2014 – Page 45 – Impact Lab

Analysis, Business, Internet, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

The future impact of the Internet of Things can’t be underestimated

July 23, 2014

Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a hot new buzzword. Its purpose and definition are grossly misunderstood. When some people hear the term IoT they immediately associate it with a refrigerator reminding us to order milk or our Fitbit wearable device tweeting how we just ran 4 miles. Neither of those uses are very compelling to most of us which makes it hard to fathom how experts can predict that by 2020 there will be greater than a one trillion dollar market that vendors will be trying to claim a piece of.

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Analysis, Human Behavior, Science & Technology News

Cellphone users get their own lane on the sidewalk

July 23, 2014

Cellphone lane

There are slow lanes, fast lanes, and bike lanes. And now, at least for a little while, there’s a lane for cellphone users.

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Agriculture, Analysis, Food, Great Videos, Plant Life, Science & Technology News

New LED light technology sheds light on the future of food

July 23, 2014

LED growing lights, delivering sunlight whatever the weather.

This century, the challenges of growing enough food to feed the world have grown more severe. We need to feed more people with limited agricultural land and resources. We need to make better use of land, light and logistics for an increasingly urban population. And we need to incorporate zero-waste and low-energy technologies into the task of food production. (Video)

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Analysis, Robots, Science & Technology News

‘Uncanniest valley’ – when robots know us better than we know ourselves

July 22, 2014

Robots don’t judge. Humans do.

Japanese roboticist Mashahiro Mori coined the term “uncanny valley” in 1970 to describe the strange fact that, as robots become more human-like, we relate to them better—but only to a point. The ”uncanny valley” is this point.

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Analysis, Business, government, Latest Trend, Money Talk

Job growth is faster in states that raised minimum wage

July 22, 2014

The 13 states that raised their minimum wages on Jan. 1 have added jobs at a faster pace than those that did not.

The Department of Labor released new data that suggests that raising the minimum wage in some states might have spurred job growth, contrary to what critics said would happen.

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Latest Trend, New Viewpoints, People Making a Difference, Science & Technology News

When Everyone Becomes Blackmailable

July 22, 2014

Futurist Thomas Frey: On a recent driving trip, my wife and I became immersed in the audio version of one of Tom Clancy’s last novels titled, “Threat Vector.” Without giving away too much of the plot, a Chinese super-geek villain has hatched a plan to hack into our most secure networks and blackmail people with their darkest secrets to subversively cause chaos and disruption for the American government.

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Analysis, Business, Health & Fitness, Latest Trend

Blue Cross makes a $65B bet on value-based medical care

July 22, 2014

The traditional fee-for-service approach to medicine that can lead to overtreatment and unnecessary medical tests and procedures.

The country’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans say they are spending more than $65 billion annually, about 20 percent of the medical claim dollars they pay, on “value-based” care that rewards better outcomes and keeps patients healthy. This is the latest blow to fee-for-service medicine.

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Business, Great New Product, Science & Technology News

Imprint Energy is developing flexible, printed batteries for wearable devices

July 22, 2014

Ultrathin zinc-polymer battery.

Imprint Energy is developing flexible, rechargeable batteries that can be printed cheaply on commonly used industrial screen printers. The California startup has been testing its ultrathin zinc-polymer batteries in wrist-worn devices and hopes to sell them to manufacturers of wearable electronics, medical devices, smart labels, and environmental sensors.

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3D Printer, Business, Science & Technology News

Mcor Technologies improves their paper-based, full-color 3D printer

July 22, 2014

Mcor Iris 3D Printer

Most people think 3D printing involves a machine that either extrudes molten plastic, in a way similar to how a hot glue gun works, or think of one of the larger industrial level 3D printers manufactured by 3D systems or Stratasys. These huge machines print objects in a variety of materials, but come with price tags that are only affordable for a select few.

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Analysis, Animals, Human Behavior, Latest Trend

Growing trend among young singles who treat pets like girlfriends and boyfriends

July 22, 2014

Lucy, a 1 year old Burmese Mountain dog and her owner Alfred Pretrone.

There’s “something special” about Lucy, says Alfred Pretrone about his female companion. She’s good-looking, “chill” and she makes the stress melt away at the end of a long day. But Lucy isn’t Mr. Petrone’s girlfriend. She’s his dog.

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Analysis, Energy, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News

Generating electricity from jumping water droplets

July 21, 2014

This process can generate small amounts of electricity.

Last year, MIT researchers discovered that when water droplets spontaneously jump away from superhydrophobic (water-repelling) surfaces during condensation, the droplets can gain electric charge in the process.

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Analysis, Science & Technology News

Mobile and beacons will power travel in the future

July 21, 2014

Mobile tech will help squash millions of annoyances we encounter with traveling.

Our lives have the potential of becoming completely automated because of beacons. The tiny transmitters will seamlessly give companies information about us that help them provide better service; control real-time opportunities for us to save or enjoy; and simplify the exchange of funds. They will remove the many steps we go through to get something done today. Steps which are so engrained in us that we don’t yet even realize how much they are interrupting our lives. Traveling in particular is full of millions of annoyances that beacons, sensors, and other advances in mobile tech will soon help to squash. Just imagine a 36-hour business trip:

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