2018 – Page 6 – Impact Lab

The future of travel? A self-driving mobile hotel room

December 17, 2018

Imagine taking a road trip and never having to stop for a food or bathroom break.

Steve Lee, a designer at Toronto-based Aprilli Design Studio, has come up with an idea that could make that happen: The Autonomous Travel Suite.

Think of it as a hotel room on wheels. The driverless mobile suite would have a sleeping area with mattresses, washroom facilities with a toilet and sitting shower, a space for working or entertaining, and a small kitchen. It could fit up to five people.

“It’s basically a hotel room so it has everything inside it,” he says. “Whether it’s six hours or 10 hours, you’ll feel comfortable inside it.”

Continue reading… “The future of travel? A self-driving mobile hotel room”

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Big Problems, Future, Science & Technology News

Get ready. 2019 predictions about Artificial Intelligence that will make your head spin

December 16, 2018

Instead of breaking systems with ransomware, adversaries will leverage new tools to conduct harmful assaults on targeted subjects and organizations.

A staff member stands near a computer as it participates in the CHAIN Cup at the China National Convention Center in Beijing. A computer running artificial intelligence software defeated two teams of human doctors in accurately recognizing maladies in magnetic resonance images on Saturday, in a contest that was billed as the world’s first competition in neuroimaging between AI and human experts. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)ASSOCIATED PRESS

While the hip, ubiquitous business buzzwords are cryptocurrency and blockchain, the truly formidable factor of what is being called the fourth industrial revolution is Artificial Intelligence. Whether praised as a panacea for greater business efficiency or the feared as the demise of humanity, Artificial Intelligence is upon us and will impact business and society at large in ways that we can only begin to imagine. Fasten your seatbelts. Here’s what a few influencers in the arena say is on tap for 2019.

Continue reading… “Get ready. 2019 predictions about Artificial Intelligence that will make your head spin”

Health & Fitness, Healthcare, Medical Breakthrough, Medicine

The 10 most incredible medical breakthroughs of 2018

December 16, 2018

From medical drones to the first FDA-approved cannabis drug, innovative research continues to transform the future of health care.

In a tech-obsessed world, it’s only natural to ponder all the ways technology might actually be damaging your health. Is social media a trigger for depression? Could your cell phone start a fire while you sleep? Can reading a computer screen all day ruin your vision? It’s easy to get caught up in that downward spiral of thinking.

However, nestled in between all the negatives is an incredible world of positives. Technology only continues to advance in ways that can completely transform the future of health care. Just last year, scientists made progress in learning how to regenerate body parts, detect pancreatic cancer earlier, and relieve pain via virtual reality, Prevention reported.

This past year has proven to be an equally exciting time for innovative research. Here, some of the most striking medical breakthroughs of 2018 that have the potential to change your life.

Continue reading… “The 10 most incredible medical breakthroughs of 2018”

Blockchain, China, Intellectual Property, Legal Issues

Chinese internet court uses blockchain to protect online writers intellectual property

December 16, 2018

An Internet Court in Hangzhou, Eastern China, has turned to blockchain to fight piracy at the expense of online writers, English-language media outlet China.org.cn reports Dec. 8.

China has reportedly “set up three Internet courts in Hangzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou.” Internet Courts are courts expressly intended to manage internet-related cases and allow plaintiffs to file their complaints online.

The official website of Hangzhou Internet Court reads that it “behave[s] as an ‘incubator’ for Internet space governance, a ‘test field’ for Internet judicial rules, a ‘leader’ for diversified Internet disputes, and a ‘first mover’ for the transformation of Internet trials.”

Continue reading… “Chinese internet court uses blockchain to protect online writers intellectual property”

3D Printer, Engineering, Record Breaker, Science & Technology News

MIT team develops 3D printer that’s 10x faster than comparable 3D printers

December 16, 2018

Professors Jamison Go and John Hart of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Mechanosynthesis Group have developed new hardware that enables what they call FastFFF (fast fused filament fabrication). And it’s fast, see for yourself.

Desktop 3D printers are fantastic at creating high-quality and complex parts on demand, but their greatest weakness has always been speed. They can only print one object at a time, one thin layer at a time. And there are several speed-limiting factors to FDM/FFF 3D printers, with the main four being: the amount of force that can be applied to the filament as it’s pushed through the nozzle, how quickly heat can be transferred to the filament to melt it, how fast the printhead can move around the build area, and the rate that the material solidifies after it’s extruded because it needs to support the next layer.

Continue reading… “MIT team develops 3D printer that’s 10x faster than comparable 3D printers”

Automobiles, Electric Vehicles, Entertainment, Science & Technology News

Future of Formula 1 is on fumes claims report

December 16, 2018

An interesting opinion on where Formula 1 is heading into the future by George Woods Baker, writing for Paddock Magazine, painting a bleak picture as the world moves towards electric cars rendering the pinnacle of the sport as we know it redundant in years to come.

