Next Big Thing: Weekly Innovation Report
Stretch by Hello Robot
This robot could help people with disabilities. Hello Robot's assistive robot named Stretch is a versatile and autonomous robot that can extend its arm beyond its base and has a long vertical range of motion. The company aims to develop Stretch as a friendly, affordable, and capable helper for older adults with cognitive and physical impairments. Hello Robot worked with a research team at the University of Illinois and proved that Stretch can provide meaningful assistance to individuals with quadriplegia. The company is now trying to improve the remote control interface, develop more autonomous features and explore its utility in various home and assisted living environments.
https://hello-robot.com/stretch-2
Caviar Biotech
Lab-grown caviar, also known as bio-caviar, is a new alternative to traditional caviar that is created by replicating fish eggs in a laboratory. This process eliminates the need for fishing or farming live fish, making it a more sustainable and ethical option. Companies like Exmoor Caviar in the UK are working on lab-grown caviar under the brand Caviar Biotec. The company believes that consumers may be willing to pay more for a luxury item like caviar, and it is not trying to undercut the farm price of the traditional product. He plans to charge between $136 and $272 per pound which is cheaper than traditional caviar but still not a bargain.
https://caviarbiotec.com/clean-caviar/
Mill
A new startup called Mill aims to turn food waste into chicken feed. The company sends customers a bin for their kitchen scraps, which dehydrates and mashes the scraps into a substance similar to ground coffee. When the bin is full, subscribers send it back to Mill to be turned into an ingredient for chicken feed instead of ending up in a landfill. Subscriptions start at $33 a month and include the bin. The bin also syncs with a smartphone app that shows users how much food they've kept out of the landfill and other data. The process differs from composting in that the bin's contents don't decompose, eliminating any composty smell. Commercial service is a possibility, but homes were the initial target as they account for the most landfill-bound food waste.
OtoSet by SafKan Health
OtoSet is an FDA-cleared automated ear-cleaning device for addressing excessive earwax present in over 35 million Americans. OtoSet uses liquid flow and micro-suction to break down and remove earwax in a safe and effective way. The brothers founded the company while still undergraduates. The small team built prototypes using a 3D printer and tested them in collaboration with a Seattle-area clinical partner. Benefits include better hearing, clinically proven results, and greater access for patients. The Seattle-based company won a few Innovator Awards and raised 13 million dollars to develop its product further.
Membrion
This Startup is preventing pollutants to reach rivers and oceans. Membrion is manufacturing ceramic membranes that treat wastewater. The company aims to tackle a major issue in wastewater treatment. Conventional methods often require companies to transport water offsite for treatment, rather than being able to process it on-site. Many factories in the developing world just release wastewater into rivers causing massive pollution. To address this, Membrion offers ceramic desalinization membranes that effectively remove salt and heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and copper from toxic runoff from manufacturing processes.
