Stratasys has the story of Collcap Packaging, and how the UK-based company is using 3D printers to prototype the latest packaging for the cosmetics you use everyday:

Collcap Packing in the UK is using revolutionary 3D printing technology to prototype cosmetics packaging for their many international perfumery and cosmetics suppliers. Using the Stratasys Objet30 Pro 3D printer, Collcap’s designers are able to turn 3D CAD designs into accurate prototypes using a choice of 7 different materials ranging from blue, gray, white and black to clear transparency, high temperature resistance and polypropylene-like.

The transparent material (Objet VeroClear) is particularly useful in simulating glass and PMMA. 3D printing allows Collcap to place precise transparent replicas in the hands of their customers only a few short hours after their initial design. Once the chosen 3D printed models are approved the designs are sent to glass cutting and then final manufacturing.

Meet the Camitool, a hands-free automatic toilet paper dispenser. After years of automatic paper towel dispensers proliferating across the world’s bathrooms, it seems odd that an automatic toilet paper dispenser took so long. It makes perfect sense too. Why would you want to touch toilet paper in a public place that’s been touched by everybody else’s stank hands? It’s gross.

The Camitool is currently being used in hospitals across Japan. That’s the obvious first place you would put these little guys at, but it should be popping up at more locations across the country. It might even show up in the U.S. at some point. I highly doubt it though as we still don’t have those fancy Japanese toilets that put our archaic slabs of porcelain to shame.

Interested buyers can get a plastic or even wooden Camitool for $750 or $1,200 respectively. The price might be why we won’t see these guys popping up in bathrooms across the world. I guess we’ll have to deal with grabbing toilet paper that’s already been handled by who knows what.

[h/t: Geekosystem]

What does the U.S. need to spur the economy? Is legislation geared toward startups the answer? We’d love to hear your take in the comments.

Although President Obama already signed the JOBS Act into law this year, Startup Act 2.0 is said to be an extension of it. The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act focused on simplifying the funding and regulation processes that small businesses and startups must go through and, specifically, introduced the concept of crowdfunding.

Startup Act 2.0, however, builds upon these principles but also opens the door on immigration reform. As WebProNews reported when the bill was first introduced to the Senate, it would bring about the following provisions:

• Creates a new STEM visa so that U.S.-educated foreign students, who graduate with a master’s or Ph.D. in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, can receive a green card and stay in this country where their talent and ideas can fuel growth and create American jobs. It also creates an Entrepreneur’s Visa for legal immigrants so they can remain in the United States, launch businesses and create jobs, and eliminates the per-country caps for employment-based immigrant visas, which hinders U.S. employers from recruiting the top-tier talent they need to grow.
• Makes permanent the exemption of capital gains taxes on the sale of startup stock held for at least five years, so investors can provide financial stability at a critical juncture of firm growth. It also would create a targeted research and development tax credit for young startups less than five years old and with less than $5 million in annual receipts. This R&D credit is designed to allow startups to offset employee taxes, freeing up resources to help these young companies expand and create jobs.
• Uses existing federal R&D funding to better support university initiatives designed to bring cutting-edge R&D to the marketplace more quickly, where it can propel economic growth.
• Requires government agencies to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of proposed “major rules” with an economic impact of $100 million or more. This new requirement will help determine the potential impact of proposed regulations on the formation and growth of new businesses.
• And Startup Act 2.0 directs the U.S. Department of Commerce to assess state and local policies that aid in the development of new businesses. Through the publication of reports highlighting these “best practices” from across the country, policymakers will be better equipped to encourage entrepreneurship by adopting the most effective and successful policies.

The immigration aspect of the bill is certainly significant, especially since the subject has been so controversial in Washington. Startup Act 2.0 would bring two new types of visas to the U.S., one of which would give an additional 75,000 student visas in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields the opportunity to go above the 50,000 H-1B cap. The second new visa category is for entrepreneurs that start businesses in the U.S. and obtain $100,000 in funding.

“In terms of the human capital equation and addressing immigration, it’s really a pressing priority for the industry and something that needs to be addressed,” Kevin Richards, the Senior Vice President of Federal Government Affairs at TechAmerica, tells us.

TechAmerica is a strong supporter of Startup Act 2.0 and the immigration reform that it would bring because, according to Richards, this “human capital” has been the U.S.’s “greatest advantage” over the rest of the world.

“The great success of this country has been its ability to attract talent from around the world and to have free innovative ideas to invest in a capital system,” he said.

Richards is fearful though, since new research indicates that the U.S. is falling behind in the global race for talent. The Partnership for a New American Economy found that, by 2018, there could be a shortfall of as many as 230,000 qualified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workers.

