The wonders of QR codes
Let’s state upfront that Adriannezy is brilliant. She wanted to participate in Halloween at work, but not wear a costume that got in the way. So she generated a QR code that, when scanned, reveals a picture of herself in a classic Star Trek uniform. She writes, “I’ve had groups of guys holding phones up to my chest all day. It’s been awkward.”
Continue reading… “Virtual Costume”
Earlier this week, the nebulous and notorious international Internet hacktivist collective known as Anonymous exposed a large ring of Internet pedophiles…
Continue reading… “Anonymous exposes pedophile ring – hacks Lolita City”
An amazing view!
Soon you’ll be able to see the world from Lady Liberty’s vantage without ever visiting New York. The Statue of Liberty is getting a sweet 125th birthday gift: five webcams that will broadcast sweeping panoramas 24 hours a day…
Continue reading… “Big mother is watching: Statue of Liberty gets panoramic webcams”
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/30221121[/vimeo]
Deadline for Exhibiting at the DaVinci Inventor Showcase is Friday, Oct 28th
The DaVinci Inventor Showcase is one of the nation’s premier events focused on creating a link between inventors and world marketplace. By allowing inventors to take center stage and tell the world about their product, they hope to create an unparalleled experience for everyone involved.
The DaVinci Institute often get asked the question about how many of the inventor for the DaVinci Inventor Showcase have become successful. The short answer is – “lots of them.” We don’t know the details on everyone, but we thought we’d share a few stories about some of them:
Continue reading… “Only One Week Left to Exhibit!”
Biocomputers are one step closer to reality.
Scientists have successfully demonstrated that they can build some of the basic components for digital devices out of bacteria and DNA, which could pave the way for a new generation of biological computing devices, in research published October 18 in the journal Nature Communications…
Continue reading… “Computing building blocks created from bacteria and DNA”
Nanotubes contribute to another breakthrough.
Will the wonders of carbon nanotubes never cease? Engineers have now used everyone’s favorite cylindrical übermolecules to create artificial muscles that can contract and twist, in a manner not unlike like the muscles found in elephant trunks and squid tentacles. The upshot? Researchers say these tiny little motors could soon be used to propel microscopic nanobots throughout your bloodstream.
In nanoscale engineering, the term “artificial muscle” is used to refer to materials that can change their shape in response to stimuli. The mechanical movements created by these muscles have potential applications in everything from cancer therapies to portable electronics…
Crowdsourcing for innovation.
Numerous studies demonstrate that 70-80% of all new products fail. Lack of relevance, lack of differentiation, inappropriate pricing and muddled messaging all factor into a brand’s struggle when launching a new product.
However, the ultimate judgment of new products falls to consumers, who, ironically, are often absent from the development process. That development stage stands the greatest chance of generating transformative new ideas early on, before the brand has made a significant investment…
Continue reading… “The rise of Customer-Driven innovation”
Using corn as fuel is Madness! And not the British band…
The corn ethanol supporters are probably not very familiar with the concept of opportunity cost. Either that, or the subsidies and high corn prices are just to juicy to give up. Only about 20% of all the corn grown in the U.S. now goes to feed humans directly, and more than half of what remains is now being turned into ethanol fuel while the other half goes to feed livestock. The problem is that life-cycle studies show that corn ethanol ranges from barely better than fossil-fuel gasoline to significantly worse, especially if you take into account land use issues and the impact of higher food prices on the poor. Many would agree that corn ethanol is a net loss for society, yet this industry keeps growing…
Continue reading… “The U.S. now uses more corn for fuel than feed!”
Taking off like a rocket.
Popular crowd funding platform Kickstarter has announced that more than 1 million people have backed at least one project, resulting in more than $100 million dollars in pledges.
Kickstarter allows users to post their projects and find funding for them from the Kickstarter community. Everything from the iPod nano watch to indie films have gotten their start on the crowd funding website.
It took Kickstarter just under two-and-a-half years to reach the 1 million backers milestone, according to a plethora of stats the company published on its blog…
Continue reading… “Kickstarter surpasses $100 million in pledges”
Graduate Student Jian Shi and Materials Science and Engineering Professor Xudong Wang
demonstrate a material that could be used to capture energy from respiration.
The same piezoelectric effect that ignites your gas grill with the push of a button could one day power sensors in your body via the respiration in your nose…
Continue reading… “Electricity from the nose: Engineers make power from human respiration”
A growing problem.
Reclamations, a journal published by University of California students, has published a special, timely pamphlet called “Generation of Debt,” on the trap of student debt in America. Young people in America are bombarded with the message that they won’t find meaningful employment without a degree (and sometimes a graduate degree).
Meanwhile, universities have increased their fees to astronomical levels, far ahead of inflation, and lenders (including the universities themselves) offer easy credit to students as a means of paying these sums (for all the money they’re charging, universities are also slashing wages for their staff, mostly by sticking grad students and desperate “adjuncts” into positions that used to pay professorial wages; naturally, the austerity doesn’t extend to the CEO-class administrators, who draw CEO-grade pay).
Continue reading… “Essays on the trap of US student debt”
A virus? Really?
Wired’s Danger Room has learned that a computer virus has infected the United States’ Predator and Reaper drones. The virus is a keylogger that keeps track of every pilots’ keystroke as they perform missions over Afghanistan and other locations…
Continue reading… “US Drone Fleet infected with a virus”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.