Innovation : All Tech Considered An exploration of interesting ideas that solve problems, introduce new experiences or even change our world.

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Innovation

Thursday January 21, 2016

Dave Rauchwerk is CEO of Next Thing Co., which makes the CHIP computer. Laura Sydell/NPR hide caption

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Laura Sydell/NPR

Innovation

Can A $9 Computer Spark A New Wave Of Tinkering And Innovation?

January 21, 2016 • It fits in your hand, can connect to Wi-Fi and has Bluetooth. The $9 CHIP promises to be a teaching tool that's also fun to play with. It's just one of several low-cost computers hitting the market.

Can A $9 Computer Spark A New Wave Of Tinkering And Innovation?

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Wednesday January 20, 2016

The plastic sheet invented by Stanford University chemical engineer Zhenan Bao and her colleagues can be inserted in lithium-ion batteries to avoid overheating. Zheng Chen/Courtesy of Zhenan Bao hide caption

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Zheng Chen/Courtesy of Zhenan Bao

Innovation

Batteries With A Less Fiery Future

January 20, 2016 • Overheated lithium-ion batteries have been a problem for airplanes, cars and even "hoverboards." A chemical engineer at Stanford University thinks she has a solution to the problem.

Batteries With A Less Fiery Future

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Saturday January 9, 2016

Is Oculus Rift's $600 Price Too High For Virtual Reality To Succeed?

Peijun Guo wears the Oculus Rift VR headset at the Oculus booth at CES International, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Las Vegas John Locher/AP hide caption

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John Locher/AP

Innovation

Is Oculus Rift's $600 Price Too High For Virtual Reality To Succeed?

January 9, 2016 • Virtual reality enthusiasts have been upset at the non-pedestrian price tag of the highly anticipated headset. Creator Palmer Luckey says it's like PalmPilot of the 1990s: not a cheapo, but a bargain.

Thursday January 7, 2016

At CES, New Robots Deliver More Coos Than Utility

BOCCO the robot. Yukai Engineering hide caption

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Yukai Engineering

Innovation

At CES, New Robots Deliver More Coos Than Utility

January 7, 2016 • Robots may be in our future, but the future isn't quite here.

At CES, New Robots Deliver More Coos Than Utility

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Monday January 4, 2016

Using Technology To Keep Carbon Emissions In Check

Steam rises from the stacks of the coal-fired Jim Bridger Power Plant outside Point of the Rocks, Wyo., in March 2014. Jim Urquhart/Reuters/Landov hide caption

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Jim Urquhart/Reuters/Landov

Innovation

Using Technology To Keep Carbon Emissions In Check

January 4, 2016 • Renewable energy is only one of the steps toward achieving the goals set by the Paris climate deal. We take a trip around North America to explore other ways of keeping carbon out of the atmosphere.

Using Technology To Keep Carbon Emissions In Check

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Wednesday December 30, 2015

Is 2016 The Year Virtual Reality Finally Goes Mainstream?

People sample the Oculus-made Samsung Gear VR Virtually Reality headset Sept. 24 in Hollywood, Calif., at the Oculus Connect 2 event. Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Innovation

Is 2016 The Year Virtual Reality Finally Goes Mainstream?

December 30, 2015 • Three different companies are bringing VR headsets to market in 2016, and some content companies have made major investments in the technology.

Is 2016 The Year Virtual Reality Finally Goes Mainstream?

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Thursday December 24, 2015

Machines, Lost In Translation: The Dream Of Universal Understanding

Developing a universal translator means teaching a computer to think like a human. Annette Elizabeth Allen/NPR hide caption

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Annette Elizabeth Allen/NPR

Innovation

Machines, Lost In Translation: The Dream Of Universal Understanding

December 24, 2015 • Will there ever be a universal translator? Scientists have pursued one for decades (and some say we're close) but the challenge is as tremendous as teaching a computer to think like a human.

