Tech for Good

iPhone Swap Today we have another simple but powerful startup idea that works. Finland-based Swappie was co-founded in 2016 by Sami Marttinen (CEO) and Jiri Heinonen (CMO) with the simple mission to give their clients a way to upgrade their phones that is high quality, more affordable, and environmentally friendly. The startup refurbishes and resells used iPhones via its marketplace. It also gives a 12-month warranty. The smartphone industry has a significant impact on the environment, and 85-90% of it comes during the manufacturing process. Apple, for example, says that iPhone 11 creation emits more than 56kg of CO2. Swappie offers its customers a sustainable choice to reduce waste by buying a professionally refurbished iPhone for less. I've looked up the prices for the new and Swappie-refurbished iPhone 12 128Gb in Greece: 849 and 679 euro respectively. The smartphone market in Europe where the startup operates is worth over €100 billion but used or refurbished phones currently make up just over 10% of that, with only one in four pre-owned phones resold. In 2020, Swappie grew fivefold in revenue, proving it has rising demand and the ability to expand. The startup's potential attracted investor interest: the company raised $40.6 million in 2020, closing another $124 million investment round this month. 🎬 30-seconds video 💡 Article on TechCrunch 🌐 Website #startups #phone

Paralyzed patients walk, swim, and cycle Three men paralyzed in motorcycle accidents have become the first success stories for the new spinal stimulation device developed by Lausanne's Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. They took steps independently on a treadmill within a day of their device's activation; and could stand, walk, swim, and pedal a bicycle after five months of rehab. When trauma severely damages the bundle of nerves that make up a person's spinal cord, the brain's electrical signals no longer reach the body's muscles, resulting in paralysis. A wide implant, roughly the size of a pointer finger placed underneath the vertebrae, directly on the spinal cord, can re-create those signals and trigger leg movements. The team designed software to activate the electrodes in patterns that produce movements. For example, using different stimulation patterns, the participants in the new study could swim, cycle, do leg presses and sitting forward bends. With the stimulation off, the abilities remain limited. However, it is interesting that one patient regained some ability to activate leg muscles without the device. For now, sending commands to the device is cumbersome. Users must select their desired movement on a tablet, which sends Bluetooth commands to a transmitter worn around the waist. That device has to stay next to a "pulse generator" implanted in the abdomen, activating electrodes along the spine. But the next generation of devices should allow users to start the pulse generator by giving voice commands to a smartwatch. In previous studies, patients needed more than a year of intense therapy to achieve overground stepping, which is quite impractical in most countries' current health care systems. But in a present study, after 4 to 6 months, all three participants could walk across the ground using only a walker for stability, making such therapy meaningful. 🎬 2-minute video 💡 Article on Science.org #medtech

☀️ Here is the summary of the last week's posts: 1️⃣ The New Story of charitable organizations - the charity betting on tech and having a novel operational model 2️⃣ Tell friend from foe - Aigen, a US startup building solar-powered, autonomous robots that use computer vision to tell weeds from plants 3️⃣ Selfie made 1.5 million kilometers from Earth - The James Webb telescope with a photo of its mirrors ❗️ Guys, can you please tell me in the comments what you do for a living? I'd like to make a poll to get our audience insights and need some options for it. Have a great week, TFG #weeksummary

Selfie made 1.5 million kilometers from Earth The James Webb telescope filmed its hexagonal petal mirror with an infrared camera in the process of adjustment. We can consider it a selfie 1.5 million km from Earth! A special lens, designed to image segments of the primary mirror instead of images of the cosmos, has taken that photo. The bright mirror segment on the picture was pointed at the star, while the others had different position angles. The telescope will send the first scientific images in the summer of 2022. However, much remains to be done in the coming months to prepare the observatory for full-fledged scientific operations. 🧐 Let me remind you that James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed primarily to conduct infrared astronomy. NASA led the telescope's development in collaboration with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. The JWST was launched 25 December 2021 on an ESA Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, and will succeed the Hubble Space Telescope as NASA's flagship mission in astrophysics. Scientists plan to use JWST to observe some of the oldest and most distant objects and events in the Universe (including the first stars and the formation of the first galaxies) and detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets. #space

