Where?: United States

Who? Mr. Zhao and Ms. Zheng, researchers at the University of Chicago.

What? Bracelet capable of blocking the microphones of connected objects. The system sends ultrasounds that jam the frequencies received by the microphones. It is constantly active and triggered by arm movements.

Why?: The bracelet guarantees its users‘ privacy by stopping always-on smart objects from snooping. 

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Los Angeles, California, USA

Who? David Nussbaum, Founder and CEO of PORTL Inc.

What? Epic Portl : An individual hologram machine that creates ultra-realistic, real-time, high definition images on a human scale. The innovation, developed in partnership with the StoryFile storytelling platform, allows users to talk in real time with a realistic, AI-powered human.

Why?: The potential applications of such a device are very varied, particularly in the field of education during the coronavirus pandemic, when school and university courses are often online.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where: Guinea

Who?: Moussa Doumbouya, Founder and President

What?  GNCode : African cultures have an oral tradition but Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant do not speak any African language. The languages spoken by populations who are often illiterate are often not very present on the Internet, hence a lack of data to train software. GNcode has worked around this problem by exploiting local radio archives. This very "noisy" resource allowed them to create tools like powerful language coding software and a digital assistant prototype for people without formal education speaking Maninka, Pular or Susu.

Why: GNCode shows how AI can serve populations that are often ignored by the tech giants.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: South Korea

Who?: Created by a group of engineers from the KU-IST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation of Korea.

What? These smart, 3D-printed glasses are fitted with a range of sensors. They are capable of monitoring brain and eye activity, but can also be transformed into tinted sunglasses or used as a game controller.

Why?: This innovation could provide valuable data for the health sector. It could also offer solutions for people with severe disabilities, such as tetraplegia, by allowing them to control connected devices with their eyes.

 Innovation repérée par Marcus Goddard de l’Observatoire Netexplo. 

Where?: Ecole supérieure polytechnique de Dakar, Senegal.

Who?: Created by a group of students including Lamine Mouhamed Kébé and Pape Mamadou Gueye

What? Docteur Car : Docteur Car is a medical robot equipped with anti-COVID innovations. It moves around the isolation rooms to deliver medicines, food and thermometers, and speaks several languages.

Why?: It reduces contact between medical staff and patients with the virus.

Innovation spotted by Céleste Ancel from the Netexplo Observatory and student at Sciences Po Paris.

Where? : Israel

Who? HourOne, video processing company, founded by Oren Aharon who is now the CEO

What? HourOne: Artificial intelligence that allows users to create a clone of themselves and shoot in videos. This digital twin is completely autonomous and allows users to shoot videos of themselves without appearing in front of the camera.

Why? : This innovation could be used to improve customer service for companies, for the education sector to enable easier language learning or simply to create content.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: London, United Kingdom

Who?: Project led by Richard Cave, speech therapist recruited by Google.

What?: Look to speak : With Look to Speak, Google allows Internet users to choose from pre-selected phrases on their smartphone screen with their eyes, without the need for specialised equipment. Once selected, the sentence is read aloud. Thanks to AI, the system adapts to the person's habits and predicts probable language sequences.

Why?: This experimental application aims to make communication easier for people with speech and motor disorders.

Innovation spotted by Alice Honorez from the IHECS school of Belgium, supervised by Professor Damien Van Achter.

Where? : Université de Carleton, Ottawa, Canada

Who? : Shawn Graham, professeur en sciences humaines numériques à l’Université de Carleton

What? Ai Bone Trade Tracking : Un réseau neuronal convolutif qui s’appuie sur le modèle Inception-V3 de Google pour détecter, à partir d’image sur internet, des preuves de l’achat et la vente d’ossements humains, une pratique illégale et choquante.

Why? :Cette innovation permet de mettre un frein au commerce illégal d’os et offre même d’autres perspectives. Shawn Graham travaille maintenant avec Countering Crime Online, un groupe qui utilise l'IA pour traquer le commerce illégal de l'ivoire et le trafic sexuel.

