Inovelab

Cane Diesel - heading for 2016

2012-01-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

A project named Diesel de Cana - rumo a 2016 (Cane Diesel - heading for 2016), which uses sustainable technology developed by the company Amyris Brasil, was launched in Rio during the 1st Seminar on Sustainable Technologies in Transport. The initiative is a result of a partnership between the Rio de Janeiro state government, the Rio deJaneiro city hall and the Federation of Passenger Transport Companies of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Fetranspor).

In the coming 12 months, the project will test the addition of 30% of diesel made from sugarcane to fossil diesel on a bus in Rio de Janeiro. The test results will be presented during Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, due to be held in Rio in June 2012. The product was developed by company Amyris Brasil.

Duo Malbec Nebbiolo 100ml Deodorant Cologne

2011-08-14T17:44:00.000-07:00

PERFUME

PERFURMER Napoleão Bastos | IFF | France

DESIGN Felipe Iorczeski Minella, Cristina Pagnoncelli | Brainbox Design Estratégico | Curitiba - PR

CLIENT O Boticário | Curitiba - PR

DUO IS THE NEW PERFUME OF THE BOTICÁRIO SPECIAL RESERVE that reveals the meeting of the strength and intensity of Malbec with tradition and sophistication of the Nebbiolo grape. This harmonious combination is based on the wine alcohol (obtained by the distillation of wine), macerated in French oak barrels, combined with fruity touches of cassis buttons and wealth of oak extract. All these ingredients give a special character to this unique and remarkable creation. This is the proposal of the new Boticario Malbec Nebbiolo Duo, an exclusive fragrance designed especially to celebrate Father's Day. The packaging of Malbec Nebbiolo Duo also has the finesse of the wines. Besides the unique design of the glass, the product comes in a canister which refers to the creation of handmade drink. And to reinforce the concept of exclusivity, each fragrance is numbered with a unique code.The product reaches the stores of the 3020 limited edition. OUTPUT: fresh notes (bergamot, lime-of-Persia, lemon, violet leaves), fruits (figs, plums and star fruit), spices (pepper, rose, cardomom, saffron). BODY: rose, iris, geranium, malbec headspace, notes of chocolate, cassis, oak. FUND: cedar, vetiver, patchouli notes, amber, moss, musk.

Natura EKOS

2011-08-06T06:12:00.000-07:00

PACKAGING

DESIGN Romy Hayashi e Viviane Conrado | Chelles & Hayashi Design | São Paulo – SP

CLIENT Natura Cosméticos | Cajamar – SP

ESPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR THE NATURA EKOS TOILETRIES PACKAGE, this project was inspired by the Boi Bumbá folk festival from Parintins, in the Brazilian Amazon. The design captures the richness of graphic expressions and the charm of the Amazonian folklore. As you rotate the bottle of Ópera Amazônica Canto Azul blue bath oil, the arrangement of design elements on the label shows a star shining in the sky. When you rotate the bottle of Ópera Amazônica Canto Vermelho red bath oil, a heart shows. MATERIALS: Four color container, Ripasa offset paper over ecopack cardboard 280g, PET plastic bottle with silk-screen printing, and plastic lid with anodized aluminium cover. PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: Container: Width: 87 mm. Height: 155 mm. Length: 87 mm. Bottle: Height: 151 mm. Diameter: 85 mm. PRICE: R$ 64.80•

Puff Alezzia - Model F525

2011-08-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

FURNITURE
DESIGN Clarisse Rodrigues, Pedro Paulo e Alexandre Nascimento Alezzia Rio de Janeiro – RJ
CLIENT Alezzia Rio de Janeiro – RJ
THE PUFF ALEZZIA - MODEL F525 IS A MODERN FURNITURE THAT MATCHES the most varied styles. Its structure is firm but light passes through their rounded shapes. Its sleek design makes it possible to group these parts into different sets, according to the needs of the environment. Its design allows a gentle rocking. This product is designed to support up to 100kg. The black courissimo is the key padded to suit any environment. Its modern design is combining well with the delicate structure of stainless steel. This product can be used in law offices, accounting, engineering and other industries seeking to pass sobriety. The black color allows this product combines well with classic designs. MATERIALS: Black courissimo, stainless steel AISI 304, brushed finish. PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: Height 412mm, Length 470mm and Width 490mm. PRODUCT WEIGHT: 5kg. LOAD SUPPORTED: 110kg, tested with a seated person. PRICE: R$ 698,00•

FIAT NOVO UNO ECOLOGY

2011-08-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

RESEARCH
DESIGN Henrique Galante, Isabella Vianna, Marco Lima, Paulo Nakamura, Valeria Santos Fiat Automóveis S.A. Betim – MG
CLIENT Fiat Automóveis S.A. Betim – MG

A CONCEPT CAR DESIGNED AS A TEST-BED FOR NEW MATERIALS, RAW materials and sustainable technologies in a setting closer to the production reality of the automotive market. The Fiat Novo Uno Ecology presents an innovative internal design feature resulting in a new aesthetic. The appreciation of the ecological aspect can be seen in dye-free fabric and paintfree parts that result in a unique combination between boldness and lightness of natural materials. The vehicle runs only on ethanol and has a start-stop system to shut off the engine at fast stops, solar cells placed in the roof to recharge batteries, seats upholstered with coir fi ber fabric, recycled PET bottle mats, and paint based water. R&D was used throughout the entire design process whenever it became necessary to seek alternative solutions to improve results and reduce environmental impacts. The methods and their integration into R&D of materials and technologies were innovative in the context of the company, since the priority was the implementation of ecological solutions to the concept car. The Novo Uno Ecology is part of a broader initiative undertaken by Fiat to develop R&D focused on improving the eco-effi ciency of its cars.

Soccer Museum

2011-07-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

ENVIRONMENTS
DESIGN Jair de Souza Jair de Souza Design Rio de Janeiro – RJ MUSEOLOGY Daniela Thomas, Felipe Tassara São Paulo – SP
ARCHITECTURE Mauro Munhoz Sao Paulo – SP CURATOR Leonel Kaz Rio de Janeiro – RJ
CLIENT Fundacao Roberto Marinho Rio de Janeiro – RJ

SAO PAULO’S SOCCER MUSEUM IS A MULTI-ARTFORM PROJECT combining architecture, curatorship, museography, art direction, multimedia, and visual design. The Museum is situated within Pacaembu Soccer Stadium and tells Brazil’s history through soccer, while contextualizing and identifying this sport as part of the spirit and essence of Brazilian culture. Conceived as a multi sensorial venue, each room of the museum arouses a variety of emotions and strong identification with soccer and Brazil’s history. The major curatorial challenge was to create a museum that would be both intelligent and exciting, moving away from the traditional concept of sports museums. Therefore, the Soccer Museum has no banners, trophies, pennants, soccer players’ shirts or shoes on display. One of the Soccer Museum’s main attractions is the Exaltação (Exaltation) Museum, a space where the 20 major soccer fan groups in Brazil are projected onto a screen. The Soccer Museum is a family entertainment venue which gives everyone something to identify with. MATERIALS: LED panel, Holopr acrylic plates, back projection screens, self-leveling resin polyurethane floor, steel and polycarbonate structures, aluminium and iron, electrostatic paint, vinyl printing, LCD screens, and glass plates. MUSEUM AREA: 6,900 sqm. PRICE: R$ 32 million•

Legacy Line

2011-07-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

TRANSPORTATION
DESIGN Bruno Kimura Castanha, Hans Jorg Rey e Sérgio Raphael F. Affonso Embraer Sao Jose dos Campos – SP
CLIENT Embraer Sao Jose dos Campos – SP
TWO NEW EXECUTIVE AIRCRAFT MODELS – LEGACY 500 AND LEGACY 450 – manufactured by Embraer Brazilian Aviation Company, were developed according to the latest and finest design solutions and in compliance with aeronautical certification requirements, aimed at users’ maximum comfort and well-being. The aircraft interiors combine fashion, architecture and luxury goods trends. The bold choice and combination of materials seek market differentiation by incorporating innovative solutions into the aviation segment. The Legacy 500 can carry from eight to twelve passengers and two crew members, and fly 3,000 nautical miles. The Legacy 450 carries from seven to nine passengers, two crew members, and ranges 2,300 nautical miles. Both aircraft reach the maximum operating altitude of 45,000 feet and Mach 0.82.cruise speed. MATERIALS: Aircraft body made from metal and compound materials. Interior: Wide range of high quality aviation materials like leather, fabrics and veneers. PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: Legacy 500: Height: 6.74 m. Width: 20.25 m. Length: 20.52 m. Legacy 450: Height: 6.74 m. Width: 20.25 m. Length: 19.15m. PRICE: N/A•

Hotel Urbano

2011-07-11T11:35:00.000-07:00

WEBSITES

TEAM João Ricardo Mendes, José Eduardo Hotel Urbano Rio de Janeiro - RJ

RELATIONS Apetrexo.com Rio de Janeiro - RJ

João Ricardo Mendes, 30, and José EduardoTHE COLLECTIVE SHOPPING SITE HOTEL URBANO IS AN EXAMPLE OF the U.S. investment funds appetite for brazilian ventures. The brothers João Ricardo Mendes, 30, and José Eduardo, 28, created the site in January, with hotel deals. Months later, they were besieged by Insight Venture Partners, which has invested in Twitter. In April, the pair sold a portion of the site actions, which should make R $ 100 million this year. U.S. investment funds that drove the creation of giants like Google, Facebook and Twitter have discovered Brazil. With an eye on rising middle class and growth in the number of accesses to the web in the country, investors like Redpoint, Index, Insight, BV Capital and Sequoia are destined billion to buy on average 30% of the capital of Brazilian technology - from collective purchases websites, to information security companies and online advertising. According to the Brazilian Association of Information Technology and Communication (Brasscom), the country will be the fourth largest IT market in 2020, behind China, USA and Germany. Today is the eighth. Rio Negocios, the official agency for investment promotion of the city has received since November, two missions, of private equity and venture capital funds (types of funds that invest in promising companies), including the founders of YouTube and MySpace. Who also soon arrives in Rio to close business is Niklas Zennstrom, co-founder of Skype. MAIN INVESTORS: Insight Venture Partners. INVESTMENT: R$ 100 million•

Barra Energia do Brasil

2011-07-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

OIL & GAS

TEAM João Carlos de Luca, Renato Bertani, Antonio Claudio P. da Silva, Cesar Cainelli Barra Energia Rio de Janeiro – RJ

RELATIONS Repsol, Petrobras, Shell do Brasil Rio de Janeiro – RJ

THE FIRST TWO BRAZILIAN COMPANIES TO ENTER OIL EXPLORATION IN THE PRE-SALT, the rookie Barra Energia do Brasil and Queiroz Galvao, paid $ 350 million to Shell Brazil, a subsidiary of global giant Royal Dutch Shell, purchasing 20% share the oil company held in the BM-S-8 ultra-deepwater pre-salt Bacia de Santos. The CEO of the Barra Energia, João Carlos França de Luca, celebrated the fact that the company - formed mostly by former employees of Petrobras and Repsol - have started their activities in a block in the pre-salt. In the block, the consortium, operated by Petrobras, discovered the accumulation called Bem-te-Vi. Barra and Queiroz Galvão bought each, 10% stake that Shell had on the block, paying $ 175 million each. Petrobras, which is the operator, owns 66% of the consortium, and portuguese Galp, 14%. MAIN INVESTORS: U.S. investment fund First Reserve Corporation and Riverstone Holdings. INVESTMENT: R$ 1 billion•

China invests USD 12.67 billion in Brazil

2011-07-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

China stepped up its investments in Brazil in a big way with fresh investment of about USD 9 billion, taking its overall foreign direct investment in that country to USD 12. 67 billion as the two countries warmed up under the BRICS alliance.

China will invest USD 4.5 billion in Brazil's technology sector this year shifting its investment in the Latin American country from agriculture and mining.

With this, the Chinese investment is expected to hit USD 9 billion this year, with half of it going into high-tech industries Alessandro Teixeira, deputy minister of Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, told state run China Daily.

The two countries were part of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, (BRICS) which held its third summit in Sanya in China recently. China has been Brazil's biggest trading partner since 2009, a position previously held by the United States. Cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) from China to Brazil reached USD 12.67 by the end of 2009, according to Banco Bradesco SA, one of Brazil's biggest banks.

Agriculture and mining each received about 20% investment. Brazil has been urging Chinese companies to invest in non-raw material sectors to help balance its economy. Teixeira said that Brazil has banned farming businesses established solely through foreign investment.

The government in Brazil welcomes Chinese companies cooperating with Brazilian partners in producing agricultural products, such as soybean oil, he said. "That is the kind of partnership that China and Brazil are looking forward to," he said. China, Brazil regard each other as key partners in their global strategy.

Brazil accounts for 40 per cent of Latin America's economy. Teixeira predicted that this will rise to 50 per cent in the next 10 years. Trade between the two countries has increased dramatically during the last decade, surging 16-fold between 2001 to 2010.

"Seventy per cent of the trade between Brazil and China is basically commodities," Teixeira said. "But we are keen to improve commercial relations in medium and high-end technology. "China's investment in Brazil was less than USD 300 million in 2009, but skyrocketed to USD 17 billion in 2010, making China the largest foreign investor in Brazil.

"The trend is that China will invest more in the technology sector," Marcos Almeida, a partner at Ernst & Young Terco said.

Cargill launch Brazilian innovation centre

2011-06-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

COMMODITY company Cargill has opened a new innovation centre in Brazil, which includes laboratories for flavours, application development and sensory analysis.

The centre is based in Campinas, state of Sao Paulo, at a cost of BRL20 million (about USD12.6 million) and are intended to serve customers in the beverage, baking, confectionery, convenience foods and dairy categories.

Cargill Brazil
Av. Morumbi, 8234 – Brooklin
CEP: 04703-002
São Paulo – SP
PABX (11) 5099-3311

Fiat FCC II

2011-05-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

TRANSPORTATION
DESIGN Leonardo Queiroz, Manuel Ferreira, Peter Fassbender, Rafael Peixoto e Renata Tanure Fiat Automóveis Betim – MG
CLIENT Fiat Automóveis Betim – MG
FIRST EXHIBITED AT THE 2009 SÃO PAULO CAR SHOW, THE FIAT FCC II is a concept car combining style and functionality. The vehicle was developed wholly in Brazil in the record-breaking time of six months and its key feature is its electric motor that does not impact the environment and is free of greenhouse gas emissions. The FCC II runs on 93 ion lithium batteries that can be charged in any 220 volt socket. The use of natural fibers to produce its components and upholstery reinforces its slogan of comfort and efficiency in line with environment conservation. The vehicle boasts a stylish design, sportive lines and a recyclable body that enhance its identity. It can carry two passengers and reach a 120 km/h speed. The prototype design and technology embodies Fiat’s commitment to sustainable practices through a differentiated product capable of pleasing and surprising different kinds of consumers. MATERIALS: Tubular chassis, environment friendly materials like curauá fiber on the hood and nanopolymers on the pedals. PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: Height: 1,363 mm. Between axles: 2,170 mm. Width: 1,830 mm. Length: 3,317 mm. Approximate weight: 850 kg. PROTOTYPE COST: R$ 1 million•

SACI 2.0 Robot

2011-05-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL
DESIGN André Lunardi de Souza, Antonio Roberto Lins de Macedo ARMTEC Tecnologia em Robótica Fortaleza – CE
CLIENT ARMTEC Tecnologia em Robótica Fortaleza – CE

A ROBOT TO FIGHT FIRES, REPAIR GAS LEAKEGES and other accidents. Remotely controlled, it protects users from face-to- face contact with fire or toxic substances. MATERIALS: Stainless steel structure, fire-fighting cannon made of bronze or aluminum; stainless steel belts; up to 15 electrical batteries; electrical engines; controlled by means of cable and/or RF; and LGE storage tanks. PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: Height: 1, 500 mm. Width: 1, 600 mm. Length: 1, 800 mm. Weight: 800 kg. PRICE: R$ 250,000.00•

Innovation, a trademark of Rio de Janeiro

2011-04-22T21:11:00.001-07:00

Ingenuity, creativity and boldness are trademarks of Rio de Janeiro long ago. Here came the racket and was created footvolley. Hereman can fly, stop time, a new idea appears in the table in a bar, andfrom there gain the world. We promote talents and entrepreneurs,and today the state spends more than a billion dollars in science.The vocation of Rio de Janeiro is thinking big.

rio+design

2011-04-09T14:54:00.001-07:00

BS41 chair by Bernardo Senna; Tupi chair by Leonardo Lattavo and Peter Moog, and Theo armchair by Fernando Jaeger.

Embrapa gains agility abroad

2011-03-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) should have agility for operation abroad after publication of a law this month. Law 12,383, of March 2, allows the institution to operate outside the country, as the former legislation only forecasted operation in the country. To be able to operate abroad, therefore, up to now the company operated through partnerships with international organisations.

According to information disclosed by the Technical Coordinator at Embrapa, Antonio Prado, the law should make it easier for Embrapa to manage resources abroad, like, for example, expenses with personnel aboard. It will also allow the company to have accounts abroad, to open its own offices and to receive royalties abroad, for research and products, outside the country. In practice, the organisation will be able to manage the operational, financial and administrative part abroad, without having to do so through partners.

Currently, Embrapa operates on two fronts in the international market: in projects for technology transfer developed in Ghana, Panama, Venezuela, Senegal, Mali and Mozambique, and in scientific cooperation, which it has in the United States, Europe and South Korea. In both cases, however, the company operates through partners, like governments or enterprises in the countries. The offices, when they exist, are loaned, or the employees work at the structure of the international partner, as is the case in scientific cooperation.

According to Prado, despite publication of the law, Embrapa does not plan to modify its method of operation abroad. Despite autonomy to have accounts abroad, for example, the company should study each case to see what is more viable. The opening of research centres is discarded by Prado. "It is not good business," he said. What is more viable, according to Prado, is the model of scientific cooperation, called virtual laboratories, in which Embrapa employees work at the partner centres, in state of the art research.

The technology transfer projects that Embrapa has in Africa, in turn, are through international partnerships, with the help the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), at the request of the ABC and the Brazilian Foreign Office (Itamaraty). In the case of Ghana, the office and its structure are granted by the local government. In the case of these technical cooperation projects, like the one in Ghana, Embrapa only covers the cost of its own employees. The maintenance aid that comes from the ABC and the remaining costs, like tickets and purchase of equipment, are the responsibility of the agency and of the local partner.

According to Prado, in the area of technology transfer, the participation of Embrapa personnel in specific projects has shown itself more interesting, as is the case in Mali (where the project is headquartered, despite covering Burkina Faso, Benin and Chad), in which participation occurs specifically in a project in a cotton area, and in Senegal, where it is focussed on a rice crop, or in Mozambique, where the focus is on agricultural innovation. Also under discussion are two new projects in these moulds, with Japan and the United States, also in Mozambique.

Strategic Studies in Science, Technology and Innovation in Brazil

2011-03-07T09:32:00.000-08:00

Brazil has an internationally recognized organization dedicated to strategic studies in science, technology and innovation.

The Brazilian Center for Strategic Studies and Management in Science, Technology and Innovation (CGEE), located in Brasilia, is a think tank created in 2001 and supervised by the country´s Ministry of Science and Technology. Its mission is “to render science, technology and innovation as Brazilian´s best allies for economic growth, competitiveness and well-being”.

The creation and consolidation of CGEE shows that the Brazilian society is well aware of the need to develop systematic efforts of foresight and strategic planning towards structuring a broad spectrum policy of science, technology and innovation to help the country face emergent challenges and opportunities.

Click here to access more detailed information about CGEE (in English).
Click here to visit the CGEE Web page (in Portuguese).

