During an era in which the use of unmanned aerial devices is increasingly becoming an accepted tool in most industries, from agriculture to entertainment, local businesspeople are significantly investing in the use of drones in their operations. Not until recently had drone technology advanced to an extent where it became viable for Tennessee’s Aerial Innovations team to use drones for its commercial real estate photography.

The cameras used in drones have gone through a series of advancements and have now become smaller. Their stabilizing tools have improved, while the technology used in flying the drones has also been developed to the point where firms can now produce high-resolution video footage for users, who are primarily in the real estate and construction industries.

According to the owner of Aerial Innovations, Wendy Whittemore, most of their clients want to see every little detail about the piece of land that their building is situated on. However, real estate crews continue to use helicopters for much of their photography work, particularly at higher altitudes where drones are considered to be less reliable or are restricted by law from flying.

Nevertheless, drones have opened new opportunities for real estate companies and the real estate photography industry. For instance, a client constructing a high-rise building downtown can use a drone to shoot a video showing the city skyline. This would allow potential buyers to get an accurate idea of what the view from the building is like.

The technology is thus a positive, innovative step for the state. Tennessee is working towards providing an environment that boosts innovation and inspires people to invest more in research and development. The state has a sizeable entrepreneurial culture that could definitely take advantage of drone innovation.

Baxter International, a global leader in surgical innovations, has recently released a number of new healthcare innovations at the 2018 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Society (ASMBS) Obesity Week, held in Nashville, Tennessee. One of the notable products showcased was the Peri-Strips Dry with Veritas (PSDV) Circular Staple Line Reinforcement with Secure Grip technology.

The president of Baxter’s Advanced Surgery, Wil Boren, was quick to state that the Peri-Strips Dry with Veritas was a perfect indicator of how the company was using inspiration from patients to create products that promote better healing. This is crucial, especially at a time when the rate of bariatric procedures is increasing. As such, the PSDV Circular has been integrated with a cartridge cone to give room for a circular surgical stapler to move across the incision area while incurring minimal tissue injury.

Surgeons use particular techniques to try and prevent complications including bleeding and staple line leaks. One technique is buttressing, which involves reinforcing the staple line with patches like the PSDV Circular. Baxter has implemented a peel and stick feature that allows the instrument to be used in a variety of surgical procedures.

Eric S. Hungness, M.D., a surgeon at the Northwestern Medical Group in Chicago states that having a new PSDV that works with circular staplers will make it easier to reinforce the staple line, potentially leading to better postoperative outcomes for patients.

A new technology to use house plants as biosensors that indicate your home’s health status is underway. For instance, these plants will have the potential to notify you of high carbon monoxide levels, mold, flu particles and other health hazards.

Neal Stewart, a professor of plant sciences at the University of Tennessee, indicates that through genetic engineering, they hope to develop plants to indicate certain occurrences in the home. He adds that the ideal plants to use in this case will be the ones with light-colored flowers and large, multicolored leaves. This would make it easier to detect the changes in color.

Scientists have long been exploring the ability of plants to change their color when subjected to stimuli. They know that by infusing a fluorescent jellyfish’s genes into a plant’s cells, plants will glow. However, in this case, the discovery would be to fine-tune this phenomenon to respond only to specific stimuli such as radon.

For the best results, it is recommended that users have numerous plants placed strategically in their home. Researchers are working on creating a whole wall of plants that will change their colors subject to specific stimuli. This is superior to single plants, as it is more appealing to the eye and has a high density of foliage to better display color changes.

Plants would ideally be placed close to air conditioning systems, heating systems or other areas where volatile organic compounds are the most concentrated. The plant biosensors have been dubbed ‘phytosensors.’ While this concept is not new, plants biologists at the institution state that they are really counting on the technology to drive innovations like detecting drugs at airport security systems.

Jeff Dykes, the CEO of BrightRidge was recently recognized at the Tennessee Valley Solar Conference for his efforts towards the local promotion of solar energy. Dyke’s persistent collaborative efforts have led to the creation of a replicable solar model in the community.