Innovation repérée par Marcus Goddard de l’Observatoire Netexplo. 

Where?: Argentina

Who? Founded by Martin Furst

What? Abakus Farming Blockchain:  Argentina produces 40% of the world's soybeans, but farmers are suffering from rampant inflation. Abakus, an Argentinian startup and Coreledger, a Swiss specialist in blockchain architecture, are launching a digital barter platform to help farmers overcome this situation. The system is based on a cryptomoney indexed on physical assets (e.g. soybeans) that could be more stable than a fluctuating national currency. Tokens can be exchanged for goods or pesos.

Why?: The Coreledger system has also enabled the Bolivian beef industry to become more profitable by eliminating intermediaries thanks to direct investment tokens. This is an anti-poverty and anti-uncertainty solution because the tokens should be more stable than the national currency.

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where? : Togo

Who? Partnership between the Togolese Government and the NGO GiveDirectly, a project supervised by Caroline Teti.

What? GiveDirectly: an NGO that organises direct transfers to individuals using an algorithm developed by the University of Berkeley. This programme will enable 57,000 vulnerable people, spread over the poorest cantons in Togo, to receive monthly aid for five (5) months. The first deployment was carried out in Togo, through the "Novissi" mobile transfer platform.  The algorithm is based on data provided by telecom operators following an automatic analysis of the correlation between socio-economic situation and telephone consumption.

Why? : These concrete operations make it possible to provide financial support to the most deprived populations facing Covid by defining priorities thanks to a powerful algorithm.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Japan

Who?: Fronteo, with the support of Keio University School of Medicine and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development

What? Ai Alzheimer's screening: A system that analyses 5 to 10 minute conversations between a doctor and his patient and performs a precise analysis of vocabulary and sentence structure to provide a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in patients that is 85% accurate, a success rate similar to that of doctors.

Why?: The startup aims to improve diagnosis and make the tests less anxiety-provoking for patients and doctors. This technology would also allow earlier diagnosis.

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Japan

Who?: Founded by Shinpei Kato at Nagoya University.

What? Autoware : A non-profit foundation that promotes and finances open-source projects related to autonomous mobility. The foundation has launched three projects. Autoware.AI is a research and development platform on autonomous mobility. Autoware.IO is an interface that can be adapted to various vehicles. Autoware.Auto is specifically dedicated to engineering research for self-driving cars. It currently has more than 2,300 members. It is used in around 30 vehicles. Since 2017, the technology has been authorised to equip cars circulating in Japan. It should be used for the 2020 Olympic Games. 

Why?: The project aims to democratize autonomous vehicle technology worldwide. 

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: England

Who?: Mathematicians from the University of Cambridge

What? A cyber defence platform against viruses using artificial intelligence. It is intended for companies suffering from increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. Based on machine learning, AI records the signature of viruses to stop attacks before the first damage is done. 

Why?: 4000 organisations worldwide have subscribed to anti-virus software to protect themselves from attacks. The AI software learns the whole identity of a company to detect an intrusion very quickly and indicate the steps to be taken. It offers an automatic response similar to the action of an antigen, as the name suggests.

Innovation spotted by Chow Yi Wai from NUS in Singapore, under the supervision of professor Ben Leong.

Where?: Billund, Denmark

Who?: Lego Group

What? Lego vidiyo : New social network service in augmented reality. It lets users create and share their own video clips featuring mini Lego figures to be scanned, while applying the effects and styles of their choice.

Why?: The principle is close to TikTok but Vidiyo is aimed at young children with strict built-in moderation and a Lego touch that means that most of the user interface is built from physical bricks.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where: United Kingdom

Who?: Launched by Matthew Mayes and Claudio Piovesana through Adaptive-Media

What? Focus Pocus : An animated owl driven by artificial intelligence and integrated into a pedagogical platform that interacts with the children and measures their level of concentration to ensure that they don't drop out of class during a lockdown. Focus Pocus measures their attention in real time, alerts them if they lose interest, rewards them for their work and provides a progress report to parents, while respecting their privacy.

