Never too late to innovate
Check out some of the hottest innovations on IPI's Online Marketplace in 2018
More than just a buzzword, innovation is a critical determinant of a company’s survival in a competitive global landscape rife with disruption. To improve productivity and accelerate the development of new products and services, entrepreneurs and inventors can find synergy on IPI’s Online Marketplace, where technologies applicable to a wide variety of industrial contexts are listed.
As we head into 2019, we look back on ten TechOffers spanning six industry areas that garnered the most interest in 2018
Clarity on water quality
Industry area: Energy and Environment
Slight changes in water quality can have devastating consequences for livestock in aquaculture farms. To help farmers monitor and control their farms around the clock, a system of sensors that connect to the cloud is now available, allowing water parameters such as acidity, dissolved oxygen levels, temperature and electrical conductivity to be tracked in real time. The information can be remotely accessed via a computer or smart phone, and farmers can receive alerts and updates.
More power, faster charging
Industry area: Energy and Environment
Compared to conventional lithium batteries, hydrogen fuel cells have almost triple the energy density and faster recharging time, requiring just ten minutes to return to a fully charged state. Furthermore, the lightweight nature of hydrogen fuel cells makes them ideal for use in drones and mobile devices. The developers of this hydrogen fuel cell technology are seeking for interested parties to license the technology. They are open to work with potential adopters to customise the technology for different applications.
Bad bugs be gone
Industry area: Materials & Chemicals
The careless use of antibiotics has resulted in widespread accumulation of drug-resistant microbes. Novel strategies to treat infections and stem the spread of these ‘superbugs’ are urgently needed. A Singapore-based company has thus developed an organic antimicrobial compound that is not only effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but also fungi. The chemical is well-tolerated in animals and humans and can be formulated as a solid or liquid for use in various applications.
Keeping solar panels stain-free
Industry area: Materials & Chemicals
The glass surfaces of solar panels in coastal areas, desert regions or industrially polluted areas are especially susceptible to staining, which reduces their ability to capture sunlight for conversion into electricity. Cleaning and maintenance of solar panels can be expensive and requires large volumes of water. To facilitate easy cleaning and reduce the maintenance-related costs, an anti-soiling coating has been developed, which has the additional benefit of increasing the power output of solar panels due to its anti-reflective property. This coating can also be applied on automotive or building glass.
No weak link in security
Industry area: Manufacturing
Protecting precious cargo in warehouses and preventing server racks from unauthorised tampering are just some of the access control issues that companies frequently grapple with. Where the traditional lock does not grant sufficient security, businesses can consider this inexpensive and scalable cloud-based secure locking system that is a drop-in replacement of existing mechanical locks for added peace of mind and auditable access. Through innovative design, no wiring, cabling or battery is needed for the installation of the lockset. A one-time password will be required to release the locking mechanism, ensuring that only authorised personnel have access to sensitive locations. The physical key for unlocking is software-enabled and can be programmed such that multiple factor-access is supported. Being software controlled, the key can be programmed to support time limited access functions as well. This provides an added layer of security. The technology owner is seeking for co-creation partners or interested parties to in-license their solution for new applications.
Different shades of UV protection
Industry area: Health & Personal Care
Low doses of ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation from the sun stimulates vitamin D synthesis in the skin. However, prolonged exposure to UVB rays can cause skin aging, discomfort in the form of a sunburn, or even lead to skin cancer. To provide UVB protection to the skin without losing the benefits of vitamin D, a dynamic sunscreen that becomes increasingly opaque in response to UVB light exposure has been developed. This technology can be tuned to block specific wavelengths of light in the UV range, making it highly versatile and convenient to use.
A one-stop skincare solution
Industry area: Health & Personal Care
Given the tremendous range of skincare products available, consumers may have difficulty deciding which cosmetic products best suit their skin. A proprietary suite of tools and software is now available for aesthetic clinics to perform quick analyses of an individual’s skin health to recommend the right products. In addition, cosmetics manufacturers can fine tune their offerings with the system’s proprietary skin profile database and provide personalised skincare. The platform also comes with an app and a web-based interface to drive customer engagement.
Sweet news for diabetics
Industry area: Info-communications and Electronics
Diabetic patients now have a reason to cheer with the invention of a sensor that measures blood glucose levels without requiring a finger prick to draw blood. Instead, the device relies on heartrate data and an algorithm to estimate the concentration of circulating sugar. Such non-invasive tests reduce patient discomfort and allow for more convenient health monitoring. Incorporated into wearable wellness-tracking devices, this invention could improve the prevention and management of diabetes.
Tracing footsteps indoors
Industry area: Info-communications and Electronics
Indoor tracking systems cannot tap on GPS for locating people and objects. Hence, a Singapore-based company has developed a Bluetooth-based solution that allows the precise monitoring of the positions of staff and visitors inside a building. Because of the system’s compensation algorithm that accounts for signal noise and interference, it can pinpoint the location of an individual accurate to a one-meter radius.
Hot meals on demand
Industry area: Food & Nutrition
Freezing is often used to prolong the shelf-life of cooked food. However, the freeze-thaw process can be detrimental to the nutritional content of food items. Combining proprietary temperature control and food packaging technologies, a team of inventors can now keep a hot meal fresh for one to three weeks without refrigeration. The heat-preservation system could be especially useful for extending the effective shelf-life of food products, thereby helping food manufacturers and catering companies save cost and reduce food waste.
