10 episodes

We talk to inventors and learn from their successes and failures to inspire us and help us change the world.

Inspired by Failure Michi Yamamoto

    • Technology
    • 5.0 • 6 Ratings

We talk to inventors and learn from their successes and failures to inspire us and help us change the world.

    EMPAD by Kayla Nguyen

    EMPAD by Kayla Nguyen

    The guest on this episode of the Inspired by Failure podcast is Kayla Nguyen, EMPAD co-inventor.
    EMPAD stands for Electron Microscope Pixel Array Detector, which is a highly efficient detector for the electron microscope. EMPAD benefits a large number of researchers across a wide range of scientific fields.
    This hard-fought technology went through many stages of trials and failures, but finally resulted in success not only scientifically but also by earning a spot in The Guinness Book of World Records for the highest resolution microscope in the world
    EMPAD started through a collaboration in 2006 with Professor Gruner, a well-known figure in the field on X-ray technology. He started building detectors for free electron lasers. As an experiment, this detector was put it into the electron microscope to see what would happen. It caught on fire. This project was shelved for almost a decade, until Kayla and other co-inventors stepped in to resurrect the research.
    Through collaboration and tweaking, they were able to successfully complete the EMPAD in 2014.

    Key Quotes:
    “It wasn’t an epic failure; it was more like a marathon of failures.”
    “It wasn’t resources, it was just working with a lot of people with a lot of expertise. It was definitely a group effort to get this detector to work, and to uncover new information, and new physics.”

    Links:
    https://lemelson.mit.edu/winners/kayla-nguyen
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib3_bISFn4A

    Connect with us:
    http://www.michiyamamoto.com/
    https://www.facebook.com/InspiredByFailureByMichiYamamoto/

    Portal Entryways by Josh Horne

    Portal Entryways by Josh Horne

    The guest on this episode of the Inspired by Failure podcast is Josh Horne, Inventor of Portal Entryways.
    Portal Entryways is a smart phone accessible App that allows compatible doors to open upon approach. This is possible with Bluetooth low energy technology, and is specifically targeted to users with accessibility needs.
    Unlike traditional Bluetooth technology, Bluetooth low energy technology doesn’t have to be paired. As long as a door has the Portal Entryways technology, and a user has enabled the app, and is carrying their smartphone, the door will open automatically when they enter into the programmed range.
    Josh and classmates were inspired to create this system as they talked with a fellow student who used a wheelchair. The student shared that one of the main stressors and struggles during any given day, was opening doors. Josh and collaborators were inspired to find a practical solution.
    Josh is passionate about bringing accessibility to people through technology.

    Key Quotes:
    “I was able to learn and gain empathy for somebody who has a disability and lives their life in a wheelchair, and all of the different considerations and struggles that they have.”
    “People with disabilities are completely normal people, just like everybody else in the world. They just want to be independent, like anyone else does.”

    Links:
    https://www.portalentryways.com/
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-horne-3b21928b

    Connect with us:
    http://www.michiyamamoto.com/
    https://www.facebook.com/InspiredByFailureByMichiYamamoto/

    Anaerobic Digester by Enid Partika

    Anaerobic Digester by Enid Partika

    The guest on this episode of the Inspired by Failure podcast is Enid Partika, creator of an anaerobic digester that is turning food waste into fertilizer and biogas. Enid and her team at the Rogers Urban Farmlab are working with medium sized vendors such as university dining halls to collect food waste which is placed into the anaerobic digester they have created and will produce liquid fertilizer and biogas without the use of oxygen.
    Enid and her team have worked tirelessly to cultivate the right types of bacteria to produce the optimal biogas and fertilizer byproducts. Every 600 pounds of food waste can produce 3 kilowatt hours of biogas and 150 gallons of liquid fertilizer, which Enid and her team have been using to grow hydroponic plants and fruit trees at the Farmlab.
    While there are other similar efforts going on around the world, Enid believes that their anaerobic digester is unique in its scale and their capability to control the environmental factors of their project. They are constantly monitoring chemical and environmental metrics to ensure that their production levels are optimal. The best advice that Enid has received is to make the best use of the resources you are given, which she employs through experimentation and increased sustainability efforts.

    Key Quotes:
    “What resources are available to me? What tools do I have?”
    “How can we best service the environment? How can we best service our community?”

    Connect with us:
    http://www.michiyamamoto.com/
    https://www.facebook.com/InspiredByFailureByMichiYamamoto/

    Micro Electric Turbine System by Christopher Bean

    Micro Electric Turbine System by Christopher Bean

    Christopher Bean and his team are using their Micro Electric Turbine System (mETS) to create electricity with no combustion and no byproducts. They capture this energy through the pressure that occurs through the flow of gas. Their main target customers are off-shore oil producers who are looking for a way to be more sustainable and who have extraordinary amounts of the oil needed to produce this sustainable electricity. This mETS software is more practical than solar and hydrogen for off-shore oil producers particularly because of issues that solar and hydrogen have with cost and scale.
    Chris and his team have not met many barriers along the way and they view this as the optimal time for implementing this technology since oil and gas industries are primed to implement this kind of system to solve some of the problems they have been experiencing. The team has been talking with representatives of the oil and gas industries during their development phases and they believe that their product is exactly what they need. Chris is excited about the future of mETS and the potential for widespread carbon emissions reduction as the product is widely distributed and accepted.

