Automatic Effort
Another innovation from 22 record years

On your way to work, you receive a message from the newly-awarded IBM Patent No. 8,781,668 that asks: “The city you are about to enter has a high smog level, today. Mind if the city switches your gas engine to electric while you’re in town?” Soon you’ll be able to update your vehicle’s on-board software to have this civic conversation, and drive to the destination knowing full well that you are contributing to a cleaner atmosphere—a destination in itself. Pedal to the specifics →

9 years ago

Friend of a Fiend?

Brian from softball sends you a friend request. He’s an all around good guy—punctual, complimentary, clean, the works! Go ahead and accept him. WAIT. Don’t do it. That is, don’t do it unless he’s been put to the test. IBM Patent No. 8,706,648 goes beyond Brian to calculate the digital or social media risk his friends pose to your personal Internet security. Just like in real life, some of your friends run with a bad crowd. Thankfully, In the cyber world, now something can protect you from such hijinks. (But if his friends start a big ruckus in the stands, you’re still on your own.) Discover more innovations from 22 record years →

9 years ago

“All parts should go together without forcing. Therefore, if you can’t get them back together again, there must be a reason. By all means, do not use a hammer.”   IBM maintenance manual 1975

See what else is in the attic →

9 years ago

Ask an IBM Mad Scientist Anything, Today on Reddit

IBMer John Cohn. He’s super smart, with 65+ patents to his name.  He’s a reality TV star.  A backyard science experimenter. A regular “Burning Man” attendee. And was on the team that created video gaming chips. All in all, he has more nerd cred than you can shake a Tesla coil at. 

And today, at 12.30 EST, he’ll also become a Reddit AMAer, so you can ask John anything!

Just sign in to Reddit and join in on the geek-kingdom conversation.   (You need to have an account to ask John anything, so if you don’t have one, create one here.)

Oh, and don’t forget to ask him about Innovation through Play! See you there!

10 years ago

T'was a few weeks before Christmas and IBMer Matt Ganis thought it’d be fun to let his blog followers control his office tree’s lights over the Web. So with his Raspberry Pi computer, a webcam, some crafty fswebcam coding and a flurry of ingenuity, he got busy. It wasn’t long before his followers were hitting the ‘on’ and ‘off’ buttons on his site, making his tree the most festive display in his office. In the spirit of Christmas and PLAY, Matt’s tree is up again and ready for you to tinker with over the holidays here. Who needs store-bought strings of blinking lights when you have the power of play at work?

10 years ago

Even though Tom Zimmerman has over 40 patents, he still finds time outside of the office for play. He’s actually been playing a DIY guitar he constructed out of a PVC pipe. Will this play exploration directly advance IBM? You never know. What we do know is that it’s helping younger generations understand that science can have practical implications. In 2009, Tom showed low-income high school students how to build their own guitars. You can learn too by checking out this step by step tutorial →

10 years ago

A Case for Meant to Be 
Tales from the IBM Playground

The lab is a scientist’s playground. And just like in childhood, it is a place where, sometimes, life’s truths are discovered on accident. IBM Researcher, Jeannette Garcia, forgot to add a reagent to her flask, and voila, a groundbreaking polymer was realized. This new substance is not only lightweight and recyclable, but it is also self-healing, which means that it can repair itself after being “wounded.” Wouldn’t it have been nice to have that superpower on the actual playground?

10 years ago

The Science Behind…
The Like Popper 

A lot can go wrong when popping corn. Moisture level, temperature, and cubic feet of air per minute are just some of the many variables that must be perfectly aligned to achieve a light, fluffy, silent crunch. What were we thinking when we promised a single popped kernel for each tumblr like? Knowing we could depend on IBM’s MQLight to relay Tumblr API data through the cloud to our 14.3 amp heat gun, we felt comfortable taking on the challenge. Watch your own little kernel begin its journey in a laser cut plexiglass wheel, travel through hand blown glass, then cross the finish line as a perfect piece of popcorn.

Make some Like-popped popcorn →
(best viewed on desktop + tablet)

10 years ago