Baker wrote: “When Alejandro Agag launched Formula E in 2014 as the first electric-powered championship, he did so as an alternative to what he saw as a wounded buck. He was dismissed by the Formula 1 paddock. He won’t last, they crowed. The cars were slow and required a lengthy pitstop halfway through the race to change cars!

Continue reading… “Future of Formula 1 is on fumes claims report”

Alternative Transportation, Driverless cars, Google, Transportation

People are attacking Waymo’s self-driving cars in Arizona by slashing tires and, in some cases, pulling guns on the safety drivers

December 16, 2018

Waymo self-driving cars in Arizona have had their tires slashed, and some of the vehicles’ safety drivers have had guns pulled on them, the Arizona Republic reports.
Twenty-one instances of people attacking Waymo cars have been recorded, according to the Arizona Republic, citing police reports.
It’s a fraction of overall traffic incidents — but the instances highlight a common fear people have about tech innovations. Continue reading… “People are attacking Waymo’s self-driving cars in Arizona by slashing tires and, in some cases, pulling guns on the safety drivers”

Cancer, DNA, Healthcare, Medical Breakthrough

Scientists develop 10-minute universal cancer test

December 16, 2018

Coloured scanning electron micrograph of dividing breast cancer cells.

Inexpensive procedure shows whether patient has cancerous cells in the body, but does not reveal where or how serious it is.

Scientists have developed a universal cancer test that can detect traces of the disease in a patient’s bloodstream.

The cheap and simple test uses a colour-changing fluid to reveal the presence of malignant cells anywhere in the body and provides results in less than 10 minutes.

Continue reading… “Scientists develop 10-minute universal cancer test”

Automation, Automobiles, Driverless vehicles, Google, Transportation

Alphabet’s Waymo unveils its first commercial driverless taxi service: Waymo One

December 14, 2018

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Alphabet’s self-driving car unit Waymo today took a huge step toward launching its first public self-driving taxi service.

Waymo has been testing a driverless car service in Phoenix for a while already, but today the company officially lifted the lid on its first commercial service that riders can actually pay for.

Waymo One, as the service is called, will work much like Uber and other popular ride-hailing apps. After Waymo One gives you a price estimate based on your starting and end points, you can beckon a car that will transport you from A to B.

However, Waymo One isn’t yet available for everyone. Initially, only riders who were involved in the early stages of the trial program will have access, though plans are afoot to extend the service to more people in the future.

Continue reading… “Alphabet’s Waymo unveils its first commercial driverless taxi service: Waymo One”

communication, Great New Product, mobile technology

Zanco pen phone hits Kickstarter from $49

December 13, 2018

A new pen phone has been created by Zanco in the form of the S-Pen to provide a portable yet versatile combination of phone, stylus, pen and Bluetooth headset. Watch the demonstration video below to learn more about the pen phone which has launched via Kickstarter this week and is now available to back with early bird pledges available from just $49.

The team at Zanco explain more about the inspiration behind the pen phone and its features. “After years of upsizing, what happens when smartphones try to shrink? Is it possible to put the most important features into a device the size of a pen? We challenged ourselves to create something unique, compact and powerful, something that can help you every day.“

Continue reading… “Zanco pen phone hits Kickstarter from $49”

Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, cutting edge, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News, Video

AI can generate interactive virtual worlds based on simple videos

December 13, 2018

Nvidia’s new AI represents a major leap forward in graphics generation based on neural networks.

Crafting an interactive virtual world of the kind found in many modern video games is a labor-intensive process that can require years of work, hundreds of people, and millions of dollars. Soon, some of that work may be done by machines.

Computer hardware company Nvidia, which specializes in graphics cards, announced on Monday that it developed a new AI model that can take video of the real world and use it to generate a realistic and interactive virtual world. According to Nvidia, its new AI could be used to drastically lower the cost of generating virtual environments, which will be particularly useful in the video game and film industries.

Continue reading… “AI can generate interactive virtual worlds based on simple videos”

Entertainment, Internet, Money Talk

How this 7- year old made $22 million playing with toys

December 13, 2018

Seven-year-old Ryan of YouTube fame has made it offline, too. The mini mogul now has a collection of toys and apparel sold at Walmart stores nationwide.

Ryan of Ryan Toysreview really isn’t that different from any other first grader. The 7-year-old loves trains and cars; he giggles over Disney characters; he builds entire civilizations with Legos.

Except when he plays, he does so in front of a camera. An adult, presumably, then promptly uploads these videos onto his YouTube channel for his millions of followers—most of whom are elementary-school-age peers.

Continue reading… “How this 7- year old made $22 million playing with toys”