AOL Co-founder Steve Case, who is also one of the members of President Obama’s Council of Jobs and Competitiveness and an advocate of Startup Act 2.0, made an interesting comparison about the current immigration/education system in the U.S. in a post he wrote on TechCrunch:

Imagine if we trained men and women at our Air Force and Naval Academies, equipped them with the tools they need to lead and succeed in battle, and then kicked them out of our country to join other militaries? In effect, that is what we are doing when we train the world’s most talented immigrants to innovate and start businesses at our great universities, then send them off to start companies in China, India, and South Korea.

“We really have now more of a fortress mentality approach where we have the best and brightest universities in the world, but we send these students back home to our foreign competitors,” added Richards.

“If we don’t do something now,” he continued, “we risk our future and our future competitiveness in innovation.”

At this point, nearly half of the venture-backed companies in the U.S. have had at least one immigrant founder. What’s more, some of America’s biggest technology brands, including Google, Apple, and IBM, were also founded by either an immigrant or a child of an immigrant.

But, according to Richards, these trends could change if the U.S. doesn’t lift its current caps. For instance, the H-1B cap is typically filled in one day. As a result, he believes that, if the U.S. fails to act now, technology giants will begin to appear overseas.

“The pace of innovation is something we really have to be concerned about,” said Richards. “We’re hopeful that this bill will unleash new innovation and creativity in our sector.”

Still, there are some who believe that Startup Act 2.0 doesn’t do enough to encourage entrepreneurs. Richards, however, points out that it is a “good first step” in the right direction.

While an election year is not normally a good time to get a bill passed, the economic elements this bill proposes could help it.

“The economy is gonna be the top issue on the minds of voters in the 2012 election,” explained Richards, “and if they [legislators] want to have a record to run on and to demonstrate what they’re doing here in Washington, this would be a great first step.”

The bill has been introduced in both the Senate and the House, and the hearings over it are expected to begin soon.

Is immigration reform necessary to reviving the American economy, and is this bill an effective strategy for it? Why or why not? Let us know what you think.

Today, The Street published an article claiming that Facebook had indeed dissed General Motors by not allowing them to take over whole pages with their marketing efforts. As Ad Age put, advertising on Facebook has always been subtle, which apparently wasn’t working for the Detroit auto giant who insisted it must positioned in a more prominent light.

But it is no secret that Facebook isn’t all about just merely positioning products to please advertisers. Their number one responsibility seems to be to their users and they are very conscious about making display decision which might turn their users off. So it’s a moral stand which Facebook made against GM, at least in the opinion of Ad Age and the Street.

Regardless of who did what or who refused to budge, Ford Motors, one of the first to take advantage of Facebook’s pricey logout ads, seems to be loving the advertising space on the site. In fact, Ford is offering a whole new line of Blue Oval-branded products which will be featured on Facebook.

Users who visit Ford’s fan page or several other related automotive places will see Ford t-shirts, toy cars, and select other merchandise featured on the right lower side of their wall. So while this format does not agree with GM, Ford is taking a more progressive stance, and making the best possible use of the product positioning opportunities.

The overarching theme from both, the Street and Ad Age is that GM is still entrenched in an old model of marketing (and perhaps way of conducting business overall) while Facebook is attempting to promote and advance a more user-centric way of advertising and brand promotion.

Ford is also embracing this spirit. They too have abandoned outdated company-originated development practices in favor of more opensource-oriented innovation efforts. They are doing their best to get community and fans alike involved in propelling the company forward and maintaing a competitive advantage.

The service will launch sometime in July, but the price of a monthly subscription has not yet been determined. According to Advertising Age, Walmart will use a trial and error method to decide what to carry more of and what to avoid altogether. Using this method, the consumer directly drives what will be offered, and I’m guessing, the subscription price will go through an evolutionary process based on demand as well.

Walmart has already experienced success using this model using social analytics developed by its @WalmartLabs e-commerce and mobile R&D unit. Essentially, they monitor social networks like Twitter and Facebook to find out what products consumers like or are mentioning most often. In return, they market those items in their stores and online. Now, we’re talking innovation. I like it.

I think there’s an interesting paradox developing regarding Walmart. They are infamous as shrewd negotiator, as far as their overseers supply chain goes. Walmart can really squeeze the pennies out of their contractors. The same holds true for their workforce; employees are notoriously underpaid and we consistently see cases of racial and sexual discrimination being brought against the company. There’s also a larger question about the quality of healthcare and other benefits being made available to their workers, but I digress.

Then, there is this other side of Walmart who seems to be bringing us, what I believe to be, groundbreaking revelations in the way we shop and gain access to services. The Goodies service discussed above is a prime example. Artisan treats from Walmart brought to you via an interactive platform based on consumer’s interests and demands. Please, there’s no one else doing this on a large scale (though, there should be).

Last month, Walmart introduced a new program for people who don’t have a credit card or debit card, where they can still take advantage of online shopping. If you don’t think there’s a huge demand for a service like that, you must not live in the real world. It doesn’t stop there.

