2020 – Page 75 – Impact Lab

Automobiles, Batteries, Electric Automobile, Energy, Science & Technology News

Future VW electric vehicles will send power back to the grid

March 21, 2020

VW says EV owners will be able to charge when production exceeds demand and sell power back to the grid during peak electricity usage.

The chief strategist at Volkswagen says vehicle-to-grid technology will open up new business opportunities for the automaker.

Cars that support the technology can store excess power and sell it back to the electrical grid in times of need.

The Nissan Leaf already supports this technology, but the feature also needs to be supported by the charger.

Volkswagen’s transition to electrification continues to yield business opportunities, according to its chief strategist, Michael Jost. In addition to vehicle sales, it has the growing Electrify America charging network, and now it looks like the company is planning to use the batteries in the cars it sells to help power the electrical grid.

Continue reading… “Future VW electric vehicles will send power back to the grid”

Automobiles, Engineering, New Inventions, new technology, Science & Technology News, Transportation

Goodyear invented a new tire that never needs to be changed. Here’s how its self-regenerating tread works.

March 21, 2020

Goodyear has unveiled its reCharge Concept tires that are self-regenerating and self-charging with artificial intelligence features.

The tires can change its treads according to the climate and terrain.

Goodyear claims its concept tires keep in line with the trending needs of electric and sustainable mobility.

Continue reading… “Goodyear invented a new tire that never needs to be changed. Here’s how its self-regenerating tread works.”

Coronavirus, Science & Technology News, Tourism, Travel

WTTC says 50 million tourism jobs are at stake

March 20, 2020

The World Travel & Tourism Council on Friday said up to 50 million jobs in travel and tourism are at risk from the Covid‐19 pandemic, and WTTC called for measures to be taken to ensure a swift recovery.

The organization also joined fellow travel groups in condemning the President Donald Trump’s ban on most travel from Europe to the U.S., saying it will damage the U.S. economy but isn’t likely to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“We all share the priority to stop the spread and should take all necessary actions,” WTTC CEO Gloria Guevara said in a statement. “However, the new travel ban will have a dangerous economic impact on the U.S. and many other countries, and there is little evidence to show this will stop the spread of Covid‐19.”

Guevara suggested that rather than an outright ban, “the priority should be on public health within the country and mitigating the potential harm to individuals.”

Continue reading… “WTTC says 50 million tourism jobs are at stake”

Automation, Employment, Future, Science & Technology News

The Future of our partnership with machines

March 20, 2020

I’m often asked questions about the future of work. Will the machines takeover? How long until the human race declines? And how many jobs will go away?

One new book that thoughtfully approaches these topics of how we will work symbiotically with machines and how we can all evolve to benefit together is HUMAN/MACHINE: The Future Of Our Partnership with Machines.

I recently spoke with Olivier Blanchard, one of the co-authors.

Continue reading… “The Future of our partnership with machines”

Analysis, Business, Science & Technology News, Startup

Why S-curves are probably the most important concept in entrepreneurship

March 20, 2020

The world of entrepreneurship is full of buzzwords. We all want to found the next disruptive game-changing hot startup, leveraging our first-mover advantage in deep tech by thinking outside the box, just before pivoting (in an agile way!) after our A/B tests showed concerns with our UX and product market fit, then finally putting our early adopter pick-up speed and monetization unit economics on viral escape velocity, earning us that unicorn-valuation series C term sheet. Don’t we?

With all that noise, it’s very easy to lose sight of the truly important concepts. One of the most important ones, maybe the most important one for startup leadership teams, is the phenomenon of the S-curve. It determines almost everything in innovation, and while it looks simple, it is incredibly hard to grasp in practice.

Continue reading… “Why S-curves are probably the most important concept in entrepreneurship”

Biotech, brain hacking, Engineering, New Viewpoints, Science & Technology News

If we can make animals smarter, should we?

March 19, 2020

In science fiction stories, research can accidentally create superintelligent animal species. As the ability to alter animals’ brains grows, some say we should be wary of fiction becoming reality.

This article appears in VICE Magazine’s Stupid Issue, which is dedicated to the entertaining, goofy, and just plain dumb. It features stories celebrating ridiculous ideas, trends, and products; pieces arguing that unabashed stupidity can be a great part of life; and articles calling out the bad side of stupidity.

In the 2011 movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes, James Franco plays a scientist developing a treatment for Alzheimer’s. The drug, ALZ-112, is designed to restore a human’s brain function, and when tested on a healthy chimpanzee, it causes the monkey’s intelligence to increase dramatically. She passes the intelligence on to her baby, Caesar, who goes on to lead a pack of super-intelligent apes and releases a version of the drug that’s fatal to humans.

Continue reading… “If we can make animals smarter, should we?”

AI, Employment, Money Talk, Robots, Science & Technology News

The finance robots are coming: 73% of organizations plan to replace humans with machines this year

March 19, 2020

Even finance is being affected by the onslaught of human vs. machine with a recent Deloitte survey revealing some startling stats.

The finance function is experiencing rapid change, and a recent Deloitte survey found that 73% percent of respondents are planning to implement technology to replace humans in their workforce this year—up from 58% a year ago.

While the finance workforce will grow smaller, companies need to adjust existing staff and bring in new skills that typically aren’t found in the finance department, according to a new Deloitte report.

Continue reading… “The finance robots are coming: 73% of organizations plan to replace humans with machines this year”

Coronavirus, Health & Fitness, Healthcare, Medical Breakthrough, Science & Technology News

Oxford scientists develop new coronavirus test that provides results in just 30 minutes

March 18, 2020

Scientists at the University of Oxford have developed a new coronavirus test that produces results around three times faster than the current fastest testing methods, and that requires only relatively simple technical instrumentation. In addition to these benefits, the researchers behind the test’s development say that it could even help detect patients affected by coronavirus in earlier stages of infection vs. current methods, and that its results can can “read by the naked eye,” which makes it more accessible to a broader range of healthcare facilities and professionals.

The Oxford-developed test can provide results in only half an hour – the fastest current methods that focus on viral RNA, like this one does, produce results in between 1.5 and 2 hours. The new tests have already been validated using real clinical samples of the virus at the Shenzhen Luohou People’s Hospital in China, and though they’ve so far only been used on 16 samples, evenly split between those positive for the virus and those that contain none, they’ve demonstrated a 100% success rate, which is a very reassuring result.

Continue reading… “Oxford scientists develop new coronavirus test that provides results in just 30 minutes”

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Science & Technology News

Yale researchers say humans would like robots better if they were more vulnerable

March 18, 2020

Three humans and a robot form a team and start playing a game together. No, this isn’t the beginning of a joke, it’s the premise of a fascinating new study just released by Yale University.

Researchers were interested to see how the robot’s actions and statements would influence the three humans’ interactions among one another. They discovered that when the robot wasn’t afraid to admit it had made a mistake, this outward showing of vulnerability led to more open communication between the people involved as well.

Continue reading… “Yale researchers say humans would like robots better if they were more vulnerable”

Engineering, new technology, Robotics, Robots, Science & Technology News

Skin-like, flexible sensor lets robots detect us

March 18, 2020

A new sensor for robots is designed to make our physical interactions with these machines a little smoother—and safer. The sensor, which is now being commercialized, allows robots to measure the distance and angle of approach of a human or object in close proximity.

Industrial robots often work autonomously to complete tasks. But increasingly, collaborative robots are working alongside humans. To avoid collisions in these circumstances, collaborative robots need highly accurate sensors to detect when someone (or something) is getting a little too close.

Many sensors have been developed for this purpose, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Those that rely on sound and light (for example, infrared or ultrasonic time-of-flight sensors) measure the reflections of those signals and must therefore be closely aligned with the approaching object, which limits their field of detection.

Continue reading… “Skin-like, flexible sensor lets robots detect us”

Batteries, Electric Automobile, Electric Vehicles, Energy, Science & Technology News

UK to get its first electric car forecourt THIS YEAR with 24 superchargers at a specially-designed charging site in Essex

March 17, 2020

First of a network of 100 electric forecourts to open this summer near Braintree

It will have 24 350kW superchargers that can boost EV batteries in half an hour.

The site will have a two-storey building with shops, meeting rooms and lounge.

The entire location is part of a £1bn nationwide scheme and uses 100% renewable energy, the company behind it – Gridserve – says.

The first of a £1billion nationwide network of more than 100 electric forecourts is to open this summer near Braintree in Essex.

It claims to be the first custom-built electric charging station in the UK.

Continue reading… “UK to get its first electric car forecourt THIS YEAR with 24 superchargers at a specially-designed charging site in Essex”

Economy, Housing, New Viewpoints, Science & Technology News

This company is building backyard homes at no cost to Los Angeles homeowners

March 17, 2020

Crews build an ADU in the backyard of the McCauley residence in Gramercy Park.

But homeowners have to be willing to rent out the units.

Davita and Martin McCauley were starting to think about how, in the years to come, they would care for her mother as she aged .

The McCauleys own a classic World War II-era Southern California home: a peach-hued stucco bungalow in Gramercy Park, with a grassy lawn in the front and a detached garage in the back.

They were toying with the idea of eventually moving her into their three-bedroom house, and adding a second story to make more space, when they were introduced at church to a mutual friend working for a new company called United Dwelling.

At no cost to homeowners, the company builds “granny flats” in the backyards of single-family homes, finds a tenant to rent them out to, and splits the lease revenue with the homeowner for up to 25 years, at which point the homeowner owns the unit outright.

Continue reading… “This company is building backyard homes at no cost to Los Angeles homeowners”