DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF by Maryanne Kane, Journalist

 DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF

                                                                      

                 By Journalists Edward Kane & Maryanne Kane

BMW's VERY SMART CAR

            

                                        Source:  BMW
            

• BMW'S new 5 Series Saloon is so smart it suggests when to change lanes and, with the driver's approval, changes lanes on its own
• Driver agrees with the lane change suggestion by looking briefly at the side mirror
• There's a camera behind the steering wheel to monitor the gaze of the driver
• Lane change technology is called ActiveLane Change Assistant that tracks driver eye movements
• The lane change technology is a world first, works up to the car going speeds of 85 mph and can be turned on & off
• This is a powerful EV that can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 3.3 seconds, is available for sale in October 2023 & is priced to start at $61,530
• 5 Series Saloon is all-electric and has a 32" movie screen.

ELON MUSK'S NEURALINK CLEARED FOR HUMAN TRIALS

                            

                                    Source: Neuralink & Stock

            

• Elon Musk's brain implant company Neuralink has received necessary regulatory approvals to start their first human trials in the US
• Neuralink's goal is to restore mobility and vision to impaired people by implanting brain chips
• FDA has okayed the first clinical trials and people have already signed up to participate
• Musk says he hopes the Neuralink technology will benefit many disabled people
• Neuralink's proprietary brain interface technology monitors brain activity and is trained to recognize patterns in the activity & turn it into actions
• The technology has been successfully tested on monkeys
• Neuralink's clinical trial news comes after a Swiss breakthrough in which a brain-spine interface restored the ability to walk in a 40-year-old man after 12 years of paralysis from severe injuries in a motorcycle accident.

NEW BEDFORD BECOMING WIND FARM EPICENTER

                        

                                                            Source:  UHF Felicity & Stock
        

• The city of New Bedford, MA is positioning itself to be a leading wind farm staging base for the east coast.
• In the early 1800's, the Whaling City lit up the world with whale oil & now it looks to do the same with wind turbines as the energy source
• This past week, the vessel UHF Felicity pulled into port with huge parts for offshore wind turbines for assembling by developer Vineyard Wind this summer
• New Bedford is the staging area for offshore wind farms with Vineyard Wind likely to be the 1st commercial-scale wind farm in the US
• The city has the 1st US port facility specifically designed for wind farms
• The Whaling City is now being called the "cradle" of large-scale wind farms in the US and is prepared to handle project after project
• Although facing competition from Brooklyn, NY, New London, CT & Portsmouth, VA, New Bedford seems to be ahead of the pack with its eyes trained on the Biden Administration's goal to develop 30 gigawatt of offshore wind energy by 2030 or enough to power 10 million homes.