Editor's note:Another week has come and gone, and it's time to round up the top headlines from the past few days. Trending Houston tech and startup news on InnovationMap included innovators to know, photos from a newly opened makerspace, details on a space health device, and more.
Photos: $38M innovative maker hub space opens in Houston's East End
The East End Maker Hub, a public-private endeavor, aims to put Houston on the map for manufacturing. Photo by Natalie Harms
A new 300,000-square-foot innovation and manufacturing hub with a goal of creating 1,000 new companies in the next five years has officially celebrated its grand opening.
The East End Maker Hub — a $38 million public-private partnership — is anchored by TX/RX Labs, a makerspace nonprofit, and located at 6501 Navigation Blvd. So far, 25 companies have signed leasing agreements with the hub that has two of its three phases completed.
"Houston can become the next great manufacturing hub in America," says Roland von Kurnatowski, president at TX/RX Labs. "We can decrease our external reliance and increase our resilience." Click here to continue reading.
3 Houston innovators to know this week
This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Emily Reiser of Texas Medical Center Innovation, Atul Varadhachary of Fannin Innovation Studio, and Vicki Knott of Crux OCM. Courtesy photos
In this week's roundup of Houston innovators to know, I'm introducing you to two local innovators, as well as one honorary Houstonian, across industries — energy, health care, and more — recently making headlines in Houston innovation. Click here to continue reading.
Health tech device supported by Houston-based organization hitches ride on SpaceX flight
The Butterfly iQ, a device developed with Baylor College of Medicine's Translational Research Institute for Space Health, is headed to the ISS. Photo courtesy of TRISH
An innovative ultrasonography device that has been developed with the future of space health in mind has hitched a ride on SpaceX's Dragon cargo resupply mission. The Translational Research Institute for Space Health, or TRISH, at Baylor College of Medicine is supporting the product's first user demo in space.
The Butterfly iQ device was developed by Connecticut-based Butterfly Network Inc. (NYSE: BFLY) and is "the world's first handheld, single-probe whole-body ultrasound system using semiconductor technology," according to a press release.
TRISH has been supporting the device's development since the organization realized the impact it can have on astronauts' ability to administer their own health care.
"NASA is returning to the moon and our astronauts will need to be more self-reliant when it comes to medical care. TRISH is investing in innovations that enable healthcare to be provided in new ways," says Dr. Dorit Donoviel, director of TRISH, in the release. "On deep space missions, tools such as the Butterfly iQ will help the astronauts monitor themselves for concerns such as kidney stones, fluid in the lungs, blood clots and swelling of the optic nerve." Click here to continue reading.
Lessons in prototyping: Choosing the right approach to product development
When approaching prototype creation, you must make a series of decisions. This expert weighs in with her expertise. Photo courtesy
When embarking on the journey of developing and bringing a new product to the market, you as an inventor have to consider a multitude of aspects that add to the overall market success of your final product. And prototyping is one of the key product development stages that helps you achieve that.
Whether you're going to launch a hardware or a software product, or the combination of both — you need to have a prototype made. First, it allows you to validate your idea and see if it's worth investing time and money into. Second, it creates opportunities for product improvement, detection and elimination of design flaws, and cost reduction, especially during manufacturing.
Therefore, you will need to make a set of choices before you actually build a prototype to ensure that it results in a viable, cost-effective, and quality market-ready product. Let's look at major choice points and their implications that will help you navigate the process in the most efficient way. Click here to continue reading.
Exclusive: Rice University's new clean energy accelerator announces inaugural cohort
A new clean energy accelerator has announced its first cohort. Photo via Getty Images
Rice University selected 12 early-stage clean energy startups to help accelerate over the summer — and the new program kicks off later this month.
The Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator, which was announced last September, is a 12-week program will prepare startups to grow their business, connect them with strategic partners and mentors, launch pilots, and fundraise. The inaugural application process attracted companies from 14 states and eight countries.
"We were impressed with the quality, potential and range of clean energy solutions being commercialized by our applicant pool and took great care in assessing their potential as well as our ability to meet their identified needs," says Kerri Smith, the accelerator's interim executive director. "The selection process was very competitive. We had a difficult time paring down the applications but are looking forward to working with our first class of 12." Click here to continue reading.