Key defense contractors in the US are on the verge of re-inventing their satellite businesses. Their main aim of these activities is to produce small satellites that are no bigger than a microwave oven. This is in line with efforts by the government to develop alternatives for the huge, expensive satellites that have been relied upon for years.

Major names that have been mentioned in collaborative efforts for the satellite project include Boeing and Raytheon. Partnering with a few startups, Boeing has invested in a Colorado-based BridgeSat. Similarly, Raytheon is developing the Virginia-based HawkEye360. These companies are acting swiftly to respond to the changing environment and priorities of the security and intelligence agencies. It is also worth noting that the market for smaller satellites is growing at an alarming rate. Smaller devices have the benefit of being able to orbit near the earth’s atmosphere. Looking at the statistics, a total of 292 satellites were launched into space in 2017 compared to 55 in 2016. The shift to smaller spacecrafts has been due to increasing innovation, which has consequently made them cheaper to manufacture than in the past few decades. There has also been an increase in commercial launch providers, further stimulating innovation in this industry.

For military and security agencies, the move to adopt smaller devices aims to boost aerospace capabilities in the event of attack. This is the basis for the new Space Force proposal by President Trump. In the event that the proposal is approved, the Space Force will focus on combatting threats in space. With this in mind, stakeholders such as Boeing seek to be part of the commercial spaceflight revolution. The Defense Department’s advanced research and development arm, known as DARPA is also working hard so as to make the new satellite technology a reality in the near future.

The Fitzsimons Innovation Community has been credited for helping a professor from the University of Colorado start his company, PhosphoSolutions. Professor Michael Browning started the production of antibodies, which in turn he used in his neuroscience research. During this period, The National Institute of Health provided funding to his activities and encouraged him to start commercial production of his vials of antibodies to sell to labs. The company currently produces over 350 types of antibodies which are shipped to various parts of the world.

Previously referred to as the Fitzsimons Life District, the Fitzsimons Innovation Community is a facility at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Browning states that this community gave him the privilege of developing his business while at the same time continuing to teach at the university. The leaders at the University looked forward to a scenario where a biotechnical center would be in next door to the medical school and other research facilities. This way, it would be easier for a researcher such as Browning to conduct their business activities, visit patients at the hospital and teach students at the University.

The goals and objectives of the Innovation Community are to grow companies through an incubator approach. The center also wanted to provide space and resources for the businesses seeking to expand. The companies that have been involved in innovation revolve mainly around the health sciences and health information technology. As more companies were developed at the center, it became necessary to expand the facility. In 2011, the original Bioscience 1 building was expanded. Another upgrade followed in 2015 and a new building with workplaces was built. At the moment, a fourth building is underway and is set to be complete by 2019.

With over 725 bioscience companies, Colorado is an emerging leader in the bioscience industry. The Fitzsimons Innovation Community bioscience park will be crucial for bringing more entrepreneurs to the area.

HERE Technologies, a major producer of HD maps for autonomous vehicles, has opened up a new facility in Colorado. The Boulder facility seeks to bring together experts from sectors such as data science, machine learning and geospatial engineering. Projects include technologies that allow the high definition live map to update automatically through sensors on cars that aggregate new data and keep the maps accurate.

The HD live map by HERE is a useful tool that will be vital for the safety and comfort of autonomous driving. In this, vehicles use the map to understand the road environment to engage in strategic path planning in addition to their own near-field sensors. The head of Internet of Things and Automotive at HERE Technologies states that the company has made a huge leap by opening the new facilities. He says the new office is a welcome place for individuals looking for exciting engineering projects that are geared towards building the future of mobility and transportation. Through this, the company wants to be a leader in the sector.

The facility is located at 4900 Pearl East Circle. With a current team of 20 employees, HERE is actively hiring for software engineering positions. The team will be working with an extensive network of professionals from other states as well as countries like Germany. The site has a test location for proof of concepts and through this, it seeks to optimize the go-to market speed for the company’s numerous partners and clients. It was recently announced that Daimler and BMW would be integrating the HD Live Map technology into their future models. Over 20 car manufacturers are already using the technology. With their extensive market share, R&D developments by HERE could become the standard for location data and analytics.

For the students at St Vrain Valley School District, learning will never be boring again. For a long time, students have accused schools of force-feeding them with knowledge that they were never going to use. However, with the new innovation center at the institution, learning has become a fun-filled activity.

The innovation center has a number of advanced classrooms where students are able to get hands-on in field such as robotics, virtual reality, information technology, manufacturing, biomedical engineering as well as entrepreneurship. Far from the stereotypical classroom set up, the new learning initiatives through the innovation center will seek to give the students some freedom to play around with the various technologies. After the completion of these classes, students are able to receive professional certificates and college credit.

Even better, the innovation center also hires the students to work on contracts with many renowned firms such as Apple, Denver Zoo and IBM. For instance, a team of high-schoolers led by Zach Gillett built an aquatic robot that can measure the depth of reservoirs and lakes in Colorado. The concept behind this was to echolocation technology.

Another team came up with a robot to measure white sharks. Students have hailed the new innovation center, as they can finally put what they learn in the classroom into practice. Another benefit is that after the students get their professional certification, they can get jobs without following the traditional university route.