Rio 2016 Logo

2011-01-19T15:15:00.000-08:00

Tátil RJ

Estrada da Gávea, 712 - Lojas 101/104

São Conrado – Rio de Janeiro

CEP: 22610-002

Tel/fax: +55-21-2111-4200

Brazil exceeds 200 million mobiles

2011-01-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

At the end of 2010, there were in the country 202.94 million mobile phones. According to the Anatel, 15 states and the Federal District have over one mobile phone per inhabitant.

Agência Brasil

Brasília – At the end of last year, there were 202.94 million mobile telephones in Brazil, growth of 16.66% over the previous year. That is equivalent to 104.68 devices per 100 inhabitants, with growth of 15.6% over 2009, said today (19) the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), on disclosing updated figures regarding mobile telephony in Brazil.

The number of mobiles in use is greater than the number of inhabitants in the country – 190.73 million people, according to figures disclosed by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

In 2010, the number of new lines registered presented the highest growth of the last 11 years. In 2009, telephony companies reported 23,317,965 new lines registered. Last year, there were 28,984,665 new mobile phone lines registered in the country.

According to the Anatel study, at the end of last year, there were 167,097,747 prepaid mobile phones, or 82.34% of the total, and 35,846,686 post-paid devices, 17.66% of the total.

Anatel informed that in 15 Brazilian stated and the Federal District there is more than one mobile phone per inhabitant. The states are: Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Rondônia, Santa Catarina, Espírito Santo, Pernambuco, Paraná, Rio Grande do Norte, Minas Gerais, Tocantins and Amapá.

Innovation in Brazil

2010-12-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

BRAZIL
www.oecd.org/dataoecd/30/61/46663708.pdf

Brazil’s economy is characterised by large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing and services sectors. Its USD 2 trillion economy is expanding rapidly into world markets, and is also changing structurally. Over the decade to 2008, high-technology manufacturing exports increased at an average annual 16%, faster than total manufacturing exports (13%), a sign of higher competitiveness.

Brazil’s science and technology profile shows weaknesses, but some areas have improved over the past two years. In 2008, gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) was 1.1% of GDP. While this is below the OECD average, it is higher than in India, Russia and South Africa. Business expenditure on R&D (BERD) was 0.5% of GDP in 2008. To raise this, Brazil has a generous 25.5% tax subsidy rate for every US dollar of R&D.

Emerging economies produce few patents relative to R&D, as illustrated by Brazil’s 0.3 triadic patents per million population in 2008. However, Brazil is increasingly involved in patent development in waste management, water pollution control and renewable energy. In 2008 it published 26 806 scientific articles; at 141 per million population, this indicator is well below the OECD average but has increased sharply over the past two years.

In 2008, it had 1.6% of world scientific articles, more than the Netherlands, for example. Between 1998 and 2008, publications increased by 12.2% on an average annual basis. Only 3.6% of Brazil’s firms introduced new-to-market product innovations during 2003-05, and a below average 36% of firms undertook non-technological innovation.

Guarana Jesus

2010-12-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

DESIGN STRATEGY

DESIGN Alexandre Coreixas, Caroline Rosa, Christiano Chamusca, Daylton Almeida, Fabiana Brito, Hugo Bomfim, Hugo da Silva Souza, Leandro Pierucci, Leonardo Lanzetta, Márcia Tabajara, Mário Mendonça, Roberta Loyola, Rodrigo Rabello, Sônia Carolina Batista e Vanessa Freire | Dia Comunicação | Rio de Janeiro – RJ

CLIENT Recofarma | Brasília – DF

REVAMPING OF THE GUARANA JESUS SOFT DRINK BRAND, which is an icon in the northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhão. The new can design was chosen through internet voting and SMS messages. The company’s brandbook containing two volumes complemented the branding package. MATERIALS: Brandbook: MDF wood case with four-color and varnish silk screen printing imitating Maranhão- style tiles. Inside the case, ceramic gift tokens, book covers made from buriti wine palm and wrapped with bone lace•

Brazil is Latin technological innovation leader

2010-09-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

The country accounted for 60% of research and development investment among Latin American and Caribbean countries. It is also the region's only nation to allocate over 1% of its GDP to innovation.

Agência Brasil

Brasília – Recent Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) data show that Brazil accounted for 60% of investment in research and development among Latin American and Caribbean countries in 2007. It is the only country in the region that sets aside more than 1% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to innovation.

According to the IBD, one of Brazil's strong points are its mechanisms for fostering technological research. As in its neighbouring countries, however, red tape and lack of coordination between the government and businessmen hamper the growth of Brazilian innovation, preventing the country from climbing up the global ranking.

"Brazil probably has more tools for encouraging innovation than any other country in Latin America. When I went to different states and spoke with businessmen, I would always hear complaints that they [mechanisms] require too much red tape, are slow and there is not enough information about them," said Flora Painter, head of the IBD's Science and Technology Division.

The bank's representative attended a seminar on regional innovation systems held yesterday (14th) in Brasília, sponsored by the National Confederation of Industries (CNI), the Brazilian Industrial Development Agency (ABDI) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation.

One of the government mechanisms for encouraging business innovation is subvention – funds disbursed by the Studies and Projects Funding Body (Finep), of the Ministry of Science and Technology, by means of edicts. According to the ministry, over 1.7 billion Brazilian reals (US$ 995 million) have been disbursed since 2006. Companies, however, complain that the disbursing of funds via edicts are not compatible with the pace of industrial production.

Another issue detected by the bank is that businessmen do not point out how support mechanisms could meet their demands. "Businessmen do not possess the required knowledge to express what their needs are and to devise projects."

According to the bank's survey, the private sector's share of total funds for innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean is small. Whereas in Brazil and other Latin American and Caribbean countries, 60% of the funds are provided by the government, in the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the rate is 36%.

To Flora Painter, the lower inflow of funds from Brazilian companies may have to do with legal and economic insecurities. "For any given company, investment must take place in a comfortable, stable environment. Brazil made progress with regard to economic and political stability. The country, however, has major problems with regard to providing financing to companies at reasonable interest rates," she explained.

The CNI's director of operations, Rafael Lucchesi, shares the same opinion. According to him, multinational companies, for instance, fear investing in Brazil and later having to pay a high volume of taxes as a result.

During the seminar, diagnoses on business innovation in four states were presented (Alagoas, Paraíba, Santa Catarina and Minas Gerais). The survey pointed out some of the problems that companies have when trying to innovate: accumulated demand for financing, lack of knowledge of technological services and no communication between universities and entrepreneurs.

Beco do Vieira

2010-08-06T05:54:00.000-07:00

ENVIRONMENTS

DESIGN Quadrante Design | São Luís – MA

CLIENT Vale | Rio de Janeiro – RJ

THIS SPACE WAS SET UP TO VALE AT THE 3rd São Luis Book Fair in the Brazilian northeastern state of Maranhão, and is a tribute to the state’s late composer and singer, Antônio Vieira. Died April, 88, Antonio Vieira had his complete works launched by Vale, with the Association for Support of Music and the Art of Maranhão (Amarte). The project launched in 2003, brought together seventeen CDs, a CD compilation with promotional purpose, the book 'Life and Work, "with a biography of Vieira, the book' Music and Lyrics," with a compilation of all the songs, and video interviews with local artists talking about the importance of the work and the making of the production design. The initiative not only put Vieira in the mainstream media, but also scaled up its work by distributing the kit design for museums and educational institutions. The design portrayed a newsstand owned by Vieira at Praia Grande, the local beach where the singer grew up. MATERIALS: Steel structure, polystyrene plate siding, digitally printed adhesive, MDF wood display modules and acrylic domes. BOOTH AREA: Width: 8.20 m. Height: 3.20 m•

iRadar Brazil

2010-02-03T04:54:00.000-08:00

iPhone brazilian users are very concerned about the possibility of being fined. That is what the ranking of paid apps downloaded on the App Store Brazil says, the iPhone and iPod touch software store from Apple.

Top of the list is the iRadar Brazil 2.0 application, which costs $ 1.99 and shows in the smartphone screen the location of the of radars around the streets of Brazilian cities. Upon reaching the radar (the distance you set in preferences), it emits a warning sound or vibration. To do this, use the GPS feature and the triangulation of cellular antennas.

Developed by Studio6 (Campinas/SP) the program uses the GPS iPhones 3G/3GS, cellular phone antennas and bases Wi-Fi to determine its location, and thereafter shows a list or map radar (fixed and / or phones), cameras, electronic speed bumps, road police and / or traffic lights next. In the preferences you turn on or off whatever you want.

The application, currently in its version 2.0, has had its release 3.0 submitted to Apple for approval. With it, besides having access to more than 8 thousand radars, cameras and electronic speed bumps, you can enter new radars. The 3.0 also fixes a bug that turned off the music (if the User is using the iPod) when radar is detected.

Studio6
Rua Antonio Galizia, 181, cj. 62, Cambuí
13024-510, Campinas, SP
Tel.: +55 19 3294-7228

Brazilian Development Bank’s fund to invest in technology

2010-02-02T04:23:00.000-08:00

Emerging companies in the biotechnology and nanotechnology sectors are going to receive a boost. The creation of a venture capital fund has been passed by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). According to the BNDES, the two sectors have been selected in keeping with the institution’s strategy of supporting technological innovation in the country’s industrial matrix, as a means of guaranteeing the competitiveness of Brazilian companies.

The bank will participate by means of its subsidiary BNDES Participações (BNDESPAR), and will own up to 25% of the fund’s committed equity.

The venture capital fund will be established under the BNDES’ Investment Funds Program, launched in July last year. In the first phase, in August 2008, the program selected three private equity funds: BB Brasil Agronegócio, FIP Terra Viva and CRP VII.

According to the BNDES, the investment targets for the second and third phases are being selected. The bank intends to choose funds linked to assets in forestry and oil and gas. The BNDES currently takes part in 31 investment funds, with committed equity of approximately 8 billion Brazilian reals (US$ 4.4 billion).

IBM Bets on Brazilian Innovation

2010-02-02T04:09:00.000-08:00

By Spencer E. Ante

Over the last few years, China and India have emerged as the twin hot spots of emerging tech innovation. Now IBM (IBM) is betting that one of the next big technology stars will be Brazil.

In the latest sign of Brazil's rising power, Big Blue is announcing on Aug. 18 a new initiative to stimulate the development of the country's technology sector. To kick off the effort, IBM is hosting its first-ever forum for venture capitalists and entrepreneurs in São Paulo along with FINEP, the Brazilian government agency that finances technology development. The daylong event will bring together more than 100 investors and dozens of new companies looking for investment and business advice.

IBM is also launching a Portuguese version of its developerWorks Web site, which provides free programs and online teaching guides that help programmers build skills in the Java programming language, the Linux operating system, and IBM products such as Lotus. To host the event, IBM has dispatched Claudia Fan Munce, managing director of IBM Venture Capital Group, and Steve Mills, senior vice-president and group executive of IBM's $20 billion Software Group, a clear sign of the growing importance of Brazil to the IBM portfolio.

"We have been watching Brazil for a while," says Munce, who grew up in Brazil. "The time is right."

EYEING OPPORTUNITY

In the past, Brazil has been hobbled by hyperinflation, rampant political corruption, and failed fiscal and monetary policies. But with a growing and stable economy in recent years, multinational corporations such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and venture capital and private equity players now see additional opportunity for technology innovation in the sun-drenched nation. "That potential is there," says Mills. "The university systems are strong. There is a level of interest in entrepreneurship that is growing."

Investors increasingly see Brazil as an attractive destination. As of the end of 2008 nearly 150 local and foreign investment firms had committed $28 billion in venture and private equity capital to Brazilian companies, according to the Brazilian Association for Private Equity & Venture Capital. That's up from $6 billion in 2004, amounting to a hearty 50% compound annual growth rate over the last four years. Investors have financed 500 Brazilian companies to date with venture or private equity capital, and there's $12 billion left to invest over the next few years from that $28 billion kitty.

Still, the country's business challenges, including high taxes and restrictive labor laws, could hamper growth. And native businesspeople say a Silicon Valley-like ecosystem where risk and creative thinking in technology are the norm remains elusive. "We do not have an ecosystem in place," says Berthier Ribiero-Neto, head of Google's (GOOG) Latin American research and development center, which is based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. "Most of the students go to work for the outsourcing companies. I would like to see more product development."

The IBM initiative is designed to help remedy some of those issues. The idea is to serve as a matchmaker and coach to the growing number of companies IBM works with in Brazil. In fact, IBM's Munce says that among the so-called BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), Brazil is seeing the highest growth in business partners that IBM works with, averaging 150% year over year.

TAPPING INTO BRAZIL

To help its partners raise money, IBM will introduce them to dozens of local and foreign private investors at the forum, including Intel Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Rio Bravo, and Darby Overseas Investments. And to design, build, and market new technologies for their businesses, IBM will invite its several thousand Brazilian business partners to visit its Innovation Center in São Paulo, which opened in February. At the center, entrepreneurs can gain access to training courses, consulting services, and technical seminars. "The center will help us tap into this huge growth market," says Munce.

Humberto Matsuda, founding partner with Performa Investimentos, a new Brazilian venture capital firm, says the IBM forum is a significant event for his country. "We are very excited to see how IBM will become a player in this industry," says Matsuda, who is closing an $8 million fund, with 40% of its capital coming from FINEP. "It is a very significant event, given the size of the players."

Matsuda, who helped IBM draw up a list of companies to invite to the forum, says startups have been hobbled in the recent past by a lack of capital and experienced entrepreneurs. But he says the IBM event is important because it will help foster more investment, training, and networking in the technology community. "They will make introductions to potential clients and offer training and services," says Matsuda. "You have to use a key player like IBM to teach companies."

IC01 CHAIR

2010-01-02T09:47:00.001-08:00

ECODESIGN
DESIGN André Lobo, Indio da Costa, Felipe Rangel Indio da Costa Design Rio de Janeiro –
CLIENT Pnaples Rio de Janeiro – RJ

THIS INNOVATIVE RENDITION OF A BAR CHAIR IS MADE FROM high-resistance recycled raw materials – discarded electronic products – and boasts a long life cycle. The IC01 ECO is manufactured from a single mold. It provides an alternative for the plastic furniture sector where there is an abundance of low cost and low quality products with doubtful design and very short useful life. The chair was conceived with a focus on features such as geometry, harmony and consistency. Its minimalist and timeless package was designed with the retailer in mind and consists of a recycled cardboard box that can fit five stacked chairs. MATERIALS: Recycled ABS. PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: Height: 572 mm. Width: 768 mm. Length: 484 mm. Weight: 3. 5 kg. PRICE: R$ 212. 00•

Natural Media

2009-12-24T23:54:00.000-08:00

ECODESIGN
DESIGN Fred Gelli e equipe: Ana Camargo, Anderson Marcicano, Bruno Senise, Claudia Niemeyer, Fabrício Menezes, Felipe Caldas, Guido Paternó Castello, Luciana Moletta Tátil Design Rio de Janeiro – RJ
CLIENT Tátil Design Rio de Janeiro – RJ

THE CHALLENGE OF CREATING A NATURAL PIECE THAT WOULD SERVE as an invitation and a fl yer for the Design Naturally Workshop at the 55th Cannes Advertising Festival and customized to suit the event’s philosophy resulted in this innovative and eco-friendly media designed on laser engraved dry tree leaves. From animals to ballet dancers, from hamburgers to airplanes, all images were recordedon a leaf together with the event information – date, time and venue The same kind of media was used during the election campaign of mayoral candidate for the Rio de Janeiro City Government, Fernando Gabeira, in 2008. Designed with low environmental impact and showing great visual and sensory appeal, the leaves must be viewed against the light and can be returned to nature. Laser engraving allows for the use of images of different complexity levels and myriad of effects without leaving chemical residues. The project reinforces the idea that it is possible to design attractive and innovative graphic pieces while highlighting environmental issues. MATERIALS: Dry tree leaves. PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: Various sizes. Weight: 10 g•

Bossa Nova Exhibition

2009-12-15T13:31:00.000-08:00

ENVIRONMENTS
DESIGN Marcello Dantas Mag+ São Paulo – SP
CLIENT Banco Itaú São Paulo – SP

THE MAIN GOAL OF THIS EXHIBITION WAS TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW of the Bossa Nova era and its artists by using audiovisual and interactive media technologies. The exhibition was held at the Oca Pavilion in São Paulo’s Ibirapuera Park between July and September 2008, and attracted 120, 000 visitors. Each space within the exhibition had its own setting depicting a direct link with a given artist or moment in history. A holographic fi lm showed Bossa Nova singers and instrumentalists who had never performed together doing a rendition of The Girl from Ipanema. From a reclinable sofa with built-in loudspeakers one could watch a film projected on the dome, showing a bird’s eye view of Rio de Janeiro. The discography of the Bossa Nova movement was played in jukeboxes scattered around the exhibition, while visitors could check out LP covers and different versions of Bossa Nova hits. The atmosphere of the famous Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, the cradle of Bossa Nova, was conveyed to the Oca Pavilion through the Portuguese limestone pavement typical of Copabacana and the sand brought from the beach. An audio system provided visitors with quality sound on all fl oors where performances were being held•

Heroes Sports Wheelchair

2009-12-12T18:17:00.000-08:00

STUDENTS
DESIGN Jairo da Costa Junior Universidade do Vale do Itajaí Itajaí – SC
CLIENT Academic

THIS LINE OF SPORTS WHEELCHAIRS WAS DEVELOPED TO ALLOW wheelchairers to play sports such as frescobol (Brazilian beach tennis), discus throw, badminton, rugby and volleyball in different locations. The challenge confronted by the project was to meld together design, ecoefficiency and accessible costs. The purpose is to promote social inclusion by contributing to raise the self-esteem and personal worth of the physically challenged. In Brazil, nearly 15% of the population have some form of physical disability, whereas 8 million have a motor handicap. The design of the chairs is geared towards fulfilling specific tasks and draws on the symbolic figures of comic book heroes, such as Xavier and Demolition Man, and even Mark Zupan, captain of the US quadraplegic wheelchair rugby team. The models come in different colors and include HEROes Zupan, HEROes Daredevil and HEROes Xavier. The project honors universal, sustainable, adaptable, culturally accepted and socially fair design. MATERIALS: Recycled aluminum. PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: Height: 850 mm. Width: 800 mm. Length: 1, 050 mm. Weight: 14. 5 kg. PRICE: R$ 3, 620. 00•

Brazil takes off | The Economist

2009-11-12T15:28:00.000-08:00

From The Economist print edition

When, back in 2001, economists at Goldman Sachs bracketed Brazil with Russia, India and China as the economies that would come to dominate the world, there was much sniping about the B in the BRIC acronym. Brazil? A country with a growth rate as skimpy as its swimsuits, prey to any financial crisis that was around, a place of chronic political instability, whose infinite capacity to squander its obvious potential was as legendary as its talent for football and carnivals, did not seem to belong with those emerging titans.

Now that scepticism looks misplaced. China may be leading the world economy out of recession but Brazil is also on a roll. It did not avoid the downturn, but was among the last in and the first out. Its economy is growing again at an annualised rate of 5%. It should pick up more speed over the next few years as big new deep-sea oilfields come on stream, and as Asian countries still hunger for food and minerals from Brazil’s vast and bountiful land. Forecasts vary, but sometime in the decade after 2014—rather sooner than Goldman Sachs envisaged—Brazil is likely to become the world’s fifth-largest economy, overtaking Britain and France. By 2025 São Paulo will be its fifth-wealthiest city, according to PwC, a consultancy.

