10 innowacji nominowanych do nagród Edison 2010

Amerykańscy wynalazcy dokonali jednych z najważniejszych przełomów technologicznych w historii ludzkości. Telegraf, żarówka , sztuczne serce i maszyna do szycia były wytworami amerykańskich umysłów. Amerykanie stworzyli także telefony pudełkowe , komputery , Internet, samoloty i szczepionkę na polio.

W 1987 roku Amerykańskie Stowarzyszenie Marketingu rozpoczęło przyznawanie nagród Edison, aby zachęcać i wyróżniać wynalazców. Każdego roku Edison Awards honoruje wybrane osoby i organizacje za ich wkład w innowacje produktowe i rozwój gospodarczy.

Istnieją trzy rodzaje Nagród Edisona. Należą do nich nagrody za osiągnięcia, najlepsze produkty i zrównoważone ekologicznie pomysły biznesowe.

Nagroda Edison Achievement Award jest przyznawana dyrektorowi biznesowemu, który podkreśla postęp w innowacjach produktów, a Green Award jest przyznawana organizacjom, które kładą nacisk na produkty przyjazne dla środowiska. Firmy te uznają znaczenie zrównoważonych produktów i procesów produkcyjnych.

Nagroda Edison Best New Product Award nie wymaga wyjaśnień i jest przyznawana w kilku kategoriach, w tym nauka i medycyna, elektronika i medycyna, energia i zrównoważony rozwój, technologia, transport i wzornictwo przemysłowe. Inne kategorie obejmują styl życia i wpływ na społeczeństwo, środowisko życia i pracy, media i komunikację oraz pakowane towary konsumenckie.

Do najbardziej rozpoznawalnych zwycięzców nagród Edison 2009 należą iPhone firmy Apple , Wii Fit i MacBook Air. W kategorii transportowej Trek zdobył punktację swoim rowerem Madone 5.2. W nauce i medycynie system dostarczania insuliny OmniPod zdobył złoto.

Niewiele produktów zdobywa nagrody Edison Awards, więc nagrody te trafiają tylko do osób i firm z dużym dorobkiem. Czytaj dalej, aby zobaczyć 10 produktów, wymienionych w dowolnej kolejności, które zostały nominowane do nagród Edison 2010.

1. Pomoc OnStar w przypadku kradzieży pojazdów
2. GE Voluson e USG
3. Hybrydowy podgrzewacz wody GE GeoSpring
4. Suszarka do odbijania
5. Prześcieradła do prania Purex 3 w 1
6. Projektor kieszonkowy 3M MPRO150
7. Stetoskop elektroniczny 3M/Littmann model 3200
8. Bezprzekładniowa turbina wiatrowa
9. Motorola Motoblur
10. Wielozakresowe radiotelefony Motorola APX

Od momentu powstania w 1995 roku system OnStar firmy General Motors przyniósł korzyści wielu właścicielom pojazdów. OnStar pomaga kierowcom, zapewniając bezpieczeństwo w pojeździe, nawigację zakręt po zakręcie, automatyczne powiadomienia o wypadkach, telefonowanie w trybie głośnomówiącym, zdalną diagnostykę i inne usługi. Teraz OnStar zapewnia również pomoc w przypadku kradzieży pojazdu, co może dać OnStar nagrodę Edisona.

System wspomagania pojazdu skradzionego wykorzystuje istniejącą infrastrukturę technologiczną OnStar, która obejmuje GPS , telemetrię pojazdu i łączność komórkową. Jeśli ktoś przeszuka Twój samochód, powiadamiasz policję, która współpracuje z OnStar w celu ustalenia lokalizacji pojazdu.

Gdy policjanci zobaczą Twój samochód i upewnią się, że nie ma postronnych osób, które mogłyby zostać poszkodowane, mogą poprosić OnStar o zdalne wyłączenie samochodu poprzez przełączenie go w tryb jałowy. Sterowanie i hamowanie nadal będą działać, ale złodziej nie będzie w stanie przyspieszyć ani w inny sposób spróbować niebezpiecznej ucieczki z dużą prędkością.

System mógłby drastycznie zmniejszyć liczbę występujących pościgów, ratując życie i mienie. Możesz też odzyskać swój samochód w jednym kawałku. Połów? Musisz być pełnoprawnym subskrybentem usługi pomocy dotyczącej skradzionego pojazdu, w przeciwnym razie OnStar nie będzie mógł Ci pomóc.

It used to be that in order to receive an ultrasound, you had to visit a doctor who had the space and money to afford these large, expensive machines. Now, thanks in part to GE and its Voluson ultrasound technology, professionals can perform an ultrasound procedure almost anywhere.

The Voluson e is a compact ultrasound that's designed for specialties such as gynecology, delivery and other obstetrics-related purposes. And unlike traditional ultrasounds, this one is totally portable -- it's so small and light that one person can hand carry it wherever he or she needs to go.

That means a medical professional can view the Voluson's 2-D and 3-D images just about anywhere. The end result is faster diagnoses and treatments, and better overall health care.

GE's GeoSpring hybrid is an advanced water heater that's designed to provide homeowners with massive reductions in water heating bills. GE says that the GeoSpring is a result of totally rethinking the concept of water heating and features major redesigns in most aspects of its construction.

