may be told to “wait and see” or be faced with long delays for a first assessment. My Child’s Talk allows parents to take and immediate step towards reducing their uncertainty and worry.

At My Child’s Talk, parents complete the Language Use Inventory, a 20-minute questionnaire backed by over a decade of scientific research by developmental psychologist Dr. Daniela O’Neill, a professor at the University of Waterloo, and used worldwide by speech-language professionals.

Once completed, parents immediately receive a report that tells them precisely where child’s language stands relative to a representative set of boys or girls of the same age in months. So parents can find out how their child’s everyday talk compares to what is typical for his or her age – just like height and weight charts in a doctor’s office. The cost for the service is $20.

“This report is what is unique about My Child’s Talk and makes it different from other places online where parents may find informal checklists or milestones about children’s language that may flag potential problems but can’t provide any more detailed information to parents than this,” says Daniela O’Neill developer of the Language Use Inventory and professor at the University of Waterloo. “Because of the research behind the Language Use Inventory included creating norms from the data collected from thousands of parents, the report to parents on My Child’s Talk provides parents with much more precise information – a percentile score – that tells them where their child’s use of language stands relative to peers of the same age in months.”

Parents can use this information to help them decide what to do next, whether it’s discussing the results with their family doctor, seeking an assessment from a speech-language professional, or making changes at home to foster their child’s talk.

My Child’s Talk points parents to key resources that can help them decide on the next step. There is a lot parents can do and help they can get for their child.

“Awesome resource! Quick, easy, accurate” is how one parent who recently visited My Child’s Talk described it. If parents are worried about their child’s language development, My Child’s Talk can be an informative, quick and inexpensive first step – a scientifically grounded child language check up.

About Daniela O’Neill

Daniela O’Neill is a professor of developmental psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada where she is also the founder and director of the UW Centre for Child Studies. For over 20 years, her research has focused on the interplay between children’s developing understanding of mind and their communicative development. She has authored over 25 journal articles and book chapters and has presented her work at international conferences and workshops for audiences including researchers, early childhood educators, school boards, and speech-language pathologists.

About Knowledge in Development

Knowledge in Development brings the science of children’s communication to professionals and parents. We are the publisher of the Language Use Inventory (LUI), a scientifically validated child language assessment tool used by speech-language professionals worldwide and developed by University of Waterloo professor and company founder Daniela O’Neill. My Child’s Talk now brings the LUI online to help concerned parents take a first step to determine where their 2 or 3-year-old child’s spoken language stands relative to children of the same age.

Social media links

Twitter: @daniela_oneill
Facebook

Contact Information

My Child’s Talk
Daniela K. O’Neill, PhD
daniela@my-childs-talk.com
519-572-1486

“The competition asked app developers and entrepreneurs to demonstrate how the open data available on most vehicles can be used to improve vehicle safety, fuel efficiency and comfort.”

As part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to expand access to data and reduce fuel costs for consumers, the Energy Department today announced the winners of the Apps for Vehicles Challenge. The competition asked app developers and entrepreneurs to demonstrate how the open data available on most vehicles can be used to improve vehicle safety, fuel efficiency and comfort. The Department awarded New York City-based Dash the Judges’ Prize and MyCarma, headquartered in Troy, Michigan, the Popular Choice prize. Green Button Gamer, based in Boston, Massachusetts, won the Safety Innovation award and while Augusta, Georgia-based Fuel Economy Coach received the Fuel Efficiency Innovation award.

“By transforming vehicle data into valuable products and services, these innovators are helping American families and businesses save money and reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy David Danielson. “These products are inspiring examples of how American ingenuity can contribute to a clean and secure U.S. transportation system.”

The Apps for Vehicles Challenge is focused on spurring innovative projects or services to reduce fuel costs and increase safety for consumers by utilizing vehicle-generated information, including data on engine speed, brake position, headlights, and distance traveled. Entries were judged based on their potential to help consumers improve fuel efficiency, creativity and innovation, use of open vehicle data, and consumer accessibility.

The Energy Department announced the competition during the first Energy Datapalooza in October 2012. Nearly 40 entries were submitted for the first phase of the competition, and seven were selected as finalists to advance to the second stage. These finalists also received guidance on their business plans and early stage prototypes from the industry experts, including Google, Connected World Magazine, Greenstart, OSISoft, CleanWeb and SAE International as well as the Departments of Energy and Transportation and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Specialized technical support was provided in the form of sample data creation by Ford Motor Company’s “OpenXC Platform” and Moj.io, a startup company focused on utilizing vehicle data and connecting cars.

The products developed through the Apps for Vehicles Challenge are now available for download, providing consumers with unique solutions that improve vehicle safety, comfort and fuel efficiency. For example, MyCarma offers a personalized fuel economy sticker that is based on the driver instead of a standard test cycle, allowing car buyers to predict fuel consumption based on their unique driving patterns. Additionally, Dash turns any vehicle into a “smart car” by providing real diagnostics and alerts to enable the driver to maximize engine performance, minimize carbon emissions, and save money.

The Apps for Vehicles Challenge supports the Obama Administration’s MyData initiative, which works to increase the growth of private sector services for people to securely access and use their own data, as well as the Energy Department’s EV Everywhere Grand Challenge to make electric vehicles as affordable and convenient to own as today’s gasoline-powered vehicles. For additional information on the Apps for Vehicles Challenge, visit vehicles.challenge.gov.