RoboGames feature robotic wizardry (CNET News.com)

The RoboGames competition, which pits bots from around the world in more than 70 challenges, hit San Francisco during the weekend of June 15. I did a video news story for CNET News.com and talked with robot builders competing in the combat challenge.

Check out the story:
http://news.com.com/1606-2_3-6193189.html

This car moves without a driver (CNET News.com)

On June 14, the Stanford Racing Team tested Junior, a Volkswagen Passat that has been programmed to drive on its own for the upcoming DARPA Urban Challenge. I did the video story for CNET News.com.
The team leader of Stanford Racing Team, Sebastian Thrun said that this technology of driving a car without a driver can be used commercially, and it may cost no more than $ 6000/= per vehicle.
Here is the link:
http://news.com.com/1606-2_3-6191954.html

An sunny hiring season for job seekers within technology (CNET News.com)

What are the companies looking when they hire and what are graduating students looking for in companies? Unemployment within tech is down to levels comparable to the dot-com era. Big companies tries to be innovative and find new ways to attract the best talents.

Read article here!

Together with the story I made two videos. One about a small startup who created a social networking site to help graduating students to find job opportunities. See it here!

The other is with Judy Gilbert, Staffing Programs Director at Google, about the strategy the web giant uses to get talented students to work for them. See it here!

Innovative self-publishing model (CNET News.com)

Do you want a tactile proof of something you wrote or took pictures of? It no longer has to be printing your book in multiple copies for a high cost and then piling them up in your garage. New sites as Lulu and Blurb offer self-publishing models that allow you to make one copy prints.

The innovation process within publishing has moved to another path and the book market can be compared to the music industry. It has changed a lot during the past years. More books than ever are being published, and even though more are being sold the titles get published faster but vend in fever quantities and online bookstores has pushed out traditional stores for quite some time.

Blurb recently launched there service in Europe. Read article here. They also announced a partnership with photo-sharing site Flickr. Read article here.

Gallery Stanford Racing Team/DARPA (CNET News.com)

Try outs for DARPA -- Urban Challenge have started and I went with a team from CNET to the Stanford Racing team's first testing to reach the competition.

Se my photo gallery here!

Advanced easy-to-use microscope

The Oregon-based company FEI just launched a new microscope, the Phenom, that can magnify objects 20 000 times. Unlike other microscopes, this is very easy to operate and you zoom in and out in a matter of seconds with a touch screen. This tool is mainly aimed at industries and universities.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=19&entry_id=17892



Ralph Hermansson

Geothermal energy reaches big politics

In late April, I wrote a story about how you can use geothermal energy to heat (or cool) your house. Since this technology is pretty unknown in the U.S., I got a lot of reader feedback and now it seems as if geothermal energy is making its way into big politics as well. U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney, D, from Pleasanton, California is now pushing a bill to support the development of geothermal energy on a larger scale. The hopes are that eventually some 75 million people in the U.S. alone will be supported with electricity from this source.



Ralph Hermansson





http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/18/BUGGGQG6L21.DTL&hw=geothermal&sn=001&sc=1000

Web 2.0 and The Future of Journalism

I thought I should post this small podcast that I produced for the Innovation Journalism conference on the Doer as well as through PodTech. It is a Q and A with ScobleShow's Robert Scoble, Google Vice President Marissa Mayer and Web Strategist Jeremiah Owyang on the future landscape of media. The podcast started off my session on Tomorrow's newsroom at the conference, check it out here.

On Incuby and Innovation

I wrote a piece on PodTech's blog today where I touch base with the issue of innovation policy and the study visit we did to Washington last week. To me Incuby seems like an interesting project. Read the story here.