And, in some ways, Brazil outclasses the other BRICs. Unlike China, it is a democracy. Unlike India, it has no insurgents, no ethnic and religious conflicts nor hostile neighbours. Unlike Russia, it exports more than oil and arms, and treats foreign investors with respect. Under the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a former trade-union leader born in poverty, its government has moved to reduce the searing inequalities that have long disfigured it. Indeed, when it comes to smart social policy and boosting consumption at home, the developing world has much more to learn from Brazil than from China. In short, Brazil suddenly seems to have made an entrance onto the world stage. Its arrival was symbolically marked last month by the award of the 2016 Olympics to Rio de Janeiro; two years earlier, Brazil will host 2014 football’s World Cup.

At last, economic sense

In fact, Brazil’s emergence has been steady, not sudden. The first steps were taken in the 1990s when, having exhausted all other options, it settled on a sensible set of economic policies. Inflation was tamed, and spendthrift local and federal governments were required by law to rein in their debts. The Central Bank was granted autonomy, charged with keeping inflation low and ensuring that banks eschew the adventurism that has damaged Britain and America. The economy was thrown open to foreign trade and investment, and many state industries were privatised.

All this helped spawn a troupe of new and ambitious Brazilian multinationals (see the special report). Some are formerly state-owned companies that are flourishing as a result of being allowed to operate at arm’s length from the government. That goes for the national oil company, Petrobras (Public, NYSE:PBR), for Vale (Public, NYSE:VALE), a mining giant, and Embraer (Public, NYSE:ERJ), an aircraft-maker. Others are private firms, like Gerdau (Public, SAO:GGBR4), a steelmaker, or JBS (Public, SAO:JBSS3), soon to be the world’s biggest meat producer. Below them stands a new cohort of nimble entrepreneurs, battle-hardened by that bad old past. Foreign investment is pouring in, attracted by a market boosted by falling poverty and a swelling lower-middle class. The country has established some strong political institutions. A free and vigorous press uncovers corruption—though there is plenty of it, and it mostly goes unpunished.

Just as it would be a mistake to underestimate the new Brazil, so it would be to gloss over its weaknesses. Some of these are depressingly familiar. Government spending is growing faster than the economy as a whole, but both private and public sectors still invest too little, planting a question-mark over those rosy growth forecasts. Too much public money is going on the wrong things. The federal government’s payroll has increased by 13% since September 2008. Social-security and pension spending rose by 7% over the same period although the population is relatively young. Despite recent improvements, education and infrastructure still lag behind China’s or South Korea’s (as a big power cut this week reminded Brazilians). In some parts of Brazil, violent crime is still rampant.

National champions and national handicaps

There are new problems on the horizon, just beyond those oil platforms offshore. The real has gained almost 50% against the dollar since early December. That boosts Brazilians’ living standards by making imports cheaper. But it makes life hard for exporters. The government last month imposed a tax on short-term capital inflows. But that is unlikely to stop the currency’s appreciation, especially once the oil starts pumping.

Lula’s instinctive response to this dilemma is industrial policy. The government will require oil-industry supplies—from pipes to ships—to be produced locally. It is bossing Vale into building a big new steelworks. It is true that public policy helped to create Brazil’s industrial base. But privatisation and openness whipped this into shape. Meanwhile, the government is doing nothing to dismantle many of the obstacles to doing business—notably the baroque rules on everything from paying taxes to employing people. Dilma Rousseff, Lula’s candidate in next October’s presidential election, insists that no reform of the archaic labour law is needed.

And perhaps that is the biggest danger facing Brazil: hubris. Lula is right to say that his country deserves respect, just as he deserves much of the adulation he enjoys. But he has also been a lucky president, reaping the rewards of the commodity boom and operating from the solid platform for growth erected by his predecessor, Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Maintaining Brazil’s improved performance in a world suffering harder times means that Lula’s successor will have to tackle some of the problems that he has felt able to ignore. So the outcome of the election may determine the speed with which Brazil advances in the post-Lula era. Nevertheless, the country’s course seems to be set. Its take-off is all the more admirable because it has been achieved through reform and democratic consensus-building. If only China could say the same.

Simetria Line

2009-09-25T13:11:00.000-07:00

HOME LIVING
DESIGN André Lobo, Indio da Costa, Jorge Gomes Indio da Costa Design Rio de Janeiro – RJ
CLIENT Fabrimar Rio de Janeiro – RJ

THIS PREMIUM LINE OF CHROME-PLATED BATHROOM FIXTURES is characterized by its unique forms and comprises five different products: Bench faucet and mixers, wall faucet and mixers, shower hoses, hand douche and hygienic douche. All products feature an elliptical profile with rounded corners that differentiate them from other competitors in the market. MATERIALS: Chromed metal. PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: Various sizes. PRICE: Various prices•

Livraria da Vila Bookstore

2009-08-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

ENVIRONMENTS
DESIGN Isay Weinfeld e equipe: Alexandre Nobre, Domingos Pascali, Gustavo Benthien, Leandro Garcia, Monica Santoni, Wellington Diogo Isay Weinfeld São Paulo – SP
CLIENT Livraria da Vila São Paulo – SP

DESIGNED AS AN ANCHOR STORE FOR ONE OF THE MOST SOPHISTICATED commercial centers in the city of São Paulo – Cidade Jardim Shopping Mall – Livraria da Vila Bookstore occupies 2, 300 sqm on two fl oors. Opened in 2008, it boasts more than 200, 000 titles. Elements of the architectural project, such as the internal views created by the asymmetric design of the top fl oor, strengthen the concept of intimate environment. The bookshop features different spaces, enabling customers to retreat to a low ceiling area where they can sit in sofas or armchairs to read quietly or walk around in open areas. Three spaces within the store are connected by small bridges from the mezzanine fl oor leading to the main hall, which houses the auditorium, a classical music and jazz CD section, and an area for book launches. Two yellow stairways enable vertical circulation of customers. A Santo Grão Café outlet is also located within the store. Children have a specially designated space and main hall, which houses the auditorium, a classical music and jazz CD section, and an area for book launches. Two yellow stairways enable vertical circulation of customers. A Santo Grão Café outlet is also located within the store. Children has public auditorium and space for activities. COMPOSITION: metal frame, glass, wood. DIMENSIONS: 2.300 m²•

2009-07-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

HOME LIVING
DESIGN Electrolux Industrial Design Center Latin América Curitiba – PR
CLIENT Electrolux Curitiba – PR

THE LS12Q IS A HIGH-CAPACITY WASHING MACHINE WITH AN INNOVATIVE design that enhances its user-friendliness, economy and ecoefficiency in water and electricity consumption. Its line, shape and surface create a sense of balance and elegance. Solutions such as a removable swivel multi- dispenser, firm grip handles, clear instructions, specific washing programs and turbo drying – to ensure even drier clothes – are features designed to streamline use and meet a wide array of customer needs. Sensors regulate water volume according to load, and the Procel quality seal guarantees electrical efficiency. The silver-colored ABS plastic injection parts are the result of a less polluting manufacturing process than traditional paint. MATERIALS: Tempered glass top, ABS panel and soap dispenser; polypropylene drum with mineral load; dust painted zinced steel cabinet. PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: Height: 1, 030 mm; width: 660 mm; depth: 700 mm; weight: 52 kg. PRICE: R$1, 749 / US$1, 028•

Twin Line Faucet Filter

2009-07-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

HOME LIVING
DESIGN Ana Lucia de Lima Pontes Orlovitz, Luiz Moquiuti Morales Duratex S. A. São Paulo – SP
CLIENT Duratex S. A. São Paulo – SP

A BALANCED COMBINATION OF FAUCET AND FILTER ALLOWING THE same water source to serve two distinct purposes. The two water outlets have hinged fi ttings and are spaced from one another. The faucet fi lter is fi tted with a unifi ed device for smooth and gradual opening and closing. A lever fi tted with an accurate ceramic mechanism enables a ¼ turn movement. By displacing the lever to one side the faucet is turned on while the fi lter is activated by displacing the lever to the opposite side. The water is fi ltered through the innovative carbon block system which reduces chlorine taste and odor problems, and removes particulate matter. The product conforms to the Brazilian Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality (Inmetro) standards. Its fi nely tuned and straight line design is easy to use on a daily basis and fi lter refi ll replacement is a breeze, making it highly ergonomical. MATERIALS: Galvanized brass and chrome finish. PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: Height: 318 mm. Width: 160 mm. Diameter: 45 mm. Weight: 3 kg. PRICE: R$ 600. 00•

Advanced Education Group Building

2009-06-18T16:06:00.000-07:00

ENVIRONMENTS
DESIGN Ana Carolina Montenegro, Jair de Souza, Rita Sepúlveda Vinte Zero Um Rio de Janeiro – RJ
CLIENT Oi Futuro Rio de Janeiro –

THE MAIN CHALLENGE BEHIND THE ARCHITECTURE AND VISUAL DESIGN of the Advanced Education Group (Nave) building, a public high school and digital media technology factory, located in an Art Deco building in downtown Rio de Janeiro, was to make this facility as groundbreaking and dynamic as its educational proposal. The project combines different areas, such as space for temporary exhibitions, digital experimentation room, multimedia plaza, classrooms, circulation areas, reception desks, cafeteria, and restrooms. A suspended and transparent classroom acts as a continuous interconnection between people and the venue’s spaces. The building’s façade is the result of a large scale innovative spatial intervention that is modifi ed every three months through a public art project. The facility’s night lighting has a bright backlight effect. The interior of the building features a rich multimedia environment with all sorts of screens displaying images and sounds produced by the school’s 600 students. MATERIALS: Adhesive plotter wall and fl oor paper, steel plates and structures, industrial fl ooring, resin and lacquered wood furniture, LEDs, LCD screens, glass plates•

LINEAGE 1000

2009-04-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

TRANSPORTATION
DESIGN Embraer São José dos Campos – SP e Priestman Goode Londres – Inglaterra
CLIENT Embraer São José dos Campos – SP

AS AN ULTRA LARGE EXECUTIVE AIRCRAFT, THE LINEAGE 1000 JET accommodates 19 passengers. One of the main challenges faced by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer was to develop a product that would meet the demands of a highly competitive luxury market and also the requirements for aircraft certification. The cabin includes five modular areas that can be configured according to customers’ needs featuring workstations, rest areas, meeting facilities, two lavatories, wide luggage compartment, entertainment system, storage compartment for food and beverages. Optionals like an extra lavatory, shower, sleeping berth with double bed, wi-fi technology and Internet access are also available. MATERIALS: Metal alloys and compound fiber materials i. e. carbon fiber, Klevar, etc. PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: Height: 10. 6 m; length: 36. 2 m; wingspan: 28. 7 m. PRICE: R$73. 1 million / US$43 million•

Kompact Hauling Truck

2009-03-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL
DESIGN Juliano Gheno, Tobias Bertussi Bertussi Design Industrial Caxias do Sul – RS
CLIENT Ciber Equipamentos Rodoviários Porto Alegre – RS

THIS ASPHALT PAVING PLANT ON WHEELS PROVIDES MOBILITY AND a more rational use of space. It is a revolutionary product in the road pavement industry as it can haul all the paving machinery ensuring their transportation to the roadwork site and allowing for the concentration of equipment in a single place according to the pace of roadworks. The Kompakt hauling truck offers direct benefi ts to the entire production chain by reducing costs, electricity consumption and working time. Its groundbreaking design complements its exemplary functionality in a market segment where aesthetic values tend to play a minor role in relation to functional matters. Field tests have shown that the perception of added value prompted by the design compels users to exercise greater care in operating the equipment, which helps to establish new values within its market segment. Furthermore, there is the added advantage of the product being transported to other continents in the form of a container. MATERIALS: Steel plates; axles, engines, ball bearings and other truck components predominantly made from steel and metal alloys. PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: Height: 14, 000 mm. Width: 25, 000 mm. Length: 35, 000 mm. PRICE: R$ 150, 000. 00•

A Study of Seven countries and Brazil

2008-12-28T13:02:00.000-08:00

INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES FOR INNOVATION: A Study of Seven countries and Brazil
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/brazil.innovation.sp.pdf

For countries seeking to build a dynamic, highly-competitive economy capable of sustainable, long-term growth, innovation—or the capacity to transform knowledge into new products and methods of production and service—has become the engine for national strategies of development. Seven of the world’s most notably innovative countries— United States, Canada, Ireland, France, United Kingdom, Finland and Japan—have recognized knowledge as a key element for improving productivity and competitiveness, as well as advancing social and economic development. Understanding how these countries have succeeded in applying policies, adapting institutions, and using economic incentives and instruments to construct knowledge-based economies was the purpose of an in-depth, ten-month research project, Mobilização Brasileira para a Inovação (Mobit – Brazilian Innovation Mobilization). Intended to translate statistics into discernable trends, identify patterns in the national innovation strategies of these seven countries, and establish guidelines of action for the Brazilian government, the Mobit project was the focus of a recent seminar coordinated by the Brazil Institute and Prospectiva International in conjunction with the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI).

Hosted and co-sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Studies (IEA) of the University of São Paulo on April 25, 2008, the conference featured a keynote address by the General Coordinator of the Mobit study and the Observatory for Innovation and Competitiveness, Glauco Arbix. A group of leading Brazilian researchers, economists, and public officials joined the discussion to debate the findings of the Mobit Final Report and analyze its implications for Brazil’s national innovation system. Paulo Sotero, director of the Brazil Institute, and César Ades, director of the IEA, provided introductory remarks. Participants noted that while Brazil’s innovation performance is fast improving—leading in deep-water oil exploration technology and in the production and use of renewable fuels—it is far from entering the ranks of top international innovators. This report synthesizes the findings of the Mobit study and the proceedings from the seminar.

The Challenge of Innovation in Brazil

2008-10-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

For countries seeking to build a dynamic, highly-competitive economy capable of sustainable, long-term growth, innovation—or the capacity to transform knowledge into new products and methods of production and service—has become the engine for national strategies of development. Seven of the world’s most notably innovative countries — United States, Canada, Ireland, France, United Kingdom, Finland and Japan — have recognized knowledge as a key element for improving productivity and competitiveness, as well as advancing social and economic development. Understanding how these countries have succeeded in applying policies, adapting institutions, and using economic incentives and instruments to construct knowledge-based economies was the purpose of an in-depth, ten-month research project, Mobilização Brasileira para a Inovação (Mobit – Brazilian Innovation Mobilization). Intended to translate statistics into discernable trends, identify patterns in the national innovation strategies of these seven countries, and establish guidelines of action for the Brazilian government, the Mobit project was the focus of a recent seminar coordinated by the Brazil Institute and Prospectiva International in conjunction with the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI).

Hosted and co-sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Studies (IEA) of the University of São Paulo on April 25, 2008, the conference featured a keynote address by the General Coordinator of the Mobit study and the Observatory for Innovation and Competitiveness, Glauco Arbix. A group of leading Brazilian researchers, economists, and public officials joined the discussion to debate the findings of the Mobit Final Report and analyze its implications for Brazil’s national innovation system. Paulo Sotero, director of the Brazil Institute, and César Ades, director of the IEA, provided introductory remarks. Participants noted that while Brazil’s innovation performance is fast improving—leading in deep-water oil exploration technology and in the production and use of renewable fuels—it is far from entering the ranks of top international innovators. This report synthesizes the findings of the Mobit study and the proceedings from the seminar.

Social technology for small farms

2008-09-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

Brazil has 1.3 million producers of milk and 80% work on manual milking. Aware of the need for these small and medium producers, Embrapa developed a manual milking kit. Defined as a social technology at the hands of small producers, the kit is composed of simple utensils associated to a book of instructions with guidance regarding maual milking. The project developed by Embrapa Dairy Cattle counted on partnership with the Ministry of Agrarian Development, Emater-MG, Embrapa Semiarid and Arthur Bernardes Foundation (Funarbe), connected to the Federal University of Viçosa.

According to Marne Moreira, joint head at the Embrapa Dairy Cattle, the work proves that it is possible to work on manual milking with the same quality and technical ability, or even better quality, than that obtained with mechanical milking. The bacterial count, one of the factors that determines the quality of the product, is usually very high in this kind of milking. This takes place due to incorrect procedures that cause deficient hygiene both on the cow's teats, on the hands of the milkers and on the equipment used.

To prove the viability of the kit, Embrapa Dairy Cattle researchers promoted tests starting in October 2006 considering seven states in almost all the Brazilian regions (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest and South). Such studies show that more adequate use may reduce the bacterial count from between 40% to 85%. Examples of this are the figures collected among a group of farmers from Pernambuco: before the use of the kit, the bacterial count (samples tested 15 minutes after milking) was around 820,000 Colony Forming Units (CFU) per millilitre of milk. With the utensils recommended and the correct hygiene procedures the CFU level dropped to 133,000/ml in the same period after milking.

The producer sets up his kit according to the material he has on his property. The complete kit costs around R$ 150 (US$ 64). The success of the initiative was so great that the idea was exported to other tropical countries like Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. There is also a chance of it being taken to Angola and Uganda, in Africa, and India and Pakistan, in Asia.

"The kit adds value to the milk produced as it reduces the bacterial count. It is safer for the producer, for the industry and for the consumer," stated Moreira.
Farmer Liberalino de Castro Lopes has been using the kit for a year. On his property in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, he has 35 dairy cows. Daily production is 250 litres of milk and sales go to a local cheese factory.

"We always milked manually and took great care with things like washing the cow's teats with chlorinated water and rinsing them off. The kit, apart from being more hygienic, is faster and more practical. With the lower volume of bacteria I can make 20 centavos (US$ 0,11) more per litre of milk," celebrates the farmer. As he is a member of the board at the Rural Union of Juiz de Fora, Lopes is always present at the meetings, talks and field trips in the city. After that, he puts into practice what he learnt with the technicians.

Observatory for Innovation and Competitiveness

2008-08-20T17:24:00.000-07:00

The Observatory for Innovation and Competitiveness is a joint initiative of the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI), the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA), the Institute of Advanced Studies of the University of São Paulo (USP) and the Center for Strategic Mangement Studies (CGEE).

The Observatory aims at strengthening the Brazilian Industrial, Technological and Foreign Trade Policy and fostering the necessary improvements in the economy in order to promote the increase of competitiveness and development.
Its basic functions include the monitoring, promotion, research and proposition of work agendas related to innovation, in comparison with international benchmarks and trajectories.

In doing so, it will contribute to the common understanding of the issues at stake for innovation leverage and competitiveness increase in Brazil, policy formulation and investment decisions.

The Observatory has its headquarters in São Paulo, at the institute of Advanced Studies of the University of São Paulo. Research teams and technical groups are based in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília. Activities and projects count on the participation of a network of partner institutions and researchers all over the Country. Above all, the Observatory is an open initiative. New partners and projects are expected to be added as the initiative consolidates and evolves.

Public Policies and Business Strategies

2008-08-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

Fostering innovation is one of the key challenges Brazil faces as the country strives to emerge as a force in the global economy. In the twentieth century, Brazilian scientists and research institutions developed and established the country’s capacity to produce state-of-the-art knowledge in various fields. Innovation, or the ability to apply knowledge in the development and production of goods and services, however, remains largely absent in many sectors of the economy. To address this issue the country needs to advance public policies on science and technology that help translate the country’s strong research base into products and services that benefit consumers and society at large. Better public policies create incentives and foster the necessary environment that will support companies in their effort to turn ideas into competitive products and services.

Over the past year the Brazil Institute and the Program on Science, Technology, America and the Global Economy (STAGE) have jointly sponsored a series of events to advance research and dialogue on critical economic issues, focusing particularly on the roles of innovation. This 16-page report assesses how better public policies can create incentives and foster the necessary environment that will support companies in their effort to turn ideas into competitive products and services. Click here to download this publication.