Have you heard of Vudu. Yes, streaming video is not Walmart’s invention, but guess who the first brand to cover the most territory internationally is going to be? No, not Netflix. It’s going to be Walmart’s Vudu.

To sweeten the deal even more, Walmart also offers a DVD to digital conversion exchange in stores. What does that mean? It means you bring them your dirty old copy of Pulp Fiction on DVD and they exchange it for viewing rights to an online streaming version able to be accessed anywhere you can get an internet signal.

Come on folks, is Walmart really one of the most innovative companies in society? The answer is, yes. If you are wondering what the present and future of retail sales and services is, look no further than the superstore that currently occupies every major city in the U.S. and well beyond. Walmart is out-innovating almost every retail business out there.

I’m a little bit intimidated by the fact that a huge corporate entity like Walmart holds so much influence and clout over what happens in our world, but at the same time, I can’t deny that they are a monstrous and innovative force that everyone will soon have to reckon with, like them or not.

Startups 2.0 aims to create an environment ripe for entrepreneurial efforts and innovative business ideas. Targeted at a tax code which will make job creation more likely, the bill would also ease regulatory requirements that make it harder for small business to expand.

Here’s a list of provisions from Startups Act 2.0:

* Creates a new STEM visa so that U.S.-educated foreign students, who graduate with a master’s or Ph.D. in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, can receive a green card and stay in this country where their talent and ideas can fuel growth and create American jobs. It also creates an Entrepreneur’s Visa for legal immigrants so they can remain in the United States, launch businesses and create jobs, and eliminates the per-country caps for employment-based immigrant visas, which hinders U.S. employers from recruiting the top-tier talent they need to grow.

* Makes permanent the exemption of capital gains taxes on the sale of startup stock held for at least five years, so investors can provide financial stability at a critical juncture of firm growth. It also would create a targeted research and development tax credit for young startups less than five years old and with less than $5 million in annual receipts. This R&D credit is designed to allow startups to offset employee taxes, freeing up resources to help these young companies expand and create jobs.

* Uses existing federal R&D funding to better support university initiatives designed to bring cutting-edge R&D to the marketplace more quickly, where it can propel economic growth.
Requires government agencies to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of proposed “major rules” with an economic impact of $100 million or more. This new requirement will help determine the potential impact of proposed regulations on the formation and growth of new businesses.

* And Startup Act 2.0 directs the U.S. Department of Commerce to assess state and local policies that aid in the development of new businesses. Through the publication of reports highlighting these “best practices” from across the country, policymakers will be better equipped to encourage entrepreneurship by adopting the most effective and successful policies.

Senator Mark R. Warner comments on the new Startups Act:

“Startup 2.0 offers smart, commonsense steps to support and encourage America’s innovators and entrepreneurs,”

“Working together, we have crafted a bipartisan proposals that will help us compete and win the global contest for talent. We also propose responsible steps that will help our colleges and universities move taxpayer-funded R&D out of the lab and into the marketplace. Startup 2.0 is the logical ‘next step’ following enactment of the bipartisan JOBS Act earlier this year.”

Senators Jerry Moran, Marco Rubio, and Chris Coons joined Warner in introducing the Startups 2.0 Act. Many of the provisions from the bill are supported by President Obama’s jobs and competitiveness council, who was represented at the event by Steve Case of AOL fame.

Steve Case comments:

“The passage of the JOBS Act demonstrated that despite a tough political climate, Democrats and Republicans can come together around policies that will help entrepreneurs innovate and create jobs,”

“Startup Act 2.0 builds on that momentum and its passage will help solidify America’s position as the world’s most entrepreneurial nation. I am particularly pleased the bill includes a provision that will enable highly-skilled engineers and entrepreneurs to start companies in the United States, as winning the global battle for talent is essential if we are going to keep our entrepreneurial economy moving forward. I commend Senators Moran, Warner, Rubio and Coons for their leadership and their willingness to come together in a bipartisan manner to focus on what unites us: a desire to create jobs, accelerate economic growth, and ensure our nation remains competitive globally.”

To learn more about the Startups Act 2.0 follow the link to Fairfax News and their coverage of the conference where it was unveiled.

Integration with nature is essential to the design of the base and the engineers have taken great care in connecting the inner workings of the building with the external landscapes. To be at one with nature, there are as many outdoor meeting spaces as indoor and large open rooms are meant to facilitate a fresh holistic-type environment.

The structure is located in Moffett Field, California on the campus of NASA’s Silicon Valley Ames Research Center. It really doesn’t cost a huge amount of dollars more to construct a facility of this magnitude, according to NASA, as many of the innovations, such as the geothermal well, will pay for themselves in efficiency over time.

The research center will become NASA’s premier place for testing green and energy efficient technologies. Building technology is a crucial part of what NASA does, and the idea of creating more friendly, efficient, and enjoyable work environments was at the forefront of design and engineering when the plans for the center were conceived.