Tell friend from foe TechCrunch reports a $4 million funding round for Aigen, a US startup building solar-powered, autonomous robots that use computer vision to tell weeds from plants. There are multiple cameras on the robot. First, an onboard pre-trained AI identifies plants and other objects, and then the robot either removes or propagates the plants with two robot arms underneath it covering up to three acres of farmland per day. The startup is not just making weed-whacking machines. Their vision is to make agriculture carbon negative by reducing diesel emissions, soil compaction, chemical usage, and land cultivation. Plants take CO2 from thin air and turn that into sugars -- carbohydrates, to be exact. In effect, the plants are taking carbon out of the air and sticking it back into the earth. Kenny Lee, the company's COO, argues for the company's smaller, lighter robots. "Heavy machinery compresses the soil, which means that the roots grow sideways, instead of down. That's a problem because you can't put the carbon the plants capture deep into the ground. By using fewer tractors and large commercial devices, you can change how agriculture works." The company's website states it has only 600k acres of land in the pipeline at the moment. To succeed and apply its technology at scale, I believe Aigen also needs to build a case for cost efficiency. Fighting humanity's most significant problems is good, but you have to show how your solution helps aim higher profit margins. 🌐 Website (they are hiring) #robotics #AI #startups #agriculture

The New Story of charitable organizations New Story is an interesting nonprofit startup from San Francisco focused on providing housing solutions to communities in extreme poverty. The firm was started in 2015, shortly after Brett Hagler, one of the New Story's founders, took a trip to Haiti and saw families still living in tents years after the 2010 earthquake. Many charitable organizations raised millions of dollars to help these specific people directly, but it was clear that those millions hadn't made it to the ones who needed it most. New Story's operational model is different from that of traditional charitable organizations. Donors know exactly where 100% of their donations are going and do not have to worry about the 20% or even 2% deducted for the charity's own expenses. The team invests in tracking data software solutions so donors can understand the impact they're making with each dollar: better sleep, higher income, or whatever the effects of a home may be. New Story has a group of generous donors completely covering their operating expenses. They call them "The Builders." Currently, the startup has 57 Builders who have pledged three-year commitments between $50k-$500k per year. These people make the 100% promise possible, enabling all other donations to build homes for families in need directly. Investing in technology also allows the startup to address homelessness better and faster by providing breakthrough innovations like 3D printed homes. For example, New Story has partnered with ICON to build the world's first community of 3D printed homes in a small village of Nacajuca, Mexico. 🎬 4-minute video about New Story 🌐 Charity website 🧐 Post about ICON's 3D printer #startups #nonprofit #3Dprint

☀️ Last week posts summary for your convenience: 1️⃣ First laparoscopic surgery without human hand - a robot has performed four successful laparoscopic surgeries on the soft tissues of pigs without any guidance from a human 2️⃣ The World's First Portable MRI Machine - an MRI device that you can wheel through a normal-width hospital doorway and plug into a standard wall outlet 3️⃣ Show me your scooter - the new and stylish Naon Zero-One German electric scooter #weeksummary

Show me your scooter I am driving a rented motorbike a lot these days. I like the feeling so much that now I do not skip any bike model around thinking whether I'd like to own it. But, unfortunately, the choice here where I live is pretty much limited, so I envy those who live, for example, in Germany. Just look at this beauty in the pictures (no, I am not talking about the mustache guy). The new Naon Zero-One German electric scooter differs so much from the classically designed mass-market models - the long and flat running boards, the exposed rear swingarm, the angular seat. Naon Zero-One is not only about the style: its L3e version offers a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph) - quite enough for any shorter commutes, including those on highways. The removable batteries hiding under the rider's feet allow for the maximum range of 140 km (87 miles) and leaves the underseat area open for storage so that you can avoid needing a backpack all the time. The bad news is that you'll have to buy ($1145) or rent ($29 per month) the battery separately from the scooter. The scooter prices are certainly on the higher end of the market in Europe: $5,640 for the lower performance L1 version and $7,360 for the L3 version. So Naon will be counting on its differentiating features to draw in riders once the scooters eventually make it to market next summer. 💡 Article on Electrek #ev #electricbikes #startups

