Innovation Uncovered

Roughly 46 million gamers have a type of disability, presenting specific challenges for video game developers. Playground Games, a United Kingdom-based company, whose team designed the popular Forza Horizon 5 driving game, understood the assignment. The game offers robust accessibility features, like customizable subtitles and speed adjustments, creating a fair play environment. For the final episode of Season 2 of the “Innovation Uncovered” podcast, Kristen Meinzer sits down with Mike Brown, creative director for Forza Horizon 5 at Playground Games, a company setting new standards for craftsmanship and accessibility. Invesco Distributors, Inc.

Lux Machina, a company in Los Angeles specializing in film production, display technology and in-camera VFX, uses LEDs to create immersive movie sets designed to make people feel a part of the story. By producing shots interactively, Lux is speeding up production while reducing costs and its carbon footprint. This week Kristen Meinzer sits down with Phil Galler, co-CEO of Lux Machina, which builds believable realities for movies, virtual concerts and e-sports.

Xenobots are very tiny robots composed of organic cellular material. According to researchers, the programmable living things are made of frog stem cells. They can swim in fluid, join forces to act collectively and move small objects, which in the future could make them useful for monitoring radioactivity, diseases and pollutants. This week Kristen Meinzer sits down with Josh Bongard, Veinott Professor of Computer Science, University of Vermont, and Michael Levin, distinguished professor, Vannevar Bush Chair at Tufts University, two of the brilliant minds demonstrating advances in robotics. Invesco Distributors, Inc.

Endless West creates award-winning whiskeys and spirits using a process that breaks down the alcoholic beverages to the molecular level. A fine whiskey typically requires 10 years to age, but this tech startup recreates spirits in less than a day. This week Kristen Meinzer talks to Alec Lee, CEO of San Francisco-based Endless West, to learn how it’s using a fraction of the resources to make environmentally friendly liquor in a lab. Invesco Distributors, Inc.

Interplay Learning is breathing new life into the workforce by bringing skilled trades, like HVAC, plumbing and electrical, into the digital world. The company is closing the skills gap by helping more than 75,000 people build key technical skills. This week Kristen Meinzer sits down with Doug Donovan, CEO of Austin, Texas-based Interplay Learning, to discuss how his team is modernizing the labor market. Invesco Distributors, Inc.