Take a look at USA Today’s coverage of the building site:

The machine was specifically engineered to explore vast lakes of liquid hydrocarbon that exist on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. The craft is just part of a series of robots that would be need to canvass the surface of the moon, according to Fink, and collaboration is at the forefront of his designs.

Watch the following video and learn more about Wolfgang and his theories of space exploration and what might be needed to make space rovers more successful on their missions. I think you’ll find his work interesting and innovative in regard to what is currently being used for such expeditions:

These machines and their ability to navigate and adapt to exploration independently could add great value to unmanned missions. Currently it takes scientists a long time to send and receive transmissions from rovers and an intuitive design like Fink’s has potential to become a standard of exploration technologies.

If you enjoyed seeing these crafts and their technology tested, watch the next video to see the Tucson Explorer II put through its paces in a field test. I think you’ll find it interesting and enjoyable. As you watch the video imagine the machine on a alien planet navigating uncharted topography:

Really cool stuff. Fink comments on the design of the rover:

“TEX II is ready to deploy on missions related to defense and security, such as harbor surveillance and cleanup operations of littoral munitions dumps and mines,”

“Another potential application of this lander is oceanographic research into currents and marine pollution,”

“TEX II is currently fitted with onboard cameras and sonar that can penetrate up to 100 meters,”

Hopefully we can look forward to seeing some of his devices employed around the globe on various projects before we see them sent into orbit to explore alien worlds. Great stuff, I always enjoy hearing about innovations like what we’ve seen here. Keep up the good work!

A panel of CEOs from Xerox, Ford and Verizon spoke on education and innovation during CES as reported by Vegas Inc. The executives pointed out that better education and economic diversification were the key to the United States catching up to leading businesses around the world.

“We must fundamentally improve our educational system,” Ursula Burns, chairman and CEO of Xerox, said during the CES’ Innovation Power Panel session. “We need to make science and math a desirable place to be. We need great teachers. We need excited learners. We can’t complain if we don’t have them, if we don’t invest in them.”

She went on to say that a part of the solution was to make students realize that four or six more years of education after high school could change their financial outlook and success.

“Unfortunately, it’s still not cool to be that way,” Burns said. “And it’s amazing to me how few people are thinking that way.”

CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro, moderator of the panel, said that the aftermath of the death of Steve Jobs put an emphasis on his role as an innovator. It was good for the industry as it showed the importance of innovators and the need for a solid education.

Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford, said that the United States needed to get back to letting businesses grow.

“Manufacturing can be a big part of fueling U.S. growth,” Mulally said. “It’s almost like we’ve decided not to be competitive.”

John Stratton, president of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, said that his company was fostering innovation through the opening of centers in Boston and San Francisco that invite entrepreneurs to develop phone apps and services.

Stratton blamed the government for not establishing new tax policies and putting regulatory burdens on companies as the main reasons behind their stifled innovation.

The executives praised the section on the CES show floor called Eureka! Park that features more than 100 new technologies. Shapiro said that the area featured product categories like broadband services, safe driving and sustainable technologies. It’s his hope that venture capitalists will invest in these new technologies to bring them to market.

Apple’s original office park, according to Jobs, only houses around 2,600 to 2,800 people. But they’ve got “almost 12,000 people in the area.” So what have they been doing? Renting out buildings in areas that aren’t always adjacent to the original campus.

Apple recently bought up about 150 acres in Cupertino that was once owned by Hewlett Packard. This is where Jobs is proposing that they build the new complex. In his presentation, Jobs said that the land is “kind of special to me,” citing the fact that Bill Hewett was one of his idols when he was 13.

Jobs proposes the new Apple headquarters as one big building, housing 12,000 people. It looks awesome, to be quite honest. It’s one giant ring, with curved glass windows and tons of space in the middle for landscaping. It resembles either a spaceship or a giant metal donut. Either way, housing that many people in one centralized campus will be quite the achievement.

Here’s what Jobs says about the new building:

It’s a circle, so it’s curved all the way around, and if you’ve built something, you know it’s not the cheapest way to build something. There’s not a straight piece of glass on this building, and we’ve used our experience making retail buildings, and we know how to make the biggest pieces of glass in the world, for architectural use – and we want to make the glass specifically for this building here. We can make it curved all the way around the building. It’s pretty cool.

Today, about 20% of the space is landscaping, most of it is big asphalt parking lots. We want to completely change this and make 80% of it landscaping. And the way we’re going to do this – we’re going to put most of the parking underground. And you can see what we have in mind. Today there are 37-hundred trees on the property, we’d like to almost double that.

Also, here’s the entire video of the presentation, complete with council-member questions at the end. They seem enthusiastic about the venture. The slides of the proposed campus start around the 5 minute mark: