How can a driverless delivery truck that has a cab for a driver be patentable, asks Alain Kornhauser in his latest newsletter. He was referring to Google’s patent application for a self-driving delivery truck. It does make one wonder whether this author should have patented his idea for a driverless laundromat that would provide door-to-door service. To Kornhauser’s point, ideas like the automated Google delivery truck may end up being useful, but are they too obvious and should they be patentable?
Google, one of the larger Silicon Valley employers, is a major contributor to the intellectual property that flows from Silicon Valley firms each year. According to Joint Venture Silicon Valley (JVSV), 13.4% of the U.S. patents issued in 2014 were to people and companies located in the 1,854 square mile area they define as Silicon Valley. This is just one of the many interesting statistics highlighted at yesterday’s Joint Venture Silicon Valley, State of the Valley Conference. Stay tuned for more coverage of this conference which provided insight into one of the world’s most dynamic economies.
The Local Tech Thought Leader
With access to high-speed Internet, ideas and intellectual property are no longer bound by the confines of geography and people can collaborate remotely from anywhere. Nex-Tech shows this to be the case with their advanced network and associated applications in rural Kansas. Still, they see the need for face-to-face communication and came up with a great way to bring their customers and partners together.
Watch here for Nex-Tech CEO/GM Jimmy Todd description of this effort.
Will 4K & Glasses-Free Finally Make 3DTV Ready for Prime Time? #CES2016
A highlight of Super Bowl 50 television coverage was the replay graphics that depicted a 360 degree view of a given play. CNET accurately described the three-dimensional effect as being something out of the movie, the Matrix. If Stream TV’s vision becomes reality, future Super Bowls may feature three-dimensional viewing for the live action as well. It is not too difficult to imagine the availability of glasses-free 3D television at mass-market prices in time for a Super Bowl in the not-too-distant future.
Watch the interview with Stream TV’s CEO.
Welcome Back to the Family Phone #CES2016
A family phone for the 21st century is the promise of the Ily phone introduced at CES 2016. Utilizing WebRTC, Ily bridges the world of the traditional landline phone with tablet and smart phones. Insensi founder and CEO, Ilan Abeheassera, explains that his aim is to make it easy for different generations to communicate, regardless of platform or mode, such as voice, video or even sketches. This device could be a very interesting value-add for rural service providers with customers who want to stay in touch with their grandchildren through two-way video without the complexity of a tablet.
Watch the interview with Ily’s inventor.
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:
- In time for Valentine’s Day – nice back story about love and telecom deregulation – yes, there is a link
- Everything you wanted to know about autonomous cars & legal & regulatory at @bwalkersmith https://newlypossible.org/
- The mobile phone changes everything in transportation. It becomes the SS7 of transportation & enables on-demand & car sharing #SOV2016
- Lastly looking forward to seeing my ACA & NCTC friends at WEC this week.
The Wearable Airbag #CES2016
One of the most unusual wearables at CES 2016 was from a French company Inemotion. Inemotion invented a ski vest that contains an airbag, Packed with sensors, this device detects that a skier is falling and deploys an airbag to soften the impact of a fall; all in less than 100 milliseconds. With a focus on the competitive professional ski market, the sensors also communicate performance data to an app, allowing the skier to hone her skills.
As Valentin Honore alludes to in the above video, the competitive ski market is just the one of what could be multiple applications for this technology, such as protecting a motorcyclist from the impact of an accident or helping prevent injuries to elderly people from falls.
This latter market is a huge opportunity, as the National Council on Aging estimates the cost to the economy of $34B from the 2.5 elderly people who receive emergency room treatment each year; and this number is estimated to grow to $67.7B by 2020. With this kind of market, it is not a leap to imagine, in the not-too-distant future, that someone will invent an air bag wearable designed specifically for aging baby boomers.
Watch the interview with Honore, here.
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