2017 – Page 45 – Impact Lab

Battery, Climate Change, Elon Musk, Energy, Environment, Tesla

Tesla’s new solar roof will cost less and keep your house off the Grid all day

April 4, 2017

We all know that nature is a powerful force. I was reminded just how powerful after last week’s wind storm, when the next day I found shingles from my roof littered on the lawn. I’ve been driving around the last week, and observing all the damage that storm caused, getting quotes from roofers, dealing with insurance, and realizing that I was not alone. One contractor said that they received 300 hundred calls in one day. All that damage caused by one storm. My roof looks like it needs to be replaced, and by the look of the other roofs in my neighborhood, I am not alone. Which of course left me day-dreaming about upgrading to include the new Solar Panels being produced by Tesla and Panasonic in Buffalo.

Continue reading… “Tesla’s new solar roof will cost less and keep your house off the Grid all day”

Drone, drones, Science & Technology News

Drones Are Saving One Life Per Week, DJI Study Finds

April 4, 2017

DJI Technology Inc, the largest civilian drone maker, is claiming in a new study that “59 lives have been saved by civilian drones in 18 different incidents, with one life a week being saved by drones on average.”

The study was published on March 14, 2017, and is based on reports in the news. The majority of the rescues have occurred in USA and China, although instances have occurred in Canada and Turkey as well.

One third were saved by civilians using their hobbyist drones and not by emergency personnel, showing their far-reaching abilities. 31 lives were saved during floods, as drones spotted missing people and delivered rescue ropes and life jackets. 19 missing people were found on land, on terrain ranging from swamps to mountains to snow banks. 9 more people were rescued off beaches or in boats.

Continue reading… “Drones Are Saving One Life Per Week, DJI Study Finds”

Agriculture, Finance, Money Talk, People Making a Difference, Science & Technology News

This Kenyan Startup Uses Mobile Phones To Build Credit For Farmers

April 4, 2017

If you want to help the world’s poorest, help them to farm. So says Bill Gates, and it makes sense. More than three-quarters of the poorest live in rural areas and most are smallholder farmers working less than two acres. They often lack the seeds, machinery, livestock, and finance they need to grow, so they struggle to emerge from poverty.

Two young entrepreneurs from Kenya have an idea to help: FarmDrive develops credit histories for farmers, so they become more attractive to financial institutions offering loans. So far, they’ve signed up more than 3,000 farmers on their mobile-based platform. In 2016, working with a financial partner, they helped disburse about $130,000 in loans to 400 farmers.

Continue reading… “This Kenyan Startup Uses Mobile Phones To Build Credit For Farmers”

Coding, Employment, Life Skills

11 skills every 24-year-old should learn

April 5, 2017

If, like many people, you stumble out of college in your early 20s, unsure of what to do next, you can be forgiven for needing a few years to get your bearings.

The transition from school to work (or more work), can take a bit of getting used to. And it can also be a fun time to try things and toss them away, to not worry so much about what’s coming down the road.

But by 24, you have unquestionably entered adulthood, and it’s good to start taking stock of what things you want to make sure you get a head start on. These choices could influence the rest of your life.
To help out, a bunch of people chimed in on a Quora thread discussing the skills every 24 year old should to learn. We narrowed it down to the top 11 pieces of advice.

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Augmented Reality, Science & Technology News, Virtual Reality, VR

VR, AR Headset Market Growing 58% A Year, To Reach 99 Million Devices

April 4, 2017

Driven by lower prices, new devices and an expanding array of content, the market size of virtual and augmented reality headsets is being propelled at a breakneck pace.

Total VR and AR headset shipments will see explosive growth from 10 million units last year to 99 million units in four years, based on a new tracking report.

The virtual and augmented reality headset market will grow 58% a year for the next five years, according to the new International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly Augmented and Virtual Reality Headset Tracker.

