DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF by Maryanne Kane, Journalist

 DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF 

By Journalists Edward Kane & Maryanne Kane 

DARPA's WIRELESS INTERNET FOR ENERGY

                                   Source:  DARPA & Stock

• DARPA, the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, and Raytheon are developing a wireless internet for energy delivery.  It's being developed for US military energy needs but has significant potential to go into everyday use for consumers and business.  Here's what we know:
• Called POWER or the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay
• DARPA just awarded Raytheon $10 million to develop it
• It's a wireless internet network for energy distribution initially for the US military
• Purpose is to cut US military's dependence on fossil fuel delivery and storage
• Big deal because of the potential civilian utilization such as having "the cloud" recharge your batteries
• How it works:

1. Uses unmanned aerial vehicles with laser power that has receiving and transmitting capabilities
2. Starts by beaming energy from a ground source to a POWER drone
3. Drone relays the power to an intended destination like a facility or piece of military equipment
4. DARPA wants this energy web to service the military 24/7 in the air, on the land and sea

• Bottom-line:  the development of this network by DARPA could revolutionize the global distribution of energy
• DARPA has a distinguished history of developing innovations for the military that go mainstream like the internet and GPS.

ARE YOU BETTER LOOKING IN THE EYES OF THE INTOXICATED?

                                           

                                        Source:  Stock

• Scientists at the University of Portsmouth (UK) tested this popular theory.  Here's what we know:
• Beer Goggles have been called the phenomenon of seeing people more attractive than they really are after a few drinks
• University of Portsmouth scientists questioned nearly 100 men and women in a pub to see how they rate looks after a few drinks
• The findings:

1. Heavily intoxicated people were less capable of distinguishing naturally unsymmetrical from perfectly symmetrical faces than more sober people. (Existing research indicates that sober people value a symmetrical face as attractive in others.)
2. Alcohol use impairs detection of symmetry but does not impact facial attraction judgments
3. While intoxicated, participants rated natural-faced photos more attractive than unsymmetrical ones, with a strong female bias for natural.

• Bottom-line:  if you're not in a pub and want to impress, better wait outside the eye doctor's office and hope she dilated the eyes of some patients. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024!!! 

 "Daily Innovation Brief"© By Edward Kane