Tech for locating hidden devices | Flyover country in the spotlight

Hemp and the automotive industry

NASHVILLE, TN–The Hemp Alliance of Tennessee is partnering with the University of Tennessee and the State’s Department of Agriculture to look at another way to use hemp fiber: in the automotive industry. BMW has been using hemp-created material in the door panel lining of its electric i3. The research, which will involve an overall assessment of hemp fiber in transportation, will take place from now through year’s end.

Locating hidden IoT devices

PITTSBURGH, PA–Well, here’s some tech we wish we DIDN’T need: A group of academics from Carnegie Mellon University have developed a system, called Lumos, that can help locate hidden IoT devices in unfamiliar physical spaces. Those devices are used to snoop on people in hotel rooms and Airbnbs. Ew.

Middle school students finalists in innovation competition

ST. LOUIS, MO–A group of middle school students from St. Louis are finalists in the 2022 FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award challenge. Called The Albots, the group was selected out of thousands of teams in more than 110 countries who were challenged to design a creative new piece of technology or improve an existing one to help cargo along its journey. The Albots invention is called The Road Guardian and it can be attached to the framework of the vehicle to prevent body movements from being mistaken as potholes.

Charlotte company to produce NASA spacesuits

CHARLOTTE, NC–Collins Aerospace has been selected to produce NASA’s next-generation spacesuit, which astronauts could wear when working outside the International Space Station and within the next decade on the moon. The new suits will be designed by astronauts for astronauts and offer enhanced mobility and weigh less than the current generation spacesuits, allowing for increased mission times. 

Indiana corridor is home for hard tech

INDIANAPOLIS, IN–Forbes cited the corridor from Indianapolis to West Lafayette (the home of Purdue University) as a major home for hard tech. This includes semiconductor manufacturing, bio-pharma manufacturing and aerospace/transportation. Why hard tech in the heartland? The top reasons include the workforce “rooted in the manufacturing DNA to make things and upskilled by digital technologies to make things in new ways.”