Invention Awards

Following these best practice tips will help ensure that the robots you deploy will become a valuable component of your warehouse operations, delivering the needed flexibility, efficiency and productivity. As part of the continuing digitalization of the supply chain, there are a range of technologies available today that are demonstrating their value in warehouse operations. One such technology is robotics , which is enhancing the value of human workers and transforming the way products move throughout the supply chain. Based on early adopter deployments, valuable best practices have emerged to help guide companies that are now considering the technology. Increasing Deployment of Robots in the Warehouse With recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), sensor technologies and 3D visual autonomy, robotics applications in the logistics industry are significantly expanding. Currently, companies across all industries are testing robotic solutions and determining the most promising appl...

  Joel Habener (from left), Svetlana Mojsov and Lotte Bjerre Knudsen have won a 2024 Lasker Award for developing a class of drugs that treats obesity, diabetes and more. Three scientists involved in developing the blockbuster anti-obesity drugs that are currently changing the health-care landscape are among the winners of this year’s prestigious Lasker Awards. The prizes, which honour important advances in medical research, are often considered an indicator of whether a specific advance or scientist will win a Nobel Prize — and some are speculating that this could soon be the case for the weight-loss treatments. Joel Habener, Svetlana Mojsov and Lotte Bjerre Knudsen each contributed to the creation of the popular anti-obesity drugs, which mimic a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), involved in lowering blood-sugar levels and controlling appetite. The trio, recognized with a Lasker in the clinical-research category, will share a US$250,000 prize. Biomedical scientists ...

  Scientists at the University of Southampton have experimentally proven the Zel’dovich effect by amplifying electromagnetic waves using a spinning metal cylinder, confirming a theoretical prediction from the 1970s and opening new avenues in technology and quantum physics.  University of Southampton researchers have confirmed the Zel’dovich effect, where twisted waves are amplified by a rotating object. This finding, previously only demonstrated with sound waves, now applies to electromagnetic waves, with promising implications for quantum physics and energy-efficient technologies. Physicists at the University of Southampton have successfully tested and confirmed a 50-year-old theory for the first time using electromagnetic waves. Their experiments demonstrated that the energy of waves can be amplified by bouncing ‘twisted waves’—waves with angular momentum —off a rotating object under specific conditions. This is known as the ‘Zel’dovich effect’, named after Soviet physicis...

  A glass brick being made with custom 3D printing technology. The technology for 3D printing has come a long way from printing product prototypes from acrylic resin. In recent years, researchers have found ways to use algae as a bioplastic, pea protein to create sustainable plant-based salmon , and even everyday foods like peanut butter and banana to make cheesecake. Even buildings have been made using 3D-printed concrete. Now, researchers have found a way to reuse old glass by 3D printing it into strong, durable and reusable building bricks that could help lower the embodied carbon in buildings. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), manufacturing construction materials makes up about 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, highlighting a need for more sustainable building materials. With advancements in 3D printing, engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are exploring ways to reduce these emissions by developing reusable construct...

Wastewater ponds may seem an unlikely place to look for solutions to New Zealand’s electricity security crisis . But their underutilised surfaces could help tackle two problems at once – high power prices and algal growth. Floating solar panels on wastewater ponds offer a multifaceted answer. They generate renewable energy , improve water quality in the treatment ponds and reduce costs . Leading this approach is the 2020 installation of New Zealand’s first floating solar array at the Rosedale wastewater treatment plant in Auckland. This project demonstrates how New Zealand could double the country’s power supply without requiring additional land . It serves as a test for future deployments on other reservoirs and dams. The project comprises 2,700 solar panels and 4,000 floating pontoons . It covers one hectare of the treatment pond, making excellent use of a marginal land asset in a dense urban environment. The floating solar array generates 1,040 kilowatts of electricity and reduc...

Imagine driving your car while focusing only on the gauges in front of you, your eyes fixed on the speedometer, the odometer, the tachometer , and the other various measures that are omnipresent as you drive. Not only would you be severely distracted from the road but you would also risk becoming fixated with these gauges' measurements, slight changes, and updates. This can be the case with wearable technologies that monitor our bodies, such as fitness trackers, biosensors, smartwatches, bands, and smart health clothing . Though well-intentioned, these forms of technology can lead us to fixation and an unhealthy obsession with our bodily data, serving to defeat their intended purpose, which is to keep us alert to how our bodies are functioning. Much like the driver who fixates on the vehicle’s data output rather than on the road ahead, these devices can lead us down a slippery slope of losing touch with the present moment and can contribute to anxiety about our health. A 2021 art...

There’s so much talk about renewable energy these days that it seems the green future is already here. Nations, businesses, and even everyday consumers seem convinced the world is on track to ditch oil for good. But just then, ExxonMobil, the world’s top publicly traded oil company, throws a curveball. They predict that even if every new car sold by 2035 were electric , the world would still be chugging on 85 million barrels of oil per day by 2050 - the same as in 2010. Yep, you read that right! And Exxon isn’t alone. Even BP, known for all its green ambitions, expects oil demand to peak by 2025 but still expects 75 million barrels per day by mid-century. So why isn’t oil going anywhere anytime soon? Especially when more electric vehicles (EVs) hit the roads every day. Let’s break it down. Sure, EVs are taking over. India wants 30% of its vehicles to be electric by 2030, and other countries like Norway are already there, with 80% of new car sales being EVs last year. But the kicker...