[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQjntXvMVTE[/youtube]
Ford’s European researchers could one day help you avoid collisions with its new technology. I could also help you squeeze into a tight parking space with the help of radar, ultrasound, and a digital camera.
Continue reading… “New Ford Focus parks itself and prevents collisions”
Google wants you to gesture when you drive.
Google wants to take advantage of our ability to make gestures. Google will be able to read and decipher any number of gesture commands by mounting a camera in your car’s ceiling and a laser in your dashboard. Swiping downward near your window will roll it down for you, while pointing to the radio will pump up the music.
Continue reading… “Google files patent for gesture-controlled car”
Advances in healthcare mean that in-body devices to treat chronic conditions, or even just make you perform better as a human being, are not as far away as you might imagine. Some of these innovations already exist.
Continue reading… “The next frontier in cybercrime? Your body”
Some research shows that higher pay does not, on net, lead workers to do more.
The English philosopher, Bertrand Russell, was not a fan of work. In his 1932 essay, “In Praise of Idleness”, he reckoned that if society were better managed the average person would only need to work four hours a day. Such a small working day would “entitle a man to the necessities and elementary comforts of life.” The rest of the day could be devoted to the pursuit of science, painting and writing.
Continue reading… “Relationship between hours worked and productivity: Chart”
The annual Freedom on the Net report from Freedom House is out, and like in most such reports, the actual rankings are largely unsurprising. Iceland, the frozen whistleblower nirvana, ranked first, and second was Estonia, the tiny Baltic country that gave us Skype. China, Cuba, and Iran came in last, obviously.
Continue reading… “Internet freedom on the decline globally”
Is your office prepared for millennials?
It’s estimated that 46% of U.S. workers will be made up of millennials, by 2020, and that is projected to grow to 75% by 2025, which means companies of all sizes will be vying for this group of professionals.
Continue reading… “46% of U.S. workers will be made up of millennials by 2020”
Where and how the world does business is changing. For the last thirty days,emerging markets have been a source of low-cost but increasingly skilled labor. Their fast-growing cities are filled with millions of new and increasingly prosperous consumers, who provide a new growth market for global corporations at a time when much of the developed world faces slower growth as a result of aging. But the number of large companies from the emerging world will rise, as well, according to a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI). This powerful wave of new companies could profoundly alter long-established competitive dynamics around the world.
Continue reading… “The shifting global business landscape”
Human organ-on-a-chip.
Academic collaborators and Army scientists at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) are conducting research on organoids (small swatches of human tissue) on microchips.
Continue reading… “Researchers develop human-on-a-chip for chemical testing”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukdV3aQc8jY[/youtube]
One of the most promising applications of 3D printing is the customization of everyday objects to the most personal and variable thing we possess—our bodies. A new example of this is the Blizzident toothbrush, which is made possible by two intersecting technologies—3D scanning and 3D printing.
Continue reading… “Blizzident: A 3D printed toothbrush that cleans your teeth in just 6 seconds”
LEGO Calendar
London design studio, Vitamins, has created an ingenious wall mounted time planner that’s built entirely from LEGO bricks and can be synced digitally with your Google Calendar account using a smartphone camera.
Continue reading… “LEGO wall calendar digitally syncs with your Google calendar”
Over 30% of 2013 US electric car and plug-in hybrid sales have occurred in California.
There is a pretty interesting infographic on who drives electric cars that has been published by the Wall Street Journal. The infographic highlights several interesting facts on who is driving electric cars.
Continue reading… “Who drives electric cars in the US: Infographic”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_joxrZ6vdYc[/youtube]
Gartner Research released a report in 2008 in which it identified the number one IT grand challenge as “Never having to manually recharge devices.” Physicist Hatem Zeine has invented what he believes to be the answer to this challenge. The Cota wireless power transmission system uses intelligently steered phased array antennas to focus a beam of microwaves on a receiver module – and only on that module. The inherently safe technology can deliver electrical power up to 30 feet from a central transmitter without any line-of-sight requirement and without interfering with other devices. The system is projected to hit the market in 2015.
Continue reading… “Cota charging system transmits power wirelessly at up to 30 feet”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.