Why: This platform helps children concentrate during homework assignments from a distance, especially during extended periods of distance learning.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: United States

Who?: Team of researchers from Stanford University

What? Scientists have created a bionic jellyfish that can swim three times faster. They designed a device consisting of a microchip and a battery that stimulates the muscle of the aquatic animal. They are now looking to control the jellyfish remotely. As the jellyfish does not feel pain, no side effects have been observed. 

Why?: The project should make it possible to explore the seabed at a lower cost by taking samples, measurements and even photographs using a micro-camera. 

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Tanzania

Who?: AI21 Lab led by Amnon Shashua

What? Kisomo smartlearn : Online learning platform. It is intended for African students and includes many subjects: geography, physics, mathematics, languages, computer science etc. The innovation comes from the numerous 2D and 3D animations and filmed lessons to make learning easy and fun from a smartphone.

Why?: The application is mainly aimed at children in East Africa who cannot go to school but have easy access to a phone and internet connection.

Innovation spotted by Matheus de Souza from HEC Paris, supervised by Professor Julien Levy.

Where?: United States

Who? The Markup, an NGO fighting misinformation

What?: The Citizen Browser Project: A web browser designed by The Markup to check the algorithms that social media platforms use and determine which information is being used by their users, which information is being amplified or deleted, and which online communities these users are encouraged to join. Initially, the browser will track anonymous data from Facebook and YouTube.

Why?: The software analyses the algorithms present on social networks to understand how cognitive bubbles form. In particular, it seeks to study the consumption patterns and thought processes that emerge online. 

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Japan

Who?: Daniel Maggs & Wojciech Bula

What? A device that analyses urine to measure its user’s health through factors like pH, acidity and hydration. The device is linked to a smartphone app that gives nutrition advice. The application adapts its recommendations to each user. The device can also measure fertility, tell whether a woman is pregnant or detect diseases.

Why?: It is aimed at a variety of users, e.g. pro athletes, chronically ill people or any users who want to track their health.

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: United States

Who?: Chris Lu and Paul Yacoubian

What? Copy.ai: CopyAI is an AI assistant for writing and brainstorming marketing texts. Copy.ai is based on OpenAI's Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3) artificial intelligence model to help marketers create more unique advertisements.

Why?: The startup wants to support the digital marketing managers of the companies, to stimulate their creativity and enable them to work more efficiently so that they can free up time for other essential business activities.

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Montreal, Canada

Who? Start-up founded by Charles LeSieur.

What? IAgree : A Chrome extension that uses AI to alert Internet users to important or incongruous points each time they are asked to accept terms & conditions. The algorithm focuses on three main topics: financial concepts and possible fees, data collection and intellectual property.

Why?: This avoids "consent without consent", so that users can protect themselves online, avoid fraud and make more informed and considered decisions.

Innovation spotted by Myriam Tai from HEC Montréal, supervised by Professor Pierre Balloffet.

Where?: Toronto, Canada

Who?: Alyssa Atkins, CEO and founder

What? Lilia: Your “eggs freezing concierge”, for people with ovaries who might want kids later. The first platform dedicated to helping women learn about freezing their eggs. For 485$ per year, you can chat with counselors and get personalized pieces of advice as well as a comparison of different doctors and medical facilities, with a large discount in egg-freezing clinics for members of Lilia.

Why?: Allow women to make life plans more easily by teaching them about their options. The goal is to be proactive about fertility instead of reacting to infertility.

Innovation spotted by Daniel Altschuler from HEC Paris, supervised by Professor Julien Levy.

Where?: Los Angeles, Califonia, USA

Who?: Umur Aybars Ciftci and Lijun Yin, researchers from Binghamton University, Ilke Demir, from Intel.

