HP's Open Innovation Strategy: Leveraging Academic Labs
HP Labs seek technology from around the world for next-generation smart printers, optical chips, wireless nano sensors, and more.
Credit: HP
When Rich Friedrich of HP Labs looks into the future, he sees desks used as 3-D displays, printers that automatically tailor a newspaper to a reader’s tastes, faster and more secure cloud computing servers, and wireless nano-sensor networks that monitor the environment. But he also sees that achieving these technologies will require tapping into resources beyond HP’s own intellectual property. It will require an embrace of “open innovation,” the idea that companies should make wider use of ideas and technologies that come from other sources—and allow their own technologies and ideas to be adopted by others. Toward that end, HP’s Innovation Research Program, now in its fourth year, gives grants of $50,000 to $75,000 to university researchers. Each grant can be renewed for up to three years. The company is reviewing proposals for this year’s round of grants. “This is not innovation by doing contract research,” says Friedrich, director of the Open Innovation Office at HP Labs. “This really about bottom-up ideas and inspiration and trying to understand how to apply those.” Existing projects include research at the Technical University of Berlin into improved ways to process search queries in the cloud, work at Imperial College London into building nano rods to make new display devices, and data-mining research at Tsinghua University in China.
HP Labs focuses on eight broad themes, including cloud computing, digital printing, and sustainability. Within those areas, the Innovation Program seeks proposals on 26 topics. For instance, the Sustainable Ecosystems Research group is interested in better methods of handling the energy demands of data centers and applying information technology to a city’s infrastructure. So if a researcher has an idea for a mathematical model that could describe how server farms behave, or ways to use analytics to predict leaks in water pipes, he or she could win a grant. The company would like to develop 3-D video that doesn’t require users to wear special glasses, so it’s looking for new ways to design camera systems and new algorithms to handle the images. Digital printing, obviously, is a big area for HP, so it’s seeking ideas to help computers figure out the meaning of text, photos, and video, then print customized newspapers. Another topic area involves the behavior of inks made of nanometer-sized bits of metal and polymers, which could find applications in pharmaceutical manufacturing as well as printing. The idea, Friedrich explains, is neither to come up with a slightly improved version of an existing product nor to do completely blue-sky research with no obvious practical value. Rather, the office is trying to identify some long-term goals and figure out what it takes to reach them. Along the way, HP researchers and grant recipients have coauthored about 200 journal papers. At least 21 invention disclosures, the first step toward securing a patent, have been filed. HP has all grant winners sign an agreement detailing how they’ll share any intellectual property that comes out of the research. “At some point I do expect some of these to have influence and impact on our products,” Friedrich says. “But we’re really engaged in things that go beyond the product road map.” Of course, some of these projects might hit dead ends. “The goal is for us to push the envelope enough that we uncover the boundaries of what’s possible,” he says. “Some people might consider that a failure. I consider it the edge of knowledge.” One grant recipient, Alan Willner, an electrical engineer at the University of Southern California, has had his grant renewed twice. He’s working on better ways to handle signal processing in optical interconnects on computer chips. These interconnects use multiple wavelengths of light to shunt data between chips at higher speeds than is possible with wires. By using one beam of light to transmit many signals simultaneously, they’ll be able to handle the massive amounts of data involved in cloud computing, while drastically reducing energy consumption at the same time. HP aims to double the performance of such interconnects in 2012 and increase it 20-fold by 2017. Neil Savage (www.neilsavage.com) is a freelance writer based in Lowell, Massachusetts. He has written for IEEE Spectrum, Discover, and Nature Photonics.
Reference Link : http://www.technologyreview.com/business/32260/page2/
Courtesy : Technology Review
White House launches Startup America
The Obama administration on Monday launched a two-pronged Startup America initiative to boost high-growth entrepreneurship in the U.S.
The initiative includes government programs as well as private-sedctor efforts to train, mentor and fund entrepreneurs.