In 2016, the innovation center expanded from 6000 square feet to 50,000, providing room for all of the district’s students to work on innovative projects and initiatives.

The Colorado Open Lab facility is set to be launched as a result of an active collaboration between Arrow Electronics Inc. and the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance. The lab will be an Internet of Things (IoT) engineering lab, specifically for customer development showcase and innovation collaboration with the aim of fast-tracking the development of AI applications and OEM IoT appliances.

The lab is set to open in the second quarter of 2019 and will be located within Arrow’s global headquarters in Centennial, CO, according to an announcement made during the inaugural Colorado Smart Cities Alliance Symposium on September 18th. The Colorado Open Lab will house engineering facilities with the latest bench, test and edge compute equipment, a customer experience center and a live experience of Smart City showcasing technologies and solutions installed in the area.

The facility will allow members of the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance to collaborate, discover, innovate, test and confidently validate Smart City solutions before deployment within their jurisdictions. Key technologies that will be showcased include smart parking, smart street lighting, smart buildings and intelligent transportation. These offer sustainable solutions to the residents of Colorado and make lives easier and more enjoyable for those in urban communities.

The lab has been supported by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade and the Denver South Economic Development Partnership.

Techstars, in collaboration with Western Union, have come together to form an alliance for innovative payment and global money transfer projects. The former is a network that assists entrepreneurs learn the skills and knowledge to succeed while Western Union is a leader in cross-currency money transfers. The companies will work together to run a mentorship accelerator program and provide startup funding from its Colorado-based headquarters.

The president and Chief Executive Officer at Western Union, Hikmet Ersek, stated that the new program will focus on mentoring startups in Colorado by helping them test concepts and come up with innovative technologies that deal with consumer problems.

PWC has estimated that the biggest contributors to innovation are startups and small firms. For instance, in 2016 alone, $58.6 billion of funding went to over 4,500 startups in Colorado. Western Union wants to build on this momentum by exploring the industry’s challenges and opportunities. As such, Colorado boasts of being an innovation hot-spot. Western Union and Techstars are encouraging other companies in the industry to engage in activities that address customer-related issues such as fraud prevention, cross-border transaction processing, digital wallets and point-of-sale solutions. Enrollments for the Western Union Accelerator program will be accepted from December 3rd, 2018.

Such initiatives in Colorado have the potential to boost the state. Innovative projects will have a positive impact on the economy and quality of life for those in the area, while those outside of Colorado who decide to use the new products will benefit from more secure and streamlined transactions.

Virtual reality therapy is an innovative concept that has been found to have the potential to deal with common phobias in Colorado. It works by exposing the patients to their fears. After an estimated 20 years of research and development, the technology is finally reaching the mainstream platform and is proving to be effective.

Dick Tracey is a patient that is receiving the virtual reality therapy for his phobia of heights. Through this new technology, he was able to ride an elevator that looked the same as in reality. It looked so real that he fell onto his knees. However, he was able to face his fear remembering that it was only in virtual reality and is on the verge of healing. It is therefore evident that virtual reality could end up helping many patients that have a broad range of phobias. In addition to the health benefits, the new technology is quite affordable and more consumer focused. As such, over time, there is the possibility of patients treating themselves at home considering the rise of gaming platforms and concepts with regards to virtual reality. Virtual reality exposure therapy is considered a streamlined version of exposure therapy due to its flexibility. It can be dispensed to a huge number of people globally through the Internet.

Virtual reality technology was initially intended to benefit gamers. However, after a long period of research and innovation, this technology has been extended to industries such as the health sciences where it holds the potential to heal many conditions through therapy. It is applicable to many types of patients, from children dealing with anxiety to adults dealing with spider phobias. It is a positive innovative step to the residents of Colorado and the surrounding communities.

In recent times in Colorado, technology is finding its way from the urban centers to the rural farmland. Key innovations in agriculture are boosting farmers’ activities – from using their resources more efficiently to increasing their yields. Dr. Greg Graff of Colorado State University said that the technological advancements in agriculture in the last half of the century have doubled the production capabilities of the state.

In the state of Colorado, smart irrigation systems and drones have been adopted to change the way crops are planted, maintained and even harvested. Moreover, these agriscience tools facilitate an increased rate of efficiency, especially with regards to pest and disease control, water use and fertilization. Before the adoption of technologies like drones, farmers would estimate the health of their farms through the inspection of a small sample of the field. This was inefficient and could result in the loss of huge portions of crops. However, with the modern innovative projects in the state, farmers have better control of their properties. Drones can analyze the entire field, identify specifically where the problems are and farmers can therefore take the appropriate action before yields are spoilt.

The smart irrigation systems are being installed through an active collaboration between Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education educators and farmers in Colorado. Through these, farmers are able to customize their watering schedule and monitor soil conditions, plant water and even evaporation rates. This has an overflow effect as weeds and disease are also reduced through these practices due to the water being distributed directly to the roots, which minimizes the amount of water that builds up on the surface. Additionally, sensors are coupled with the irrigation systems and integrated with smartphones. Farmers can therefore control their crops with their personal devices.

Initiatives like drone technology and smart irrigation systems are helping to revolutionize the farming industry in Colorado. As technology gets better and better, it will be exciting to see the difference that future developments make to the sector.