    Key Quotes:
    “We are utilizing a readily-available pressure system.”
    “What goes into our turbine comes out in the very same form.”
    “The potential customers of this technology are hungry for this.”

    Connect with us:
    http://www.michiyamamoto.com/
    https://www.facebook.com/InspiredByFailureByMichiYamamoto/

    AI-Powered Video Editing by Jack Chernov

    AI-Powered Video Editing by Jack Chernov

    On this episode of Inspired by Failure, we talk with Jack Chernov, founder of an AI-powered video editing software. Jack is from Siberia and he recently moved to San Francisco to pursue his dreams of helping people tell their best story through their video content. Jack found that he was always trying to capture the most emotional or poignant moments of trips that he took, and he realized that it wouldn’t be difficult to integrate AI into the editing process by having it sort out frames that show emotion and defective frames.
    Jack conducted 23 hours’ worth of interviews with video editors to determine their criteria for choosing which frames to include in their final content. After 1 year of research, he narrowed these responses down to the 50 most common reasons. Now that he knew what he wanted to do, the next step was to understand what to do and hire talented people to help him do it. Jack emphasizes the importance of hiring people who do not need to be managed, but can effectively accomplish their job tasks with excellence.
    Jack is working to develop the product and complete a seed round of investments and then continue on with the same level of fervency and efficiency until the product is ready for market. He has been networking with other like-minded individuals in the San Francisco area at every opportunity and learning from their knowledge of startups in addition to their experiences in honesty in selling. He is looking forward to the continued growth and development of the idea and product.

    Key Quotes:
    “People don’t like to do this part of video editing.”
    “Automation of video is only possible if you choose a certain type of video.”
    “Everyone is looking for emotions.”
    “I don’t understand the deep technical aspects, but I understand what’s possible and what’s not possible.”

    Connect with us:
    http://www.michiyamamoto.com/
    https://www.facebook.com/InspiredByFailureByMichiYamamoto/

    Aclarity by Julie Bliss Mullen

    Aclarity by Julie Bliss Mullen

    Julie Bliss Mullen grew up loving and appreciating the outdoors, and after a trip to rural Guatemala during high school to study the water issues of that community, she knew that she had found her life’s purpose. She took environmental engineering and sustainability courses in college and after her internship with the EPA, she was awarded a graduate research fellowship to study emerging contaminants in water. She began looking at conventional treatment methods and then began her PhD studies where she continued her research by looking at new types of water treatment technology.
    During this program, she discovered the potentials of electrochemical water treatment to remove contaminants and she hired a co-founder to help her thrust the project forward. They chose the name Aclarity because it is unique and memorable while conveying their desired message of clarity and having a nice ring to it. During the electrochemical process, they found it effective to group the types of contaminants based upon the power ratings needed to destroy them in water. Their technology is able to desalinate water and allow for water reuse in addition to typical water treatment functions.
    Julie has greatly enjoyed learning more about electrochemistry with the ultimate goal of providing clean water to as much of the world as possible, inspired by her first trip to rural Guatemala. They are working to make Aclarity scalable and hopefully widely available for solving the world’s water problems.

    Key Quotes:
    “It generates really fast reacting chemicals that destroy contaminants.”
    “We have to regulate the power to destroy certain contaminants.”

    Connect with us:
    http://www.michiyamamoto.com/
    https://www.facebook.com/InspiredByFailureByMichiYamamoto/

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
6 Ratings

6 Ratings

HighheelJunkie ,

Very Inspired!

I came to this podcast just to check out one episode. That particular episode with Josh re: Portal Entryways was very intriguing. It lead me to check out more episodes.I'm blown away by the different start up stories. I'm glad I've come across this podcast. Michi does a great job in pulling information out of the guests. His interview questions are great. This podcast is definitely a hidden gem.

Chelz.edu ,

Great show for tech enthusiasts!

I really like the Inspired by Failure podcast. It's not only inspirational but motivational as well. They cover such a wide range of topics in the Technology field it helps me as a listener stay up to date on the latest innovations in the industry.

The podcast audio is very high quality and you can tell that Michi is passionate about the Tech field. The guests he brings on the show have so much interesting knowledge to share. You get a look at the future of tech through the show. The products and topics he discusses are fascinating and makes me excited for the new technology that will be released.

TreatyoSelfBoo ,

Thoughtful interviews

Great listen and a good example of the interviewer getting out of the way of their guest and letting them speak in detail. Michi asks thoughtful and carefully considered questions to his guests (I think I heard his guest Josh say “that’s a great question” several times in 15 minutes). The episode i just listened to got into a tech subject I’d never even considered before: a door-installed wireless device and a smartphone app for differently abled people. Very interesting digging into something I haven’t heard discussed hundreds of times already.

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