Autonomous Vehicles (Self-Driving Cars)DARPA, the US government agency that invented the internet (among other things) created a contest to build a self-driving car. The first DARPA Grand Challenge, in 2004, was a 150 mile (240 km. route). The robot-car that drove the furthest before breaking down, built by Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU), lasted 11.78km. Undeterred, DARPA tried again. Subsequently, … Continue reading "Autonomous Vehicles (Self-Driving Cars)"
VirtualizationVirtualization enables the separation of an operating system and the physical device, the chips that it runs on. An imperfect but close enough metaphor is auto rental. Rather than purchasing a car, that may be too big for many tasks and too small for others, a user can rent just the right size car or … Continue reading "Virtualization"
Hot Air BalloonThanks to a stunt by the Montgolfier brothers, people finally flew. Well, actually a few animals left the ground but people weren’t far behind. The balloon wasn’t especially practical, since it couldn’t be guided, but led the way for future innovations plus allowed a new perspective on the world. Despite that it was more of … Continue reading "Hot Air Balloon"
TelevisionBefore Farnsworth, there were various types of mechanical TV that used spinning disks (Nipkow disks) and electrical transmitters, none of which ever gained traction. John Logie Baird invented the most widely known mechanical TV. Electrical Television Farnsworth had a small group of innovators, who invested $25,000. They eventually told him to give up so he … Continue reading "Television"
RailroadRailroads vastly lowered the cost of moving people and goods over land. Richard Trevithick invented the locomotive engine. However, he never quite created a fully functioning railroad: Trevithick’s locomotive was a literal circus act, pulling children around a track at a circus. His core innovation was the idea of a high-pressure steam engine. Prior steam … Continue reading "Railroad"
Overnight MailFedEx is the first overnight mail delivery service. At the time, the idea was widely derided. Before FedEx, the only way to reliably deliver a package quickly was via overnight courier, an extremely expensive option. In 1965, Yale undergrad student Fred Smith wrote a paper describing the idea as an undergraduate in Yale. Smith reasoned … Continue reading "Overnight Mail"
RocketsIn 1914, Goddard patented the first rocket and, in 1926, Goddard fired the first liquid-fueled rocket. Goddard predicted rockets would one day enable space flight, a prediction widely ridiculed as science fiction. Eventually, in 1929, Oberth fired his modern liquid-fueled rocket. Oberth eventually taught Wernher von Braun, who perfect modern rocketry. In time, both Oberth … Continue reading "Rockets"
Compact Audiotape CassetteIn 1960, Consumer Reports reviewed an in-car vinyl record player offered by Chrysler, The RCA Victor “Victrola.” It held 14 records and could play for 2.5 hours continuously. To keep the needle from bouncing around, it was pressed into the vinyl wearing down records. Despite that common sense says the invention sounds idiotic, it worked … Continue reading "Compact Audiotape Cassette"
Hydraulic PressBefore the press, shaping metal was a slow, difficult, expensive, and laborious process. The hydraulic press allows metal to be easily and inexpensively shaped. Today, the same hydraulics power a lot of modern industrial equipment. Bramah, a farmer’s son, was an innovator who specialized in locks. He created and patented many types of locks. He … Continue reading "Hydraulic Press"
MP3MP3 enables the digitization of high-quality audio to small files. File sizes are small enough to easily store many or transfer them over the internet, even with 1990s slow transfer speeds. The small file size is primary the benefit of MP3 over digitized compact disk file because MP3 files are much smaller with good enough … Continue reading "MP3"
AirlineCount von Zeppelin, inventor of the airship, partnered with a group of other German industrialists to create a Zeppelin manufacturing company and also an airline. Airships Their first airship, the enormous LZ1, launched July 2, 1900. It crashed and survived but the test was not successful for the German government to invest more funds in … Continue reading "Airline"
Windshield WiperWindshield wipers are a vital component of a car. Inclusion Criteria However, countless other components in cars are also important. Excluding the vast majority of auto components from innowiki is a purposeful decision. Undoubtedly, these components are oftentimes enormous markets. However, they do not teach us about anything especially important. They are components in a … Continue reading "Windshield Wiper"
About MichaelInnowiki founding member Michael Olenick is currently an executive fellow at the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute, on the Fontainebleau, France campus. Michael has worked closely with Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne since 2001, before the book Blue Ocean Strategy came out in 2005, when it was articles in Harvard Business Review. Michael learned about … Continue reading "About Michael"
Sound Over RadioAfter a series of other innovations involving radio, Fessenden invented sound over radio in 1906. Before then radio typically carried Morse Code signals. He created a company, NESCO, that struggled with IP, financing, and people issues. The owners, including Fessenden, hoped to sell the company to AT&T or GE but that deal did not close. … Continue reading "Sound Over Radio"
AirplaneWilbur and Orville Wright invented the airplane with their first flight in 1903. Urban myth describes an easy story where the bicycle mechanic brothers built an airplane from spare parts. In reality, the innovation was a long, slow, methodical, and extremely dangerous project. Background People had been building various forms of fixed-wing gliders for years. … Continue reading "Airplane"
