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

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

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

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

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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.

Monday November 2, 2015

A startup in Austin, Texas, has built the prototype of a tiny home that could stack up, in a "rack," and move when you do. Kasita hide caption

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Kasita

All Tech Considered

Could A Tiny Mobile Studio Solve Your Housing Crisis?

November 2, 2015 • For decades, architects have worked to turn shipping containers into homes and mock up cities that are plug and play. Now a startup in Texas is building a luxury studio that would travel when you do.

Could A Tiny Mobile Studio Solve Your Housing Crisis?

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Not To Be Out-Droned, Google Plans To Deliver Packages By Air In 2017

Google/YouTube

Innovation

Not To Be Out-Droned, Google Plans To Deliver Packages By Air In 2017

November 2, 2015 • Project Wing would become another rival in the business of delivering consumer packages by drone, already eyed by Amazon and Wal-Mart. Lots of questions remain about how it all will work.

Thursday October 29, 2015

#NoCarForMe: Tell Us About Unconventional Means Of Transport Around You

Is a hoverboard-like scooter your transportation mode of choice? Christopher Furlong/Getty Images hide caption

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Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Innovation

#NoCarForMe: Tell Us About Unconventional Means Of Transport Around You

October 29, 2015 • Urban commutes can get crazy. How do you get around? Is it a bike with a motor and a baby carriage? A hoverboard or souped-up skateboard? Send us photos of DYI, rigged, wacky means of transportation.

#NoCarForMe: Tell Us About Unconventional Means Of Transport Around You

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Wednesday October 21, 2015

On 'Back To The Future' Day, What Technology Do You Wish Existed?

Christopher Lloyd (left) as Dr. Emmett Brown and Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in the 1985 film Back to the Future. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment/AP hide caption

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Universal Pictures Home Entertainment/AP

Innovation

On 'Back To The Future' Day, What Technology Do You Wish Existed?

October 21, 2015 • Today is the day to which Marty McFly time-traveled from 1985 in the sequel to Back to the Future. Now that we're in the future, share which technology you think we should've had by now.

Sunday October 18, 2015

Q&A: What Machines Can Learn From People And We Can Learn From Them

A woman holds up a tablet to showcase data analytics conducted by IBM's Watson technology. IBM hide caption

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IBM

Innovation

Q&A: What Machines Can Learn From People And We Can Learn From Them

October 18, 2015 • Should artificial intelligence mimic human behavior? The executive in charge of developing future generations of IBM's Watson tackles that and other questions about the limits and powers of AI.

Thursday October 15, 2015

Self-Driving Cars Hit The Streets, Sort Of

New autopilot features are demonstrated in a Tesla Model S during a Tesla event in Palo Alto, Calif., Wednesday. Beck Diefenbach/Reuters/Landov hide caption

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Beck Diefenbach/Reuters/Landov

Innovation

Self-Driving Cars Hit The Streets, Sort Of

October 15, 2015 • The electric car company Tesla is now becoming the self-driving carmaker. Today it releases software to tens of thousands of Model S owners to automate steering, lane change and parallel parking.

Self-Driving Cars Hit The Streets, Sort Of

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Monday August 31, 2015

The Restaurant With No (Visible) Workers

Eatsa's first location is in San Francisco's financial district. Its quinoa-based dishes sell for about $7 a bowl. Eatsa hide caption

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Eatsa

Innovation

The Restaurant With No (Visible) Workers

August 31, 2015 • A new, highly automated restaurant in San Francisco looks to speed up service through efficiency. You won't see any people taking your order or serving you at Eatsa, a fast-casual quinoa eatery.

Thursday August 20, 2015

A Lot Of Heat Is Wasted, So Why Not Convert It Into Power?

A thermoelectric PowerCard like this one can be used to convert waste heat into an electric power source, Alphabet Energy says. Alphabet Energy hide caption

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Alphabet Energy

Innovation

A Lot Of Heat Is Wasted, So Why Not Convert It Into Power?

August 20, 2015 • What if there were a way to take the waste heat that spews from car tailpipes or power plant chimneys and turn it into electricity? An entrepreneur says something called thermoelectrics is the key.

A Lot Of Heat Is Wasted, So Why Not Convert It Into Power?

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Friday July 31, 2015

In Michigan, A Testing Ground For A Future Of Driverless Cars

A pedestrian crosses in front of a vehicle as part of a demonstration at Mcity on July 20, on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Mich. Paul Sancya/AP hide caption

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Paul Sancya/AP

Innovation

In Michigan, A Testing Ground For A Future Of Driverless Cars

July 31, 2015 • Automakers and researchers are using a 32-acre fake city at the University of Michigan to simulate a real-world environment for autonomous vehicles. How will such cars affect urban planning?

In Michigan, A Testing Ground For A Future Of Driverless Cars

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