2018 – Page 60 – Impact Lab

Ecological Products, Engineering, New Inventions

A Graphine roll out

April 19, 2018

A new manufacturing process produces strips of graphene, at large scale, for use in membrane technologies and other applications.

MIT engineers have developed a continuous manufacturing process that produces long strips of high-quality graphene.

The team’s results are the first demonstration of an industrial, scalable method for manufacturing high-quality graphene that is tailored for use in membranes that filter a variety of molecules, including salts, larger ions, proteins, or nanoparticles. Such membranes should be useful for desalination, biological separation, and other applications.

Continue reading… “A Graphine roll out”

3D Printer, Engineering, new technology

A breakthrough in 3D printing liquids could lead to squishy, flexible gadgets

April 18, 2018

The most common types of 3D printing involve either extruding melted plastic or using a laser to solidify tiny particles, layer by layer, to slowly build up a solid object. But researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have found a way to radically change that process by 3D printing liquids inside other liquids—and it could mean major advancements in gadget construction.

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AI, Artificial Intelligence

This AI can automatically animate new Flintstones cartoons

April 18, 2018

The Flintstones, a cartoon about life in the Stone Age, has just surpassed The Jetsons, a cartoon about life in the distant future, when it comes to technological innovation. Researchers have successfully trained artificial intelligence to generate new clips of the prehistoric animated series based on nothing but random text descriptions of what’s happening in a scene.

Continue reading… “This AI can automatically animate new Flintstones cartoons”

Automation, Driverless vehicles, Electric Vehicles, Elon Musk, Tesla

Tesla’s new Semi could change shipping as we know it

April 17, 2018

Tesla is shaking up logistics world with its semiautonomous truck.

Thanks in part to Tesla, the logistics industry is on the road to a transportation transformation.

In November 2017, Tesla rolled out the heavy-duty Semi, an electric-powered, semiautonomous truck that’s already been pre-ordered by the likes of DHL, Anheuser-Busch, J.B. Hunt and Walmart. If all goes as planned, those companies will be among the first to transport goods aboard these sleek, modern vehicles in the not-too-distant future.

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Automobiles, China, Ecological Products, Electric Vehicles, Energy, Solar Energy

6 solar roads shaking up infrastructure around the world

April 17, 2018

Roads aren’t just for walking or driving anymore. Solar road or pathway projects around the world are showing that streets can both provide firm footing and generate clean energy. Inhabitat rounded up six projects in places as diverse as China and rural Georgia to highlight potentially game-changing technologies in the solar road sphere.

Solar Roadways use modular solar panels covered in tempered glass

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Alternative Transportation, App, Science & Technology News, Uber

Uber is launching a rental car service inside its app

April 17, 2018

Uber is launching a rental car network in partnership with Getaround, the ride-hailing company announced today (April 11).

San Francisco-based Getaround lets users find and instantly book vehicles from private car owners, all through a mobile app. The new Uber Rent platform, which is scheduled to launch later this month in San Francisco, will make cars from Getaround’s network available to users of the Uber app.

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Business, Economy, Latest Trend

Retail bankruptcies just hit an all-time high — and these 18 companies could be the next to default

April 16, 2018

Retail bankruptcies hit an all-time high in the first quarter of the year, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Sears, J.Crew, and Neiman Marcus are among the companies that could be next to default, according to S&P Global Ratings.

The fallout is far from over, however, with many more defaults expected for the remainder of 2018.

Continue reading… “Retail bankruptcies just hit an all-time high — and these 18 companies could be the next to default”

Analysis, Environment, Historical Perspectives, Medicine, New Discoveries

Trillions and trillions of viruses fall from the sky each day

April 16, 2018

Viruses attached to a fragment of a bacterial cell wall. “Viruses modulate the function and evolution of all living things,” scientists wrote last year. “But to what extent remains a mystery.”

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City Planning, Culture, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior

Failed ‘Utopias’ throughout history

April 15, 2018

An illustrated account of both evil and righteous attempts to create a “perfect” society. They were all fantastically unsuccessful.

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AI, Artificial Intelligence, Big Problems, facebook, Human Behavior, Social Media

Face-swapping videos could lead to more ‘fake news’

April 15, 2018

Fake news has been a problem swamping the internet. Now there is a way to make fake videos with nothing more than your laptop. FakeApp can be used to make fake videos of people using images or other videos of them. Several social media platforms are filled with these deepfakes. While the technology still needs works, it’s been used to put celebrities into pornographic films. What would happen if world leaders became digital puppets? Following is a full transcript of the video.

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Analysis, Birth, Children, Human Behavior

America’s gender-fluid future, in 100 years of baby name trends

April 14, 2018

In 1910, just 5% of American babies named “Charlie” were girls. Over 100 years later, girl Charlies took over their male counterparts for the first time in 2016—making up 51% of the share.

With little fuss or fanfare, Charlie has gone gender-neutral.

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AI, Analysis, Animals, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning

Who’s a good AI? Dog-based data creates a canine machine learning system

April 14, 2018

We’ve trained machine learning systems to identify objects, navigate streets and recognize facial expressions, but as difficult as they may be, they don’t even touch the level of sophistication required to simulate, for example, a dog. Well, this project aims to do just that — in a very limited way, of course. By observing the behavior of A Very Good Girl, this AI learned the rudiments of how to act like a dog.

Continue reading… “Who’s a good AI? Dog-based data creates a canine machine learning system”