Yan Qu and Clement Cid spend a lot more time thinking about poop than your average academics. The pair, both at Caltech, are part of a team working on what could be the future of bathrooms: a self-cleaning, solar-powered toilet that turns human waste into hydrogen and fertilizer.
Continue reading… “This Gates-funded toilet will change how we think about poop”
Laser Weapon System
The U.S. Navy will turn fiction into reality when it deploys its first laser weapon aboard one of its ships this summer. The solid-state Laser Weapons System promises to be able to incinerate aerial drones and speedboats quickly and less expensive that today’s weapons, which typically relies on a finite supply of interceptor missiles that cost roughly $1.4 million a shot. The laser, on the other hand, can be fired continuously and costs just a few bucks per shot. A prototype will be deployed this summer on board the USS Ponce in the Persian Gulf.
Continue reading… “U.S. Navy to add futuristic laser weapon to its arsenal this summer”
Lifestyle, fitness and medical are the most popular market areas targeted.
Wearable tech research and consulting firm Vandrico has put together this an overview of the wearable landscape — tracking the number of devices in existence; areas of market focus; and even which parts of the body are being targeted most.
Continue reading… “There are 118 wearable devices on the market and counting”
Drones allow the filmmaker to get much closer to his subject.
At the Winter Olympics in Sochi, drones were used to film ski and snowboarding events. But the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for sports photography is far from a passing gimmick. In fact, you should expect more and more athletic events to be filmed by drone. (Videos)
Continue reading… “Drones are the future of sports photography”
What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?
Quote of the Day: “Golf is more fun than walking naked in a strange place, but not by much.” – Buddy Hackett
Continue reading… “Top 14 Photos of the Week”
Philips has announced that it is piloting a system in which LED store lamps track shoppers. Shoppers would first have to download the store’s app. Once they do, every lamp in the store is able to communicate with the shoppers’ phones using pulses of light the human eye can’t detect. The lamps know whether someone is in the produce section or the peanut butter aisle… and in response, the app can call up killer deals on bananas or jelly, depending.
Continue reading… “Philips intelligent store lighting can track shoppers”
According to a new study, Twitter’s data-gathering ways can be used to predict big. potentially world-shaking events. Nathan Kallus, a PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, analyzed thousands of tweets associated with the 2013 coup in Egypt, and claims that the social unrest associated with it was, in fact, predictable ahead of time.
Continue reading… “Twitter can predict major events: Study”
Smart plug
Smart plugs may be the trojan horse that will bring the internet of things and the smart home to mainstream consumers. But is there enough value in connecting a lamp or a coffee maker to make smart outlets an entry point to the internet of things for mainstream consumers?
Continue reading… “Are smart plugs the gateway to the Internet of Things?”
Hangar One
What would you do with a 350,000-square-foot hangar built to house helium airships for the U.S. Navy if you were Google, Inc.? Would you use the cavernous interior for building and testing new robots, planetary rovers and other space or aviation technology?
Continue reading… “Google planning aerospace, robotic projects for Hangar One”
Placebo effect
Placebos are the miracle pills that shouldn’t really do anything. They come in all shapes and sizes, but they contain no active ingredient. And yet, mysteriously, they often seem to work.
Continue reading… “Placebos – the medicine in our minds”
Self-driving office
For Regus, which operates close to 2,000 business centers globally, the office of the future it isn’t one where workers stand, walk, or even squat. Regus envisions a world in which people are sitting–in a self-driving office, that is.
Continue reading… “The office of the future will be a self-driving car”
Mason Wilde and Matthew
When Mason Wilde was 4 years old, he took apart his mother’s dining room table and gliding ottoman. He pretty much built a computer from scratch last year. Wilde has always had a passion for figuring out how things work.
Continue reading… “Kansas teen makes hand for a friend using 3D printer”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.