The World's First Portable MRI Machine Sometimes new technologies have the potential to disrupt the industry standards. Hyperfine's portable MRI Machine, Swoop, is such a tech. Traditional MRI systems are massive, costly, and usually placed in a basement surrounded by concrete walls - they require radio frequency shielding. As a result, only about 10% of the world's population currently has access to MRI technology. Hyperfine's vision was to create an MRI device that you can wheel through a normal-width hospital doorway and plug into a standard wall outlet. Having such requirements meant the team had to throw all existing solutions out of the window and start with a blank paper. Rethinking the physics and the engineering challenges, Hyperfine developed and achieved its vision. Instead of radio frequency shielding, they used noise cancellation technology, similar to noise-canceling earbuds. In addition, the Swoop system uses permanent magnets rather than electromagnets. The device also has a lower field strength than standard MRI systems, which significantly enhances patient safety and shortens the time required for each MRI. Imagine a nurses' team no longer transporting a critically ill patient to an MRI room on a different floor. Instead, in 30 seconds after a Swoop scan, advanced AI applications analyze and return annotated, segmented brain images, providing clinicians with quantitative markers for decision support and immediate feedback for diagnostic insight. FDA cleared the Swoop in 2020. Last year, the company began its commercial execution with the devices working in four major US hospitals and some pediatric clinics. 💡 Article on MDDI #medtech #AI #startups

First laparoscopic surgery without human hand A robot has performed four successful laparoscopic surgeries on the soft tissues of pigs without any guidance from a human. The Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot, or STAR, was developed by Johns Hopkins University researchers. The team lead, Alex Krieger, says that they managed to automate one of the most intricate and delicate tasks in surgery: the reconnection of two ends of an intestine. Moreover, the STAR performed the procedure in four animals much better than humans performing the same surgery. A structural light-based three-dimensional endoscope and machine learning-based tracking algorithm guides STAR. Soft-tissue surgery is challenging for robots because of its unpredictability, forcing them to adapt quickly to handle unexpected obstacles. The STAR has a novel control system that can adjust the surgical plan in real-time, like a human surgeon. Using robots to perform surgical tasks requiring high precision and repeatability can provide more accuracy and consistent outcomes for patients independently of surgeon skill. The researchers believe that could result in a democratized surgical approach to patient care. 🎬 3-minute video with details (not for the faint-hearted) #robotics #medtech #AI

☀️ Here is the summary of the last week posts: 1️⃣ Autonomous railways? - former SpaceX engineers with a startup to automate railroad transportation 2️⃣ The next era of access to space - an orbital spaceplane with horizontal takeoff and landing trying to revolutionize access to space 3️⃣ A startup that embarrassed Tesla - an EV making 752 miles (1210 km) on a single charge with the help of ONE startup's hybrid battery Take care and have a wonderful week Your Tech for Good #weeksummary

A startup that embarrassed Tesla The worst thing about electric vehicles is worrying about range. Despite having 400 mile-per-charge Teslas (650 km) and a vast network of charging stations in the US, the EV owners still have concerns about making it to the nearest charger. Especially true when you've done a bit of spicy driving or have chilly weather outside. Both cases could reduce the range unpredictably. ONE (Our Next Energy), a startup backed by BMW and Bill Gates, has developed an ingenious solution. The recent independent test of their hybrid battery has shown results that could embarrass all major EV-makers, including Tesla, Lucid, and Rivian. They took a Tesla Model S Long-range, ripped out the Panasonic battery pack, and installed their experimental pack called "Gemini." This swap was straightforward as the Gemini pack is the same size as the old Panasonic pack. Then, on a cold December day in less than ideal conditions (freezing temperatures reduce EV range), they took this Frankenstein car out for a drive and did 752 miles (1210 km) on a single charge. How does a hybrid battery beat a standard one? Almost all EVs use thousands of identical cells to make their massive batteries. These cells are optimized to charge quickly and have enormous output. Unfortunately, the flip side of that ability is a reduced battery capacity. The Gemini battery pack has a primary and a secondary pack inside it, and they work together to get the best of both worlds. The primary pack is the high-performance pack. It drives the car and is optimized for fast charging and high output but reduced capacity. So you still get the same Tesla level performance for 0–60 mph and initial charge speeds. Then there is the secondary pack, which charges slowly and has a relatively low output, but is optimized for massive capacity. It doesn't directly drive the wheels but instead acts as a range extender and charges the primary battery pack. ONE is not a carmaker; it is a battery company that probably will operate similarly to Panasonic and make battery packs for many companies. Tesla may be worried because whoever uses these new packs could take a significant technological advantage and dethrone Elon Musk's company. 💡 Article on Medium #EV #battery #startups

