HN Plugin for Chrome that lights up the icon if the page you are looking at has already been submitted to HN. Clicking the icon opens a sidebar with HN comments for that page. First Steps: Check if this exists, make it if not, would be a good practice making chrome apps.
Drone for hunting with tranquilizer darts. Build a fast FPV drone with speed of 80+MPH and a dart gun, to tranquilize the animal. This can be used for research or hunting, and can make it easier to tranquilize and track fast animals. First Steps: pitch this on some hunting and wildlife conservation forums, and see if there is a need. Building something like this is straightforward. Best as a tricopter.
AI tool that identifies fake reviews on review sites such as Amazon or Yelp. There are several telltale signs which anyone can pick up on, a good AI can be even better. First Steps: train a simple model and see how well it can work.
Stretchy onesie with a 1in square pattern on it, and several non-stretchy squares. A smartphone app can be used to photograph a person wearing the onesie and use the square data to recreate a 3D model of the person. This can be used very effectively for online shopping for clothes. First Steps: check patentability, try making a simple prototype.
A boat in a bag. An inflatable boat with a compressed CO2 canister built in, so it can be inflated with a press of the button. The boat would feature also a lithium battery bank that would allow you to recharge phone and other devices. This would be marketed to hurricane prone areas. Could be very useful for people who are trapped in Taxes, and could be sold to government and NGOs to improve rescue efforts. First Steps: similar things exist, but nothing that I have seen marketed to individuals or even NGOs.
A USB fingerprint reader that can be flush with the USB port when inserted into a laptop. The reader can act as a keyboard, and send keystrokes to login a computer and enter passwords. This can be added as a security feature to laptops that do not currently support fingerprint readers. First Steps: research patentability and feasibility of the technology. This is the kind of project that would need a hardware partner, tough to do.
This isn't a business as much as it is a marketing idea. Companies that cell drink products, such as Kombucha, in glass containers, should cell them in wide mouth JAR like containers with their logo embossed on the side of the jar. The label with UPC and such should be easy to peal off, and leave no residue. This way people can reuse the jars afterwards as drinking glasses, instead of recycling them or throwing them away. It would cost roughly the same amount, but you get free advertisement for your brand. First Steps: this is just an add idea, pitch it to someone who with a beverage company when opportunity strikes.
Helicopter pad service between rich parts of LA, like Malibu, and areas hard to get to due to traffic, like Hollywood. Many people in Malibu would easily pay $150-200 for a lift to the airport or central Beverly Hills on a helicopter. There is even a spot of land in central Malibu that would be perfect for a helipad. First Steps: pitch this to people I may know in Malibu.
Doctor concierge service. Many people are bewildered or easily confused by doctors, especially when (personal experience) you go to 3 doctors who are specialists in their field, and all 3 tell you that the only right way to do something is their way, and then tell you that the other 2 doctors you consulted are completely wrong. Who are you to believe? Especially if you are not very scientifically minded. This service would allow you to hire a general practitioner doctor, or a scientist with a masters degree in biology or other related field to help you research your options and to go to the doctors with you. This could be a fairly affordable service as it could be staffed by people who are retired, or are just doing this as a side gig. They would also help you research your options, and help you pick the right specialist to go see. I know, this is something that a good GP should be doing for you, but good GPs are impossible to find nowadays, and a good PHD level student in biology, or a retired research scientist could often help you figure out good options just as well. First Steps: research the legal implications of this, and check if this exists.
A movie about a deep space mission where the crew of the spaceship finds a bizarre planet that doesn't appear to have an orbit with a mysterious artefact in the middle of the planet that appears to be creating a gravitational waves to keep the planet on a specific trajectory towards the center of the galaxy. They later find out that it's an ark, designed to save the species who used to live in a now destroyed system, and resettle them in another system. Unfortunately, the gravitational drive is broken, and it now looks like the ark planet will crash into a nearby sun, killing all of the creatures in stasis on board, and destroying that sun system. The crew works to get the drive unit back online while trying to overcome communications difficulties with one of the reviewed aliens. First Steps: this is just a feel for the kind of movie I would like to see, next would be to write characters and an outline.