A ground-breaking innovation, birthed in a sudden flash of insight, is the stuff of legend. Air conditioning, Kevlar, the DNA-replicating process known as PCR (polymerase chain reaction) — each was the product of a Eureka! moment. The list may soon be longer by one, thanks to a wandering mind and a napkin.
When Jud Ready attended an academic conference on materials science in Boston in 2003, he didn’t plan on coming home with the idea for a three-dimensional solar cell, but that’s what happened. (more…)
With research and development assistance from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and seed funding from the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), an Atlanta-based company is developing what it hopes will be the next-generation instrument for optimizing eyesight for the hundreds of millions of people who wear glasses or contacts – or who are candidates for corrective surgery.
To be used by optometrists and ophthalmologists, the instrument – known as the VisionOptimizer – is intended to provide more accurate vision measurements, along with a more patient-friendly and engaging vision test. The company believes its system will facilitate the custom-manufacturing of spectacles and contact lenses that provide better eyesight and improved wearing comfort compared to conventional prescriptions. (more…)
Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed a novel iPhone application that may enable persons with Parkinson’s disease and certain other neurological conditions to use the ubiquitous devices to collect data on hand and arm tremors and relay the results to medical personnel.
The researchers believe the application could replace subjective tests now used to assess the severity of tremors, while potentially allowing more frequent patient monitoring without costly visits to medical facilities. (more…)
With more than 20,000 abandoned and active gas and oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico, oil leaks and spills pose a continuous threat to the region’s ecosystem. Monitoring the health of the ecosystems helps ensure the sustainability of natural resources, and helps protect human health and the environment.
Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are developing an advanced-warning system to detect the presence of oil in saltwater. The sensor-based system offers the potential for remotely, autonomously and continuously monitoring bodies of water for oil. (more…)
The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) may possess the secret to baking perfect buns every time. Its researchers have developed a production-line system that automatically inspects the quality of sandwich buns exiting the oven and adjusts oven temperatures if it detects unacceptable buns.
“We have closed the loop between the quality inspection of buns and the oven controls to meet the specifications required by food service and fast food customers,” said GTRI senior research engineer Douglas Britton. “By creating a more accurate, uniform and faster assessment process, we are able to minimize waste and lost product.” (more…)
Researchers from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are helping to automate human resource information systems for health care professionals in two African nations, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
In collaboration with Emory University’s Lillian Carter Center for International Nursing and the Task Force for Global Health, GTRI is evaluating and advising on computer systems developed to provide information for better human resource management, policy development and health planning. (more…)
Researchers from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and Bennett Aerospace Inc., a North Carolina advanced-technology company, have won a contract to develop the capability for testing a new type of radar jammer for the U.S. Navy. Called the Next Generation Jammer, this novel device will utilize phased-array radar technology in ways that could provide U.S. military aircraft greater protection from ground-to-air missiles.
GTRI is working with Bennett Aerospace on innovative technologies that will be necessary to thoroughly test the Next Generation Jammer. Bennett Aerospace recently received a $750,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II award for development of a Phased Array Next-Generation Jammer Testbed. This new award, from the Naval Air Command, follows a $150,000 Phase I contract that involved the same technology. (more…)
Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are poised to show the U.S. Army an advanced approach to enabling autonomous collaboration among dissimilar robotic vehicles. (more…)