Brazil: The natural knowledge-economy

2008-07-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

The landscape for innovation in Brazil is changing fast. Research budgets are rising. Brazilian scientists and innovators are at the forefront of developments from biofuels to genomics and software. And Brazil is now the fifteenth largest producer of scientific publications, up eight places in under a decade.
This report argues that Brazil is a ‘natural knowledge-economy’ where the intertwining of knowledge, skills and innovation with environmental and other natural assets holds the key to competitive advantage.
But in Europe, Brazil’s innovation capabilities are even less well understood than those of its ‘BRIC’ counterparts, China and India. This report assesses the prospects for science and technology-based innovation in Brazil over the next ten years. And it suggests how the UK and Europe can scale up collaboration with its new centres of excellence.
This report forms part of The Atlas of Ideas, a research programme on the new geography of science and innovation (http://www.atlasofideas.org/). The project was conducted in partnership with the Centro de Gestão e Estudos Estratégicos (CGEE) in Brazil, and was generously funded by a consortium of partners listed on the inside cover.

Authors: Kirsten Bound
Publication Date: 8th July 2008
ISBN: 9781906693008
Download full text as a PDF

Abcesso Technology

2008-03-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

Most Americans love seeing the phrase "plug 'n play." The alliteration bounces off your lips while the words magically translate to "no set-up required." Well, mostly. Every now and then, you have to turn a skeptical eye to a claim or product and here we may just need to turn two. In a recent press release, Brazilian technology company Abcesso announced that they would begin exporting an add-on component that essentially turns your standard gas-only car into a flex-fuel vehicle. The product is called AutoFFV. "Auto" because the unit is 100 percent fully automatic - plug 'n play. Once plugged in, your car will be able to run on "any mix of Gasoline and Ethanol."

To Abcesso's credit, they spend some time on the FAQ section of their website defending both ethanol and the AutoFFV. They claim that neither the fuel nor the product will do any damage to your car. They also visit the ol' cold start problem and say that the system software taps the temperature sensor and adjusts accordingly, so no issues should arise. As for the dashboard warning light problem they say that the "'check engine light' in Dodge/Chrysler vehicle will not occur with the AutoFFV system." Not sure why they don't mention Ford, as it's their flex-fuel cars which are currently under the magnifying glass of the NHTSA and FTC.

In any case, from what I can tell, very little has been done to address the use of ethanol blends as high as E85 in modern engines that weren't designed for them. Most reports I found discuss the benefits and safety of E10 while disregarding any blend much higher. Perhaps, we'll have to wait and see.

Abcesso Exp/Imp.
Av. Alfredo Baltazar da Silvera - Recreio dos Bandeirantes
27122790-710 RJ - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Tel: + 55 21 3521-7216
Skype: abcesso

Center of Excellence in Advanced Technologies

2008-03-17T17:15:00.000-07:00

The Center of Excellence in Advanced Technologies of Rio Grande do Sul – CETA SENAI - RS, promotes the research and the technological innovation for the Brazilian industry through the cooperation between the Rio Grande do Sul State and the Fraunhofer Society from Germany.

To bring technological innovation for the benefit of enterprises through a co-operative effort with universities and R&D Centers, is the CETA SENAI Mission, thus promoting and contributing to the technological and social development of the state o Rio Grande do Sul.

The goal is to implement a paradigm changing in the matter of applied research to the industry, based in the Fraunhofer model, which promotes the integration of science and technology institutions with the industry needs.

The CETA SENAI -RS project is inserted in the agreement between Brazil and Germany about co-operation in applied reasearch and technological development between Universities and R&D Institutions from both countries, in force since 1969. In march of 1999, a Joint Commitee of Scientific and Technologic Cooperation has approved and considered as a priority project the colaboration between RS and FhGin technologic research.

The concept of CETA SENAI -RS has been developed and continuously improved over the last 9 years. It is based on performed industrial and R&D surveys that analysed the industrial demands and the academic capacities for technological innovation in RS. Currently, CETA SENAI performs over 21 innovation projects with applied research projects, technology transfer, and national and international R&D co-operations.

CETA SENAI-RS
Av. Assis Brasil 8450 - 1º
Porto Alegre - RS - Brazil
CEP: 91140-000
Phone: +55 51 3347
FAX: +55 51 3364
E-mail: ceta-rs@ceta-rs.org.br

Petrojarl Cidade de Rio das Ostras

2008-03-13T15:29:00.000-07:00

Maritime platform Petrojarl Cidade de Rio das Ostras, the first designed for extra-heavy oil production in the country, was baptised yesterday (12) by oil company Petrobras and should start operating in the third quarter of this year.

The equipment should be based in Badejo field, in Campos Basin (northern Rio de Janeiro state), with the objective of collecting information to be used in the project for development of the Siri reserves, in that field.

The unit has a capacity to process heavier and more viscous oil, 12.8 degrees API (the density measure used by the American Petroleum Institute), and it will be in water of 95 metres in depth situated 80 kilometres off the coast.

According to Petrobras, the Petrojarl production should be 15,000 barrels of oil a day, with a storage capacity up to 200,000 barrels of oil. The platform, added the state-owned company, should operate as "a laboratory for the development of other extra-heavy oil maritime fields," all in Campos Basin.

In the evaluation of researcher Giuseppe Bacoccoli, of the Engineering Post-Graduate Program at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Coppe/UFRJ), once the platform has started operating, Petrobras "may increase Brazilian oil reserves by approximately 1 billion barrels". The country currently has around 15 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserves.

Betting the fazenda

2008-03-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

Mar 6th 2008 SÃO PAULO
From The Economist print edition

SETTLE down at one of São Paulo's sushi bars and before long you will overhear a discussion about a start-up business making energy from obscure weeds, or some other bright idea for relieving members of the country's growing middle class of their disposable income. A field study of this kind displays a strong sample bias, but the point is clear: Brazil does not lack go-getters. Yet according to a more thorough survey backed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a sister organisation of the World Bank, Brazilian entrepreneurs are a strikingly different breed to their peers in Russia and China.

Overall, some 82% of entrepreneurs in all three countries came from families with at least one other entrepreneur. They also tended to be taller than the average. But there the similarities end. In particular, Brazilian entrepreneurs seem to have a much lower appetite for risk.

The researchers measured this by offering interviewees hypothetical bets of varying risk and reward, and offering a choice between cash now or more money at a later date. The entrepreneurs in the sample were no more risk-taking than other Brazilians, and were also more likely to retire if offered a windfall than their peers elsewhere.

Perhaps this lack of staying power is because there are many more pleasant things to do in Brazil than work. But why should Brazilians be so risk-averse? Simeon Djankov, one of the study's authors, hypothesises that in real life Brazilian entrepreneurs run bigger risks than those elsewhere. Starting a business takes 152 days and requires 18 different procedures, according to the IFC's annual worldwide “Doing Business” study. It takes 2,600 hours for a medium-sized business to keep up with its taxes each year. The same hypothetical business would pay 69% of its second-year profits in tax, if it played by the rules and did not receive special tax breaks.

Brazilian entrepreneurs show an unsurprising willingness to bend the law. “Essentially what determines good entrepreneurship in Brazil is the ability to navigate around the bureaucracy,” suggests Mr Djankov. Eduardo Giannetti da Fonseca, an economist, concurs: “If Bill Gates had started Microsoft in a garage in Brazil, it would still be in the garage.” Harder to explain than why Brazil's entrepreneurs are as they are is why they exist at all.

175 new technical schools in 2008

2008-02-24T07:53:00.000-08:00

In 2008, more than 150 technical schools will start being implemented in Brazil. Also forecasted for the coming months is the inauguration of 25 other schools, already under construction. The data were supplied by the Ministry of Education and were disclosed by the press office at the organisation.
From 1909 to 2002, 140 technical schools were built in the country. And in the last five years, 39 new units were established. The schools to be inaugurated in 2008 will offer, at first, five intermediate-level technical courses. Each will have capacity for 1,200 students.
The aim of the government is to have 354 new technical schools and 500,000 slots by 2010. "The difficulty faced by companies in hiring trained and skilled workforce is a challenge that is being addressed by the federal government with heavy investment in technical education," says Eliezer Pacheco, secretary for professional and technological education at the Ministry of Education.
The National Industrial Training Service - SENAI is an integral part of the National Industrial Confederation System. It is the largest vocational education complex in Latin America and its purpose is the strengthening of industrial activities through human resources training.

Technology Center with Facilities in the Full Scale Field

2008-02-19T20:50:00.000-08:00

The Technology Center with Facilities in the Full Scale Field - CTDUT is a technology center judicially established as a privately-owned, non-profit, service rendering independent membership, having its headquarters in the City of Duque de Caxias, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and instituted by initiative of Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro PUC-Rio, Petrobras Transporte S.A. - TRANSPETRO and Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - PETROBRAS, which are effective founding members, with funds from the Fundo Setorial de Petróleo e Gás - CTPetro, related to the Ministry of Science and Technology, through FINEP.

A Technology Center focused on the pipeline area, with full scale facilities intended for the research and development of new technologies, tests of products, equipment and systems used in the pipeline network and in the area staff qualification.

CTDUT is open to the participation of companies, research institutions, universities and organizations of the civil society with concerns in the pipeline sector and in the environment preservation.

The CTDUT project emerged from the strategic necessity of developing technology in the pipeline area, aiming to provide more competitiveness to the pipeline conveyance sector industry established in the Country. It is an investment that shall allow the Country to have the largest shared Technological Center in Latin America, besides being the only one in the world having a full scale built pipeline that is intended for research, tests and personnel qualification.

CTDUT

Rua Ingá, 997 - Campos Elíseos

Duque de Caxias - Rio de Janeiro

25.225-763 - Brasil

Tel: +55 21 2777-8500

Fax: +55 21 2777-8525

E-mail: ctdut@ctdut.org.br

Brazil to promote exports of equipment for oil industry

2008-02-06T18:06:00.000-08:00

Brazilian micro and small companies linked to the oil and gas sectors which manufacture items such as valves, pipes, couplings and compressors, and provide other services will have an opportunity for exporting their products for the first time ever. The opportunity will be provided by means a pioneering project, established through a partnership between the National Organization of the Petroleum Industry (Onip) and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex).

The Apex - ONIP project was presented today (06) in Rio de Janeiro, to a group of local businessmen, and should be presented to people in the industry in other states as well.

The superintendent at ONIP, Bruno Musso, explained that the project for promoting Brazilian exports, established in late 2006, will be developed over the course of two years (2007/2008) and ensures the presence of participating companies in five international trade shows, and in business missions to 11 different countries. Up until now, 60 companies have adhered to the program, which is accepting new members.

"The project is aimed at increasing exports in 30% in 2007, based on export figures for 2005, and then 35% in 2008. In 2005, the 60 participating companies exported approximately 90 million Brazilian reais (US$ 43,2 million) worth of products. The figure does not correspond to the sector's exports," he explained.

Musso also said that, besides increasing export volume, the program is aimed at generating employment and income as well. "We want to have at least 20 new companies to enter the foreign market."

The program brought the two organizations together for the first time ever to elaborate a project for the sector, and has a budget of 4 million reais (US$ 1,9 million), to be shared by Apex and the sector's companies. Onip is the manager of the project, which will be evaluated halfway through 2008. The idea, according to the superintendent at ONIP, is to propose to Apex the creation of a new program for the 2009/2010 period, based on the results of the experience being implemented now.

Brazilian pharmaceutical companies

2007-11-10T15:03:00.000-08:00

Understanding the innovation pattern of medium and large size brazilian pharmaceutical companies

Product innovation or business innovation? What should companies follow? Based on products and business innovation concepts and Concurrent Engineering (CE), Integrated Product Development (IPD), Stage Gates and Product Based Business (PBB), this paper presents an innovation reference model developed for Brazilian pharmaceutical companies. Qualitative research was conducted in six pharmaceutical companies in order to better understand their scenario and to compare their reality of innovation processes. The focus of this paper is to understand how thesecompanies identify innovation opportunities (in the pre-development phase) and what constraints they face to implement them. Some comparisons are made among them and some recommendations concerning the innovation process are presented.

Condor flare parachute

2007-05-27T08:24:00.000-07:00

The brazilian Condor S.A. Indústria Química developed a flare parachute, capable to help the Navy in nocturnal searches in the sea or the policy to face dealers in mounts. The part illuminates the target for 30 seconds. The company waits authorization of the Army to initiate sells.

Condor is the leader and pioneer in Latin America in manufacturing Non-lethal Equipment and high-tech Pyrotechnicals for riots, military signaling and salvaging and it has a privileged position in the world ranking.

Located in Rio de Janeiro, in the municipality of Nova Iguaçú, its factory is installed in a total surface area of approximately 1,000.000 (one million) square meters, next to the biological resort of Tinguá, with 26 thousand hectares, which is the largest resort of the Atlantic Rain Forest of the State of Rio de Janeiro. Condor follows a permanent policy of nature protection by allocating 40% of its total area to preserve the native forest, the water springs, the flora and the fauna, thus turning the factory environment into an ecological island, perfectly fine-tuned with the “Non-Lethal” concept of respecting life and citizenship.

Condor S.A. Indústria Química
Rua do Carmo, 7 - Gr.1901
Centro - Rio de Janeiro - RJ
CEP: 20011-020
Phone: ++5521 3974-3355
Fax: ++5521 2524-7337

Marshall Casimiro Montenegro

2007-04-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

To break resistances was a mark of the life of Marshall Casimiro Montenegro. In 1930, militant of the Tenentismo (Brazilian rebel movement), Montenegro took a air fighter in the Campos dos Afonsos airbase, in Rio de Janeiro, and flied to Minas Gerais where it bombed headquarters in Belo Horizonte and Juiz de Fora still loyals to president Washington Luiz.

But to build in Brazil an institution inspired in the MIT (Massachussets Institute of Technology, of the United States) would go to cost the Montenegro innumerable other battles. The difficulties were perfectly understandable: at a time where we still imported bycicles and sanitary vases, Montenegro defended that Brazil should be converted into a world-wide aeronautical power - prophecy that he would live to see materialized in the Embraer, a company been born of a rib of the Aeronautical Institute of Technology - ITA¹ founded by him.

Between the creation of ITA, in 1945, and the military coup of 1964, the Montenegro life transform itself in a succetion of battles and alliances with brigadier generals, marshals, ministers, entrepreneurs, bankers and even with presidents of the Republic.
The military held power from 1964 until March 1985 not by design but because of political struggles within the new regime. Just as the regime changes of 1889, 1930, and 1945 unleashed competing political forces and caused splits in the military, so too did the regime change of 1964. Because no civilian politician was acceptable to all the revolutionary factions, the army chief of staff, Marshall Humberto Castelo Branco (president, 1964-67), became president with the intention of overseeing a reform of the political-economic system.

Exactly the stubbornness of that Montenegro had determined to construct its dream to any cost only allowed that ITA arrived at XXI century as one of the most respected world-wide centers of technological knowledge production. The divergence of opinion regarding the paper of ITA, however, would produce what decades of conspiracies had not obtained: to bury the relation between Montenegro and one of his best friends Eduardo Gomes. For Montenegro, the Institute would have to be a granary of brains for the society, as a whole. Eduardo Gomes disagreed and defended that the ITA if converted into a center technician of support and maintenance of the Brazilian Air Force - FAB. Eduardo Gomes was stronger, with good relations with the situation government, but Montenegro gained. The ITA was successful. Marshall Montenegro died in 2000, in Petrópolis (Rio de Janeiro) - the city of Alberto Santos Dumont, and although not to have died in combat nor to have been minister, he had a burial with military honors. Its coffin - buried to the side of Eduardo Gomes one - was lead by six ITA students - three military and three civilians. It would have been its last message: civilians and military, side by side.

The author Fernando Morais gets better every time one more of his books hits the shelves. Not only does he put a face to a name (as he did many times before as with Olga and Assis Chatobriand) but in the process he is a masterful storyteller bringing light and truth to otherwise "officialized" history.

¹Established as the first Institute of the Aerospace Technical Center (CTA), ITA is considered to be the berth to the modern Brazilian aerospace industry. Located in São José dos Campos, in the State of São Paulo, the CTA campus composes four institutes and spreads over a large area including teaching and R&D laboratories as well as a complete residential facilities for students, professors, researchers, and other professionals.

Nanox Tecnologia

2007-04-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

NANOX TECNOLOGIA S/A is a company that develops nanotechnology solutions. Its aim is to develop and produce surface treatment solutions, oxide synthesis and nanometric metals, aiming at improving surface properties. NANOX®’s coatings can be applied to a number of different kindsof surfaces.

The company is a spin-off from the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), in the State of São Paulo. It originated at UFSCar’s CMDMC/LIEC, the country’s leading nanotech laboratory, with which it maintains active research and cooperation agreements.

The NANOX® technology for synthesizing nanomaterials has grown from a bottom-up method and more specifically from chemical synthesis methods.

Using its own technologies, NANOX® produces nanometric compounds with a controlled particle size and distribution, elevated homogeneity, controlled stoichiometry, at a low cost and on an industrial scale. Further, these processes allow materials with different characteristics to be made compatible, i.e. polar materials can be chemically transformed so as to incorporate or react with apolar materials, bringing about significant changes to the materials’ properties. Thus, NANOX® creates atomic-scale materials, modeling the properties of the materials and surfaces, and can produce a range of amorphous and crystalline materials, including simple and mixed metal oxides, coatings, nanocompounds and materials for clean energy.

Nanox Tecnologia
Rua Jose Missali, 820 - Planalto Paraíso
CEP 135602-060 - Sao Carlos - SP - Brasil
Phone: +55 16 3364-2235
Website: www.nanox.com.br

CIETEC

2007-04-19T18:20:00.000-07:00

CIETEC – The Technology–Based Business Incubator Center - was inaugurated in April of 1998, in São Paulo, within a partnering association with SCTDE-SP - The Science, Technology and Economic Development Secretary of the State of São Paulo; SEBRAE-SP - The Brazilian Support Service for Micro and Small Businesses; USP – São Paulo University; CNEN - The National Commission of Nuclear Energy - through IPEN - The Nuclear and Energy Research Institute , and IPT - The Institute of Technological Research of the State of São Paulo , entities which compose Cietec’s Board of Directors. Later, MCT - the Ministry of Science and Technology - was incorporated to the Board

Cietec’s mission is to promote the development of Brazilian technology and science, by encouraging its members to turn knowledge into innovative and competitive products and services.

In order to do that, CIETEC lies ahead of a national development strategy to encourage entrepreneurship, enhance quality of life and position the country as a creating and exporting base of innovative technologies in the various fields of knowledge.

CIETEC provides its small and micro companies with tools which will increase their survival and competitiveness, offering these technology-based companies the excellence of its infra-structure and human resources.

Amid the differentials that make CIETEC one of the most important incubator centers in the Country, the primary one is its privileged location. Based in Cidade Universitária de São Paulo, CIETEC’S tenant companies have access to the laboratories of IPEN, IPT and USP, fundamental to ensure the quality of their projects.

For being a connection link between education and research institutions, government bodies and private organizations, it is Cietec’s policy to constantly improve exchange of information and support service throughout all the networking made up by entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, scientists, journalists, consultants, students, professors and company owners.

CIETEC
Av. Prof° Lineu Prestes, 2242 - Sao Paulo
Cidade Universitária - Butantã - CEP 05708-000
Phone: (11) 3039.8300
Website: http://www.cietec.org.br/

Movimento Brasil Competitivo

2007-04-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

Movimento Brasil Competitivo (www.mbc.org.br) was created by a group of Brazilian leaderships in November of 2001 and is recognized as Public Interest Non-governmental Organization (OSCIP), devoted to the stimulaton and the promotion of the development of the Brazilian society. The MBC has as main objective to aim possible projects to the increase of the organizations competitiveness and the quality of life of the population. The MBC Superior Council has the function to establish the political-strategicaly aiming of the MBC. Is composed of four Ministers of State, federal public administration representatives, and nine regular members, with its respective substitutes, pertaining to civil and private entities that they participate as associates entities of the MBC, that possess identification with the cause of the competitiveness, and to the National Quality Foundation (FNQ).

