China’s long-awaited ‘straddling bus’ received its inaugural test run in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province this week.
The Transit Elevated Bus, to give it its official title, is designed to help combat gridlock by letting passengers soar over the tops of cars on the increasingly-congested roads of China’s major cities.
Continue reading… “‘Straddling bus’ soars over cars in China”
In a weird and clearly reactionary move after Elon Musk announced that Tesla will venture in the semi-truck business, electric truck startup Nikola Motor, which like Tesla borrowed its company name from Nikola Tesla, announced that it will unveil a working prototype of its first truck, the Nikola One, on December 2nd in Salt Lake City.
Protective clothing is critical to the health and safety of workers who handle hazardous chemicals. A new fabric coating promises to not only neutralize toxins, but also to heal tears and holes on its own while the clothes go through the laundry.
Continue reading… “Scientists create self-healing fabrics that also protect from harmful chemicals”
Disney Research has been on a serious roll with its 3D printing innovations and 3D printing patents. Fromhigh-res 3D printing processes, to replicating reflective properties onto 3D printed surfaces, to 3D printed wall-climbing robots, it seems as though Disney is looking to redefine how movie merchandise is made using 3D printing technology. But their latest study shows that they are also keen to bring 3D printing principles to other industries, for they have developed a new compiler that lets knitting machines behave like 3D printers and easily produce customized objects.
Continue reading… “Disney Research lets knitting machines behave like 3D printers”
George Matus was 11 years old when he flew his first drone. “I was immediately hooked,” the young man tells me with a grin. By age 16 he was competing as a professional drone racer and acting as a test pilot for new aircraft. Now 18, he recently finished high school but decided to defer college, opting instead to pursue a fellowship offer from tech billionaire Peter Thiel.
Continue reading… “Fastest consumer drone in the world records 4K video at 85 miles per hour”
Electric power could be the dominant form of propulsion for all new cars sold in the UK as early as 2027, with more than 1.3 million electric cars registered each year, according to forecast analysis by Go Ultra Low, the government and industry-backed campaign.
This means that, according to Go Ultra Low, the UK is on target to meet a government forecast that all new cars and vans will be electrically-powered by 2040.
Continue reading… “Electric cars could eclipse fossil fuels by 2027”
Here’s a tattoo your mom might actually condone you getting.
The temporary, electronic “tattoo,” developed by a team of scientists at Tel Aviv University’s Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, sticks to skin and uses a carbon electrode and a conductive polymer to measure biometric signals for hours. When worn on the face, the electrodes are sensitive enough to record variations in muscle activity, which can identify expressions and even emotions, according to a paper published last month in the journal Scientific Report.
Continue reading… “Can an electronic face ‘tattoo’ biometrically map your mood swings?”
“My name is Yoshiyuki Kawazoe. This is my hotel.” The University of Tokyo’s associate professor of architecture gestures behind himself to a flat, two-story building that doesn’t really look like a hotel. “Two-hundred people were involved in making this happen,” he says. “Experts in environmental design, engineering, architecture, robotics and construction … it’s their hotel.” The “Hen-na Hotel” will go down in tourist guides as the robot hotel, but there’s more being invested in here than just talking robots: The minds behind it hope the facility will change the world of low-cost hotels — and save the world. (Well, at least a little.)
Continue reading… “Ridiculous Japanese robot hotel is serious business – really!”
Airbus expects drone inspection test to finish by end of 2016.
Drones are potentially dangerous to commercial airplanes if they happen to collide. But in some cases, drones can also be helpful to planes and the companies that make them.
Airbus airbus-group-n-v showed off this week at the Farnborough International Airshow in England how it uses drones to inspect airplanes.
Continue reading… “Airbus Uses Drones to Inspect Aircraft”
Scientists have unveiled a miniature robotic stingray barely the size of a toenail that swims smoothly through water. It’s guided by pulses of light.
Continue reading… “Robot stingray made from rat hearts and gold can swim”
Self-driving delivery bots could be trundling down a sidewalk near you sooner than you think. London-basedStarship Technologies, which counts Skype co-founders Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis among its founding team, is launching a broad testing phase of its autonomous delivery bots in parts of the UK, Germany and Switzerland starting this month.
Continue reading… “Self-driving delivery robots could soon be common sights”
The silicon semiconductor industry has been going strong for more than 50 years. Like a steamroller, it has trundled over bumps and holes, while defying repeated warnings that it was running out of fuel or was about to be overtaken by flashier competitors.
Continue reading… “We’re going to put a Carbon nanotube computer in your hand”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.