Thursday December 17, 2015

Grandfather Of VR: The Virtual Can Show The Beauty Of The Real

Dr. Thomas Furness (left) in one of the labs stretched throughout a nondescript house in Seattle that's home to his RATLab. Gil Aegerter/KUOW hide caption

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Gil Aegerter/KUOW

Behavior

Grandfather Of VR: The Virtual Can Show The Beauty Of The Real

KUOW

December 17, 2015 • Tom Furness has been working for decades on what is now known as virtual reality and thinks it has the potential to solve the world's biggest problems. But with new power comes new responsibility.

Sunday December 6, 2015

You Can Give A Robot A Paintbrush, But Does It Create Art?

Pindar Van Arman in his studio with paintings created by his bitPaintr portrait-painting robot. Craig Hudson hide caption

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Craig Hudson

Innovation

You Can Give A Robot A Paintbrush, But Does It Create Art?

December 6, 2015 • Pindar Van Arman is a painter — and a software designer. His latest project? A portrait-painting robot. Its paintings "dance on the edge" between creations by humans and machines, he says.

Friday November 27, 2015

Someday A Helicopter Drone May Fly Over Mars And Help A Rover

An illustration shows what a helicopter drone would look like on the surface of Mars. NASA/JPL-Caltech hide caption

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

Innovation

Someday A Helicopter Drone May Fly Over Mars And Help A Rover

November 27, 2015 • NASA is building a 2-pound helicopter drone that would help guide the vehicle on the Red Planet's surface. That way, the rover wouldn't need to wander as much to find its way around.

Someday A Helicopter Drone May Fly Over Mars And Help A Rover

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Monday November 23, 2015

5 Things To Know: FAA Task Force Recommends A Drone Registry

A drone flies above Old Bethpage, N.Y. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images hide caption

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Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Innovation

5 Things To Know: FAA Task Force Recommends A Drone Registry

November 23, 2015 • A task force created by the Federal Aviation Administration recommends that people flying drones heavier than a half-pound should register with the government. Here are a few things to know.

Wednesday November 18, 2015

Here's How An iPhone Helps One Teen (And His Mom) Manage Diabetes

Rajiv Kumar (left), a pediatric endocrinologist, with patient Blake Atkins. The California teenager, diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, uses Apple's HealthKit to monitor his blood sugar levels and share the information with his mother and doctor. Courtesy of Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford hide caption

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Courtesy of Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford

Innovation

Here's How An iPhone Helps One Teen (And His Mom) Manage Diabetes

KQED

November 18, 2015 • These are the early days of innovation that allows diabetes patients to conveniently and securely gather and share data via a smartphone. One California teenager is an early user of Apple's HealthKit.

Tuesday November 10, 2015

Slow Wi-Fi? FM Radio Might Help With That

iStockphoto

Innovation

Slow Wi-Fi? FM Radio Might Help With That

November 10, 2015 • In crowded settings, neighbors' Wi-Fi networks can interfere with each other and slow down Internet connections. Northwestern University researchers find an unexpected traffic cop: FM radio.

Sunday November 8, 2015

Could A Nail Art Printer Be Girls' Gateway To The Tech World?

The co-founder of Preemadonna, maker of the Nailbot, hopes the nail-art printing device will help attract girls to tech. Preemadonna hide caption

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Preemadonna

Innovation

Could A Nail Art Printer Be Girls' Gateway To The Tech World?

November 8, 2015 • A new device called the Nailbot, from the female-run company Preemadonna, uses a smartphone to print art onto fingernails. Its inventors say the beauty tool could help draw more girls to tech.

Friday November 6, 2015

#NoCarForMe: The Unconventional Ways We Get Around

Ed Gunderson built a surfboard rack for his recumbent tricycle, which he's riding here on Beverly Beach in Oregon. Ed Gunderson hide caption

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Ed Gunderson

Innovation

#NoCarForMe: The Unconventional Ways We Get Around

November 6, 2015 • We asked you for photos of alternative means of transport that you or people around you use to get to places. Here are some examples of unconventional rides with one, two, three, four or no wheels.