The private-sector efforts will be coordinated by the new Startup America Partnership, chaired by Steve Case, cofounder of AOL and CEO of Revolution LLC. Initial funding for the partnership will come from Case’s foundation and the Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City organization that promotes entrepreneurship. U.S. businesses, led by Intel Capital and IBM, also announced today that they would invest a total of $400 million to help entrepreneurs start and grow their companies.
The partnership will replicate community-based programs that already are helping entrepreneurial companies grow, expand entrepreneurship education programs and increase commercialization of university research.
The Obama administration, meanwhile, announced a series of government programs aimed at boosting entrepreneurship:
• The president proposed permanently eliminating capital gains taxes on long-term investments in small businesses. That break currently is in effect for small business stock that is issued this year.
• Over the next five years, the Small Business Administration will use $1 billion to match investments made by Small Business Investment Companies in clean energy companies, and in companies located in underserved communities, such as inner cities and rural America. The SBA also will match $1 billion in private capital raised by SBICs for early-stage investments, which is aimed at helping high-growth companies that need $1 million to $4 million to cross the infamous “Valley of Death.”
• The Treasury Department plans to simplify the rules for New Market Tax Credits so this $5 billion program will be used for investments in small businesses s well as real estate projects.
• The Commerce Department plans a $12 million i6 Green program that will reward communities with novel strategies to promote the development of clean energy technologies.
• The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will offer entrepreneurs the option of paying a little extra to get fast-track approval of patents, which will help companies seeking venture capital.
• The Department of Energy will team with the SBA to provide funding to four private-sector mentorship programs that will support an additional 100 clean energy startups across the country.
“Entrepreneurs speak to what’s best about America, and in their drive and innovative spirit — in their willingness to take a risk on a bold idea — we can see the future,” President Barack Obama said. “We can see how America will compete and win in the 21st century global economy.”
The U.S. currently leads in “pure, raw innovation,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu, thanks to its unmatched research institutions, national labs and creative entrepreneurs.But, he said, “the U.S. can’t take technology leadership for granted.”
Case said he was pleased that Obama “has made supporting and celebrating entrepreneurs a major priority of his economic strategy.”
“The story of America really is the story of entrepreneurship,” Case said, starting with William Bradford, the Pilgrim leader who took a chance on starting over in a new country.
Entrepreneurship not only enables Americans with an idea and a strong stomach to accomplish great things, it also creates jobs. Startups are responsible for most of the net new job growth in this country, according to the Kauffman Foundation.
More than half of Fortune 500 companies started during a recession or during a bear market, noted Gene Sperling, chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers.
“This is the exact right time to have a Startup America initiative,” he said.
Viira Cabs: Lady chauffeurs for Mumbai
By Alisha Patel 27 January, 2011
Viira is a cab service for women, a female driver bureau, a recruitment agency and a motor training school.
Revathi Roy is a rally car driver turned entrepreneur in a simple cotton sari. Have you ever met a woman like that before?
Roy started Forsche (as in Porsche) in 2007, a cab service for women only, which was borne out of financial necessity. With a husband in a coma and a child at MIT, making ends meet was difficult.
Her new company employed and trained women to be strong drivers at a time when, she says, “No one had ever heard of a commercial driver being a woman.”
Her success in training India’s first female taxi drivers is evident on the streets of Mumbai, the city she calls ‘home.’
Thanks to ideological differences with an ally, Roy recently let go of her brainchild, to start her newest driving (ad)venture — Viira Cabs. The company, officially launched on January 17, was started by Roy and Preeti Sharma Menon, a friend of Roy’s who was looking to do something new.
Viira, meaning courageous woman, is unique in its structure.
Whilst it’s a cab service for women, it’s also a female driver bureau, a recruitment agency and a motor training school.
All drivers, whether part of the regular cab-service or whether hired by customers as personal chauffeurs, go through a training program of which the company ought to be proud.
For Rs 10,000 and over a period of three months, women at Viira’s motor training school undergo 155 hours of driving in addition to classes on road knowledge, traffic signs, martial arts, customer relations, etiquette and grooming!
Once trained, many of these women are recruited by large corporations and hotels. Today, some of them can be seen at the front of a BMW.
