Year: 2014

Impact Lab > 2014
Analysis, Business, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Homemade goods could become the global brands of tomorrow

MakerBot

The Maker Movement Encompasses all kinds of activity from traditional crafts to high-tech electronics.

In recent years, one of the more significant trends is the impact of technology on homemade manufacturing. The Maker Movement, a diffuse entrepreneurial community, has been using open source design to drive a telling resurgence in American manufacturing. Encompassing all kinds of activity from traditional crafts to high-tech electronics, linked by the adoption of digital tools, not just for design, but increasingly for manufacture through 3-D printing, technology has transformed DIY enthusiasts operating on their own at home into real communities.

 

 

Continue reading… “Homemade goods could become the global brands of tomorrow”

Alternative Transportation, Photo Perspectives, Science & Technology News

Rinspeed’s driverless car concept brings business class to the road

rinspeed 1

Bringing business class travel to driverless cars.

Countries from the U.S. to Singapore will likely have self-driving cars on roadways by 2020. These road-aware vehicles will theoretically do away with nearly all traffic collisions and reduce traffic congestion. Auto designer Rinspeed, however, has fixed its considerable talent on another aspect of the autonomous car: just what to do with the passengers. (Photos)

 

 

Continue reading… “Rinspeed’s driverless car concept brings business class to the road”

Analysis, Brain, Science & Technology News

Neuroscience of programming: Understanding programmers’ brains

programmers brain

Programmers use existing language regions of the brain to understand code.

Computer programming is a deeply complex but relatively new human activity. Its young age has lent itself to countless battles and hotly debated topics that despite the many compelling arguments presented, we seemingly have no definitive answers for. All that is about to change: An international team of scientists lead by Dr. Janet Siegmund is using brain imaging with fMRI to understand the programmer’s mind. Understanding the brain offers us the chance to distill these complex issues into fundamental answers.

 

 

Continue reading… “Neuroscience of programming: Understanding programmers’ brains”

Analysis, Great Videos, Historical Perspectives, Science & Technology News

Science fiction writers are really good at predicting the future

arthur c clarke prediciton

Arthur C. Clarke predicted the iPad and online newspapers in 1968.

Arthur C. Clarke declared in 1964, “trying to predict the future is a discouraging and hazardous occupation,” and yet he got it astoundingly right in his own predictions, including his 1968 vision for the iPad. Isaac Asimov predicted online education, Douglas Adams predicted ebooks, Ray Bradbury predicted that we would reach Mars (though, so far, we’ve only done so with robotic extensions of ourselves), and Jules Verne envisioned the hi-tech Nautilus “at a time when even a can-opener [was] considered an exciting new concept.” In fact, science-fiction authors have a formidable track record of predicting the future — but why? (Video)

 

 

Continue reading… “Science fiction writers are really good at predicting the future”

Analysis, Business, Latest Trend

Do companies work better without bosses?

flat company

The only way to run a no-manager company is very publicly.

Ryan Carson broke the big news when he was presenting Treehouse’s latest numbers to investors. In the middle of the presentation, one investor stopped and asked, “Wait, who reports to who?” “My co-founder [Alan Johnson] and I just kind of looked at each other and laughed,” says Carson. Then they fessed up. “We said ‘No one reports to anyone.’”

 

 

Continue reading… “Do companies work better without bosses?”

Analysis, Business, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

3 critical factors wearables need to be successful

fuel

Next generation of wearables needs to focus more on keeping users engaged in the long-term.

Companies such as Sony, Pebble, Meta, LG, Garmin, Razer and others introduced at least 10 new wearable devices at CES in January. Yet despite the enthusiasm in the market, the dirty secret of wearables remains: almost all of the current generation of products fail to drive long-term, sustained engagement and behavior change.

 

 

Continue reading… “3 critical factors wearables need to be successful”

Great New Product, Great Videos, Health & Fitness, Medical Breakthrough, Science & Technology News

Paralyzed skier walks again with world’s first 3D printed exoskeleton

exoskeleton

World’s first 3D printed exoskeleton.

Amanda Boxtel suffered a vicious skiing accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down in 1992. Doctors said she would never walk again. This week, with the help of the world’s first 3D printed exoskeleton that gives her the ability to climb out of her wheelchair and walk once again she proved the doctors wrong. (Video)

Continue reading… “Paralyzed skier walks again with world’s first 3D printed exoskeleton”

Analysis, Business, Food, Science & Technology News

Hershey’s looking to hire a chocolate futurist

hershey

The Hershey Company is hiring a futurist.

The Hershey Company is it the largest chocolate manufacturer in the United States, selling 40 percent of domestic dark chocolate.  But Hershey also operates a store/museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. And one in Times Square. And one in Las Vegas. And they also operate an amusement park.

 

 

Continue reading… “Hershey’s looking to hire a chocolate futurist”

Architecture, Art, Great Videos, Science & Technology News

MX3D-Metal – an incredible new technique for printing 3D metal in midair

mx3d_metal_printing

We are able to 3D print plastic goods, fabric for clothing, food, and possibly in the future, human organs. But metal has been less accessible. Now, a collaboration between Dutch designer Joris Laarman and software company Autodesk has yielded something groundbreaking: an affordable technique for printing large metal structures, called MX3D-Metal. (Video)

 

 

Continue reading… “MX3D-Metal – an incredible new technique for printing 3D metal in midair”

Architecture, People Making a Difference, Science & Technology News

Parking lot design challenge aims to revitalize urban areas

wrappedparking

Roger Sherman Architecture + Urban Design explores the idea of a year-round recreational area for kids of all ages in Ronkonkoma.

Parking lots and similar structures have been a popular battleground for urbanists and architects in their quest to reclaim urban space as they often represent large tracts of unused land that offer little existing aesthetic contribution. Arguably the ParkingPLUS proposals in Long Island, which are a follow-up to 2010′s Build a Better Burb competition, encourage behaviors that have created more livable downtowns while combining personal and public transit in striking new configurations. Though these proposals to reinvigorate a 4,000 sq ft parking lot are still mere pipe dreams right now, each was carefully examined for cost and suitability to each area’s needs, making them a possibility for the future. (Pics)

 

 

Continue reading… “Parking lot design challenge aims to revitalize urban areas”

Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.