Let’s face it, flying is often a chore. Those tiny seats. That limited legroom. And airlines’ constant push to make the flying experience more miserable.
That reality seems really far from the potential future presented at last week’s 12th annual Crystal Cabin Awards, a ceremony honoring innovative aircraft cabin concepts in Hamburg, Germany. These designs make today’s first class look totally pedestrian.
Continue reading… “Tomorrow’s airplane cabins could be more luxurious than your apartment”
There are a lot of 3D-printed houses popping up these days, but this is the first time an architect with the renown of Massimiliano Locatelli of CLS Architetti and Arup has tackled one. Built out of a special quick-drying mortar, the 1,076-square-foot house was constructed in just 48 hours. Locatelli envisions 3D printing as the housing of the future – and that his house could be constructed anywhere,”even the moon.”
Continue reading… “This new 3D-printed house was built by a portable robot in just 48 hours”
A controversial study suggests that people become entrepreneurs because they realize they’re worth more than their resumes.
If you asked me why I gravitated to startups rather than work in a large company I would have answered at various times: “I want to be my own boss,” “I love risk,” “I want flexible work hours,” “I want to work on tough problems that matter,” “I have a vision and want to see it through,” “I saw a better opportunity and grabbed it. …”
Continue reading… “Steve Blank: The unexpected reason why people start their own companies”
The National Bureau of Economic Research used Census data to find the average age of super-successful founders.
Company founders can be as young as in their teens or as old as in their 80s. But is there an ideal age you should be when you start a company? It turns out there is, and it’s older than you may think.
Amazon on Thursday unveiled “Alexa Skill Blueprints,” code-free templates that any Alexa owner, regardless of experience level, can use to create customized Alexa skills in a matter of minutes.
Amazon included over 20 templates across four categories — Fun & Games, At Home, Storyteller, and Learning & Knowledge — with plans to add more.
Continue reading… “Anyone can now create Alexa skills in a matter of minutes”
Legally blind since age 18, my father missed out on the first digital revolution.
“Is it ‘Electra?’” my father asks, leaning in close to the Amazon Echo my mother has just installed. Leaning in close is his trademark maneuver: Dad has been legally blind since age 18, the result of a horrible car crash in 1954. He has lived, mostly successfully, with limited vision for the 64 years since.
Continue reading… “Alexa Is a Revelation for the Blind”
How developers are humanizing their virtual personal assistants.
The virtual personal assistant is romanticized in utopian portrayals of the future from The Jetsons to Star Trek. It’s the cultured, disembodied voice at humanity’s beck and call, eager and willing to do any number of menial tasks.
Continue reading… “In pursuit of the perfect AI voice”
If the move to make it legal succeeds, entire industries could be revolutionized.
Today, the U.S. is the world’s largest consumer of hemp products. But because of the federal prohibition imposed on cannabis and hemp, the U.S. is importing an estimated $100 million of hemp products each year.
Continue reading… “Hemp is the multibillion-dollar cannabis opportunity few have heard about”
The shipping industry sets sail toward a carbon-free future.
Cargo-shipping regulators have struck a historic deal to set their dirty fuel-burning industry on a low-carbon course.
On Friday, the International Maritime Organization agreed for the first time to limit greenhouse gas emissions from global shipping. The nonbinding deal marks a critical shift for the sector—which, until last week, was the only major industry without a comprehensive climate plan.
Continue reading… “One of the world’s filthiest industries just agreed to clean up its act”
If you live in a US city, car-sharing services like Lyft and Uber might seem omnipresent. However, the ride-sharing economy still has a ways to go, at least according to consumer sentiment.
Children walking to school wearing smog pollution masks in Britain. Residents in many developing countries are exposed to toxic air both outdoors and inside their homes.
More than 95% of the world’s population breathe unsafe air and the burden is falling hardest on the poorest communities, with the gap between the most polluted and least polluted countries rising rapidly, a comprehensive study of global air pollution has found.
Continue reading… “More than 95% of world’s population breathe dangerous air, major study finds”
Basic income will be widespread by the 2030s, according to Google futurist and director of engineering Ray Kurzweil.
Kurzweil is known for making seemingly wild predictions. In 2016, he predicted that by 2029, medical technology will add an extra year to human life expectancies on an annual basis.
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.