How did Roy come up with such a great idea?
“Viira came about because I saw a need,” Roy says. “It was just a normal business.”
When I ask her whether it was a result of high rates of sexual harassment in the city, or perhaps a reaction to cultural sensitivities, she shakes her head vehemently.
The entrepreneurs, however, know that her “normal business” isn’t exactly ordinary. It has empowered hundreds of young women by recognizing that driving is a skill that can given many Mumbai ladies a dignified living — apart from a whole lot of confidence.
“Viira is a very powerful platform for poor, urban women who are now able to earn up to Rs 12,000 a month. I see this every day. My hope now is to go to Tier 2 cities where Indian women are most starved of opportunities,” Roy says.
Do women make good drivers, then?
“It’s a misnomer to say women are bad drivers. Driving really has nothing to do with ones gender. It is a skill. Either you have it or you don’t.”
But Viira’s USP, beyond being all-female, is undoubtedly its service. A quick look at the inside of a Maruti Eco Viira cab and you’ll know precisely what that means.
Every woman has to wear blue jeans and a striped shirt with polished black shoes. In addition, Viira has given its drivers silver nail polish, pink lipstick and a pair of pearl earrings. As they smile for a picture, it is more than apparent that Roy is a veritable, sub-continental Professor Higgins.
But if these gentle-looking creatures are harassed, God help you.
“If drivers find eve teasers they’ve been told to just hammer them. We’ve put pepper spray and batons in every single car. We’ll deal with the cops later,” quips the co-founder.
While Roy thinks there’s a market for this kind of business in many cities, she knows that it is Mumbai’s relative safety that has made her ventures possible.
Her hope is that Viira will increase the mobility of senior citizens and young girls who will feel much safer in the hands of a trained, female driver.
“The attitude of Indian mothers is changing. Now they know their daughters go out and drink. They realize they may as well keep them safe by putting them in the hands of a woman who at all times is playing the role of a mother or a sister. A man can’t be a woman. And just because a woman is sitting at the wheel she doesn’t become a man.”
So what’s next?
Roy and Menon are currently working on an rickshaw project for women. Driven by women and for women only, these autos will be available outside railways stations and will be meant for women to share. So what if a man is accompanying a woman?
“No men allowed at all! No, no, no! We don’t want them!” Roy concludes.
To book a Viira cab call +91 (0) 22 6120 6120 or email info@viiracabs.com; www.viiracabs.com
Read more: Viira Cabs: Lady chauffeurs for Mumbai | CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com/mumbai/life/viira-cabs-women-can-drive-592108?hpt=Sbin##ixzz1CpNIySuH
Reference Link : http://www.cnngo.com/mumbai/life/viira-cabs-women-can-drive-592108?hpt=Sbin#
Courtesy : CNN
Vinay Jaju, Piyush Jaju and Ekta Kothari, Founders, ONergy (Renewable energy venture).
Renewable Energy for Rural India
Rural India conjures up many images, of farmlands, villages and a plethora of problems. Among these problems one stands out more than others, that of energy. . In a country where more than half the populous has a cell phone, basic amenities like energy and electricity are still a distant dream. Most of Rural India spends its nights in darkness and its days without power but all that is changing thanks to Vinay Jaju, Piyush Jaju and Ekta Kothari.
Their venture ONergy is a Renewable energy venture creating energy and keeping the environment safe. They told us more about how they will accomplish all this as well as how the business idea was conceived in an interview with Yourstory.
How is your company ONergy bringing about a change in Rural India?
ONergy is a renewable energy venture, committed to sustainability and equity. We provide complete energy solutions in rural India – from deploying solar LED lights to electrifying off-grid villages and subsequently provide clean cooking solutions.
We partner with Micro Finance organizations/NGO’s etc – to train and empower rural entrepreneurs who provide energy solutions in rural India. We are focused at eradicating the use of kerosene and diesel used for lighting and electrification in rural India and efficient use of biomass for cooking.
We believe energy is the core to India’s development and environment crisis – and to facilitate better health, education, clean water and agriculture – we aim to ONergize 1 million rural lives by providing decentralised renewable energy solutions across India, in the next 5 years.