What?: Fake Catcher : A tool to spot manipulated videos that spread disinformation by exploiting physiological changes invisible to the naked eye. In particular, the video of a face contains subtle changes of colour resulting from pulsations in the blood circulation; This technology can spot whether videos are fake because pulsations do not follow a normal rhythm.

Why?: This tool could spot manipulated videos quickly and reliably detect to prevent the spread of misinformation.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory. 

Where?: Tokyo, Japan

Who?: Shirabe Ogino, CEO of DeepScore

What? Deepscore : Android and IOS application that claims to determine how trustworthy a person is in just one minute. While a user answers questions, the app analyzes their facial movements and voice with AI to determine a trust score.

Why?: This technology could be useful for loan applications, claims assessments, or authentication processes. It is already used in some emerging markets in Asia.

Innovation spotted by Thierry Happe from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: South Korea

Who?: H.S. Kim, President of the Consumer Products Division

What? Ballie : A robotic companion in the form of a mobile ball that uses an interface exploiting artificial intelligence to perform several tasks. With voice activation and an integrated camera, the intelligent ball is capable of recognising and responding to the requests of its users, but also to help with household tasks, to be used as an alarm clock or fitness coach or to record memorable moments.

Why?: This intelligent assistant offers both a pet-like presence and assistance in many everyday tasks. It acts as a multi-purpose, anti-solitude robot.

Innovation spotted by Amandine Van Dessel  from the IHECS school of Belgium, supervised by Professor Damien Van Achter.

Where ? : Shenzhen, Chine

Who ?: Fondé par Liu Ruopeng, Ji Chunlin, Luan Lin, Zhang Yangyang, Zhao Zhiya

What ? : Kuangchi SmartHelmet : Casques intelligents équipés de caméras infrarouges alimentées par l'IA pour détecter les piétons souffrant de fièvre. Les casques sont portés par les policiers lorsqu'ils patrouillent dans les rues.

Why ? Nous pensons qu'il est possible de développer ce produit pour éviter de futures pandémies ou d'affiner la technologie pour prévenir les attaques terroristes.

Innovation repérée par Aradhana Sharma  de HEC Paris, sous la direction du professeur Julien Levy.

Where?: China

Who?: 东泽 EuryChen 

What? An AI allowing that restores dialogue in the Chinese series "The Bad Kids / 隐秘的角落" broadcast by IQYI. To comply with Chinese television rules which recommend that crimes are always solved and that criminals never get away with it, some scenes were altered with, in particular, the deletion of lines needed to understand the plot. An AI expert fan created an algorithm to retrieve the original dialogue from the characters' facial expressions and lip-reading, which is a real technical feat as Mandarin is difficult to lip-read. 

Why?: This project proves that it is possible to use artificial intelligence to circumvent censorship and convey artists’ intentions.

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: United States

Who?: Application developed by Pieter Levels

What? An Open AI application fuelled by proven business ideas that works with GPT-3. The app then generates a constant flow of startup projects. Users can vote for or against each idea or, if they want exclusivity, pay $99 to have it removed from the site.

Why?: This resource provides verified business ideas to entrepreneurs who can then develop them. This stimulates creativity and allows start-ups to emerge.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: California, United States

What? Jarvisen Translator : A two-way ultra-quick translator device that covers 60 languages worldwide. It works in about 200 countries worldwide with an internet connection and offers a 2-year global data coverage. Offline translation is already possible for some languages.

Why?: This tech breaks down barriers wherever you go for business, pleasure or education.

Innovation spotted by Orlando Cuculiza from HEC Paris, supervised by Professor Julien Levy.

Where?: Silicon Valley, USA

Who?: Emma R, CEO and Co-founder

What? Koda Robot dog : A robotic dog based on Koa technology, a multi-processor and sensor fusion AI device that lives on an autonomous secure network. The AI is based on blockchain technology. The dog can sense when its owner is sad, happy or excited so that, over time, it can respond appropriately to human emotions. 

