Interesting Winners for Tech Innovation

Here are this week's winners for the Wall Street Journal's 2004 Technology Innovation Awards. A lot of neat things... -Steve

Gold Winner
Sun Microsystems Laboratories U.S.
New method for chips to transmit data inside a computer up to 100 times faster than today's top speed. Sun researchers have developed a wireless approach, in which two chips less than a hair's width apart "ping" data back and forth through the air. Physical connections aren't necessary. It's a daring technique that hasn't yet been proved in mass-produced computers.

Silver Winner
Given Imaging Ltd. Israel
Pill-shaped video camera screens the esophagus for disorders.
The device, known as the PillCam, was conceived in the 1990s by Gaddi Idan, a lifelong inventor and one-time missile developer in the Israeli military. It took years to get the technical details sorted out. But now thousands of patients are swallowing PillCams to help their doctors assess the risks of cancer and other gastrointestinal diseases.


Bronze Winner
InSightec Image Guided Treatment Ltd. Israel
Device destroys tumors using ultrasound waves together with magnetic resonance imaging. Last month, the technology was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in treating uterine fibroid tissue in premenopausal women.


Honorable Mention
Flarion Technologies Inc. U.S.
New approach to mobile broadband networks, based on Internet protocol

Honorable Mention
Witten Technologies Inc. U.S.
Technology that creates detailed images of conditions underground

E-Commerce Winner
Galp Energia SGPS SA Portugal
Gas stations use biometric payment system, where customers press thumb against glass pad, Scanning technology identifies the thumbprint and sends the customer's identification information into Galp's back-office system for payment authorization.

Environment Winner
Ferrate Treatment Technologies LLC U.S.
Wastewater and industrial effluence treatment without toxic byproducts. Its technology is based on low-cost, on-site generation of ferrate, an iron-based compound that the company calls "the most powerful oxidant in nature."

Materials and Other Base Technologies Winner
Startech Environmental Corp. U.S.
Recycling system that destroys wastes by subjecting them to superheated, ionized gases. Temperatures inside one of Startech's disposal chambers can run as high as 30,000 degrees Fahrenheit. At such temperatures, the chemical bonds that make up the wastes are broken apart. What remains are basic chemical elements.

Security (Network) Winner Sana Security Inc. U.S.
Antihacker products based on the ways that the human body repels invaders

Transportation Winner Toyota Motor Corp. Japan
Hybrid Synergy Drive, the newest version of the gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain used in Toyota's Prius model. Earlier versions provided some improvement in gas mileage, but the relatively slow acceleration they provided didn't dazzle customers. The latest version, known as Hybrid Synergy Drive, was designed to provide more power and greater fuel efficiency. It also trimmed fuel emissions 30%.

Wireless Winner MeshNetworks Inc. U.S.
Command system enabling real-time tracking of firefighters and other emergency personnel in buildings, tunnels, etc.