The next era of access to space After staying in stealth mode for five years, Washington-based Radian Aerospace reports a $27.5 million seed funding round. The company is building an orbital spaceplane with horizontal takeoff and landing called Radian One. The spaceplane powered by three cryogenic-liquid-fueled engines would carry up to five people and 5,000 pounds (4500 kg) of cargo into orbit. The idea is to get as close to airline operations as possible by flying, landing, refueling, and flying again in 48 hours. The company will need much more than $27.5 million to succeed: In the late 1990s, NASA spent nearly a billion dollars on Lockheed Martin's X-33 single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) concept before canceling the project in 2001. But Radian's executives argue that technological advances have now brought the SSTO vision within reach. Richard Humphrey, Radian's CEO and co-founder, says, "We are not focused on tourism, we are dedicated to missions that make life better on our own planet, like research, in-space manufacturing and terrestrial observation, as well as critical new missions like rapid global delivery right here on Earth." The startup plans to bring this spacecraft into service in the current decade. The company already has several contracts with its clients: they include maintenance missions for future low-orbit space stations and the launch of various payloads for commercial and government customers. 💡Article on GeekWire 🌐 Radian's website #space

Autonomous railways? It is tough to break into the railway business. A few giants are sitting on their railroad rights and making minimal investments to maximize profits. They often close smaller railroads, not finding a way to make money out of them, and focus on the most profitable routes with longer trains – often as long as 3 miles (7.8 km). Long trains are profitable for the train companies, but they're not efficient for anyone else. We have to use semi-trucks to deliver goods to all sorts of places as soon as a long train reaches a depot. Not to mention that parking a 3-mile-long caravan vastly limits where it can go. Furthermore, train cars are often parked for days while they wait for other cars to be loaded and unloaded so that they can move, as this giant caterpillar, to their next destination. Matt Soule, a former long-time SpaceX engineer, has partnered with former colleagues at Elon Musk's space company to launch Parallel Systems startup, transforming individual freight train cars into autonomous electric vehicles. Parallel Systems' invention is a modular, motorized set of train wheels. A crane places cargo containers on the wheels that can drive this train car up to 500 miles (1300 km) to anywhere on the track. Such autonomous car has no limitations traditional long trains have: 1️⃣ Once it is loaded, it can simply drive to its destination; 2️⃣ With shorter lengths, train yards themselves can be re-architected to have smaller footprints and fit more places in our infrastructure; 3️⃣ Parallel's platoons can also split themselves in half and let road vehicles pass through their middle; 4️⃣ They can drive right into a city or even a factory, using previously abandoned rail lines. 5️⃣ You can take a container from a port to a warehouse without putting it on a truck. And that means you can load more weight (Parallel's cars can carry almost three times more than a semi-truck) 6️⃣ The cars recharge in one hour to drive another 500 miles. The technology sounds too good to be true, and it is not ready for market yet. However, building and managing autonomous electric trains is far simpler than building autonomous EVs for highways. Rails are simpler. Trains stay on a track without a steering wheel. They don't need to worry about responding to random traffic. Unlike roads, where pretty much anyone can drive anywhere, railways are tightly controlled and scheduled. Truthfully, some passenger trains have moved autonomously since the 1960s. Parallel Systems is simply pushing that autonomy to the individual car level. 💡Article on FastCompany #railroads #EV #autonomous

☀️ Let us continue keeping the content organized. You may use the #weeksummary hashtag to quickly navigate the channel. Here is the summary of the last week posts: 1️⃣ Volkswagen's legend Microbus is back - an electric reincarnation of the legendary Volkswagen Minibus 2️⃣ Let the doctor do the doctor's job - an AI-powered medical transcription platform to help doctors cope with their time-eating medical notes 3️⃣ The right to see the Earth - a space hyperspectral imaging startup to help farmers and others to see what is going on on the Earth in the same way that we understand what is going on in our bodies. 4️⃣ A chart showing where the US unicorn founders were born 5️⃣ "iPhone's moment" in the recreational vehicle industry - a travel trailer making all other travel trailers, well, "other travel trailers" Your Tech for Good

"iPhone's moment" in the recreational vehicle industry American Thor Industries has just revealed its new electric Airstream travel trailer concept. It is so good that every other recreational vehicle (RV) now looks like any other phone looked when Apple unveiled the iPhone in 2007 - a relic of the past. The trailer has two electric motors and can power itself, moving in harmony with the tow vehicle and reducing the pulling effect required from it. That means a dramatic travel range improvement. If the tow vehicle has an internal combustion engine, it will enjoy significant fuel economy. Another jaw-dropping feature is that the trailer's electric motors can move it around without a tow vehicle, using the Airstream's developed app. That makes previously tricky (if not impossible) trailer parking maneuvers as easy as parking your car. Thor also showed their new trip planning app to help travelers find high-speed charging stations and points of interest along a route to their destination. You may ask what good this vehicle does to humanity, and you will be correct. But I don't care - the tech is fantastic and deserves our attention. 🎬 1.5-minute video with the trailer 🎬 Another 1.5-minute video 💡 Article on Electrek #EV #RV