Why?: Koda can be used as a guard, companion or guide dog for the blind. 

Innovation spotted by Félycia Beauchamp from HEC Montréal, supervised by Professor Pierre Balloffet.

Where? : Johannes Kepler University Linz in Austria

Who? : A team of researchers from the university, led by Martin Kaltenbrunner

What? Edible robots : The team used the gel to make a robot that mimics an elephant’s trunk and found that it could withstand over 330,000 cycles of non-stop movements without drying out or cracking. Robots with edible parts could lead the way towards body-save systems that can deliver medicine and perform more natural robotic movements.

Why? : Since gelatine is edible, the gel might be useful for administering drugs to animals, by creating a robot disguised as prey or food !

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Linz, Austria

Who?: Researchers from the University of Linz

What? A system of drones with the ability to interpret the environment with greater certainty than drones equipped with infrared cameras thanks to machine learning.

Why?: These UAVs improve the effectiveness of rescue missions, particularly in forests where infrared cameras are often misled by heat from trees. Drones equipped with this innovation find people at risk with more than 90% accuracy, compared to 25% for infrared cameras. 

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: USA

Who? Yeshimabeit Milner and a network of 4,000 tech activists

What? Data for Black Lives: a group of technologists and activists led by Yeshimabeit Milner who are using data science to empower black communities in the U.S. In 2020 the group mainly compiled state-level data on the impact of Covid-19 on Black people, and is in the process of building a national database of technologies used by law enforcement, with evidence of how these technologies disproportionately harm Black people.

Why: Algorithms may be hidden from most of us, but they shape many aspects of our lives. Who creates them, and what backgrounds and biases do they bring?

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Massachusetts, USA

Who? MIT Researchers, including Darsh Shah, a PhD student at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).

What? AI Wikipedia Update: Regularly updating the millions of Wikipedia articles is a time-consuming task. Artificial intelligence created by researchers locates the Wikipedia page and sentence to be updated, and adds new information entered by a contributor. Simply provide key information, even if the sentences are unstructured, and the AI will complete the article with sentences in the same style as the rest of the page.

Why?: This artificial intelligence system could be used to train other models specialized in detecting false information on social networks, and could also become fully automated and update wikipedia pages by analyzing the Web, without the need for human intervention.

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: France

Who? ABEYE, a start-up company that designs electronic medical eyewear, in partnership with the University of Rennes.

What? Lexilens : Smart glasses specially designed for dyslexic children. Scientists from Rennes have discovered that in a person with dyslexia, the eyes appear to be perfectly symmetrical creating 'mirror images' that overlap and become a source of confusion for the child or adult. Electronic lenses filter these mirror images to restore vision to dyslexic children. The glasses can be set up on a smartphone to adapt perfectly to the vision.

Why?: There are about 8 million dyslexic people in France. Lexilens could be a revolutionary discovery. 

Innovation spotted by Céleste Ancel from the Netexplo Observatory and student at Sciences Po Paris

Where ?: Mountain View, California, USA

Who? : Jiaming Luo and Regina Barzilay from MIT and Yuan Cao from Google's AI lab

What? Deciphering Non Segmented Languages: Dozens of ancient languages remain without deciphering because we don't know what other language they are related to and the scriptures do not separate words. Thanks to AI based on the principles of linguistic evolution, researchers can decipher a lost language even without knowing its origins. The algorithm can also confirm relationships with other known languages.

Why ?: The team hopes to enable the translation of extinct languages from just a few thousand words of text.

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: United States

Who? Cornell University - Stanislas Polu, Ilya Sutskever

What? Generated Language Modelling for Automated Theorem Proving: Mathematical software for solving theorems, based on deep learning using language generator models. After demonstrating theorems that have already been solved, the software began to solve previously unsolvable theorems.

Why?: This is the first time that software has succeeded in demonstrating theorems. The algorithm could enable considerable progress in mathematics.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory. 