At the conference, opportunities in the solar industry and the future of renewable energy sources in Tennessee were discussed. Dykes was recognized largely due to his pivotal role in the creation a solar farm located near Jonesborough. This 40-acre farm is due to be completed in 2019 and will be the first solar-power production plant in Northeast Tennessee. Dykes noted that Jonesborough is one of the oldest towns in the state, but will be receiving one of the newest forms of energy technology.

Solar energy and other renewable energy sources have been viewed as the future of energy in regards to environmental sustainability. The state of Tennessee already has a solid foundation, which if managed efficiently could benefit the economy of both the state and the nation at large.

An innovative cybersecurity technology to detect malware has been developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In corporate environments, cyberattacks are increasing proportionally with the advancements in technology. As such, there is the need and pressing demand to establish the next generation of preventive tools. In this line, ORNL claims that their researchers have achieved a major breakthrough.

The researchers at ORNL stated that by analyzing a device’s power consumption levels, they can determine whether a device has malware or not. This is backed by the fact that many electric devices such as laptops and smartphones will tend to give off electrical trace signals as dangerous code tries to communicate with its controllers and the malware attempts to delve deeper into the device’s system. As the malware attempts to hide, it consumes large amounts of time and energy in a way that the device does not normally experience.

The new technology, named “Heartbeat,” works on similar principles as an electrocardiogram identifying heart arrhythmia. Currently, most malware elimination tools work by scanning devices for known malware “signatures.” However, it is difficult to identify which signatures to look for, especially as cyber-criminals are working relentlessly to create new and complex malicious codes in order to avoid detection.

While the new technology holds the potential to positively impact numerous sectors of the economy, ORNL is yet to find a partner that can bring it to the market. The bidding process for the licensing rights commenced on 6th November, 2018. Heartbeat is among the six technologies that the company has termed as market ready in their Technology Innovation Program. Interested parties have until January 6th, 2019 to offer their response to the solicitation and present a plan for commercialization.

The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation will be constructed at Vanderbilt University to connect individuals with autism to employers. The funding for the facility hails from a donation of $10 million from Jennifer Frist and her husband William Frist, who have an autistic son.

Nicholas Zeppos, Vanderbilt’s chancellor stated that there will be a pilot program that will seek to integrate employment, innovation, autism and technology. As such, the positive gesture from the Frist’s will enable the discovery of new concepts revolving around autism. Furthermore, it will help to improve the quality of life of individuals with the disorder. The corporate sector will in turn benefit from the unique sets of talents and skills that these individuals possess.

In March this year, the Frists teamed up with UBS, a renowned global financial company, in an effort to change how diversity is perceived by business leaders in Tennessee. Specifically, their aim was to indicate the numerous advantages local companies could have if they engaged individuals on the autism spectrum. With the disorder being associated with repetition, employees could easily identify patterns in an organizational setting, which in turn can help them to perform better in jobs like data analytics, software development and auditing.

The Frists fondly refer to the group as an “untapped potential workforce.” The goal is to have approximately 500 autistic employees in local industries by 2020.

Innovation in agriculture and the creation of new companies have the greatest potential to transform Tennessee’s rural economy. With the growing world demand for fuel, food and fiber, the state government plans on making Tennessee an agricultural innovation hub.

The seed funding initiative, AgLaunch, was developed by Memphis Bioworks Foundation as a strategy to expand both the agricultural and forestry industries in Tennessee’s economy. The funding of the initiative began in 2016 with a goal to attract 200 entrepreneurs and establish 100 valuable and investable agricultural firms in Tennessee by 2020.

The current AgLaunch365 program integrates startups and farmers in the AgLaunch Farmer Network. A six-week AgLaunch Phase I program will provide participants with business development support and conclude with the Farm Journal AgTech Expo in December 2018. Phase II will focus on prototyping and “getting field ready,” while Phase III will concentrate on accessing a network of innovative farmers and field trials.

With Tennessee’s agriculture and forestry sector being worth an estimated $66 billion, AgLaunch is a great initiative for growing the economy of rural Tennessee, with participants helping to inspire a culture of rural community startups. Entrepreneurs participating in this initiative will have plenty of opportunities to collaborate with farming experts and test their products.