Continue reading… “VR, AR Headset Market Growing 58% A Year, To Reach 99 Million Devices”

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Future, Robotics, Robots, Science & Technology News, Technological Unemployment

Stephen Hawking calls for creation of world government to meet AI challenges

April 4, 2017

In a book that’s become the darling of many a Silicon Valley billionaire — Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind — the historian Yuval Harari paints a picture of humanity’s inexorable march towards ever greater forms of collectivization. From the tribal clans of pre-history, people gathered to create city-states, then nations, and finally empires. While certain recent political trends, namely Brexit and the nativism of Donald Trump would seem to belie this trend, now another luminary of academia has added his voice to the chorus calling for stronger forms of world government. Far from citing some ancient historical trends though, Stephen Hawking points to artificial intelligence as a defining reason for needing stronger forms of globally enforced cooperation.

Continue reading… “Stephen Hawking calls for creation of world government to meet AI challenges”

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Brain, brain-computer interfaces, Machine Learning, Science & Technology News

Ray Kurzweil predicts computers will be as smart as humans in 12 years

April 4, 2017

12 years.

That’s how long Google’s Director of Engineering Ray Kurzweil thinks it will take for computers to reach human levels of intelligence.

Singularity Is Coming

“By 2029, computers will have human-level intelligence,” Kurzweil said in an interview at the SXSW Conference with Shira Lazar and Amy Kurzweil Comix.

Known as the Singularity, the event is oft discussed by scientists, futurists, technology stalwarts and others as a time when artificial intelligence will cause machines to become smarter than human beings.

Continue reading… “Ray Kurzweil predicts computers will be as smart as humans in 12 years”

Alternative Transportation, Aviation, Driverless vehicles, Drone, drones, Electric Vehicles, Science & Technology News

Driverless flying taxi service set to launch in Dubai

March 23, 2017

Dubai has announced yet another pioneering initiative, but this time it’s not the world’s first rotating skyscraper or 3D printed office. It’s a fleet of flying taxis.

Small enough to fit into a car parking space when folded up, the one-seater passenger drones made by Chinese company Ehang are set to start picking up passengers in July this year, according to Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA).
Continue reading… “Driverless flying taxi service set to launch in Dubai”

Batteries, Energy, Engineering, Science & Technology News

Disney creates room that can wirelessly charge hundreds of devices

March 23, 2017

Wireless charging was all the rage in smartphones a few years ago, but most device makers have backed off on the technology. Many phones simply charge super-fast via a cable now. The wireless charging fatigue is due in part to the range limitation of the technology. True wireless power is still a no-go in consumer technology, but Disney Research has developed a version that might work in the future. Its volumetric wireless power system can keep hundreds of devices powered with no wires whatsoever. The main drawback: you have to live in a metal box.

Continue reading… “Disney creates room that can wirelessly charge hundreds of devices”

Alternative Transportation, Automobiles, Aviation, Drone, Science & Technology News, Transportation

Straight Out of Sci-Fi: Hoverbike ‘Surfs’ Through the Air in Test

March 23, 2017

Think of it as half drone, half motorcycle: A new hoverbike prototype aims to make flying as simple as riding a bike.

Hoversurf, a Russian drone startup, recently unveiled its Scorpion-3 hoverbike in a test- flight video — making it the first manned quadcopter that has undergone testing, reported Futurism, a science and technology news website.

Continue reading… “Straight Out of Sci-Fi: Hoverbike ‘Surfs’ Through the Air in Test”

Future, Healthcare, Housing, Science & Technology News

Home Smart Home: The Shape Of Things To Come

March 25, 2017

A new report predicts intelligent ‘Cognitive Homes’ of the future will be able to assess and manage our needs and desires in later life.

Almost 32 million people will be aged 60 or over in the UK by 2039. But what sort of living environment do older people face when they leave the workplace and embark on the next chapter of their lives?

Continue reading… “Home Smart Home: The Shape Of Things To Come”

Automobiles, Robotics, Robots, Science & Technology News, Self-driving Cars

Roborace shows off its driverless race car at MWC

March 23, 2017

While most of the attention around autonomous vehicles has centered on “everyday drivers,” there is one effort that goes off in an entirely different direction. An offshoot of Formula E, Roborace aims to launch a parallel series of races conducted entirely without human drivers. The effort has taken longer than planned, but is getting closer to reality. At MWC in Barcelona this week, Roborace showed off the complete design of its first race car. Until now, it has been using awkward-looking “devbots” that have a seat for a driver to test its software and hardware designs.

Continue reading… “Roborace shows off its driverless race car at MWC”