"iPhone's moment" in the recreational vehicle industry American Thor Industries has just revealed its new electric Airstream travel trailer concept. It is so good that every other recreational vehicle (RV) now looks like any phone when Apple unveiled the iPhone in 2007 - a relic of the past. The trailer has two electric motors and can power itself, moving in harmony with the tow vehicle and reducing the pulling effect required from it. That means a dramatic travel range improvement. If the tow vehicle has an internal combustion engine, it will enjoy significant fuel economy. Another jaw-dropping feature is that the trailer's electric motors can move it around without a tow vehicle, using the Airstream's developed app. That makes previously tricky (if not impossible) trailer parking maneuvers as easy as parking your car. Thor also showed their new trip planning app to help travelers find high-speed charging stations and points of interest along a route to their destination. 🎬 1.5-minute video with the trailer 🎬 Another video 💡 Article on Electrek #EV #RV

📈 Interesting chart showing us the top countries where US unicorn founders were born. According to Investopedia, startup companies get a unicorn status if they are privately held and have a value of over $1 billion #startups

The right to see the Earth The space industry is seeing a revolution driven by cube satellites. Those are miniaturized satellites made of multiple cubic modules of 10x10x10 cm size. They are much more accessible than traditional satellites to design, build and launch. Companies may access space with their cube satellites by hitching a ride on a rocket launch alongside other clients. One of such companies is a Canadian-based Wyvern. They provide a specific service of hyperspectral imaging taken from low-Earth orbit. Hyperspectral imaging is a method for capturing image data of Earth across many more bands than we can see with our eyes or traditional optics. Wyvern's first target market is agriculture. Farmers can log in to the system and see up-to-date hyperspectral imaging data of their fields. Previously hidden info like the chemical makeup of soil or invasive species becomes visible, helping farmers to make decisions and increase efficiency. Hyperspectral imaging is a proven technology already, but the primary way to capture is via drone airplanes. Wyvern says they can provide it for ten times less than many of these drones currently in use. The company has just raised $4.5 million and is ready to launch its first satellites to orbit this year. Christopher Robson, co-founder and CEO of Wyvern, says the company wants to allow people to see what is going on on the Earth in the same way that we understand what is going on in our bodies. "You have the right to see how other humans are treating the Earth, and to see how you're treating the Earth and how your country is behaving." These are the right words. However, any coin has a flip side. And I would be surprised if the military forces are still not using similar tech for their "special" purposes. However, making such data available for a wider audience should help mitigate the risks associated with a limited number of people controlling it. 💡Article on TechCrunch #space #startups #imagery

Let the doctor do the doctor's job We have all been to a doctor, right? And I am sure everybody had the experience of seeing the doctor care about the patient for 5 minutes and then write his medical notes for 15 minutes out of a 20-minutes session. The burden of clinical documentation makes a lot of bad things. Spending half of the day writing medical notes negatively impacts the doctors' work/life balance and our perception of medical care. But the main issue is that patient does not receive enough attention to his problems, and the quality of medical help suffers as a result. DeepScribe, an AI-powered medical transcription platform, has raised $30 million in Series A funding to solve the issue. Their software listens to a natural doctor-patient conversation, records, summarizes and integrates it into the physician's health record system of choice. For example, the application records patient exams while listening and preparing clinical notes. DeepScribe then uploads the notes directly into Electronic Health Records (EHR) fields. That enables physicians to review and sign their fully equipped notes in the appropriate EHR fields. DeepScribe says its platform saves physicians an average of three hours a day and costs around one-sixth the cost of human medical scribes. The company has saved physicians over 2.5 million minutes of documentation to date. In terms of reliability, DeepScribe says physicians encounter less than one correction per note on average after 20 days of usage. As for the future of its tech, the company hopes to go beyond providing efficiencies for the physician. Their ultimate goal is to improve outcomes for patients. 💡 Article on TechCrunch #AI #medtech #startups