Director James Cameron Among Recipients Of Tech "Breakthrough" Award
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
Filmmaker James Cameron, best known for movies like "Titanic" and "Avatar," was among those recognized recently for their contributions to modern technology. NY1's Adam Balkin filed the following report.When you think of James Cameron chances are you think of movies he made like "Titanic" and "Avatar." But do you think of him as a technologist? Well, the folks at Popular Mechanics are among those who do which is why they honored him at their annual Breakthrough Awards for not only creating cutting edge new ways to create 3D movies but for applying those methods towards also capturing footage throughout the oceans and next up on Mars aboard the rover.
"I love exploration when I was a kid it was the golden age of space and ocean with Jacques Cousteau and the Apollo program and I was bitten by the bug then when I was in college I thought I wanted to be a scientist, I changed to the arts and became a storyteller and I've sort of circled back around," Cameron said.
Cameron wasn't the only person turning heads at the ceremony though. Rob Summers, paralyzed from the neck down in 2006 by a hit-and-run driver, has become the first person to be implanted with an electric nerve stimulator in his spine, thanks to researchers at the University of Louisville.
"I was able to stand on the third day completely, independently and within six months of using the stimulator in therapy settings with the stimulator on I could control the movement of my toes, ankles, knees, and hips," Summers said.
Other innovations honored this year ranged from everything from personal electronics to large scale avionics. Among the notable products: BoralPure roof tile, which, through a chemical reaction, not only neutralizes smog but turns it into a low-grade fertilizer so that when it rains the byproduct runs off and feeds the grass below.
"If you drive about 11,000 miles per year this will neutralize the smog," said Dave Hager of Boral Roofing.
And when you think of high-tech surveillance tools that the military might use, have you ever thought of a hummingbird?
"Funded by Darpa the idea was to use bio-mimicry design something that looks like a real biological thing to perform a real military mission," said Matt Keennon of Aerovironment.
That mission will likely be to quickly fly into potentially dangerous areas and perform video surveillance before troops move in.