Inventor of the Week Rubber Bandits® A seemingly simple idea sometimes can become an incredibly successful, mass-market product that makes life a little bit easier for millions. Such is the case with Rubber Bandits®, oversized rubber bands equipped with tear-resistant, waterproof labels, created by self-described “idea czar” Adrian Chernoff in 2004. Chernoff was born in 1971 and grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1996, followed by an M.S. in Manufacturing Engineering, as well as an M.B.A., in 1999, all from the University of New Mexico. In 2004, he received a phone call from his mother who had heard of a competition held by the office supply store chain Staples®. Chernoff didn’t have much time, but he told his mother he would enter. Chernoff submitted his idea and made it through several rounds of competition, continually improving his design with each round. Meanwhile, Chernoff left GM to start his own ideas company, 2 Smart + 1, where he serves as CEO.
Biostamp temporary tattoo wearable electronic circuits by MC10 Materials scientist John Rogers and his firm MC10 have developed flexible electronic circuits that stick directly to the skin like temporary tattoos and monitor the wearer's health. The Biostamp is a thin electronic mesh that stretches with the skin and monitors temperature, hydration and strain. Rogers suggests that his "epidermal electronics" could be developed for use in healthcare to monitor patients without tethering them to large machines. Not only would this be more convenient, but the results could be more accurate if patients were examined in their normal environment doing usual activities rather than on the hospital ward. Other applications could include a patch that lets an athlete know when and how much to hydrate for peak performance, or one that tells you when to apply more suncream. MC10 overcame the rigidity of normal electronic components made from brittle silicon-based wafers by printing them in very small pieces, arranged in wavy patterns.