Important Innovations

Greenland's Ice Melt 60% More Than Expected by 2100 Source:  Greenland Not So Subtle Signs from Nature A new research study by scientists at the University of Liege Belgium demonstrates that the effects of Climate Change on the ice melt in Greenland and the Arctic are far worse than previously predicted.  The scientific team used revised climate models that they say are far more accurate.  They found that the Greenland ice melt by 2100 will be 60% more than expected.  Greenland's ice sheet is the second largest in the world.  Rising water levels from the melt will have very serious consequences. Messages of Accelerating Climate Change From Nature Should the Greenland ice sheet completely melt, the scientists say that would cause sea levels to rise 23 feet.  The study says the Netherlands would be completely under water, Denmark would be a lot smaller and some cities in the Atlantic coastal regions of the US could be submerged.  The scientists add there are many signs from natur

  Magawa Service Rat Gets UK Gold Medal Service Award                                     Source: PDSA & Magawa Cambodia: Rat Detects 39 Landmines & Saves Countless Lives  This is one of the most remarkable animal service stories to date. A trained rat, called Magawa, has detected 39 unexploded landmines in Cambodia, along with 28 unexploded ordinances, and has saved countless lives.  This incredible service animal was trained in Belgium by the charity APOPO. The organization trains rats to detect the scent of explosives and alert their human handlers.  Very Smart Animal Magawa is an African Giant Pouched Rat. The species is very intelligent and easy to train.  Every day for the past seven years, Magawa has been on landmine patrol in Cambodia, which has millions of unexploded landmines.  Magawa has cleared a lot of territory and is PDSA's best performing service rat.  As a result of its work, Magawa has received the very prestigious gold medal from the British veterinary ch

  Innovative Environmental Cleanup Technology                                             Source:  Galgeschon Preserve Cleaning 7.5 Million Tons of Plastic From Nature Preserve  In Belgium, a team of engineers have built a giant, smart vacuum to remove millions of pieces of plastic - too small to be removed by hand - from a Belgium nature preserve and bird sanctuary.  The Galgeschon Preserve is located in Antwerp.  It is home to endangered bird species.  Over the years the salt marches and mud flats in the preserve were inundated with plastic particles from towns and industries along the river Scheldt. Intense Competition Port Authority officials launched a competition to design technology solutions to de-contaminate the site.  The winner is a huge vacuum called the "Nul-o-Plastic" developed by Envisan, which is the environmental division of the maritime infrastructure company Jan De Nul Group. Very Smart Vacuum The  Nul-o-Plastic is a very smart vacuum customized to the pres

Charges Devices by Spinning its Wheels Source:  ROLLOGO Charging Your Gadgets on the Go ROLLOGO is the world's first self-charging luggage, that has wheels with a suspension system.  It's a remarkable combination of engineering, style and design.  Designed by well known innovator/designer Frederic Gooris of Brussels, it's a very smart gadget to keep your smart gadgets charged when you're on the go.  Importantly, this charging suitcase is TSA approved, according to ROLLOGO, so there's no problem at airport check-ins. Spinning its Wheels The ROLLOGO Escape S suitcase charges its power bank by spinning its wheels.  The company calls it a new way to travel smarter and more sophisticated.  Ten minutes of rolling wheels can create enough power to talk on your smartphone for an hour.  The suitcase contains an 8000 mAh lithium polymer power bank, that's recharged by the company's patented power generating wheel system.  The fully charged power bank offer

Rubion Strawberry Picking Robots Source:  Octinion's Rubion Robot Launched to Coincide with Wimbledon's Famous Berry Consumption Belgium based R&D company Octinion has developed the world's first strawberry picking robot.  Their Rubion robot relies on photonic sensors and a unique soft touch gripper to select and pick ripe strawberries as safely as a human.  They launched the Rubion, which has been five years under development, to coincide with the famous consumption of strawberries at Wimbledon.  They say it would take 14 of their robots less than 7 days to pick and package all of the strawberries needed for the Wimbledon crowds. Fully Autonomous, Spots Ripe Fruit and Picks The soft fruit picking robot navigates the strawberry plants, picks ripe ones and places them in containers.  It's equipped with photonic sensors that detect the light that bounces off ripe strawberries.  It has a patented, soft touch gripper that gently plucks the berries off