Movimento Brasil Competitivo

SBN - Quadra 1 - Bloco B - Sala 404 - Edifício
CEP 70041.902 - Brasília/DF
Fone/Fax: +55 61 3326
Wevsite: mbc@mbc.org.br

Pam Membranas Seletivas

2007-03-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

Pam Membranas Seletivas is growing for uniting environment protection to cost reduction. The company, who was born in Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) Incubator, manufactures microfiltration membranes to treat effluent and, thus, to reuse water. It finished to deliver two microfiltration units, one for Petrobras and another one for Dupont. Petrobras will use the equipment in the oil field of Fazenda Belém, in Ceará, to separate water from oil.

- Petrobra's wants to use this recicled and clean water to irrigate a mamona plantation for production of biodiesel - says Ronaldo Nóbrega, Pam Membrana's director, a retired Chemistry Engineering UFRJ Professor who developed the technology with his post-graduate students

Dupont, in Uberaba (MG), uses the filter to recoup a harmful pigment from the nature allowing its recycling and reuse. Pam Mambrana has also made tests in a brewery of São Paulo. And negotiates with the Votorantim Cellulose and Paper the implementation of its first filter of great dimension:

- We wait to close the year with bigger invoicing five times that of 2006, that it was of US$ 125 a thousand.

Pam Membrana has also won two innovation funding projects from the Brazilian innovation agency - FINEP and from the State of Rio de Janeiro Science and Technology Agency - FAPERJ to improve its microfiltration technology.

Pam-Membranas Seletivas
COPPE-UFRJ, Cidade Universitária - Rio de Janeiro
Caixa Postal 68568 - CEP: 21941-972
Phone: +5521-2590-3428
Fax: +5521-2590-4334
E-mail: pam-membranas@inc.coppe.ufrj.br

Vitrogen

2007-03-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

This year Vitrogen completes eight years of commercial performance in Brazil commemorating one historical mark: more than 360 a thousand bovine embryos produced by In vitro fertilisation (IVF). Of this volume 305 a thousand embryos had been transferred to receiving cows, an average of 40% of confirmed pregnancies.

Beyond this production increment of bovine embryos in domestic territory, Vitrogen has since 2003 also expanded its action in other South-american countries. Currently the company possesss laboratories in Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela and Mexico. According to Yeda Watanabe, one of the partners of the Vitrogen, these three countries had already produced more than 50 a thousand embryos. The forecast is that in 2007 Vitrogen must produce between 6 and 10 a thousand pregnancies by IVF only in Colombia. In Brazil four units, installed in Cravinhos/SP, Uberaba/MG, Field Grande/MS and Morrinhos/GO (this in partnership with the Samvet Embryos) are in production.

The Vitrogen also is pioneering in the commercial application of the of bovines, goat and ovinos cloning and is searching partnerships for projects of national and international expansion. Vitrogen develops research projects and it offers other services in biotechnologies for animal reproduction.

Vitrogen
Rua Sete de Setembro, 601 - Alto das Acácias
Cep 14।140-000 - Cravinhos/SP
Phone: 55(16) 3951-9255
info@vitrogen.com.br

Brazilian Space Agency

2007-03-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

The Brazilian Space Agency (Agência Espacial Brasileira) is the civilian authority in Brazil that is in charge of the country's burgeoning space program. It operates a rocket launch site at Alcântara. Its location near the equator means that less energy is required to launch into space.

The Brazilian Space Agency is the heir to Brazil's space program. Previously, the program had been under the control of the Brazilian military. Because of pressure from the United States over the possible military application of its space program, the program was transferred into civilian control on 10 February 1994.

It suffered a major setback in 2003, when a rocket explosion killed 21 technicians. The first successful rocket was launched on October 23, 2004; it was a VSV-30, or Brazilian Exploration Vehicle, launched on a sub-orbital mission.

A joint venture company for rockets and satellites, established by Brazil and Ukraine, should begin operating this year. The partnership is aimed at launching rockets and satellites from the Alcântara Base, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhão. The first launch should take place by 2009, according to the AEB, which completed 13 years of existence on February 10th, 2007.

Brazil will make available its launch area in Alcântara and the Ukrainians will provide the launching technology developed in Ukraine.

The company is expected to profit the equivalent of roughly 10% of the global satellite launching market, worth US$ 10 billion, over the next eight years, since countries that own satellites will be able to pay to use the base and the launching technology.

Ipiranga Group

2007-03-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

Brazilian oil giant Petrobras, Ultra group, in the gas, chemical and transport sector, and petrochemical company Braskem signed an agreement to acquire the businesses of Ipiranga group. The value of the operation will be US$ 4 billion. Ipiranga operates in the oil refining, petrochemical and fuel distribution sectors.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) is a wholly owned enterprise of the Brazilian Government, which is engaged in the energy sector. Petrobras is divided into four business areas: Exploration and Production, Downstream, Gas & Energy and International, and two support functions, which are Finance and Services. The Company has over 100 production platforms, 16 refineries, 30,000 kilometers of ducts and more than 6,000 gas stations. Petrobras is also present in other countries, namely Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Nigeria, and the United States, as well as having the support of its overseas offices in New York (ESNOR), and Japan (ESJAP). Brazilian oil company Petrobras has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Jordan that forecasts the viability study for the use of the Brazilian company's technology in the production of oil in the Arab country. The technology is Petrosix, for the production of schist oil, and it should be used in the AUG block, in the Attarat field, in the Arab country.

Braskem S.A. (Braskem) is an integrated petrochemical cracker and thermoplastics producer in Brazil. The Company produces a portfolio of petrochemical products, and focuses on polyethylene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Braskem operates through four business units: Basic Petrochemicals, Polyolefins, Vinyls and Business Development. The Basic Petrochemicals Unit includes the Company's basic petrochemical production activities, and supply of electricity, steam and compressed air to second-generation producers. The Polyolefins Unit encompasses activities related to the production of polyethylene and polypropylene. The Vinyls Unit is engaged in the production of PVC, caustic soda and chlorine. The Business Development Unit is engaged in activities related to the production of other second-generation petrochemical products. On April 6, 2006, the Company acquired all of the common and preferred shares of Politeno Industria e Comercio S.A.

Ultrapar Participações S.A. (Ultra Group)one of Brazil's most solid conglomerates। It unites three different companies, each with a prominent position in its own segment: Ultragaz, the leader in Brazil's distribution market for Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), with a 24% market share; Oxiteno, the largest producer of specialty chemicals in Brazil and the only manufacturer of ethylene oxide and its main derivatives in Mercosur area (comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay); and Ultracargo, a leading provider of integrated road transport, storage and handling services for chemicals and fuels.

Petrobras will take over the Ipiranga distribution network in the North, Northeast and Midwest, and will have up to five years to use the Ipiranga brand, after which it will have to be replaced for the Petrobras Distribuidora brand। Braskem will manage 60% of the assets of Ipiranga Group in the petrochemical sector. Ultra will have the Ipiranga fuel distribution network in the South and Southeast of the country, and will continue running it under the Ipiranga brand. Petrobras will keep the other 40% of the Ipiranga group petrochemical activities.

The Ipiranga Refinery, in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, will be equally controlled by Petrobras, Ultra Group and Braskem, who agree to proceed with the activities.

Tecbio Biodiesel

2007-03-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

BIODIESEL is a biofuel, succedaneum to mineral diesel, which is capable of making any diesel motor work, with high performance, without the need to alter or regulate the equipment.

It is produced using vegetable oils or animal fats through a chemical reaction called transesterification. Ethanol and methanol and a catalyst take part in this conversion, the former is used in minute proportions. Glycerin is a byproduct.

The largest single use of ethanol is as a motor fuel and fuel additive. The largest national fuel ethanol industries exist in Brazil (gasoline sold in Brazil contains at least 20% ethanol and hydrous ethanol is also used as fuel). One method of production is through fermentation of sugar. Ethanol creates very little pollution when burned. Millions more acres of land are needed if ethanol is to be used to replace gasoline. Pure ethanol has a lower energy content than gasoline (about 30% less energy per unit volume). At gas stations, ethanol is contained in a mix of ethanol and gasoline, otherwise known as gasohol. In the United States, the color yellow (symbolizing the color of corn) has become associated with the fuel and is commonly used on fuel pumps and labels.

According to the Renewable Fuels Association, as of November 2006; 107 grain ethanol biorefineries in the United States have the capacity to produce 5.1 billion gallons of ethanol per year. An additional 56 construction projects underway (in the U.S.) can add 3.8 billion gallons of new capacity in the next 18 months. Over time, it is believed that a material portion of the ~150 billion gallon per year market for gasoline will begin to be replaced with fuel ethanol. Growth in fuel ethanol in the United States is largely being driven by financial incentives that naturally exist when oil prices are over a certain level, as ethanol typically costs under $1.50 per gallon to manufacture (of course this is sensitive to corn prices) and is exempt from the $0.52 per gallon federal gasoline tax. However, the United States RFS (renewable fuel standard) requires that 4 billion gallons of "renewable fuel" be used in 2006 and this requirement will grow to 7.5 billion gallons per annum by 2012.

In 1977, Brazilian scientist Expedito Parente produced biodiesel through the use of transesterification and ethanol. This process, the first patented in the world, is classified as Biodiesel by international norms, conferring a "standardized identity and quality. No other proposed biofuel has been validated by the motor industry". Currently, Parente's company Tecbio is working with Boeing and Nasa to certify bioquerosene, another product produced and patented by the Brazilian scientist.

TECBIO
Av. Santos Dumont, 2088 - Sala 701/704
Albeota - 60150-160 - Fortaleza - CE - Brazil
Phone: (+55) (85) 3264 2770

FAAP

2007-03-03T03:57:00.000-08:00

The Foundation Armando Alvares Penteado (FAAP) is a filantropic institution, located in three cities: São Paulo, in the Higienópolis quarter, Ribeirão Preto, in the California Garden quarter and in Sao Jose dos Campos.

FAAP was a small foundation destined to help and develop Fine Arts in 1947. Today it is considered one of the most important and respected Academic Institutions in Brazil.

The constant investment in culture, is a FAAP "brand" through the Museum of Brazilian Art (MAB), the FAAP Theater, FAAP College (founded in 1988), the library (created in 1959) and the facultieses.

The MAB has a heap of 2,500 works of Brazilian and foreign artists who have settled down here. Promotes workshops, courses and seminars, occupying an important place in the cultural life of the city. It holds international exhibitions with a great number of visitors.

The FAAP counts currently on 8 a thousand students in the graduation level, in seven facultieses: Business, Fine Arts, Communications, Law,Economics, Engineering and Computer Science, beyond 4,5 a thousand students in the level of post-graduation and the Executive MBA, considered one of the best of Brazil and a High School.

It is in the formation of students that Foundation Armando Alvares Penteado stands out in the academic scenario. It is considered as an institution that prepares the elite and future leaders of the country in business, public, cultural and artistic spheres. Its principal mission is to foment teaching that permits the students an all round formation as human beings. In the classrooms, professional specialization meets the requirements of modern production, based on new technologies, concepts of productivity and total quality. Besides preparing the youth to full exercise the citizenship, FAAP is committed to a national project for development and social well being.

International Office of FAAP
903 Alagoas Street, Zip Code: 01242-902-São Paulo, Brazil
Phone: 55 11 3662-7159 - Fax: 55 11 3662-7103
Site: http://www.faap.br/ingles/index.htm

National Biotechnology Programme

2007-02-08T17:11:00.000-08:00

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a decree today (8) outlining a development policy for the biotechnology industry in the country implementing a national program to become the global leader in biotechnology in 10 to 15 years. The country's biodiversity places Brazil in an advantageous position compared to other countries.

According to the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, there are currently 1,700 groups in the public, academic and private sectors working in the biotechnology sector in Brazil. The national program will manage and provide support to these activities, as well as facilitate corporate access to research results.

Already in 2007, according to information provided by the minister of Development, Luiz Fernando Furlan, US$ 479.5 million in public funds will be available for biotechnology research in the country. The money will be provided by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and by sector funds already managed by the National Innovation Agency (Finep), which are linked to the ministries and consist of tax revenues.

The plan was devised through debates between the private and public sectors, and will receive support from five ministries, all of which are somehow related to the area: Health, Development, Science and Technology, Agriculture and Environment. The goal is to encourage biotechnological applications in five different fields: health, food security, animal health, industrial products and environmental quality.

A national committee will be established, including representatives of the five ministries and of the academic sector, to monitor the development of the program. Biotechnology should foster production, and consequently employment in the country, in addition to opening new doors to the foreign market.

In fact, Brazilian biotech research has already shown promising results. The minister cited as examples the work of the Amazon Biotechnology Center - CBA, which developed natural colouring products for food and cosmetics, and the work of a factory, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, which produces sterile flies designed to eradicate fruit flies; these sterile flies are now being exported.

Brazilian biotechnology also led to the creation of new strains of sugar cane and soy, capable of thriving both in the country's dry and more humid areas, not to mention ethanol production, another result of biotech. Brazil is currently the leading ethanol producer in the world.

The program launched today should contribute to lessen Brazilian imports of medications, and help the country become an exporter of certain medical products. "In imports of vaccines against rabies alone, Brazil spends US$ 38.8 million a year," said Furlan.

The Ministry of Health already provides support to several programs aimed at innovation in medication. One such program is turned to the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals using marine microalgae. Another program specializes in developing medication to treat neglected diseases, such as malaria. This type of work, as well as biotech work in the agricultural and the industrial sectors, should get a boost from the new government plan.

The Brazilian Association of Biotechnology Companies (Abrabi) estimates the annual revenue of the biotechnology sector in the country to be between US$ 2.5 billion and US$ 4.3 billion. Of the 28,000 job positions created, 84% are in the micro and small businesses.

Foreign resources and participation in biotechnological development is also welcome, according to the consultant for biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medication at the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI), Adriana Diaféria. Adriana explained that Brazil wants to show how advanced it is in the field, thus encouraging exchange with other countries.

Brazilian automotive companies

2007-02-02T17:24:00.000-08:00

Companies with 100% Brazilian capital are entering in the automotive market. That is the case with company Tecnologia Automotiva Catarinense - TAC, from the southeastern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, which is developing jeep Stark, which means "strength" in German, previously know as Project A4.

The 4-wheel-drive jeep of futuristic lines is equipped with a Volkswagen 1.8 dual fuel engine, i.e., which operates both on petrol and alcohol. "This is a differential in the 4-wheel-drive vehicle sector, where the vehicles are generally run on petrol or diesel," stated the company's administrative director, Luiz Alberto Cavalheiro.

Innovative Brazil book

2007-01-29T16:41:00.000-08:00

The National Agency for Financing Studies and Researches - Finep has launched the book "Innovative Brazil, the Enterprising Challenge", where success stories of the 40 more innovative brazilian companies are listed. Companies like Petrobras, Embraer, Braskem, Pipeway, Troller, Embrapa, Lupatech, Weg, Polymar, Nuteral and Modulo Security are among others.

Modulo Security, for instance, is the brazilian information security company. At the book you can learn about the history of the three partners that started the company after left the software engineering course at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ and how Modulo was transformed into the market leader of its sector. With more than 4 thousand national and international projects implanted, many of them innovative ones as the security of the Brazilian Voting Machines and the transmission of the income tax through the InterNet. Modulo was the first information security company of the world to get the ISO 27001 certification, first world-wide norm of information security.

Lobo

2007-01-21T17:45:00.000-08:00

Founded in '94 by three friends, two of wich are partners to this day, with the intention of having a good time and maybe some work, Lobo presents itself as a design and animation studio. The team of artisans leaded by Creative Director Mateus Santos seeks to employ the full extent of its capabilities to the craft, with the constant objective of doing unique work every time around.

Represented worldwide by The Ebeling Group, and teamed up with major 3D and post-production company Vector Zero, Lobo has grown quite a bit since the early days, but being aimed towards quality more than quantity, the team has now reached a solid set up. Designers, animatiors, illustrators, editors, plus a writer and a sound designer, all coming from veried backgrounds, compose the current team. This provides Lobo with a strong foundation for a broad range of projects.

From TV packages for Germany's Viva Networks, to the far out concepts and graphics for Diesel, Lobo's clients so far include Panasonic, Boomerang Channel, Gessy-Lever, Toyota, Sony Playstation, Anime Channel, Subaru, Cartoon Network, OLN, CMT, AMC, McCann Erickson, Kessels Kramer, Ogilvy & Matter Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO, MTV and Disney.
Lobo's worldwide recent media attention includes reviews and interviews on magazines and books such as Creativity, Creative Review, Desing is Kinky, Die Gestalten, Etapes, How, ICG, Plus 81 and XFuns.

Lobo
Phone: 55 11 3709.2222
email: info@lobo.cx
Site: http://www.lobo.cx

Adapter for helmets and earplugs

2007-01-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

The helmet adapter is one of the company’s top-of-the-line products. It is characterized by especially innovative features such as a lever and bending system, using torsion springs with a spin gauged to move the earplugs backwards. It also has a smaller amount of parts than its competitors, and uses simplified tooling. It can be adapted to any helmet brand. It is injected in ABS and receives a fiberglass load to cope with the wear and tear. With less movements and adjustments, users can remove and put the earplugs on intuitively, which contributes to improve their work conditions. The product was developed in Brazil with technical, functional and formal aspects that compete in equal conditions with imported products.
Manufacturer:
Bells Ind. e Com. de Plásticos Ltda
Pinhais, Brazil
http://www.bells.ind.br

Design:
Mega Box Design S/S LtdaAguilar Selhorst Jr, Felipe Locatelli, Nelson Kuster Jr
Quatro Barras, Brazil
http://www.megaboxdesign.com.br/

Brazil innovation and environment

2007-01-13T03:48:00.000-08:00

Since the 70s, environmental movements have discussed the impact of technological advance upon the planet ecosystem. With notions such as environmental impacts and risks in mind, environmental sociology has pointed out many effects of modern technologies on environment, mostly in a technological phobic manner and a defensive way. From the perspective of innovation, environment challenges are pure fuel to propel new different technologies. Instead of focusing on specific technologies and immediate effects, innovation provides a broader and systemic view on technological practices.

The substitution of CFC on chemistry industries and consummer goods in Brazil is a good example. The importation of gas CFC and the use of herbicide bromide of metila, two of the main substances that destroy the ozone layer, are forbidden in Brazil since the first day of 2007 by the Brazilian National Environment Council (Conama).

Currently, the CFC survives basically in old equipment, refrigerators, residential and automotive air-conditional equipment. The CFC alone only leaves the industrial plant, today, in the cases of "essential uses", as in the bomblet used in the treatment of the asthma. It is an exception in the Montreal protocol, but its use is restricted and can finish for complete, therefore a study government foresees the substitution to it of the CFC of the bomblets for another product researched in the program of Elimination of the Production and Consumption of the Substances that Destroy the Ozone Layer. The Program counts on financial resources of Protocol Multilateral Fund, that, until 2010, will invest USS 26,5 million in brazilian system of innovation.

The CFC of old equipment, as what it puts into motion refrigerators manufactured before 2000 (the posterior ones does not contain CFC), the call "cooling gas", will be recicled to keep in operation old equipment. With resources of Multilateral Fund, a Central office of Regeneration (bank of supply of the gas) was mounted in São Paulo. In 2007, another one will be opened, in Rio de Janeiro. One program of training of "refrigeristas" prepares low-income people who work in the collect of the CFC in refrigerators. Instead of liberating the gas for the atmosphere, them they direct to a regeneration central office.

Such policies are the building blocks of democratic and decentralized social and technological networks and efficient and multiple innovation environments represent today essential conditions for environmentalism.

