FINDER was created to detect a human heartbeat buried beneath 30 feet (9 meters) of crushed material.
Search and rescue teams immediately set out to find victims trapped beneath the wreckage of trapped buildings caused by natural disasters or human-made catastrophes. During these missions, time is imperative, and the ability to quickly detect living victims greatly increases the chances of rescue and survival.
Continue reading… “FINDER can detect heartbeats hidden beneath rubble”
Here is a vehicle for all couch potatoes out there: the Couch Bike
Some cars can be made without wheels, tracks or skis (and still get places just fine, thank you), others may not even require an engine, while some vehicles are so strange that can hardly be called “cars” anymore. On top of all that, some car designers must have something against drivers, judging by profoundly befuddling and non-user-friendly setups they come up with. In most cases, though, these experimental machines do get around quite well (sometimes even more efficiently than traditional vehicles), and almost certainly turn into prized collection items. (Photos)
Continue reading… “The world’s weirdest vehicles”
More than 90 percent of BMW’s cars will have connectivity built into them.
BMW has around 3 million vehicles that are directly connected to their data centers, according to BMW’s VP of IT Infrastructure Mario Mueller at GigaOM’s Structure Europe conference in London. That number will grow to 10 million connected vehicles by 2018, meaning BMW will increasingly be operating as an IT and cloud-focused company,
Continue reading… “BMW to have 10 million connected cars within 5 years”
A company called Pilus Energy has a new technology for harvesting renewable energy from wastewater. The company has tweaked bacteria to come up with proprietary energy-harvesting organisms it calls BactoBots™, leading to a new generation of high efficiency microbial fuel cells.
Continue reading… “Self-destructing microbial robots turn wastewater into high value products”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKJbGhlqmaw[/youtube]
Virgin Mobile decided to harness our contempt for advertisements into nothing other than another advertisement: 25, to be exact. There is something different about this ad campaign, though. If you blink just once, you just might miss it. Using the power of your webcam and your eyes, the phone company created something called “blinkwashing,” which kinda sounds like some sort of psychological torture. As the final installment in Virgin’s “Retrain Your Brain” campaign, the ad’s premise is to persuade consumers to ditch their current “controlling” pricey mobile plans for Virgin’s no-contract ones.
Continue reading… “Virgin Mobile’s ‘blinkwashing’ ad changes scenes when the viewer blinks”
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/74499770[/vimeo]
When it comes to 3D printing there seems to be few limits to what the technology can do or what range of products it can spawn, from lampshades to lunar bases. It’s easy to neglect one key factor amid all the hype: Printing capabilities are directly wedded to the size of one’s printer. As home printers become more readily available, the size of their printing beds shrink. Any budding designer with a desktop 3-D printer can create an intricate scale model of the Millennium Falcon, but what about something as straightforward yet functional as a chair? It simply won’t fit inside the printing box.
Continue reading… “A new smarter way to 3D print unveiled by MIT researchers”
The U.S. has massive renewable energy potential.
Transmission lines hold much of the same challenge and promise of the interstate highway system a century ago. The transmission network – the high voltage, long distance power lines that carry electricity from power facilities and into communities – is currently a patchwork system, lacking centralized organization or planning. Assuming that America cannot achieve 100% clean energy with distributed resources, the transport of renewable electric energy across state lines is a major hurdle to realizing a future without fossil fuels.
Continue reading… “The future of the energy infrastructure in the U.S.”
The best teams might be temporary, but their company’s success is enduring.
We often think of high-performance teans as long-term allies—a band of brothers in the organizational world. It takes a while for teams to move through the traditional phases of storming and norming before they start to really perform. It’s easy to assume that the longer a team is together, the better they’ll be at performing. But research into the inner workings of teams, particularly creative teams, suggests a different conclusion, one supported by experience from many of the most innovative companies: The best teams might temporary, with members forming around a given project and then going their separate ways to work on new projects.
Continue reading… “The strongest teams might be temporary”
UCLA smartphone virus scanner
Scientists have finally developed a technology that makes it possible to avoid a trip to the doctor. The UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science scientists have created a lightweight, virus-detecting device that attaches to a common smartphone and is able to scan the human body for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) particles. The troublesome virus is the root of various illnesses, including birth defects like deafness and brain damage. HCMV can also expedite the death of adults who have HIV, a weak immune system and those who have undergone organ transplants, making early detection of the virus useful.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO5asUTbCR0[/youtube]
A few years ago, a public transit concept from China was making the rounds. It has resurfaced recently in a video that suggests someone is taking it seriously.
Continue reading… “Land Airbus could be coming to China (Video)”
Why are vinyl record sales up?
In the era when it seems like all of our music has gone digital, an interesting trend has been reported by Amazon: sales of vinyl records are up 745% since 2008.
Continue reading… “Amazon reports vinyl record sales are up 745% since 2008”
If we lived in a PR utopia, it would look something like this: Businesses would send journalists timely, interesting stories. Journalists would receive an ongoing supply of quality information. Readers, in turn, would grow enthusiastic about brands, turning media coverage into a conduit for sales and investor interest.
Continue reading… “When media and big data collide”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.