What is the impact that ONergy will have on the future of rural India?
2/3rd of India does not receive clean energy – mainly residing in rural India and semi-urban areas. We work at replacing the use of fossil fuel – kerosene and diesel – used for lighting and electrification – so we are also looking at providing energy to telecom, food processing & storage etc in rural India.
We aim to “ONergize” 1 million rural lives in the next 5 years.
How does your business model benefit your rural demographic while remaining sustainable for you as a company?
We marry appropriate technology and innovative financing to create Renewable Energy Centres in partnership with MFIs/NGOs and deploy Lighting & Cooking products through a network of rural entrepreneurs, subsequently electrify villages.
We create value for our consumers by providing training and servicing for products and by delivery high quality products/service at affordable prices.
Our Competitive Advantage:
Affordability – Installment payment through MFIs and Banks
Customization – After understanding customer needs and pain points
Complete energy solutions approach
Infrastructure & Network for servicing
Training & Marketing support
How can you grow the business to reach more parts of India?
We setup Renewable energy centres in partnership with NGO’s and MFI’s, we plan to setup 100 REC’s within 5 years – serving over 10,000 villages across India.
Why did you choose to be entrepreneurs that give more than they take?
We chose to be entrepreneurs because we enjoy the freedom to follow our passions and to make a mark with whatever we do.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs who are yet to begin on their business ideas?
Start putting your ideas on the ground – it will grow into something beautiful – don’t just wait for a miracle (read funding) to happen.
What do you think limits the potential of an (Indian) entrepreneur?
Indian Bureaucracy and Indian Govt Offices – Nothing needs to be said of them.
Education – It not only makes one risk-averse, but also weighs you down with debt that take to pay tuition – while offering thick salaries which you don’t want to say no to.
What do you believe you could have done better as an amateur entrepreneur?
Taking too long to start – we spent too much time with too many technologies and ideas – and came back to start with our initial idea.
Has ONergy found recognition for its great work in the rural energy sector?
AEEI – Alliance for Energy Enterprise Innovation (AEEI) is a Consortium of Selco, Grameen Foundation, E+Co. Among the 4 selected across India.
FYSE – Foundation For Youth Social Entrepreneurship guides social enterprises with startup.
Hindustan Times BYCL – A platform to network with other entrepreneurs.
IIT Kanpur Next 50 – A platform to showcase 50 great business ideas.
Ennovent – Selected amongst the top 10 business idea.
What the vision you wish to achieve by 2011?
Provide 5000 solar lighting and electrification kits and electrify 10 villages by 2011.
Vinay Jaju, Piyush Jaju and Ekta Kothari are three entrepreneurs who we believe have the spirit to be able to achieve a great many things. It is not just their entrepreneurial acumen but their consciousness of action that makes them and Onergy stand out… We wish them luck and hope that they will continue to work for the benefit of others.
Reference Link
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827824.800-cellphones-reveal-emerging-disease-outbreaks.html
Courtesy
YourStory.in
"Farming on my rooftop to be self sustainable" says, Jagadish Shri from Bangalore
Mr. Jagadish Shri in Banashankari set up his own terrace garden where he grows organic vegetables like beans and carrots. “Healthy food locally produced without incurring any transportation carbon miles was the primary reason to get started on this journey”, says Shri, who works as a technical manager at Wipro Technologies in Madiwala.In August 2009 he set up his 40 sq ft organic vegetable terrace garden, where he now grows beans, ladiesfinger, carrot, knolkhol (Kohlrabi) and brinjal. He uses these vegetables in his own kitchen.
One of the many interesting aspects of this garden is the use of two different types of containers. Initially, being unable to use the boxes Shri purchased, from the company near Bannerghatta Road, due to their interference with his RWH system, he began with 22 regular earthen pots that he placed in a sunny patch on the terrace.
