Main image credit: Photo by Rodolfo Clix via PexelsInnovation isnt just about having great ideas.
Its about delivering them too and sometimes thats a problem.
Sometimes the available technology just isnt good enough.
Sometimes the world just isnt ready for it.
Sometimes its both.
For example, General Motors EV1 electric car suffered from the limits of 1990s tech and the machinations of the motor industry.But you cant keep a good idea down.
In many cases what seemed fanciful a few decades ago is perfectly practical now, and advances in science mean the formerly impossible is on sale in IKEA.
These ideas were before their time, but now theyre back.
Back! BACK!Electric bikesFor all the hype, electric cars and self-driving cars dont address the single biggest problem with cars: theyre astonishingly wasteful both in terms of the resources needed to make them and the space they take up.As the Ellen McArthur foundation reports that the average European car has five seats but only carries 1.5 people per trip, and spends just 5% of its time on the road; and yet 50% of most city land is devoted to roads and parking.
Persuading people to rent cars by the trip seems as remote a possibility as ever, so maybe the answer is think bike instead.Electric bikes have been around since the 19th century they just werent any good.Electric bikes have been around since the 1880s, but theyre only just coming into their own thanks to modern electronics: a modern e-bike is a much more compelling proposition than the Graffigny Tricycle of 1892.
E-bikes and scooters dont require the charging infrastructure of electric cars, dont require the road space of electric cars, and are much more amenable to hire-and-ride apps.
All you really need is bike lanes.There are some problems, such as overzealous e-scooter firms in the US and the UK regulations that currently make e-scooters illegal on both pavements and roads, but such vehicles make much more sense in cities than cars do.Segways(Image: Maxmann via Pixabay)The original Segway was a huge flop remember the hype that claimed cities would be designed around it but the idea of self-righting personal electric vehicles was and remains a very good one.
Segway may have more success with its powered Drift W1skates than it did with its big-wheeled vehicles, but the personal electric vehicles that really get us excited are ones like this beautiful concept based on the equally beautiful 1961 Ford Gyron.Once again there are regulatory issues Segways skates are illegal to use in the UK, and cars have to meet increasingly strict safety-related regulations but we think theyre worth solving.Wireless powerNikola Tesla's Wardenclyffe Tower transmission station.
Tesla was experimenting with wireless power at the end of the 19th centuryWhat do e-bikes, electric cars and mobile devices all have in common Thats right: batteries.
And those batteries need to be charged, no matter how clever their chemistry.Wireless power was famously demonstrated by Nikola Tesla, but it wasnt until William C Brown modified the Amplitron amplifier in the 1960s and wirelessly powered a model helicopter that people started to think such technology could be practical.Today were used to wireless charging for smartphones, but the wireless power technology currently used in Formula E racing could come to domestic markets too.Home batteriesBatteries arent just for things that go.
They could address one of the problems of renewable energy, which is storing it: wouldnt it be great if you could collect solar energy in the summer and store it for when you really need it in winterYou know home battery tech is going mainstream when you can buy it in IKEA.
Credit: IKEA(Image: Ikea)That isnt a new idea: French scientist Gaston Plant invented the rechargeable battery in 1859.
But as with other tech, its only in recent years that whats possible has become practical, let alone affordable.
According to Clean Technica, the cost of energy storage is plummeting and with the cost of on-demand energy rapidly heading in the other direction, its no wonder mainstream energy firms are trialling home battery systems.Alternative interfacesThe keyboard remains ideal for when you're sitting at a desk in front of a screen, but keyboards and screens arent so great when youre out and about or slumped on the sofa.
Thats why Siri and its rivals are so popular (and frustrating: voice control is still plagued with recognition issues) on mobile and in smart home environments, but largely irrelevant on traditional computers.Computing is no longer something you need to sit at a dedicated computer for; its something you do in all kinds of environments and that means we need alternative forms of input and output.SEGAs Activator delivered full-body motion control, and made TV presenters look very sillySega and Nintendo were so far ahead of that particular curve that their two prescient products were famous flops: the Sega Activator and the Nintendo Virtual Boy both bombed.
The former offered motion detection years before Wii or Kinect, while the latter was pushing embryonic VR long before Oculus was a glint in anybodys eye.Part of the problem was that the tech of the day simply wasnt good enough.
But another key part is that its not virtual reality we need, its augmented reality and that brings us to our final noble failure.Google GlassThe problem with Google Glass wasnt tech.
It was privacy.
People didnt like the thought of so-called 'glassholes' filming their every move without permission, and the first version of Glass was an expensive and high-profile failure.
But that doesnt mean it wasnt a good idea.Google Glass was and is a great idea, but Google hadnt considered the privacy implicationsAugmented reality is brilliant when its done well hello, Pokmon Go and even more brilliant when you dont need to hold up a phone or tablet.
AR glasses make a lot of sense in industrial environments, which is where Google is now concentrating its Glass efforts, as well as in areas where staff currently wear body cameras, such as law enforcement, and anywhere you might take a selfie stick or strap on a GoPro.TheIndianSubcontinent's Next Up series is brought to you in association with Honorivztm4XAv2smwTCBfkrtAi.jpg#