Where: United Kingdom

Who? John Jumper, Senior Research Scientist at DeepMind and leader of the research on AlphaFold

What? Alphafold: A large network of advanced (second generation) computers that allow 3D modelling and understanding of protein production processes using artificial intelligence. Scientists have long been interested in understanding the structures of proteins, as the shape of a protein is thought to dictate its function.  

Why: Once the shape of a protein is determined, its role within the cell can be estimated and scientists can develop drugs that work with the unique shape of the protein. 

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Chile

Who? Book Green Co, co-founded by Priyanka Srinivas and Sasikanth Chemalamudi from the Indian city of Hyderabad.

What? Live Green Charaka : Plant-based foods created through a specific recommendation engine, Charaka. It applies machine learning to a database of 15,000 plants, but above all to ancestral recipes from India and elsewhere.

Why?: The aim of this innovation is to make new "360° green" products available to everyone. The innovation combines the ancestral sciences of plant nutrition with biotechnology and machine learning to prescribe 100% natural plant alternatives for animal, synthetic and highly processed food ingredients.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory. 

Where?: London, United Kingdom

Who?: Sam Amrani, founder of Olvin

What? Artificial intelligence that predicts consumer behaviour by processing billions of data points every day. The use of artificial intelligence enables businesses to exploit a multitude of data, including geospatial, meteorological, news, demographics, mobility or even property prices.

Why?: This predictive platform helps small retailers to adapt to their customers. It provides detailed forecasts of consumer trends that managers can use to make proactive decisions about how to run their business.

Innovation spotted by Amandine Van Dessel  from the IHECS school of Belgium, supervised by Professor Damien Van Achter.

Where?: France

Who?: Matthieu Vaxelaire (CEO), Justine Renaudet, Coline Guénel, David Jeusette, Alexandre Gosset

What? A platform that connects people under 30 looking for accommodation with senior citizens who have a spare room in their house or flat.

Why?: The startup tackles two major problems: access to housing for young people and the isolation of senior citizens, a major factor in mortality.

Innovation spotted by Mégane Van Huffelen from the IHECS school of Belgium, supervised by Professor Damien Van Achter.

Where : Germany

Who? : Collective of researchers EleutherAI

What? GPT-Neo: Project to create a replica of GPT-3, an Artificial Intelligence model with 175 parameters. This would make the source code public, usable and modifiable by everyone. GPT-Neo is based on the Mesh TensorFlow programming language.

Why ?: The GPT-3 Artificial Intelligence model, known for its performance in text analysis and writing, is today under exclusive Microsoft licence. It is open to use for $400 per month, but the source code is now private. The research collective therefore wants to make the internal workings of GPT-3 public.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Who? Ritika Dutt, CEO, in partnership with the Canadian Government

What? Botler for citizens : A free AI-powered app that helps victims of sexual harassment. The chatbot tactfully asks the victim about the incident of which he or she has been a victim and gives them guidance and legal options.

Why: This tool supports the fight against sexual harassment and enables victims to take action.

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Plymouth, United Kingdom

Who? A team from Plymouth Marine Laboratory, led by Dr. Lauren Biermann

What?  AI Plastic pollution spotting: Artificial intelligence that enables the detection of marine plastic patches from satellite data. The algorithm can distinguish floating macroplastics from other materials such as sea foam and algae with an accuracy of 86%. 

Why?: This technique could help to monitor and manage plastic waste in the ocean more effectively.
Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: England, United Kingdom

Who?: Researchers from the University of Warwick and the Alan Turing Institute

What? Ai Exoplanet Discovery: A learning algorithm designed and trained to validate candidate objects from thousands of observational images and determine whether or not they are exoplanets.  

Why?: This algorithm has already led to the discovery and confirmation of more than 50 new exoplanets. We now know about 4000 of them, and this algorithm could considerably increase our knowledge by automating a large part of the spotting and tracking process.

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: San Francisco, USA

Who?: OpenAI Laboratory, a project directed by Aditya Ramesh, with Mikhail Pavlov, Gabriel Goh and Scott Gray.

