Have you ever heard of a refrigeroven? Or plants that text you when they’re thirsty? No?! Okay, let’s try something easier, like shoe insoles. How about the computer mouse? Those two were easy, right? So here’s a question for you: What do they all have in common with each other?
If you answered “NASA,” give yourself a nice pat on the back. That’s right, NASA was somehow involved in spinning off these technologies for public use and profit. These spinoffs were produced and promoted for commercial use under NASA’s Technology Utilization Plan. And “spinoff” is the primary focus of this infographic (below) that was produced by the folks at the Great Business Schools site.
The infographic shows a lot of the major spinoffs from NASA’s labor since 1962. Did you know there are over 1,800 spinoffs thanks to NASA? That’s a whole lot of space technology people use, some almost every day.
Definitely go over to their site to see the bigger picture. Some of you can use that space-age mouse of yours to get over there. Even that smartphone with the miniaturized electronics and touchscreen–yeah, I’m pretty sure NASA helped with the initial development of the tech in that, too. Then you can see that there is indeed such a thing as a refrigeroven, and that you can buy that texting tech for your plants. If you ever wondered why space mattered or tried to answer “the what’s in it for me?” question that invariably comes up, this poster might be just the ticket to help you.
The Mad Spaceball 