The world's leading innovators, it seems, are found mainly in California. There are also some in the UK, Germany, France, Israel, Iceland, Hungary and Sweden. That's according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) which, late last year, recognised 36 companies as Technology Pioneers for 2006.
The companies, whose products range from real 3D screens to fuel-cell motorbikes and intelligent prosthetics, were nominated by prominent venture capital and technology companies.
The final selection was made by a panel of technology experts appointed by the WEF. Almost half the Technology Pioneers 2006 are US-based companies, with 12 located in California. The UK boasts eight, Germany three and Israel three. Canada, France, Hungary, Iceland and Sweden have one each.
The companies are nominated in three main categories: energy; biotechnology/health and IT.
To be selected a company must be involved in the development of life-changing technology and have potential for long-term influence on business and society. In addition, it must demonstrate visionary leadership and show the signs of being a long-standing market leader - and its technology must be proven.
Some of the Technology Pioneers 2006 include:
Energy
- Energy Innovations. The US company is developing the world's first mass-produced rooftop photovoltaic tracking concentrator system, called the Sunflower, designed to bring the cost of solar energy below that of utility-supplied electricity.
- Innovalight. A US company, Innovalight has discovered that the unique light emission and light absorption properties of silicon can be tuned at the quantum level. The technology it has developed will have an impact on replacing conventional crystalling silicon solar cells and traditional lighting technologies because of the advantages in production costs, energy savings and lifetime of the materials.
- Intelligent Energy. A UK developer of fuel cells and hydrogen-generation technology. Last year it unveiled an emissions-neutral vehicle, the world's first fuel-cell motorbike.
Biotechnology/Health
- Amyris Biotechnology. Amyris has engineered microbes capable of producing cost-effective, high-value, complex molecules, that are currently available only in small quantities through extraction from natural resources.
- Ossur. This Icelandic company made headlines when it unveiled its revolutionary Rheo Knee, the first artificially intelligent knee system that has the ability to learn and adapt to its user's movements, resulting in continually improved and optimised performance.
- TheraVitae. An Israeli health-care company, TheraVitae is focused on using the patient's own cells to treat a variety of disorders, especially cardiovascular diseases.
- XDx. A US firm, XDx has developed and launched a technology called AlloMap testing that enables transplant cardiologists to determine through a simple blood test whether a patient is rejecting a transplanted heart.
Information Technology
- mobileATM. A UK company that has launched a service that will give you the ability to do banking transactions securely using your mobile handset. Security is assured through the use of banking-grade encryption technology on the handset.
- Varioptic. The French inventors of the liquid lens have pioneered the development of technology for auto focus lenses and zooms with absolutely no moving parts.
www.weforum.org/techpioneers/2006