What? An artificial intelligence capable of generating quality images from a simple descriptive sentence. Dall-E is based on a 12 billion-parameter version of GPT-3. Trained with visual-text pairs, the solution is capable of generating new images from a brief descriptive sentence. Sometimes the images are generated from scratch, sometimes they are transformations of existing images. Dall-e can be creative in adding missing elements to the description.

Why?: There are several possible applications for this AI, especially for fashion or interior design.

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Philippines

Who? Carvey Ehren Maigue, student at the University of Mapua

What? An eco-friendly building material made from plant waste. AuREUS is designed to capture luminescent particles, allowing walls and windows to absorb UV rays and transform them into renewable energy. 

Why?: Unlike solar panels and wind turbines, this process is effective regardless of weather conditions.

Innovation spotted by Laura Aroyo from HEC Montréal, supervised by Professor Pierre Balloffet.

Where?: San Francisco, United States

Who? Paul Davison and Rohan Seth, two entrepreneurs

What?: Club House: Clubhouse is an application available on iOS that offers ephemeral audio conversations, often with experts and celebrities, that all users can listen to. Admission to the app is by invitation only, and the user is invited to choose topics they like.

Why?: This system recreates the dynamics of real-life discussions across a wide range of topics.

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where: China

Who?: Chinese research team led by Jian-Wei Pan

What? Jiuzhang: China's leading quantum research group that developed a new photonic technology called Jiuzhang that finished a calculation that would have taken the most powerful supercomputers 2 billion years. In this way, the Chinese centre achieved quantum supremacy like Google, but using a different technology.

Why: The quantum computer could revolutionise many fields. Among other things, it could enable faster and more precise medical diagnoses, the development of therapeutic molecules or the creation of new drugs.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Nepal

Who?: Sonika Manandhar and Tiffany Tong

What? ReGrow: Aeloi is a microcredit initiative for emerging markets based on blockchain tokens. It allows borrowers with no collateral to obtain funding. In exchange, investors are guaranteed that their money is used to develop a micro-enterprise. 

Why?: The startup aims to boost the green economy in emerging countries, particularly in the field of agriculture,through asset-based tokens. In the long term, ReGrow will result in a network of farmers who can share innovations with each other. 

Innovation spotted by Caroline Thivierge from HEC Montréal, supervised by Professor Pierre Balloffet.

Where?: California, United States

Who? University of Southern California Researchers led by Emilio Ferrara

What?  The researchers were able to differentiate authentic accounts from fakes based on the evolution of behaviour between humans and robots. The researchers found that human users responded four to five times more often to other tweets than robots. Real users become progressively more interactive, with the fraction of responses increasing over a one-hour Twitter session before tiring, unlike a bot. 

Why?: This AI will help detect bots, often a source of disinformation and division, on Twitter.

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where? : Marseille, France 

Who? : Created by researchers from the CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, at the Institute of Motion Sciences

What?  AntBot is a legged robot that moves without GPS or maps. With navigation capabilities inspired by the desert ant, it is equipped with an optical compass allowing it to move thanks to polarized light. The robot’s legs let it move through any environment.

Why? : In the future, this technology could be integrated into everyday life to improve navigation for autonomous vehicles or drones.

Innovation spotted by Jennifer Antoine from HEC Montréal, supervised by Professor Pierre Balloffet.

Where?: United States

Who?: MIT research team in partnership with IBM

What? Artificial intelligence that is able to analyse patients' coughs to detect pathologies such as pneumonia and cancer. The algorithm was recently adapted to find potential carriers of COVID-19. When the AI detected a potential case COVID, 100% of patients were positive. The application should obtain FDA approval for use by doctors.

Why?: AI could detect near-asymptomatic carriers, especially in public and corporate settings. Detection is also cheaper than PCR testing, although it is not a substitute for it. 