O Boticário

2007-01-11T15:37:00.000-08:00

O Boticário was created in 1977 as a small prescription drugstore in the city of Curitiba, capital of the state of Paraná, in southern Brazil. Today the company is the world’s largest perfumery and cosmetics franchising network. It has 2,114 stores in Brazil, 52 in Portugal, 4 stores in Mexico, 5 stores and 6 points of sales in Bolivia, 2 in Peru, and 2 in Paraguay, and its products are marketed in 438 points of sale in Japan.

O Boticário is perceived by its customers as a company that creates and distributes products that express sensitivity, harmony, and beauty; as a company that is a reference in innovation and high quality, and whose actions translate its absolute respect for the environment.

O Boticário’s product lines consist of approximately 480 items, divided into the following categories: body care, facial care, sun care, makeup, deodorizing colognes, deodorants, soaps and shampoos. All of them developed with the most advanced production and research techniques.

In addition to traditional ingredients such as almond oil, chamomile, eucalyptus, and grape, O Boticário consistently invests in new active ingredients research so that it can go on offering unique products. Amazonian plants such as assai, cupuaçu, carnaúba, guaraná, cashew, and passion flower; gums extracted from algae and vegetal extracts, such as arnica, and urucum are among the active ingredients present in the brand’s products.

O Boticário is a modern company, in synchrony with international market trends, and greatly concerned with the quality of the products it manufactures and customer well-being. By means of regular domestic and international surveys, the company has succeeded in developing world-class products, be it through their innovative packaging or through the use of first-class raw-materials, using the most advanced technology in packaging, formulations, and design.

O Boticário’s industrial and administrative complex has 34.4 thousand square meters of floor space in the city of São José dos Pinhais in the Curitiba Metropolitan Area. It employs 1,300 people and creates approximately 10 thousand jobs through its franchising network. O Boticário’s first manufacturing plant was inaugurated in 1982, with just 1 thousand square meters of floor space. Then it employed 27 people who worked to manufacture about 400 thousand items a year. O Boticário’s current production exceeds 59 million units.

In 1990, the O Boticario Nature Conservancy Foundation became a landmark in terms of support to conservationist projects, and is widely recognized abroad. UNESCO declared the Salto Morato Natural Reserve a natural heritage site, in 1999.

FEBRACE

2007-01-06T16:15:00.000-08:00

The Science and Engineering Brazilian Fair - FEBRACE comes fulfilling an important social paper stimulating the creativity and the reflection in students of the basic education through the development of sciences and engineering projects. The FEBRACE means 5 years discovering new talents and stimulating the research culture, innovation and entrepreneurship in Brazil.

The FEBRACE history is composed of pupils, professors, parents and schools that together show to the Brazilian society that they learn to learn, that they can want and that they can do.

The FEBRACE objectives are: - to stimulate new vocations in Sciences and Engineering through the development of creative and innovative projects; - to approach the public and private schools of the Universities, being created chances of spontaneous interaction between the students and professors of the schools with the university community (students, professors, employees), for one better understanding of the papers of the Universities in Education, Research, Culture and Extension.

The FEBRACE is a fair affiliated to Intel ISEF - International Fair of Sciences and Engineering - carried through annually in May in U.S.A. in different cities of the country. It is the biggest fair for students who had still not arrived at the university level.

Calçados Azaleia

2007-01-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

Headquarter in Parobe, Rio Grande do Sul, 80 kilometres from the capital of the Southern State, Porto Alegre. Calçados Azaleia has three main production units at Rio Grande do Sul, Bahia and Sergipe, besides that Azaleia has trade representatives in Latin American countries, USA and Europe and four commercial units at Unites States, Chile, Colombia and Peru. The company exports 18% of its production to more than 80 countries and it is estabilished in more than 15.000 stores in Brazil and other 3.000 spread all over the world. On the women´s market, the company presents the brands Azaléia, Dijean and Funny. On the sportswear segment, it works with the brands Olympikus (leader in Brazil), Asics, through an agreement made with the Asics Tiger Corporation, and finally, with the brand Opanka.

Nowadays the brazilian shoe industry is suffering a strong competition from asiatic countries. With products 40% more cheaper, countries as China, Vietnam and Malasia, influence brazilian companies to search for alternatives to mantain the marketshare in the foreign. Research new designs, materials and techniques to improve the quality and aggregate value of its products are the policies of Azaleia in 2007.

Azaleia has earned from the Brazilian Innovation Agency - Finep (Research and Projects Financing) the amount of US$ 13 million to finance the R&D in the manufacture of recyclable sandals and tennis with the use of new polimers and bioplastics, as Luciano Sfoggia, finance director of Azaleia says "the manufacture of recyclable products goes within our environmental responsability", an important theme to all the company.

Calçados Azaléia S.A.
Rua Dr. Legendre nº 34 – Centro
CEP: 95630-000
Parobé – RS
Phone: (+5551) 3543. 1000
Site: http://www.azaleia.com.br

Rain Network

2006-12-28T06:47:00.000-08:00

In Brazil, the necessity has become the mother of invention. The hinterlands of South America's largest country are virtually inaccessible by roads, and copying and transporting hundreds of reels of film is expensive. Founded in 2002, Rain Network is a brazilian company that has created a solution for independent cinema market by interconnecting theaters in a digital network, with built-in antipiracy measures, and Brazil is poised to take the boldest steps yet into all-digital cinema, with 100 theaters - the largest digital network in the world.

The creative spark that was harnessed for more practical ends by Rain when they sought to develop a new digital exhibition and distribution platform. Using Windows Media 9 software, engineers came up with MPEG-4, video compression software that is cheaper and faster than the current system. The MPEG-4 software can squeeze a feature film onto a file of just five gigabytes, 15 times smaller than the MPEG-2 technology presently used.

The films are then beamed by satellite from Rain's central computer in Sao Paulo to picture houses across the country. Depending on bandwidth, it can take as little as 20 minutes to send a 90-minute film to a theater.

By eliminating celluloid and transport costs, distributors could quickly and cheaply beam blockbusters to distant towns the same day as they première in London, Los Angeles, or Sao Paulo. They can offer a wider range of films and even live broadcasts.

With offices in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, New York and London, Rain Network currently transmits, by satellite, films in digital format to more than 106 screens in Brazil, 14 screens in US and one screen in UK.

Rain Network
Av. Eng. Luiz Carlos Berrini 500 - cj 21
CEP 04571-000 - Sao Paulo - SP
Phone: (+5521) 2164-9797
Site: http://www.rain.com.br

MVC Wall System

2006-12-21T22:21:00.000-08:00

Wall System is a technology for civil construction. Because of its distinguished characteristics of manufacturing and flexibility it can be used for low-cost constructions, such as schools, health centers, hostels and beach houses, among many other applications. The exclusive Wall System boards are made of a sandwich-like structure with fiberglass-reinforced plastic panels and a special core to meet both Brazilian and International standards.

As one of its great differentials, this system allows large-scale construction in a very short period of time. It also doesn't need painting and can be manufactured in different colors. According to the type of project, the customer can choose from wood, iron or aluminum doors and windows. Approved in all the resistance tests carried out by IPT - Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnológicas (Institute for Technological Research) at USP (SP), the Wall System technology also allows fine thermal and acoustical insulation.

Developed by MVC, a company belonging to Marcopolo S.A., that was founded in 1989, in São José dos Pinhais, PR, Brazil.

By improving and applying certain processes such as Vacuum Forming, Light RTM (Resin Transfer Molding), Continuous Lamination and Polyurethane Injection (PU), MVC started its activities operating in the Automotive Industry and gradually broadened its operations, introducing its own plastic products to the Light Industry and Infra-structure markets.

MVC has presently four manufacturing plants: three in Brazil (São José dos Pinhais - PR, Catalão - GO and Caxias do Sul - RS) and one abroad (Poloplast in Monterey, Mexico). MVC is always surprising with constant innovations and the search for improvement on plastic technology is always converted into distinguished products for the domestic and foreign markets.

MVC Componentes Plásticos Ltda.
Rua Maria Isabel Zagonel, 205
São José dos Pinhais, PR, Brazil
CEP: 83045-430
Phone: +55. 41. 2141.3200
Site: http://www.marcopolo.com.br/

Tritec Motors

2006-12-15T16:05:00.000-08:00

Tritec Motors Ltda. was born from a joint venture established in 1996 between BMW and Chrysler with the objective to manufacture 1.4 and 1.6 liter gasoline engines in Brazil. Today, Tritec is the result of an investment of this US$ 500 million in equal shares.

The plant was built in the town of Campo Largo in the Curitiba metropolitan area, in the state of Paraná, on a lot of 1.27 million square meters. Construction began in 1998 and by January 1999, Tritec's 40,000 square meter facility had already been constructed.

The first motor was assembled in September of that same year. Tritec enters 2003 with an output capacity of 400 thousand motors/year.

Built according to strict quality and technology standards, the gasoline powered, 4-cylinder, 16 valve 1.6/1.4 liter engines are destined for export, equipping all BMW Mini models world wide; the DaimlerChrysler PT Cruiser in South Africa, Europe, and other foreign markets; and an additional export variant of the DaimlerChrysler Neon.

Tritec's forward vision, desire for success, investment in technology, investment in human resources, modern management techniques, and high level of automation, place Tritec among the world's best engine manufacturers which is clearly reflected in the final quality of its products.

Tritec Motors S.A.
Rua Ema Tanner de Andrade, 1892.
Campo Largo-PR
Telephone: 55 41 391-4500
Fax: 55 41 391-4551
Site: http://www.tritecmotors.com.br

WEG

2006-12-10T05:18:00.000-08:00

WEG (Public, SAO:WEGE4) is the largest Latin American electric motors manufacturer and is present in over 100 countries in the five continents. Additionally, the company counts on state-of-the-art manufacturing processes associated with the most demanding total quality programs. Mostly important, the company today has the same asset philosophy as in 1961, which is based on work and discipline, multiplied by each of its employees committed to ultimate customer satisfaction.

Werner Ricardo Voigt (W), Eggon João da Silva (E) and Geraldo Werninghaus (G) founded "Eletromotores Jaraguá" in 16th of September 1961, three years later, the company created by an electrician, an administrator and a mechanic changed its name to "Eletromotores WEG SA".

Dedicated initially to the production of electric motors, the Company expanded its activities in the 1980s through the production of generators, electrical components, industrial automation products, power and distribution transformers, liquid and powder paints, and electro-insulating varnishes. Its product lines include control and protection, electric motors, generation and distribution of energy, industrial paints and varnishes, industrial process automation and speed variation.

Counting on more than 14 thousand employees all over the world, WEG reached an annual turnover of R$ 2.978 billion in 2005, a growth of 14% in relation to 2004, R$ 2,608 billion. Exports were responsible for almost 40% of the company's turnover. Production is concentrated in seven manufacturing plants in Brazil (in th cities of São Paulo, São Bernardo do Campo, Guarulhos, Manaus, Guaramirim, Blumenau and two plants in Jaraguá do Sul, two in Argentina, one in Mexico, one in Portugal and one in China. WEG also exports to over 100 countries and counts on branches and technical assistance in all five continents.

A good part of these great results influence life in the city of Jaraguá do Sul directly. One of the most visible forms of this is the distribution of profits to the employees. Besides the injection of capital that the profit distribution provokes in all the sectors of the economy, WEG also participates directly in the increase in quality of life of the city.

WEG S.A.
Av Prefeito Waldemar Grubba, 3330
Jaragua Do Sul, 89256-900
BRA +55-0047-3724000 (Phone)
Site: http://www.weg.com.br

Cryopraxis Cryobiology

2006-12-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

Cryopraxis Cryobiology is a company dedicated to the collection, transportation, processing, freezing, long-term storage and biologic analyses of stem cells in the blood of the umbilical cord, placenta, bone marrow, peripheral blood, as well as germinative tissues and cells.

Cryobiology may be defined as the science and group of technologies relating to the behavior and physiologic integrity of cells and biologic tissues when submitted to ultra low temperatures.

As a Bank of Blood of Umbilical Cord and Placenta for Autologous use, Cryopraxis stands out as the first and major company in Latin America. Cryopraxis was the first umbilical cord blood bank to obtain certification by ANVISA, the National Health Surveillance Agency.

An excellent company in its branch, counting on a staff with more than 500 direct and indirect professionals, as scientists, physicians, pharmacists, nurses, biologists, administrators and managers with the highest technical and scientific level, the great majority of which are Masters and PhDs.

The Master Unit of Cryopraxis is located in the Biotechnology Center of Rio de Janeiro - BioRio, at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro contributing to the creation of human resources and the development of new technologies. Cryopraxis usually invests in creating human resources, research and development, innovation, and it results in better and more efficient laboratorial procedures — more safety for our clients.

Technical operations by Cryopraxis are extended throughout the Brazilian territory and some European countries, United States and Canada.

Criopraxis
Biotechnology Center of Rio de Janeiro - BioRio, UFRJ
Rio de Janeiro
Phone (+5521) 2141-7777
Site http://www.cryopraxis.com.br

Sugar Cane and Ethanol

2006-12-03T15:53:00.000-08:00

A historical opportunity is laid out ahead of Brazil: to remain the world’s largest fuel ethanol supplier. As reporter Janaína Simões tells in the article that she prepared for Unicamp Innovation, there are data indicating, by 2010, a 230% increase in world demand for ethanol – from the current 33 billion liters (8.7 billion gallons) to almost 80 billion liters (21 billion gallons).

In order to grow along with that demand, Brazil and the countries that are preparing themselves to take advantage of the same opportunity – in particular the United States, China and India, which accounted for 80% of the world’s output in 2005, according to the Renewable Fuel Association — must find a way to produce more ethanol without using up all the planet’s tillable area.

Unicamp Innovation has been following the world’s movement towards ethanol and other fuels produced from biomass; and the recognition of the international media – recent – of Brazil’s leadership in the area. This edition brings part of what we have published on the theme, as well as new articles, such as those about two small businesses financed by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo State Research Foundation, Fapesp) that operate in the sugar and alcohol industry.

The State University of Campinas (Unicamp), in the city of Campinas, about 100 km (about 62 miles) from the capital city of the State of São Paulo, is Brazil’s second largest university according to academic standards. Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2006, it boasts impressive numbers: nearly 30,000 students, almost half of which in Graduate courses, about 1,800 professors (93 percent of them PhDs), 20 teaching and investigation units, more than 50 Undergraduate courses, over 110 Graduate courses. Each year almost 1,300 Master’s Degree theses and nearly 750 PhD dissertations are defended. In its July, 2000 issue, Wire magazine described Unicamp as “Brazil’s answer to MIT,” saying that “it houses the nation’s number one computer science program and churns out future digerati who needn’t look far for a job.”

EXTRACTA

2006-12-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

EXTRACTA Moléculas Naturais S.A. is a Brazilian R&D service provider to BioPharma, Veterinary, Cosmetics and Agro industries, offering state-of-the-art HTS screening against client targets and isolation of New Chemical Entities from Brazilian biodiversity.

EXTRACTA´s own BANK OF CHEMICAL BIODIVERSITY® is the largest, constantly growing collection of ready-to-screen compounds derived from Brazilian biodiversity within the legal framework of the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity.

A growing library of plant extracts and their fractions totaling nearly 40,000 samples readyfor screening against bioassays in a 96-well plate format. The library contains nearly5,000 plant species professionally collected in the Atlantic Rain Forest and Oriental Amazon.This highly diversified material generated close to 11,000 different crude extracts obtainedfrom plant parts and close to 29,000 fractions that together constitute the basis for everyscreening exercise
EXTRACTA offers partners uncomplicated access to this immense chemical reservoir with comprehensive, worldwide IP arrangements (no IP stacking).

Current Collaborations: GlaxoSmithKline, Genzyme Corporation and Natura (largest cosmetic/phytoremedies concern in Brazil.

EXTRACTA Moléculas Naturais S.A.
Av. 24 s/n Quadra A Lote 6 e 7 - Cidade Universitária
Rio de Janeiro
Phone (+5521) 3867-5608
Site: http://www.extracta.com.br

Children´s Machine

2006-11-27T11:17:00.000-08:00

The brazilian government received the first 50 2B1 ("to be one") laptops yesterday (november 27), targeted to resources research and development by R&D centers and universities. In january 2007, 550 laptops will be sent to Ministry of Education to pilot projects among the students.

The Children's Machine, or 2B1, is a proposed inexpensive laptop computer intended to provide every child in the world access to knowledge and modern forms of education. It was previously known as the $100 Laptop. The laptop is being developed by the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) trade association. OLPC is a U.S. based, non-profit organization created by faculty members of the MIT Media Lab to design, manufacture, and distribute the laptops.

The computers will be rugged and use Linux for their operating system. Mobile ad-hoc networking may be used to allow many machines Internet access from one connection over the OLSR wireless protocol. The pricing goal is currently expected to start at around US$135-140 and reach the US$100 mark in 2008. The laptops will be sold to governments and issued to children by schools on a basis of one laptop per child. Brazil, Argentina, Nigeria and Lybia are the first countries to receive the 2B1 laptops.

Sugar-based plastic

2006-11-22T12:39:00.000-08:00

In Brazil, more than 3 million tons of PET bottles are disposed in the nature by year, totalizing 30% of the country production. Besides that, the PET bottles spend 200 years to decompose, biopolymers plastics bottles decompose in 123 days. By a law in Brazil, the biodegradable plastic would substitute the PET plasctis in four years. This gives the oportunity to the establishment of an industrial plant to manufacture biodegradable plastic from sugar in Brazil.

Bioplastics are a form of plastics derived from plant sources such as sugar cane, soy bean oil and corn starch rather than traditional plastics which are derived from petroleum. This is regarded as a much more sustainable activity, as it relies considerably less on fossil fuel imports and produces less greenhouse emissions, producing between 0.8 and 3.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide less per tonne of bioplastics compared to the same weight in petroleum-based plastics. Many bioplastics are truly biodegradable and will degrade in commercial compositing units. Some bioplastics will even biodegrade in the less aggressive conditions of a home compost heap. However, bioplastics can also be formulated to be durable.

This development is closely associated with the long term activity of sugar and alcohol production in Brazil, which is based on the natural endowments of soil, climate and geographical extension that favors sugar cane cultivation.

This notwithstanding, the emergence of the bioplastic industry was only possible because of a specific government scheme to build research capacity and knowledge production in biotechnology which also stimulated cooperation between the public and the private sector.

14 Bis - 100 Years

2006-11-14T15:49:00.000-08:00

The 14-bis, also known as Oiseau de proie (French for "bird of prey"), was an early fixed-wing aircraft designed and built by Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont. On November 12, 1906, in Bagatelle, France, it performed the first publicly witnessed unaided flight by a heavier-than-air aircraft. Earlier flights, such as that made by the Wright Brothers had required favourable wind directions, catapults or other such devices to take off.

Conception, development, and initial tests

In June of 1905, Gabriel Voisin tested a glider by having it towed by a fast boat down the Seine. The glider's wing configuration was made up of Hargrave cells, a box-kite-like structure that allowed for great lift and structural strength with minimal weight. Voisin was towed into the air and flew for over 500 feet as the boat pulled him and his aircraft. In the aviation-crazy Paris of the early 1900s, this established the Hargrave cells as a configuration to be developed into heavier-than-air aircraft, not simply into kites. Santos-Dumont lived in Paris at the time, and was by then one of the most active "aeronauts" in Europe, having developed a long series of dirigibles that displayed unparalleled agility, speed, endurance, and ease of control.

During late 1905 and early 1906, French aviation authorities, seeing the rapid development in aviation at the time, offered prizes for the first heavier-than air machines to be flown for 25 meters and for 100 meters. Ferber, a captain in the French Army, was experimenting with gliders and kept in touch with Chanute and with the Wright brothers. Voisin teamed up with Louis Bleriot to develop the boat-towed glider into a fixed-wing aircraft.

