The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is giving top priority to inventors of homeland security technology. This is no small favor. "Typically, we're able to knock 14 to 15 months off the 17-month initial examination," says Steve Kunin, deputy commissioner for patent policy at the patent office. Surprisingly, the initiative to fast-track anti-terrorism technology was not prompted by 9/11. Actually, it was set in motion in September 1996 in response to the Oklahoma City bombing. At the time, the Clinton White House challenged government and the public to find ways to fight terrorism. The fast-track for counter-terrorism innovation was the patent office contribution. After 9/11, the initiative shifted from one of "counter terrorism" to "homeland security." Surprisingly, the volume of security-oriented patents did not jump noticeably after 9/11. "Interestingly enough, we haven't noticed any increase in petitions to make applications special [guv-speak for fast-track requests]," says Kunin. About 1% of all current applications come with a request for homeland-security fast track. "But that's no small number," says Kunin, "We receive 350,000 applications worldwide, so it's still 35,000." The patent office isn't combing through nifty inventions in search of security ideas, though. The applicant needs to identify the innovation as a security device, which must then pass through patent office criteria. The office, however, posts information about the initiative on its Website and explains what qualifies for fast-track attention to hundreds of daily callers.
We looked at a number of sources to determine this year's greenest cars, from KBB to automotive trade magazines to environmental organizations. These 14 cars emerged as being great at either stretching fuel or reducing carbon footprint.
Researchers at MIT and Sandia National Labs have observed a reaction in lithium-air batteries that could help improve the design of these cells for electric vehicles and other applications.
Healthcare might seem to be an unlikely target application for the Internet of Things technology, but recent developments show small ways that big-data is going to make an impact on patient care moving into the future.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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