Robotic jellyfish may never run out of energy

  

(Please take a moment to visit our sponsors.)  

The power comes from heat-producing chemical reactions between oxygen and hydrogen with platinum coated on the surface of the bio-inspired robot, known as RoboJelly. 

The heat is transferred to the artificial muscles in the robot, causing them to contract just as real muscle does in a jellyfish, the Virginia Tech team behind RoboJelly explains in a paper published Wednesday in the journal Smart Materials.

The muscles are little wires called shape memory alloy composites that are built on the inside of the jellyfish-like robot frame. via Future of tech

*** 

Business today is a chess match without rules. Requiring nimble competitiveness in which conventional thinking is discarded. InnoThink Group is provocative. Dynamic. Imaginative and committed to helping our clients out compete for top line growth. To see what we can do for you contact us. Hire Jim Woods To Speak to Your Organization.

(Please take a moment to visit our sponsors.)  

Jim Woods is president and founder of InnoThink Group; a global innovation, growth and hypercompetition consultancy. He is an author and speaker on strategic innovation, education and competitive advantage. To hire Jim to speak to your organization - Call 719- 649- 4118 or email us for availability. Subscribe to our innovation and hypercompetition newsletter?

Cite Green Rewards to Motivate Customers To Be Eco Friendly

(Please take a moment to visit our sponsors.)  

CitéGreen is a site that rewards participants with points — redeemable for gifts and discounts — whenever they perform actions that are good for the environment.

There’s nothing like tangible rewards to help motivate consumers to do the right thing, and protecting the environment is no exception. Enter French CitéGreen, a site that rewards participants with points — redeemable for gifts and discounts — whenever they perform actions that are good for the environment.

To begin using CitéGreen, which is now in beta, consumers simply register for free and indicate what types of actions they’d like to have rewarded — carpooling or recycling, for example. Through its partnerships with local communities and relevant agencies, CitéGreen then accounts for each action automatically — for example, a microchip placed in participants’ recycling bins is used to track the volume of materials they recycle each week — and credits a corresponding number of points to users’ accounts. Participants can then compete with each other by comparing the number of points they accumulate. They can also convert those points into rewards in the form of discounts or exclusive gifts offered through Paris-based CitéGreen’s local and national partners. CitéGreen claims that, on average, it gives participants an extra EUR 200 of purchasing power per year.  

There appears to be no end in sight to the gamification trend, whereby everyday chores are converted into tasks with rewards. What other activities could be gamified to encourage otherwise reluctant members of the public? via springwise

(Please take a moment to visit our sponsors.)  

Jim Woods is president and founder of InnoThink Group; a global innovation, growth and hypercompetition consultancy. He is an author and speaker on strategic innovation, education and competitive advantage. To hire Jim to speak to your organization - Call 719- 649- 4118 or email us for availability. Subscribe to our innovation and hypercompetition newsletter.