And then, earlier this year, at a workshop by Dr B N Vishwanath (a pioneer in promoting urban agriculture, who regularly conducts workshops on organic terrace gardening), Shri got further impetus to expand his terrace garden experiment! He learnt to make his own terrace garden containers with deal wood (recycled packing material) and a metal frame, that he now uses on his terrace.
The initial investment he made for the pots, boxes, compost and said was around Rs 5000. Now he spends anywhere between Rs 100-200 every three months.
Shri is next looking to make his garden as self-sustaining as possible and minimise the inputs needed from outside such as soil and fertiliser. He also does not want to increase the water consumption significantly for the garden. He has just started experiementing with growing fruits like guava, pomegranate and sapota.
Two brothers help farmers to pump out ground water from a depth of 50 to 60 feet and save fuel cost in Assam: Rural Innovation Series
Mohammad Mehtar Hussain and his younger brother Mushtaq Ahmad are farmers in the Darrang district of Assam
These entrepreneurial brothers own two acres of land, and produce just enough paddy to feed their families. As cultivating paddy is a water-intensive task, drawing out large amounts of groundwater was difficult due to frequent power cuts. Moreover, the alternative of pumping out water using a diesel set was too expensive and hand-pumping required a lot of effort. This set the brothers thinking, and in 2003 they came up with a solution that was a much cheaper and effective alternative. They invented a simple windmill using bamboo and a tin sheet, and attached it to a hand-pump.
The genesis of their invention is interesting, given the fact that the brothers are educated only up to higher secondary level and have no technical background. While looking around for an answer to their problem, their eyes fell on the movement of a sewing machine.
They observed how the circular motion of the wheel resulted in the up-and-down movement of the needle. This formed a rough impression of how their solution would work. However, the major problem of how they would generate enough energy to make it function still remained.
The solution to this came when one day they were watching kites, and a sudden gust of wind made them soar higher. They concluded that a large wheel, moving by the power of wind, could be attached to the handle of a hand-pump to pump out water continuously. They made their first prototype using bamboo, old tyres, iron, and so on. How the innovation took shape –
The basic model of the windmill consisted of a tower-like structure, made of two parallel bamboo posts. These were connected using an iron shaft, which in turn mounted the blades of the windmill. The wind makes the blades move, thus rotating the shaft. Being connected to the handle of the hand-pump, the rotating motion of the shaft results in the pumping out of water. However, this static model of the windmill has several advantages and disadvantages.
Cost: Rs 6,000 (Static Model) / Rs 40,000 (Improvised Model)
Made of inexpensive, locally available materials, such as bamboo and aluminum sheets, made it much cheaper than traditional windmills. Moreover, the entire unit could be assembled and dismantled in an hour, making it portable. No foundation was required for installation as the bamboo poles could be erected by digging holes in the ground. On the flip side, as the blades were static, they rotate only when facing the direction of the wind. Second, being light in weight, it did not withstand high-velocity wind. Third, there was no brake system in this design—it has to be stopped by inserting a wooden pole between the blades. Fourth, compared to traditional windmills made from sturdy materials, bamboo has a shorter life. This limited its use in all seasons, especially during the rains and the winter.
As the popularity of the windmill slowly spread, another innovator, Karunakanth Nath, whose innovation was already being supported by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) North East, introduced it to the organization. The NIF awarded it a cash prize and a certificate from former President Abdul Kalam. Says Mushtaq “That was the proudest moment of my life.”
The National innovation Foundation supported the innovation through its offshoot Grassroots Innovations Augmentation Network (GIAN) by providing funds. It started working on the defects of the windmill. Several were installed in IIT-Guwahati for technical analysis. At around the same time, GIAN West installed a prototype of the windmill in Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat for salt farming on an experimental basis. India, with an average annual salt production of 157 lakh tonnes, is the third largest salt producer in the world. However, according to GIAN’s estimates, for producing 1,000 tonnes of salt, a salt farmer has to spend approximately Rs 1 lakh, of which nearly Rs 60,000 is spent on fuel for diesel sets for pumping out saline water. According to Mushtaq, “The response that we received was very positive. Our windmill proved to be cheaper as well as effective.” The two brothers have definitely added their names in the Indian rural innovation chapter.
