We’ve talked about drones here before, and some of the interesting potential business applications. But if you just want to have a play around to test some things out, the £300+ price tag can be a bit expensive. I’ve just read about a new venture though, which could put you in control of your own drone for a lot less.

The Micro Drone 3.0, made by ExtremeFliers,  weighs just 71g and fits in the palm of a hand. It has HD video capabilities and can even live-stream footage. It can be piloted from up to 50 feet via a smartphone app or 300 feet via remote control.

The Micro Drone 3.0 is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo where it has already raised over $1 Million. Backers can pre-order the full package — which includes an HD camera module and virtual reality headset for just $150.

If you’ve been thinking about exploring the potential of drones, this could be a cost effective way to do it.

I don’t want to sound like an environmentalist (that would never do) but there’s something uncomfortable about the fact that so much food goes to waste, while so many go hungry. It’s estimated, for example, that 40% of fruits grown are thrown away, primarily because they don’t get eaten before going off. I just read about a start up business that wants to do something about it.

FoPo aims to create freeze dried nutritious powders from fruit that is about to be discarded because it’s no longer sellable. The powders will be sold to manufacturers or directly to consumers for use in soups, smoothies or baking. The makers also hope to add their products to relief packages  used to feed the hungry in the Philippines where the operation is based.

This seems like a win-win for all concerned, while strongly ticking the environmentally friendly box. Could you copy a business idea like this, here in the UK, or come up with another sue for discarded food? It’s worth thinking about.

I have to use technology on a daily basis, but ‘tech savvy’ isn’t a label anyone is likely to give me any time soon. The truth is that I often put off buying stuff I would probably enjoy and benefit from because I can’t be bothered setting it up or learning how to use it. That’s why I was interested in ENJOY, a service which offers home visits with technology purchases to get new equipment up and running.

The California-based business has partnered with some of the biggest tech brands in the world to offer customers a free hour long session at home with an ENJOY expert, to help them get any  purchase up and running.

AT&T is the first company to offer ‘ENJOY’ visits. The ‘ENJOY’ expert will hand-deliver a purchase, unpack it, guide the customer through its features and help them get the most out of their new product. Other brands, including Boosted, DJI, GoPro, HP, Lenovo, Sonos, and Specialized Bicycles have also signed up and will be integrating ENJOY’s service soon.

All ENJOY experts are highly trained,  work on a freelance basis and can choose their own schedule using ENJOYs proprietary app.

I’d love someone to bring this business model to the UK. You might not be ready to do this on a National scale, but if you have tech skills, how about partnering with a local retailer to begin with, and see how it goes?

www.goenjoy.com

Plenty of top hotels employ a concierge to help guests get the most from their stay, but Drayton Manor in Staffordshire is the first to provide a concierge exclusively for younger guests.

The idea came about as a result of an approach to the hotel by the parents of local schoolboy Noah Reeves-Walters, who took up the role of junior concierge during his half term break from school. Whilst adults may be interested in restaurants and spa treatments,C the kids have other things on their minds – the best ice cream flavours and where to sit on the rides to get the biggest soaking for example – and Noah was on hand to help.

I mention it for two reasons:

1. Children influence and shape buying decisions in a lot of businesses. Are you paying enough attention to the needs of  your customers children?

2. If you have a teenage child looking for work experience, might they able to create their own opportunity, by approaching  a local hotel with this idea?

It seems that there’s no end to the purposes to which a smartphone can be put. I just read about a really ingenious one, tested out with great success by researchers at Dartmouth college at the University of Texas.

The study uses data collected from smartphone sensors to monitor students’ habits and behaviours, such as length and focus of study time, frequency of partying, sleep habits, class attendance and exercise. It’s all done without any direct input from the student. The resulting data has then been used to predict student exam results, and has been found to be accurate to within  0.17 of a point.

It’s easy to see how a fully developed app could be used by a student to monitor his or her own activity, and see at a glance whether it’s likely to be conducive to getting the results they want.

This looks like the tip of a very large iceberg to me. What other fields of human performance could be monitored in a similar way, simply by carrying a smartphone primed with the appropriate app?