Innovation spotted by Li Zhiyi from HEC Paris, supervised by Professor Julien Levy.

Where?: Moscow, Russia

Who?: Researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences, including Tatiana Mitiushkina and Alexander S. Mishin

What?  Glowing Plants : Researchers have managed to create plants from the DNA of a fungus that generates light throughout its cycle. Bioluminescent plants are not new, but these are almost ten times brighter, and could be used to light rooms or even streets.

Why?: Botanists could use this technique to study the internal workings of plants, but it also introduces the environmentally-friendly possibility of using ornamental plants to light up our homes.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Great Britain

Who?: Ceryx Medical biotech research team

What?: Artificial Neuron : A microprocessor imitating the functioning of neurons. The first use is to deliver electrical discharges to coordinate the heartbeat in patients with heart problems. The processor has proven to be much more efficient than the pacemakers currently in use. The artificial neuron also helps to regulate blood pressure.

Why?: The artificial neuron developed by Ceryx has many possible uses, particularly in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Innovation spotted by students from the IE University in Madrid, supervised by Professor Enrique Dans.

Where?: Israel

Who?: Research team from Ben Gurion University of the Negev

What? Lamphone : A spy technique that listens in on anyone from a distance as long as the room they are in lit; the wavelengths emitted during a conversation produce tiny vibrations that in turn cause tiny variations in brightness. By measuring these tiny changes in brightness, researchers show that it is possible to pick up sounds clearly enough to discern the content of conversations or even recognize a piece of music. This technology requires only a computer, a telescope and an electro-optical sensor.

Why?: This technique could make it possible to carry out ultra-discreet listening in real time. Researchers also want to raise awareness of this possible risk.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory. 

Where?: Japan

Who? The First Ascent company, of which Tomoyuki Hattori is CEO.

What? A smart bedside lamp designed to help parents put their babies to sleep. the device tracks a child's crying and sleep patterns to inform and adjust a range of sleep-related features, from white noise generation to wake-up time recommendations and soft wake-up lighting. The device is also linked to a smartphone app.

Why?: This tool helps to improve the comfort of parents and children by teaching them how to get a good night's sleep.

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Denmark

Who? Founded by Mads Tvillinggaard Bonde

What? Labster : Innovative company that improves the way science is taught to students around the world: biochemistry, anatomy, biology, physics etc. The platform offers a virtual laboratory to allow students to carry out experiments, represent micro or macroscopic elements, visualise human body organs or molecules, test prototypes, etc. The immersive 3D universe highlights the link between science and real-world problems.

Why?: The technology has been adopted by Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Exeter University and ETH Zurich.

Innovation spotted by Pillmont Muktari from NUS in Singapore, under the supervision of professor Ben Leong.

Where?: United States

Who?: Developed by Google

What? Google Duo Auto-Complete: During an online call, the conversation is recorded in packets that are assembled by the caller's software. If the connection drops, the packets get mixed up, creating lags. WaveNetEQ is able to learn the characteristics of a speaker's voice to generate audio clips that match the style and content on Google Duo calls. When a packet is corrupted, the voice generated by the AI is inserted in its place.

Why?: AI fills in the blanks for smoother conversations.

Innovation spotted by  Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.

Where?: Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, Israel, Switzerland.

Who?: Project managed by Dr. Francesca Anichini, along with Professor Letizia Gualandi, PI of ArchAIDE and Dr. Gabriele Gattiglia, project coordinator. The project is an H2020 funded project lead by the University of Pisa and a consortium of universities, private companies, and the Italian CNR.

What? A digital tool that will allow archaeologists to photograph a piece of pottery in the field and have it identified by convolutional neural networks. A first network learned to recognise different types of vessels. A second network was trained to recognise the profiles of shards. The capacities of ArchAIDE will increase with its use by researchers.

Why?: This AI will save archaeologists time on long, repetitive and time-consuming tasks so they can focus on their mission.

Innovation spotted by Marcus Goddard from the Netexplo Observatory.