Obama's special envoy hails Super 30
‘Super 30′, which provides free coaching to underprivileged Indian Institute of Technology aspirants, received praise from United States President Barack Obama’s special envoy Rashad Hussain, who termed it the “best” institute in the country.
“Super 30 is the best institute in India and an example of change, a dream which U.S. President Barack Obama harbours in the field of education, irrespective of caste and creed,” Mr. Obama’s special envoy to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference said here.
“In India wherever I have gone, I find it the best thing I have come across.”
After meeting students at the institute, the envoy, accompanied by officials of the U.S. Consulate in Kolkata, said he was overwhelmed by the academic atmosphere on the campus.
The institute, which was recently featured by Time magazine as “the best school in Asia,” has the distinction of all its 30 students making it to the prestigious IITs for the third consecutive year.
“This is a very good beginning. People irrespective of caste and creed are living like members of a community. And back in the U.S., I will discuss the experience of ‘Super 30′ and ‘Samman’ and explore if anything could be done there,” Mr. Hussain, an Indian-American whose father hailed from Bihar, said. Mr. Hussain visited the ‘Samman Foundation,’ which provides healthcare services to rickshaw pullers, their family members and the unorganised migrant labourers, on Saturday.
He assured the students at the institute, founded by mathematician Anand Kumar, that he would convey their invitation to Mr. Obama to visit them during his coming India visit.
The Obama administration was committed to bringing social harmony, just as it was maintained under the roof of ‘Super 30,’ he said.
Mr. Anand Kumar, who himself could not pursue higher studies abroad due to poverty, has been giving full scholarships, including travel and stay, to a select batch of 30 poor students since 2002.
Altogether 212 of the 240 ‘Super 30′ students have cleared one of the country’s toughest exams during the last eight years. Discovery Channel had also made an hour-long documentary on the institute.
Reference Link
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article559325.ece
Courtesy
The Hindu
India unveils Rs 1,500 tablet PC
New Delhi: India unveiled a Rs 1,500 (around $ 30) tablet PC designed specifically for students.
“If more companies decide to manufacture a similar device, prices will come down automatically,” Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said after unveiling the low cost-access-cum computing device here.
The device would be made available to students in 2011.
When the ministry floated the concept of a low cost laptop some years ago, officials said it would cost Rs 500 ($ 10). It will now cost about three times the initial projections.
The ministry expects the prices to drop to Rs 1,000 ($ 20) and reach Rs 500 ($ 10) as innovations are introduced.
The device, no bigger than a conventional laptop, is a single unit system with a touch screen and a built in keyboard along with 2GB RAM, Wi-Fi connectivity, USB port and powered by a 2-watt system to suit poor power supply areas.
“This is real and tangible and we will take it forward. Sun will rise for the Indian students in 2011,” he said.
The ministry also invited private players to produce similar low cost computers.
“When we started the project, the response from the private sector was lukewarm. Now many are willing to join the innovation,” Sibal said.
The ministry started its efforts by holding discussions on this concept with a group of experts at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras and IIT Bombay, a ministry official said.
The low cost tablets will be distributed in institutions by the HRD ministry. The final price will depend on the transportation cost.
“We will give some subsidy on the device. As far as transport is concerned, if the transport cost in less, the government can bear that as well,” Sibal added.
Reference Link
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/india-unveils-rs-1500-tablet-pc/127289-11.html?from=tn
Courtesy
IBNLive.com India
Israel's alternative 'world cup'
The Football 4 Peace tournament brings together children from Arab and Jewish families, most of whom have never met a child from the other community.
During the two weeks of activities, a team of 40 volunteers from the UK and Germany were on hand to support local coaches and the young participants.
The tournament culminated in a final in the northern Israeli town of Nazareth Elite, which has strained relations with its Arab neighbour, Nazareth. Many children had never played with a child from the other community before.
The project was originally developed by the UK’s Brighton University and is supported by the British Council, the Sports University in Cologne and the Israeli Sports Authority.Reference Link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10610622
Courtesy
BBC News
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