Who are the innovators of tomorrow?

I agree with Cabe, predicting the next great innovator is not obvious.

If you look at the people who do innovation, only a small handful reach the status of the men you named.  The key issue about innovation is inspiration, persperation and determination.  The most unlikely people can and do find an idea that solves a problem in a unique way.  While others may get the same idea, only a few will actually spend the time, effort and money to see if their solution actually works.  Once verified, the idea has to be sold to someone who finds the value of the solution.

When I look around at all of the youth contests, maker fairs, science projects, and the kids I see at the local science centers, I see the promise of innovation in the making.  As an example, a friend of mine brought his two young sons over to my place to look at the stars through my 12-inch telescope.  Seeing the sky through its lenses and mirrors triggered two eager young minds.  One became a Phd in Astronomy and the other is a leading IT manager in Chicago.

This is one of the reasons I come to Element 14.  It provides me with the opportunity to help focus a young mind onto an idea that could well be the next major technical innovation of our day.  When I entered the technical environment, I was lucky enough to work with a lot of smart people who gave me some of their time to help me understand science, engineering and the fundamentals of evolving ideas.  I hope my posts here at E14 helps others in the same way.

So while we may not be able to predict the next great innovator, I firmly believe that the interactions in venues like E14 creates the proper environment from which the next innovator may arrise.  It is a slow process that requires the nurturing of inquisitive minds.  Hopefully, I am doing my part in helping others as those people in my past helped nurture me.

Just keep in mind that technology is changing at an incredible rate.  In many ways, it is the evolution of technolgy that helps determine who will innovate the most influential idea of our time.  The last half century has been dominated by electronics.  The next big issue may be energy, biology, chemistry or physics.  Thats the beauty of it.  We just don't know who or what will affect us all.

As the Chinese used to say "May you live in interesting times."  They considered this saying a curse.  I see it as the inspiration catalyst of our time.

DAB

I believe that one of the key advantages that these previous innovators have is the ability to have the firsthand experience of new technologies. We may say that some of them were born more privileged than others in terms of getting the resources either in having an up-to-date education or material support. I believe that there are a lot of great minds out there across the world that can impart something into technology but sometimes, it boils down to the lack of necessary resources.

I guess with the rise of internet and social networking sites, those people who want their ideas to materialize may now get the support that they may need to continue their plans. Through media sites like YouTube, we can now see how young minds drive innovation. In return, this can also serve as a way to inspire other youth to learn and participate in technology building. Community sites like Element14 can serve as a medium to let the highly experienced individuals mentor those people who are in need of help in realizing their ideas.

In terms of eyeing for potential innovators, I can see some through the TED videos. Just like Pranav Mistry for his Sixth Sense technology, Brain waves reader leaded by Tan Le, or even App writing capabilities of young generations like Thomas Suarez. I guess with this information age, innovation might be a lot faster than expected because almost anyone can get fresh and updated information through the web. Or maybe not, this is because IP laws are sometimes getting in the way to hinder ideas. Even though, real innovators have the determination to do disruptive technologies no matter what happens.

- Ren

Well first off I was expecting to see a voting system so that I could vote for myself as the next great thing since sliced bread... but....

I think that we are all part of this great process. There are many engineers who will never reach great fame and fortune or get the next noble prize. However if you look at the people you have listed, they have all worked and built on technology that has gone before. We would not be where we are now without the engineers that have gone before, pushed the limits and tried new things. More importantly they felt the need to pass on their ideas and allow others to learn from them.

We are all contributing now though sites like this in giving the current and next generation of engineers the building blocks to work on.

To become the next great thing you need luck – anyone of the current E14 members could get an idea that explodes into the next iPhone or GPS or replaces the internet. But it will be a technology that is built on ideas and the hard work of other engineers that have layer the path for others to follow.

For being an engineer is about changing and developing for the better, a community of people trying to make it a better place. We are all great innovators in our own ways.

The great innovators of this world are not just the people who design amazing new technologies, but they are the ones that also have the drive to push those technologies out to the entire world. Those are the ones who will be remembered.

One of my favorite innovators to watch is Ray Kurzweil. He has been inventing and creating businesses and sharing innovative and outlandish ideas for decades now. He is responsible for optical character recognition devices designed to read to the blind. He has done a fair amount of work in artificial intelligence and he has been pushing for life extension technologies so that he can live forever. Kurzweil is always pushing the boundaries of what we consider possible in this world.

In the area of manned space flight, two innovators have captured my imagination. They are literally the rising stars to watch. The first is Robert Bigelow who intends to create the first space hotel. And the second is Jeff Bezos. Not only is Bezos the founder of Amazon.com, but his company Blue Origin has just designed the New Shepard space vehicle.

And in the area of robotics Robert Hanson's company, Hanson Robotics is working on artificial intelligence and emotionally expressive robots. And Dean Kamen, the founder of FIRST( For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is the creator of the Segway, all terrain wheelchairs, robotic prosthetic arms, and much more. Who knows what Kamen will make next.

Less well known are the rising stars of the compressed air engine world. Guy Negre of MDI (Motor development international) in France and Angelo Di Pietro of EngineAir in Melbourne, Australia have both developed compressed air engines. Their designs are radically different yet both of them seem to work. They were both featured in this segment of Beyond Tomorrow.

Ben Heck.