Added Innovations on

the History of
Electronics from the
Year 2000 and
Beyond

Submitted by:
John Mark B. Bunaladi
Submitted to:
Engr. Sevilla Tuazon

2001
1.) Digital Satellite Radio
Satellite radio is just what its name suggests: a
radio service that uses satellites circling Earth to
broadcast its programming. In 1992, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) allocated a
satellite spectrum (the "S" band, 2.3 GHz) for the
broadcasting of satellite-based digital audio radio
service (DARS). It eventually granted two
licenses, one to Sirius Satellite Radio (formerly CD
Radio) and one to XM Satellite Radio (formerly
American Mobile Radio Corporation). The world's
biggest satellite radio provider, 1worldspace, is
available in Europe and several other countries but not in the United States.
There are two big pluses for satellite radio listeners. First, every channel,
whether it's on XM or Sirius, is largely commercial-free, which should appeal
to radio listeners tired of having advertisements screamed into their ears
while they sit in traffic. Most music channels have no advertising at all.
Second, no matter where you are in the continental United States, you get
the same reception as long as the skies are relatively clear. Unlike traditional
radio, which loses reception once you're too far away from a certain station,
satellites ensure you receive a signal no matter where you are in America. A
driver could trek all the way from New York City to Los Angeles and never
have to change the channel.

2.) Mini Autonomous Robots

Inventors: Ray Byrne, Ed Heller and Doug Adkins; Sandia National
Laboratories
Imagine a robot small enough to crawl through pipes to check for chemical
leaks or sneak under doors to spy on intruders. Researchers at Sandia
National Laboratories have created the Mini Autonomous Robot Vehicle Jr. to
do just that. Smaller than a cherry and powered by three watch batteries;
MARV Jr. can cover 20 in. per min. on custom-made tracks fashioned from
strips of latex balloons. Future versions may include miniature cameras,
microphones and chemical microsensors.

2002
1.) Wireless Headset
Bluetooth technology developed by a consortium of electronics
manufacturers to connect various digital components over short distances.
This year brought a slew of Bluetooth earpieces from Jabra, Motorola, Nokia
Plantronics and Sony Ericsson. Now you can walk around town with your cell
phone tucked away in your pocket or briefcase and a tiny headset tucked
into your ear. The biggest drawback (besides looking like a Secret Service
agent): the headsets need to be charged regularly, just like your cell phone.

2.) Virtual Keyboards

Inventor: Canesta and VKB
Two companies have developed prototype "virtual" keyboards designed to
accompany portable devices like PDAs, tablet PCs and cell phones. Here's
how they work: a laser beam projects a glowing red outline of a keyboard on
a desk or other flat surface. A sensor like those used in digital cameras
monitors the reflection of an infrared light projected on the same spot. It can
tell which "keys" you are trying to strike by the way that reflection changes.
Someday, similar keyboards may be built into the gadgets they work with, so
that they disappear when not in use.

2003
1.) Camera

Phones

Sometimes the true measure of a

technology's impact is not how
quickly it spreads but how long it
takes for the backlash to set in. No
sooner had cell phones with built-in
digital cameras caught on in the
U.S. this year than they started
getting bannedprimarily in health
clubs and corporate headquarters.
Abroad, concerns about misuse of
the gadgets got so bad that Saudi
Arabia outlawed them altogether.
Like the Internet before them, camera phones open up a new and
surprisingly spontaneous way to communicate. Because they are
inconspicuousmany look like regular
cell phonesyou can snap pictures as
discreetly as any spy and, with the
push of a few buttons, pop them into
an e-mail or upload them to the Web in
less than a minute. No wires or
computer hookups necessary. To be
sure, most camera phones end up
taking impromptu pictures of friends,
family, babies and pets. But they have
also been used to snap pictures of
celebrities at private parties, copy
recipes from cookbooks at bookstores
and even document crimes in progress. In Italy, police nabbed two robbers
after a shop owner snapped their pictures and e-mailed them to authorities.
In Britain, what looked like a rape in progress at a pub was caught on a
camera phone. And in Osaka, Japan, police set up an e-mail address citizens
can use to submit shots of suspicious activities.
It was when phone-cam pictures of women undressing in locker rooms began
circulating online that some health clubs felt they had to step in. Similarly,
General Motors and Volkswagen have prohibited them from their productdevelopment facilities to stave off corporate espionage. In September,
guests at a party for Britney Spears were required to check their camera
phones at the door.

But with an estimated 80 million camera phones sold this year6 million in
the U.S. alonethe cat may already be out of the camera bag. Like it or not,
these hot new gadgets are here to stay.

2004
1.) The Jawbone
Inventor: Aliph
Poor reception is the curse of all cell
phones. While there is little you can do
about your carrier's spotty coverage in any
given location, you can make it easier for
others to hear you by investing in a better
headset. The Jawbone has a sensor that
rests on your cheekbone and picks up
vibrations emanating from your head as you speak. It then uses those data
to filter out background noise. You may not notice the difference, but the
person on the other end will hear you much better.

2005
1.) Handles Like a Dream
Inventor: Yoshiaki Kato of Toyota
Availability: Prototype only
The i-unit is a four-wheel personal-transportation system that looks like a
space-age sports car. "This is designed to be an extension of the human
body," says Yoshiaki Kato, chief engineer of the fully electronic, drive-by-wire
concept vehicle, which is powered by lithium-ion batteries and has an
exterior made of biodegradable, plant-based materials. The 3-ft.-wide, leafshaped i-unit is nearly 6 ft. tall when positioned upright but drops its center
of gravity and reclines into a sports-car position for traveling at speeds of up
to 25 m.p.h. Sensors allow the vehicle to detect obstacles. Place the steering
unit to the left or right or even at the feet of those with special needs.

2006
1.) Solar Skin
Inventor: HelioVolt
Imagine a solar panel so thin it can't exist apart from the building material
it's printed on. HelioVolt didn't invent copper indium gallium selenide, a thin
film used to generate electricity from sunlight, but it did develop a faster,
more cost-effective way to manufacture it for use in large commercial
spaces. The new process involves printing a fine layer of semiconductor
directly onto glass, metal and other building materials so that new
skyscrapers can go up solar power-ready from day one.

2007
1.) iPhone
Inventor: Apple
The iPhone has sold enough unitsmore than 1.4 million at press timethat
it'll be around for a while, and with all that room to develop and its infinitely
updatable, all-software interface, the iPhone is built to evolve. Look at the
iPod of six years ago. That monochrome interface! That clunky touch wheel!
It looks like something a caveman whittled from a piece of flint using another
piece of flint. Now imagine something that's going to make the iPhone look
that primitive.

2008

1.) Mitsubishi LaserVue TV

The first high-def TV that's powered
by lasers! Pure laser light means
reds that are redder than rubies,
black-hole blacks and a rainbow of
colors that rivals the palette you'd
see at a movie theater. You also get
to be green when you watch this 65incher: it draws two-thirds less power
than a same-size lcd or plasma.

2009
1.) The 3-D Camera
This year the maker of the world's
first digital camera, Fujifilm,
introduced a 3-D digital camera: the
FinePix Real 3D W1. The 10megapixel FinePix has two lenses,
set about as far apart as human
eyes, which snap shots of an object
from slightly different angles. Those
images are then combined into one,
creating the illusion of depth. Its 3-D
images can be viewed without clumsy 3-D glasses on the camera's back
LCD screen or displayed in a special digital photo frame.

2010
1.) iPad
In theory, the iPad is merely a follow-up to such
resoundingly unpopular slate-style computers as
Microsoft's Tablet PC. But Apple is the first
company that designed finger-friendly hardware
and software from scratch rather than stuffing a
PC into a keyboardless case. When it calls the
results "magical" and "revolutionary," its
distorting reality only slightly. One analyst says
the iPad is the fastest-selling nonphone gizmo in
consumer-electronics history.

2011
1.) Distributed input distributed output" or DIDO
Inventor: Steve Perlman's Rearden
Companies
What is it? "Distributed input
distributed output" or simply DIDO, is
new technology that claims to have an
effective broadcast range of 30 miles
without a cell phone tower, and will be
able to transmit data at speeds over 100
times (and perhaps 1,000 times) what is
currently possible.
Why it's important: "Shannon's
Law" is the long-held belief that there is
a "definite upper limit to the speeds at which data that can be transmitted
wirelessly." But DIDO will look to shatter that law, giving everyone who
connects to it an equal portion of bandwidth to go crazy with. Gone will be
cell phone towers and slow download speeds replaced by wireless routers
powered by DIDO and ridiculously fast connections for all.

2012
1.) Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Headset
Virtual reality had a moment in the
mid 90s, what with Total Recall and
Virtual Boy. But back in the day, the
gaming technology wasnt quite up to
par. Mid 90s VR displays were
plagued by weight, menaced by low
resolution, doomed to make games
nauseous and eventually, all of them
died with a whimper.
But now VR is back, and this time it
look like its going to work.

2013
1.) Sonys Smart Lens
With its large sensor, high-quality glass
and 3.6x optical zoom, the Sony DSCQX100 has all the fixings of a highquality digital camerabut it clips to
your iPhone or Android phone. With
Sonys PlayMemories Mobile app, your
phone acts as the viewfinder.
Unattached, its the remote control. The
DSC-QX100 is a bit too big to fit in a
jeans pocket but plenty small enough for
a bag.

2014
1.) Apple Watch
Most smart watches have proved
to be anything but: they try to
shrink down the experience of
using a cellphone, with clunky
results. Apples Watch, by
contrast, wholly reimagines the
computer for the wrist, using a
novel interface that combines a
touchscreen and physical
buttons. Besides telling time, the
Watch can send messages, give
directions, track fitness and
make wireless payments. Its
also an attractive piece of
fashion, with high-end Edition models that feature 18-karat gold. Apple
poured its heart and soul into the design, says Robert Brunner, founder of
San Francisco design studio Ammunition and a former director of industrial
design at Apple. Its brave because theyre venturing into unknown
territory.