At around that time, while watching the Cote D'Azur speedboat races, Santos-Dumont noticed that Antoinette-type engines, made by Levavasseur, offered great power and were quite lightweight.

Putting all this together, Santos-Dumont designed and built a Hargrave-cell biplane powered by an Antoinette engine. This was originally done in secrecy, only known to his team of builders and craftsmen. The wings were at the very back configured in a dihedral, each wing containing three cells. The 24 hp Antoinette sat between the wings, with the pilot's compartment immediately ahead (where the pilot stood), and with the pusher-propeller immediately behind. A movable cell at the nose, actuated by cables originally manufactured for church-tower clocks, allowed for steering and altitude adjustments. This forward-mounted-mini-wing layout would later come to be called a "canard" (after a Bleriot aircraft of the same layout was said to look like a duck. This name is still used to describe aircraft with wing-like surfaces placed near the nose, whether or not they are duck-like). The structures of the Santos-Dumont biplane were made of bamboo, with Japanese silk surfaces, and joints made of aluminum, a very exotic material at the time.The aircraft was transported from Neuilly, where it was built, to Bagatelle, where it could be tested. In order to simulate flight-like conditions, Santos-Dumont attached the aircraft to the belly of his latest dirigible, the Number 14. Due to this configuration, the plane came to be known as 14-bis. The forces imposed by the aircraft pulled at the dirigible in dangerous ways, nearly tearing it and allowing for limited control. The danger of such tests caused Santos-Dumont and his team to quickly abandon them, although some constructive information was obtained that led to adjustments in the balance and weight placement of the plane.Santos-Dumont then connected a steel cable to the tops of two tall poles, one taller than the other. The aircraft was hung by a rope and attached by a pulley to the steel cable. It was then pulled by a donkey until it rested by the taller pole, and then released and allowed to slide down the cable towards the lower pole. In this manner, the center of gravity of the aircraft was established and adjusted, and much was learned about its stability. (Photographs of these tests show the vehicle being pulled up along the cable by the donkey back to the higher position. This gives the appearance that the plane was tested while being pulled by a donkey, which is not accurate).

By August 1906, the aircraft was transported back to Bagatelle, where Santos-Dumont performed what we would today call fast-taxi tests. The engine was found not to be powerful enough to safely reach flight speeds, and was replaced by a 50 hp Antoinette, a V-8 design capable of 1,500 rpm. Early September saw greater speeds in ground tests, as well as a minor accident. On the September 7, 1906, the wheels left the ground during an extremely quick hop.Announcements were made about Santos-Dumont trying for all the aeronautics prizes. Crowds and aviation authorities gathered on the morning of the September 13, 1906. Not all the cylinders were firing during an initial takeoff attempt, but quick repairs allowed for the second run to result in a 13-meter (43-foot) hop, an altitude of about 1 meter having been reached. This did not qualify for the prizes, but earned Santos-Dumont a great deal of attention.The 14-bis landed at a high angle of attack, and the propeller at the back struck the ground. Repairs were undertaken. On the 23 October, after a series of engine tests and high-speed ground runs (one of which ended as one wheel came loose, but this was quickly fixed), Santos-Dumont finally pulled the 14-bis into the air. The aircraft flew for over 200 feet at an altitude of about 10 feet. This earned Santos-Dumont the first of the aviation prizes, 3,000 francs for a 25-meter-or-greater flight.

The plane required more repairs, as the landing had again damaged it, and Santos-Dumont announced that he should be ready to attempt the 100-meter prize on November 12. The 14-bis was repaired, and ailerons were added to the middle of each outermost wing cell (similar to the aileron layout later used in the famous Curtiss Model D Pusher). These ailerons were actuated by cables attached to the pilot's flightsuit at the shoulders. Movement of the shoulders thus actuated roll control, similarly to the hip-movement roll-actuation control on the Wright Flyer.

On the morning of November 12, 1906, the crowds gathered. In a surprise to nearly all there, Voisin also brought a biplane that he and Bleriot has built, and also powered by an Antoinette. Voisin made several takeoff attempts, until one of them damaged the vehicle such that it could not be tested further before being extensively repaired.

As Santos-Dumont allowed the 14-bis to run down the field, a car drove alongside, and Henry Farman would drop a plate out of the car each time he observed the wheels of the plane to leave the ground or to touch down again. The first attempt saw a flight of 40 meters, and the second saw two brief flights of 40 and 50 meters. A hurried landing after this second attempt (rushed due to the proximity of some trees) damaged the wheel axles, and these were fixed during a lunch break. In the afternoon, further flights were of 50 meters and then 82 meters. As the sun set, Santos-Dumont attempted one more flight. In order to ensure he would not hit spectators, who by this time were present all over the field, he flew at an altitude of 4 meters. After 22 seconds, he cut the engine power and glided into a landing. He had flown for 220 meters, or over 700 feet, qualifying for the second aviation prize offered for heavier-than-air-aircraft, 1,000 francs for a flight of 100 meters or more.

Specifications (14-bis)

General characteristics

Crew: one pilot
Capacity: one
Length: 9.70 m (31 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 11.20 m (36 ft 9 in)
Height: 3.40 m (11 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 52 m² (560 ft²)
Empty weight: ? ()
Loaded weight: 300 kg (660 lb)
Powerplant: 1× AntoinetteV-8 , 37 kW (50 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 32 km/h to 43 km/s (25 mph/1.1.)
Range: >220 m (demonstrated) (>720 ft)
Wing loading: 5.7 kg/m² (1.2 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.12 kW/kg (0.075 hp/lb)

Oil Sorb

2006-10-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

Oil Sorb is a natural product, non toxic, with high standards for oil absorbance, greases and others organic composites.

The Oil Sorb absorbent line are used in normal conditions when oil is spread or emitted, or when an oil spill situation occurs. The HydroClean line of Oil Sorb absorbent is prepared to prevent environment damages or risks to people security.

Many important industries have already used and perceived the benefits of the Oil Sorb as an ally to struggle against greasy and oil substances. The main vertical markets that uses Oil Sorb line are from oil & gas, chemistry, mines, energy and food & beverages industries. Others great users are from the public sector, as water effluents treatment.

Developed by engineer Jader Martins from Federal University of Ouro Preto, the Oil Sorb is a hidrophobic mineral sponge driven from vermiculite, a non toxic mineral which expands 20 times with the application of heat (1000ºC ~ 1832ºF) producing a filament that can absorb 5 times its weight in oil, grease and fat.

There is a plenty of vermiculite in Brazil (Piaui, Goias, Paraiba and Bahia), a thermic and acoustic isolant mineral used in the production of light bricks and now being used to clean waterstrains and rivers. Oil Sorb (US$ 5.00/Kg) is cheaper than the peat imported from Canada (US$ 25.00/Kg) to absorb oil from waterfalls.

The residues obtained with Oil Sorb utilization after oil absorbance can also be used in Portland Cement processing and fabrication. It is possible because this residues contains two basic components: The oil, that generates heat and the Oil Sorb itself, made by a substance commonly used in cement production.

Hydroclean
Belo Horizonte, MG
Phone: + 55 31 3264-5900
Email: hydroclean@hydroclean.com.br
Website: www.hydroclean.com.br

Claro IdeiasTV

2006-10-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

IdeiasTV is a Mobile TV service launched (02) by Claro¹ in a parternship with MobiTV². There are eight traditional TV channels (CNN, Cartoon Networks, A&E, History Channel, Discovery, Nickelodeon, Bloomberg, Maxx Esportes), Fashion TV and one specially made for mobiles (ESPN Mobile). From the ten channels only CNN, Fashion TV and Maxx Sports are not in portuguese.

Avaliable at the first momment only to the Nokia models 3250 (US$ 600.00), N80 (US$ 1,000.00), E63 (US$ impratical) and Palm Treo 650 (US$ 800.00) – the reasonable price for a mobile in Brazil is US$ 200.00. The service has already two competitors, Vivo Play 3G and Tim TV Access.

Pre-Paid and Post-Paid clients have access to the application which is downloaded from Claro WAP Portal (wap.claro.com.br). Claro created three different subscriber plans: US$ 1.50/day, US$ 5.00/week or US$ 15.00/month. And US$ 17.50 (10Mb); US$ 40.00 (40Mb) or US$ 70.00 for unlimited download.

The service is too much expensive to the brazilian average pocket and not even a brazilian news channel (Globo International, Globonews or Band News) is among the ten ones. In spite of the streaming MobiTV service, if a regular TV-on-a-chip could be part of a US$ 200.00 model, at least 21 million Claro users could watch our commercials, soap operas, TV series, football matches, educational programs on the bus, trains, undergrounds and everywhere.

¹ Claro (Telecom Americas) is the brazilian subsidiary of America Movil. America Movil (Public, NYSE:AMX) is a publicly traded wireless communications company that provides services to over 93.3 million wireless subscribers in Latin America as of December 31st 2005. The company has been a venture of Carlos Slim Helu. World headquarters is located in Mexico City, Mexico. It was ranked number 1 Information Technology company in 2005 by the Business Week magazine.

² MobiTV formerly called Idetic, was founded in 1999. The company's products incorporating the technology are ReachINTERNET, for Web acceleration and optimization; ReachWiFi, a multinetwork bridge; and ReachTV, a media bridge. Through its service, wireless service providers are able to feed live TV broadcasts to their subscribers' cell phones. MobiTV works with such tech vendors as Hewlett-Packard, Siemens, and Sun Microsystems.

Treetap

2006-09-27T04:27:00.000-07:00

The Treetap brand and design born as a way of adding value to raw material known as vegetal leather. Manufactured in Amazon Forest communities from the latex, this technology became an environmentally sustainable way of increasing region's labor income. Designed by Beatriz Saldanha and Tatiana Pinho, manufactured by Couro Vegetal da Amazônia.

Couro Vegetal da Amazônia S.A.
Rua Visconde de Pirajá 499 sobre loja.
Rio de Janeiro
phone (+5521) 24331697
Site http://www.amazonlife.com/

Vetor Zero

2006-09-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

Vetor Zero is a special effects and digital animation company that has been in business for over 18 years, servicing clients in Brazil and world wide with top-level animation work, creative input and technical ingenutity.

At the forefront of animation and digital effects, Vetor Zero help their clients realize their visions, strengthen thier brands and stand out visually. As a result, their works have been highly regarded and widely rewarded both locally and overseas in all the major advertisement and animation festivals worldwide.

From TV packages for Brazilian Networks, to the far out concepts and graphics for Chevrolet, Vector Zero's clients so far include Adams, Audi, Brahma, Coca-Cola, Colgate, Fiat, Ford, Mastercard, Michelin, Nestea, Nissan, ONU, Pepsi, Petrobras, Peugeot, Ruffles, Siemens, Sundown, Telmex, TIM, Toyota, Trakinas, Trident, Unilever, Volkswagen and Wall Mart.

10 Cannes Lions (3 Gold)
1993 - "Worms" - Bronze
1995 - "Spoons" (Kibon) - Silver
1996 - "Ants" (Philco) - Gold
1996 - "Ants with Helmet" (Philco) - Bronze
1998 - "Leds" (Gradiente) - Gold
1998 - "Tree" (Jovem Pan) - Bronze
2000 - "Baby" (Zip Net) - Bronze
2003 - "Flea" (Purina Tratto) - Bronze
2004 - "Together" (Zoo Buenos Aires) - Bronze

New York Festivals
1997 - "Mosquito" (Antena 1) - Gold
1997 - "Leds" (Gradiente) - Gold
2000 - "Baby" (Zip Net) - Gold
2004 - "Fish" (TV Animation Computer) - Bronze

Annecy - Festival International du Film D'Animation (France)
2002 - "Turtle" - Advertising Film Award

Vetor Zero
Phone: +55 (11) 3709.2222
Site: http://www.vetorzero.com/

TIM Home

2006-09-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

1. You get your TIM¹ Mobile phone.
2. Disk *333 from inside your home.
3. Now you can make every call from your mobile at your homezone to any fixed phone with local fixed shares.

Homezone GSM localization is the use of Multilateration or 'trilateration' to determine the location of GSM mobile phones, usually with the intent to locate the user. You call the *333 and the 'Trilateration' thing begins.

Trilateration is a method of determining the relative positions of objects using the geometry of triangles in a similar fashion as triangulation. Unlike triangulation, which uses angle measurements (together with at least one known distance) to calculate the subject's location, trilateration uses the known locations of two or more reference points, and the measured distance between the subject and each reference point. To accurately and uniquely determine the relative location of a point on a 2D plane using trilateration alone, generally at least 3 reference points are needed.

Standing at B, you want to know your location relative to the reference points P1, P2, and P3. Measuring r1 narrows your position down to a circle. Next, measuring r2 narrows it down to two points, A and B. A third measurement, r3, gives your coordinates at B. A fourth measurement could also be made to reduce error. And that's why Bin Laden could not have a mobile phone!

The beautiful thing about innovation is that it puts all these physics, mathematics and difficult things toghether in my hands to simply order a pizza!

¹TIM (TIM Participacoes - Public, NYSE:TSU) is a wireless provider in Brazil. The Company offers value-added services, including short message services or text messaging, multimedia messaging services (MMS), push-mail, Blackberry service, video call, turbo mail, wireless application protocol (WAP) downloads, Web browsing, business data solutions, songs, games, television access, voice mail, conference calling, chats, and other content and services. On March 16, 2006, the Company acquired all of the share capital of TIM Celular S.A.

Siemens Global Network of Innovation

2006-09-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

Networks are the talk of the town. Scientists, economists, politicians and philosophers all speak about networks. When people speak about networks, they are always actually speaking about the special relations that make something what it is.

Thus the effectiveness of a medication is based on its molecular components and the special configuration in which these relate to each other. Decisive are not just the "ingredients" but to a large extent the special position of the building blocks in relation to each other.

Siemens is about to win the Finep¹ Technological Innovation Prize in Brazil regarding to its Global Network of Innovation.

This can be translated as the company's innovative strength, its innumerous business activities and, of course, its global network, composed of more than 400,000 employees in 190 countries.

Networks describe both complex structures and the special position of the individual elements as a system of relations. Elements such as nodes and links, representing in such case companies and business relationships, can be build and turned on or turned of to accomplish unparalled actions such as new products, process and services.

Siemens acts, like the catalyst - as we speak about chemical complex structures, of this complex structure. In chemistry, a catalyst (Greek: καταλύτης, catalytēs) is a substance that accelerates a reaction, without itself being consumed or changed. In this case the catalyst, or Siemens, change and change a lot, learning with the business environment and participating in the process of innovation, research and entrepreneurship of people, universities, research institutes and companies around it.

Our social world is an intricate universe of social, economic and political relations. Our world is complex. To be sure, this is not a new phenomenon. But it is a fact that the complexity of the world around us is becoming increasingly difficult for the individual to grasp. Companies, like Siemens, are drowning in the short-sighted probabilities of their own decision-making structure. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a basis for sensible reforms, and new groups of clients are increasingly difficult to reach in a fragmented market. Today's formula is to became one of the nodes or became the catalyst.

Siemens is strongly represented in Brazil. The Company's first activities in the country date back to 1867, with the installation of the first telegraph line between the states of Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul. In 1895, in Rio de Janeiro, it opened its first office and ten years later the Company was founded in Brazil. Siemens is among the leading companies in Brazil's electric and electronic sector, with business activities in the areas of Information and Communications, Automation and Control, Medical, Power, Transportation and Lighting. In Brazil, the Company possesses 10,305 employees, seven research and development centers and sixteen manufacturing facilities, some of which occupy a prominent position within our worldwide organization. Such is the case with the Curitiba plant, a global export center of the HiPath 1000 and 4000 corporate communication platform, marketed worldwide by Siemens.

Don't you think that the Global Network of Innovation deserves this prize?

¹ Finep - National Agency for Financing Studies and Researches, is a part of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT) created in 1986 specifically for directly promoting and funding R&D&I in Universities and now directly to Private and Public Companies with Federal Government sources.

Coca-Cola Brazil Clean Water

2006-09-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

Water. I do not know why, but on the last few weeks I am thinking about the waterways and rivers of my country. It might be the effects of the "What The Bleep do we Know?" movie and from the Masaru Emoto's "Life of Water"¹ experiences. Just like a lot of enterprises, and everyones depends of water, Coca-Cola Brazil is helping to improve its quality trought technological innovation and better environmental pratices.

Coca-Cola Brazil² is one of the beverage company's largest operations in Latin America, providing drinks for thirsty Brazilians through a network of 39 bottling plants that are operated by 18 independent groups working under a franchise system that employs about 25,000 people. Under this business model, the franchisees agree to produce all Coca-Cola products from a supply of concentrates and then bottle and distribute them.

The Cempre (Enterprise Commitment for Recycling), created in 1992 by Coca-Cola and a group of companies, acts in technological research, projects orientation and information diffusion on management of solid residues and recycling, in partnership with reputation entities, as the Institute of Technological Research of São Paulo (IPT).

Besides all soft-drinks brands Coca-Cola Brazil produces bottled mineral water too, the Bonaqua brand, making it from better filtering and environmental managing Systems. A friend of mine that works in the brazilian company swear that a lot of patogenic and natural diseases are interrupted by the filters, chemicals and an intricated industrial process developed by Coca-Cola with a large network of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) and University research after a long way of 64 years (1942) of technical achievements in our country.

Coca-Cola Brazil uses billions of liters of water per year to manufacture its products. And from the point of view that water is a common good, Coca-Cola Brazil created the Clean Water Program. To have an idea of the dimension of this program, it is enough to say that each year 1 billion of liters of water is saved, the sufficient to supply, annually, a city with 25 thousand inhabitants. This says that the consumption average is of 2,4 liters of water for 1 liter of drink, one of the minors of the world. And we are becoming each year more efficient, thanks to the awareness and to the modern methods of management of the use of water. But the rationalization is not the only objective. The Clean Water Program also treats 14 billion liters of water used in its production process, that in turn are returned to the rivers and lakes to preserve and to improve the quality of the same ones. Coca-Cola Brazil only gives an example of that it is possible to make, so that other company-citizens make the same. The future is thankful.

¹ In The Secret Life of Water, bestselling author Masaru Emoto guides us along water’s remarkable journey through our planet and continues his work to reveal water’s secret life to humankind. He shows how we can apply its wisdom to our own lives, and how, by learning to respect and appreciate water, we can better confront the challenges that face the twenty-first century—and rejuvenate the planet.

² Yes, indeed The Coca-Cola Company has assumed a national position in our contry and begun to use 'Brazil' on it's name and made a little change on it's logo (the yellow & green flag) becoming the first affiliate of the multinational company to have a customized look from the universal brand.

Deflor Bioengineering

2006-09-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

DEFLOR was founded in 1984 to work in environmental protection and pest control. Its activities developed into hydraulic dam cleaning and the recovery of degraded areas. At present DEFLOR manufactures plant and coconut fiber anti-erosion biodegradable blankets and sediment retainers which are sold domestically and internationally. All products abide by the ASTM - American Society for Testing and Materials - international standards. The 15,000 m² manufacturing plant is located in Contagem, MG.

DEFLOR has a highly qualified technical staff, including experts to design specific projects for each customer like the Anti-erosion Biodegradable blankets, Sediment Retainers, Erosion and Sediment Control and Environmental Solutions for Degraded Areas and Poluted Waterways.

The Bermalonga® type sediment retainers may be used to retain, conduct and confine oil and suspended material leakage into a desired site. Those special sediment retainers are widely applied in engineering works. They are light, easily managed, transported, installed and stored. Produced with DEFLOR technology, it is extremely strong and has been successfully used to fill erosion pits, deep erosion gullies, on slope and erosion gully surfacing.

