A plant texts a farmer to say it needs more water. An invisible coating scrubs pollutants from the air. A robot roams a hospital's halls, aiding doctors and nurses by recording vital signs and registrations. The 2012 edition of NASA's annual Spinoff publication captures a nation and world made better by advancements originally achieved for space technology.
Spinoff 2012 offers a close-up look at how NASA's initiatives in aeronautics and space exploration have resulted in commercial technologies with benefits across the economy: health and medicine, transportation, public safety, consumer goods, energy and environment, information technology and industrial productivity.
These advancements improve and save thousands of lives. NASA spinoffs also contribute to economic growth by generating billions of dollars in revenues and creating thousands of new jobs.
In addition, NASA's breadth of vision and its record of groundbreaking innovation inspire young people to pursue careers in the science, technology, engineering and math fields.
In Spinoff 2012, readers can discover:
A satellite tracking system pioneered by NASA that has helped rescue more than 30,000 people in distress all over the world
An X-ray fluorescence scanner that detects the elemental composition of an object and is frequently used by museums to authenticate works of art
An open source platform co-developed by NASA that has spurred enormous growth in the cloud computing industry.
A plug-and-play research platform that facilitates experiments carried out in microgravity on the International Space Station for customers, ranging from high schools and universities to pharmaceutical organizations around the globe
The 2012 edition of NASA's flagship technology publication also includes a special section on spinoffs in manufacturing.
Together, NASA and its partners have commercialized more than 350 documented spinoffs relating to industrial productivity and manufacturing, from advanced construction tools to industry-launching innovations in new materials.
Spinoff 2012 is available online at http://spinoff.nasa.gov.
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov.