They are no celebrities. You won’t read about them in the paper, neither will you stumble upon their faces in gossip magazines. If you passed by one of them on the street, you wouldn’t notice. Nonetheless, you should get to know them.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology published two days ago their yearly ranking of young scientists, activists and business men, who can change the shape of future world. We analysed the list and picked 7 inspiring examples of extraordinary ways passion, business and will to transform the world can combine.
Innovators Under 35: Rules
Innovators are nominated by MIT Review editors (we recommended you MITR as a great free source of knowledge for marketers , discussing innovations and technology), and the final list is decided upon by a jury of world class specialists, ranging from scientists to CEOs.
We check who of them businessmen should get to know (because they’re about to turn business world over).
1. Internet for Disabled People
Who: Yevgen Borodin, 34 years old
Problem: Internet gives access to huge resources of valuable knowledge, but many people have problems with access to that due to various disabilities, especially blindness.
Solution: Capti Narrator is a software that searches and aggregates audio content from various sources, like Google Books, Gutenberg Project, or Dropbox. It also converts text to audio.
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2. Hardware for Artificial Intelligence
Who: Yunji Chen, 32 years old
Problem: As advanced machine learning research is in full swing, we also need hardware to put new discoveries in practice. Today deep learning operations consume way too much energy to be used on regular basis. That’s why our smartphones don’t learn our behaviors – otherwise we would have to charge them all the time.
Solution: Chen designs processors specialized in one task: machine learning. That way our devices will be able to learn more efficiently, and we will get smart tools (finally!)
3. Online safety
Who: Zakir Durumeric, 26 years old
Problem: Today almost everything is connected to a computer, from medical equipment to bank safes, to engines. That can pose a danger to everyone’s safety.
Solution: Zakir created a fast and simple software that identifies potentially threatening online actions and alerts administrator of the website, so the situation can be dealt with immediately, before something bad happens.
4. A robot in every household
Who: Melonee Wise, 33 years old
Problem: Despite technological development, a lot of inventions are kept in laboratories, away from everyday life. Think about robots that could help us with mundane tasks, like house cleaning.
Solution: For 15 years, Melonee has been designing cheap, low-energy robots to be used in every household. Her priority is flawless communication between humans and robots.
5. Can computers see?
Who: Jamie Shotton, 34 years old
Problem: How computer can recognize objects, e.g. in video material?
Solution: Jamie’s software allows to break the picture into smaller pieces referring to various qualities, like color, what enables machine to recognise objects. His innovation can be applied in monitoring systems.
6. Artificial skin
Who: Benjamin Tee, 33 years old.
Problem: Touch is the crucial sense not only as a way of learning the world, but also of balance and finding our position in space. How to help people who lost it?
Solution: Benjamin Tee works at the system of sensors light and sensitive enough to replace sense of touch. De facto, Tee invents an electronic skin.
7. Instagram co-founder about online business
Who: Kevin Systrom, 31 years old
Problem: How to do business online today? What competencies does it require?
Solution: Systrom, whose outstanding business skills have been noticed by MIT Jury this year, claims that his entrepreneurial success stems from combining various qualifications, both artistic and strictly technical (he studied both photography and engineering). Social skills, like extrovert temperament, also turned out to be helpful.
Which of the innovations above seem most interesting to you?
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