Waterway, canal and hydraulic resevoir recovery and protection is essential to avoid margin undermining, erosion and silting, all of which affect the environment, the community and enterprises. Choosing the most efficient and safest measure among existing products and technology depends on expert knowledge like the one developed by the DEFLOR staff.

DEFLOR
Belo Horizonte - Minas Gerais - Brazil
E-mail :deflor@deflor.com.br
Phone 55 31 3284-5622
Fax 55 31 3284-5688

Dye-cells

2006-09-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

The sunlight that reaches the earth’s surface represents a constantly renewable source of energy. Countries whose territories include extensive areas of land near the equator can develop and exploit the abundant sunlight that bathes their land as an alternative source of renewable energy. As solar technology advances, such efforts carry significant environmental and economic benefits.

Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world in terms of territory, covering more than 8,500,000 square kilometers. Almost 80 percent of this land lies in the tropics between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Using natural pigements extracted of fruits as blackberry, jabuticaba and caulker (common in the region of Patagonia, in the South America), scientists of the Chemistry Institute (IQ) of the University f Sao Paulo had developed a new technology for the production of cells capable to convert the solar light into electric energy, the Dye-cells® calls - solar cells of thin layer.

Compared with the conventional systems, that they use as substance cousin the silicon, the process presents advantages as the cost of production - esteem in about 30% 50% minor - and the use of materials that do not attack the environment.

In the laboratories of the IQ already exists a 10x10 cm Dye-cell®, with the appearance of a transparent glass, that demonstrate the efficiency of the technology. Andres Sarto Polo, currently on doctoral at the Institute, explains that the system uses as semiconductor the titanium dioxide (TiO2). "This substance is used in the industry in dental creams, inks etc. For being white, it does not absorb the visible light and it needs a pigement to absorb the solar light, that can be extracted from fruits."

In tests made with caulker and jabuticaba, the researchers had obtained to reach powers around 1,5 to 2 miliwatts for squared centimeter (cm2). The control experiments come being carried through in small solar cells that presents an active area of 1/2 cm2. According to Polo, already if it knows that the system with natural pigements is capable to convert the energy proceeding from sun into electricity with efficiency around 1% to 2%.

The next steps to the studies, in accordance with Polo, will be to verify the time of useful life of the cells and the use of different composite.

USP Chemistry Institute
São Paulo - SP
Telephone: (+5511) 3815.3257 / 3091.3839
Website: http://www2.iq.usp.br

Moscamed Biofactory

2006-09-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

Fruit farmers of Brazil and of the world have been granted assistance in fighting the worst pests that affect their crops: fruit flies, scientific name Ceratitis Capitata. The Biofabrica Moscamed Brasil factory, in the city of Juazeiro, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia is becoming the first to produce sterile fruit flies to help combat the plague.

Sterile insect technique is a method of biological control, whereby millions of sterile insects are released. The released insects are normally male as it is the female that causes the damage, usually by laying eggs in the crop. The sterile males compete with the wild males for female insects. If a female mates with a sterile male then it will have no offspring, thus the next generation's population is reduced. Repeated release of insects can eventually wipe out a population, though it is often more useful to consider controlling the population rather than eradicating it.

The biofactory, whose target is to produce 200 million sterile male flies per week, is born with the perspective of being an exporter. According to agronomist Antonio Nascimento, the Moscamed Brasil technical and scientific consultant, Spain and South Africa are potential markets for future exports of natural pest control.

The researcher explains that research took ten years. Work by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), universities and research institutes was necessary to reach the biofactory. "This is truly interdisciplinary and inter-institutional team work," he said. The technology for production of sterile fruit flies is already used in other countries, but not in Brazil, the third largest world producer of fruit. The biofactory is the first of its kind.

According to him, the sterile insect technique will reduce the use of pesticides in Brazilian fruit farming and will represent a positive impact to the environment. "On the other hand, this technology will contribute to the production of more healthy fruit, as well as increasing the Brazilian competitiveness on the foreign fruit market, marked by greater and greater demands with regard to food safety," pointed out Nascimento.

Biofábrica Moscamed
Quadra D13, Lote 15 - Distrito Industrial do São Francisco
Juazeiro - Bahia
Telephone: (+5574) 36125399
Site: www.moscamed.org.br

DryWash

2006-09-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

Water (in its pure form) is a tasteless, odorless substance that is essential to all known forms of life. Our planet Earth could be called Water because 2/3 of it is covered by this precious substance that even make 75% of your body. Civilization has historically flourished around rivers and major waterways. Due to overpopulation in several regions of the world, the safe water supply is inadequate as of the year 2006 (and decades prior). Much of the world’s water systems are also aging and in need of major infrastructure improvements.

Current forecasts are that two thirds of the planet will have insufficient water by 2025, when it will be the natural resource more disputed at the majority of countries. In Brazil water in abundance exists, but it also exists the wastefulness and the compromizing of the sources.

With a hose not very opened, 216 liters of water are spent in 30 minutes of laudering. The DryWash founder, Lito Rodriguez, set out to reverse this trend when he created the company in 1994. Armed with a solid management team and a unique product, he prepared to change the status quo and run a small business that has a compromissing with the future.

The main advantage DryWash holds over its rivals is an innovative line of vehicle cleaning solutions that have yet to be replicated with the same degree of quality and efficacy. As its name implies, the company has created products that wash every part of a car without the use of water. Aside from the clear environmental benefits, such as the estimated 450,000,000 liters of water DryWash saved in its first ten years, the superiority of the products themselves is still unmatched.

The original cleaner is a small pad that uses organic Carnauba wax local to Brazil which efficiently removes dirt from the vehicle’s surface with no harmful chemicals. This technology is so successful that it has created significant international interest, allowing DryWash to expand its services into Mexico, Portugal and Australia in addition to the fifty franchises and several mall units it already maintains.

Within Brazil, the company is creating a pro-business environment in an industry dominated by informality and illegal practices. The management team’s focus on operating the most efficient and professional business possible has paid off. New laws have greatly increased the penalty of buying and reselling products illegally, so foreign corporations prefer working with DryWash because of their prospects for future stability and growth. In addition, customers are drawn to the quality of the service and product, generating consistent press coverage and causing sales to increase exponentially. DryWash beat its own sales expectations of $2.4 million by generating $2.7 million in revenue in 2005. The company is continually adjusting its prospects upward, now to $5.46 million in sales for 2008. The DryWash system proved to be so popular, the office began getting calls from clients asking if the products could be used on planes and helicopters, prompting the founders to create a separate branch called DryWash Air.

The company has further improved its efficiency by creating management software that standardizes operations among franchises and car wash units. DryWash is now performing market research to expand its operations into the US with “Eleva,” a new, comprehensive line of sustainable cleaning products.

DryWash
Sao Paulo, SP
e-mail: international@drywash.com.br
website: http://www.drywash.com.br

SARAH Network of Rehabilitation

2006-08-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

The SARAH Network, one of the largest Rehabilitation, Orthopedic and Neuropsychology Networks in the world.

It is an institution dedicated to rehabilitation and treatment of malformations, traumas, locomotor system diseases and neurodevelopmental problems. Its purpose, then, is to provide specialized rehabilitation services to every strata of the population, regardless of class, race, socio-economic background, religion or gender.

The SARAH Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals is comprised of six hospital units located in Brasilia (DF), Salvador (BA), São Luis (MA), Belo Horizonte (MG), Fortaleza (CE) and Rio de Janeiro (RJ).

Each hospital in the Network is place a for perpetuating and perfecting the principles, concepts and techniques consolidated over time by the Brasilia unit, which has rendered it a center of national and international reference. New technologies and methods like the SARAH Ortomovel are researched and developed by the skilled personel attented to their clients accessibility needs.

The SARAH Network restitutes, in the form of health services, the incomes taxes paid by the citizen. The financial resources that sustain all the SARAH Network hospitals come exclusively from the federal government. The funds are allocated with specific instructions determining their application in the maintenance of the Management Contract.

Innovative initiative and the exchange of experience, in education and research, stimulating the creativity of persons and groups; “the individual is the institution” and each person represents it, answers on its behalf, and dedicates his/her life to it is the SARAH Network brand.

SARAH Brasilia
SMHS Quadra 501 Conj. A - Brasília - DF
Zip code: 70.330-150
Telephone (+55 61) 319 1111
Fax (+55 61) 319 1538

SARAH Ortomovel

2006-08-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

The Ortomovel allows that individuals carrying deficiency of mobility in the inferior members have the freedom of moving in the standing position. From a simple movement, the user of the Ortomovel can move himself of the seated position for the standing one and, thus, circulate without aid of a third. The user is safe firmly by means of security belts settled in the knees and chest, and the brakes are easily reached.

The Ortomovel is disassembled in three parts for the transport. Because of the aluminum used in airplanes, steel and titanium, the product combines principle resistance with minimum weight. The padding of the seat and back, as well as other upholstered parts are made of injected polyurethane foam.

Designed by Antonio Cutolo, Bruno Matos, Claudio Duarte, Henry Macario, José Carlos Ferraz, Manoela Palmeiro, Paulo Fernandes, William Maria Dias, Equiphos - Technologic Research group and manufactured by the SARAH Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals.

The SARAH Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals is comprised of six hospital units located in Brasilia (DF), Salvador (BA), São Luis (MA), Belo Horizonte (MG), Fortaleza (CE) and Rio de Janeiro (RJ). The clinical conditions most frequently treated at the SARAH Network are cerebral palsy, spina bifida, traumatic brain injury, stroke, spinal cord injury, neuromuscular diseases and orthopaedic problems, among others.

Virtual Eye project

2006-08-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

The Federal University of Pernambuco (Recife) team was the second place in the end of the world-wide Imagine Cup 2006, Microsoft's international schollar competition of technological innovation, ended up in this friday in India.

The young entrepreneurs of Trivial Team - Augusto Cesar Spinelli, Carlos Eduardo Rodrigues, Ivan Cordeiro Cardim and Madson Menezes Costa - had won more than 65 thousand representatives of more than 180 countries with the Virtual Eye project, or vEye, a portable system to aid the navigation and object identification for visual deficients.

Through two vibratory bracelets hardwired to a hand computer, the system guides the motion of blind people inside a building or in the street, signaling with vibrations where the user must follow or stop.

The team, that was the first place in the Brazilian stage of Imagine Cup 2006 , surpassed other groups of innovators from Denmark, Japan, China, Italy and Norway in India. Behind the first rank, conquered by Italians, the Trivial Team received the prize of U$S 25,000.

The theme of this year's Imagine Cup, "Imagine a world where technology enables us to live healthier lives," is a challenge to the world's top student technologists to actively contribute to the mission of improving health around the world.

Centro de Informática UFPE
Cidade Universitária - Recife
Telephone: +55 81 2126.8430
Website: http://www.ufpe.br

CardioLight Digital holter recorder

2006-08-09T18:28:00.000-07:00

The CardioLight records the electrical activity of the heart, usually during a period of 24 hours, while patients go about their daily activities. The device weighs only 62 grams, so it is scarcely noticeable and does not interfere with the patient’s normal routine. The device is curved to fit the patient’s body snugly, and is equipped with a removable clip.

Designed by Jacob Breur, Marcelo Fabiani, Fabio Pucca de Avellar Pires from DI - Design Industrial S/C Ltda. Sao Paulo, Brazil and Manufactured by Cardio Sistemas Coml. Indl. Ltda.
Sao Paulo, Brazil. Was Winner in the Packaging/globe packaging iF product design award 2006.

Meanwhile, Dr. Thais Russomano and her team at the PUCRS Microgravity Laboratory, Porto Alegre, Brazil are working on a research project to send the patient data through the mobile network.

The telemedicine system that is capable of remotely monitoring cardiac medical parameters in patients. It can be a valuable tool in the detection of cardiac arrhythmias. A device is attached to the patient so that the acquisition, processing, analysis and transmission of the parameters are automatically performed.

The end user of the telemedicine system, named User End Terminal (UET), is connected to a mobile terminal. This arrangement allows the UET to send information through the mobile network Short Message and Data Services, so that the cardiac information can be received in a Monitoring Center (MC). In the MC medical doctors analyze the data. At periodic intervals and in case of an alarm situation, the UET sends the waveform of the cardiac beats to the MC on a real-time basis. This feature allows the patients to stay in their houses or offices and move around freely.

NET fone Via Embratel

2006-08-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

Embratel¹ (Public, NYSE:EMT), in partnership with NET² (Public, NASDAQ:NETC), is launching in Brazil an international trend: Triple Play, a combination of services that adds a lot more convenience to home telecom services.

It is about 3 services over one single cable access: Broadband Internet + TV + Wireline PHone. The Scientific-Atlanta³ AllStar DPX2203 equipment is leased by Embratel on a loan for use basis and is delivered, installed and tested by NET.

No special phone set is required. Any set (DTMF standard- tone dial-up) can be used, including cordless phones. The calls are placed from this phone set, and the user do not need to use computer or access the Internet to call.

With NET fone Via Embratel the user can place local, long distance domestic (DDD) and international (IDD) calls to wireline and cell phones. The value of the monthly exemption can be used with any type of local , long distance domestic (DDD) and international (IDD) calling over the 21*, to wireline and cell phones. If the monthly consumption exceeds the exemption, rates for the exceeding calls are charged to the bill.

[1] Embratel Participacoes S.A. (Embratel Holdings) is a telecommunications services provider, operating domestic and international long-distance, data communications and local services. The Company is a provider of data and Internet services in Brazil. Its data transmission network, which incorporates fiber optic, digital microwave, satellite and copper transmission technology, allows the Company to provide a range of broadband data services to a client base.

[2] Net Servicos de Comunicacao S.A (Net Servicos) is a pay-television operator in Latin America. As of December 31, 2005, the Company had approximately 1.5 million connected subscribers in 44 cities in Brazil, including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. It is also a provider of high-speed cable modem Internet access through its NET Virtua service, which had approximately 367,000 subscribers as of December 31, 2005.

[3] Scientific-Atlanta is one of the largest makers of set-top boxes used by cable subscribers to receive TV programming and interactive online services such as movies-on-demand, e-mail, and Web connection. Although set-top boxes account for a large portion of sales, the company also makes digital video recorders (DVRs), cable modems, and network transmission and distribution equipment (digital video compression products, multiplexers, and signal encoders/decoders) used in the central offices of broadcasters. In early 2006 Scientific-Atlanta was acquired by Cisco Systems for about $6.9 billion.

Internet Television Broadcasting

2006-07-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

Telemar ¹ a private Brazilian telecom operator serving three-quarters of a million subscribers, plans to announce its preferred platform for offering IPTV - Internet Protocol TV (Internet TV) services before the end of August. The operator plans to test IPTV with up to a thousand users this year ahead of a full-blown launch in 2007. It has short-listed three manufacturers to provide it with equipment and although it has not named names, the leading contenders are though to be a joint initiative by French equipment supplier Alcatel and US software giant Microsoft.

Telefonica de Brasil (Telesp), which passed one million DSL subscribers in 2005, was the first Telefonica subsidiary to launch an RFP (Request for Proposals) for IPTV and a small trial is progressing slowly. And Brasil Telecom, with its 900,000 ADSL lines, has already shown a taste for the video business with its VOD-over-public-Internet service, offering sports, music and lifestyle programming. A number of telcos are working to get the Brazilian government to deregulate video and IPTV market.

Facing increasing competition from mobile phones and the resurgent cable industry, Brazilian fixed operators are getting ready to deploy IPTV. While the challenges for Brazilian IPTV will be numerous, not all is lost of for fixed operators. The primary value proposition of IPTV is as a broadband solution bundled in triple- or quadruple-play packages. The relatively low pay-TV penetration in Brazil therefore represents an opportunity for the country’s operators, who may be able to use IPTV as a catalyst for pay-TV expansion.

IPTV is becoming part of our culture a long time ago before the brazilian government have chosen the japanese DTV digital television system wich is expected to bring the digital television to 92 million recievers spread abroad Brazil´s 8,500,000 sq km.

Brazilian Internet Television has been tested in various ways in the last 4 years (as well by mobile phones operators). There are too many good examples of television services over DSL in Brazil and now it is time to acheive commercial success among broadband subscribers. Websites like Globomediacenter by Globo.com and Bandnews are broadcasting their signal through Internet at DSL speed to the world.

[1] Telemar Norte Leste S.A. (Public, SAO:TMAR5) is engaged in telecommunication services in Brazil. The Company is a specialty provider of local and long-distance landline telephone networks for residential, small business and corporate clients. In addition, it offers international fixed telephony, public telephones, Internet services, videoconferences, image messages and data communications.

Bank of Brasil Pocket Bank

2006-07-10T15:21:00.000-07:00

Banks based in Brazil invested US$ 8.5 billion (R$ 18 billion) in technology last year. The value means 11% of the net assets of financial institutions, according to a study by Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV-SP), one of the most renowned business administration colleges in Brazil, in the southeast city of São Paulo. The study shows that banks are the largest investors in information technology in the country.

These expenses were US$ 1.22 billion (R$ 2.58 billion), or 16.7%, greater than those made in the previous year. In 2004, financial institutions in Brazil invested US$ 7.3 billion (R$ 15.4 billion) in technology, 10.5% of net assets. According to the Brazilian Federation of Bank Associations (Febraban), the tendency is for further growth this year.

"Brazilian banks, pioneers in ample use of electronic trade in Brazil, have already identified that the future is in doing business in the digital era," according to the FGV-SP study. Internet Banking and Mobile Banking are some of the areas in which financial institutions are investing.

The FGV's Annual Cost per Keyboard (CAPT) at banks is US$ 22,000 dollars, whereas in the service sector the total is US$ 10,000, in industry, US$ 9,000, and in trade, US$ 6,400. This index is determined by total investment divided by the number of keyboards installed in companies, including terminals at Automatic Teller Machines and cashiers.

Bank of Brazil¹ is revolutionizing the CAPT index launching the 3ª wave of banking attendance in the country. The first wave was to take the customers of the attendance box to be taken care of in ATMs terminals; the second wave was to place the "Internet bank" to the reach of the customers at their homes or offices; now the third wave is to place the "mobile bank" literally in the hands of its customers.

Today, Brazil has an active market of about 88 million cellular devices, in counterpart counts "only" on 13 million people with access to the Internet. What it demonstrates the existence of a very great number of people with capacity to participate of this type technological solution.

Today the BB mobile bank user can make since mere extract and balance consultations until sophisticated transactions as accounts payments, transferences between banks, BB has launched the possibility of the customer to catch an electronic loan and also has an innovation of the Bank of Brazil that is you to catch a consigned loan direct from the mobile device. One another interesting operation is the the prepaid customer is being able to recharge his mobile from the bank account. Today, 26% of almost the 3 million transactions that people carry through in "mobile bank" are related to the user mobile itself. This is a good indication, that the users who are using the solution also are using of daily prepaid and many times do not have access to the Internet.

The developer EverSystems is known by the financial area supplying solutions. Responsible for the creation of a mobile banking solution for the Vivo-BB operation, based on the BREW technology , the company now created the new BB version of mobile banking, based on J2ME technology.

The Bank of Brazil has also initiated its operation of pocket bank this week in Japan. The BB will be the first Brazilian financial institution with performance in that country to offer this service to the nipo-Brazilians. The bank has seven agencies in that country, besides keeping partnership with the post offices local for attendance to about 105 a thousand customers in the country. The new service will allow that the customers of the BB also have access its accounts in Japan and in Brazil.

[1] Bank of Brazil (Public, SAO:BBAS3) is the greater retail bank of the Country and possesss currently about 22 million customers. The BB has invested in the magnifying of the forms of attendance by means of electronic channels. With a platform of 39 a thousand terminals spread for the Country, the BB has today a base of 22 million account holders, who carry through 88% of its banking transactions from the auto-attendance service. Internet answers for 36% of the total of these atendances.