The GeoSpring was designed for maximum efficiency, and as such, it's the first heat pump water heater to receive an Energy Star rating. It uses a different heating process than traditional water heaters. GE built an evaporator and compressor into the electric water heater -- the evaporator draws in heat using fans, and condenser coils transfer heat into the tanks, which warms the water inside.

GE is confident that homeowners will see significant decreases in their heating costs. The company claims some users will see heating expenditures drop by more than 60 percent, which could save hundreds of dollars in a single year.

Dryer sheets can be a huge hassle, especially for busy families who use their dryers on a daily basis. Without fail, the box of dryer sheets winds up empty (and of course, there's never a backup box) or the sheets themselves intertwine with your clothes, falling out at inopportune, public moments. If you've ever suffered these indignities, the Bounce Dryer Bar may be your new best laundry friend.

You install this bar inside your dryer, where it remains for two to four months. As your clothes dry, they rub against the bar, which reduces static buildup and adds a fresh scent. As the bar wears down, you'll see the word "replace" appear, which indicates that you'll need to buy a new bar.

Although the cost savings isn't necessarily a compelling reason to buy the Bounce Dryer Bar, convenience is a primary selling point. You won't have to worry nearly as much about the dwindling dryer sheet supply or sheets that appear randomly in your clothes, either.

To the uninitiated, home laundry processes might seem like a strange chemistry experiment. There are random soaps, bleaches, softeners and other chemicals that must be used at specific times to produce desired results. But Purex introduced a new laundry concept with its 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets.

A single all-in-one sheet contains enough detergent, softener and anti-static chemicals for one load of laundry. When you drop the sheet into your washer , it releases detergent designed to help clean your clothes, while another ingredient softens materials.

When you transfer your clothes to the dryer, the sheet goes with them. Your dryer's heat output activates the sheet's anti-static properties, reducing cling. If you're tired of messing with detergents while doing laundry, or just sick of carrying bottles to the laundromat, these sheets may be a good investment.

Not long ago, a state-of-the-art business road warrior shared portable presentations using heavy laptop computers, an even bigger projector and a tangle of required cables and power cords. No more. 3M recently introduced an updated version of its Pocket Projector, the MPRO 150, which makes on-the-go presentations much simpler.

The MPRO 150 is small enough to fit in a side pocket of your briefcase, but it comes with 1GB of internal memory, a memory card slot and the ability to open and project Microsoft Office and Adobe PDF files. You don't even need a computer to run your presentation -- you can simply transfer files directly from your iPod , smartphone or other storage device, point the projector at a wall and get to work.

The most recognizable form of the stethoscope has been dangling from doctors' necks since the 1940s. That analog device helps physicians monitor sounds, such as your heartbeat, to gauge your health. With the Model 3200 electronic stethoscope, though, this old-school medical tool is getting a serious upgrade.

The Model 3200 is equipped with ambient noise reduction technology, which means it filters out unrelated background noise to help doctors focus on sounds that matter most. It also has extra amplification when needed. And that's just for starters.

With this product, doctors can even record sounds and listen to them again later in an effort to create a more accurate diagnosis. Integrated Bluetooth means sound data can be transferred immediately to a computer and stored with a patient's medical file and shared online with specialists.

The popularity of sustainable energy production is growing, and there are ever more products targeting small businesses and homeowners. WindTronics recently introduced the Honeywell Wind Turbine , which is about 6 feet (1.8 meters) wide and generates electricity in winds from as slow as 2 mph (3.2 kilometers per hour) to as fast as 45 mph (72.4 kilometers per hour).

Unlike traditional turbines, the Honeywell design omits a central gear and rotor, which cuts down on parts that can wear out or steal energy that should go towards electricity production. Also, its design creates energy at the tips of the blades, which is where the blades spin fastest. They'll begin turning in winds of just 1 mph (1.6 kilometers per hour), and begin generating energy at 2 mph, far slower wind speeds than most turbines require.

You'll need a professional installer if you want one of these turbines for your home. And although you'll spend thousands of dollars just to get started, federal, state or local incentives may reimburse you for a huge percentage of the expense.

Smartphones are great for accessing all of the social networking sites you visit on your desktop computer. However, smartphone operating systems often complicate login processes, and jumping from app to app gets frustrating, too. Enter Motorola's Motoblur user interface.

Motoblur shifts the concept of user interfaces that are usually built into portable electronics. Instead of forcing you to open apps individually to check messages and posts, Motoblur automatically sends updates that you can check instantly. Basically, you receive a feed that's constantly updated with new e-mails , posts from social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter , contacts and all of your other favorite aspects of the Web, too.

What's more, all of the information from that feed is backed up to a Motorola server. So if you lose your phone, you won't lose the vital data that's on it.

Motorola's new APX multi-band radios are actually two radios in one. They allow for multi-band operation in any two bands, including 700 and 800 MHz, as well as VHF and UHF R1. That means that when disaster strikes, first responders from a wide variety of agencies can communicate and coordinate in real time.

Without an APX radio, some first responders must carry more than one radio, or rely on information from dispatchers before proceeding with vital response activities. When they're equipped with these Motorola radios, however, each agency can deploy its resources more quickly, and with less conflict. The radios are the first multi-band products to adhere to Project 25 standards, a set of rules set forth by the Telecommunications Industry Association in an effort to streamline public safety communications.

For more information on cutting-edge products, award some time to the links on the next page.

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