A public square in Sandpoint, Idaho now has what looks like a light-up dance floor — 30 hexagonal tiles with flashing LEDs.
But each tile is actually a solar panel, and collectively, the tiles will soon power a nearby fountain and restroom, according to Spokane-based news station KREM 2.
Continue reading… “Snow-melting solar roads being tested publicly for the first time in US”
We already know that artificial intelligence systems can work in law firms and beat the world champion at a game of Go. Now it turns out that AI can write some pretty good pop songs, too.
Continue reading… “The first pop song ever written by AI is actually pretty good”
“Radio frequency energy harvesting” might sound like snake oil — Free energy, pulled out of thin air? Yeah, right! — but the idea of using radio waves to transmit power has been around for more than a century and is finally coming into its own with the Internet of Things. Between Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cell phones and myriad other wireless signals, there are plenty of ambient RF sources to draw from. And even though only small amounts of energy can be reclaimed this way, it doesn’t take much to keep a simple sensor or actuator running.
Continue reading… “Freevolt: Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting”
Water is our most precious resource. We may take this for granted, in developed regions but some 2.8 billion people around the world are affected by the scarcity of clean drinking water.
A tiny new device may help change that. Developed by researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator at Stanford University, the device is about half the size of a postage stamp and uses solar energy to disinfect water with bacterial contamination. The researchers reported their experiments in a paper this week in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
Continue reading… “This tiny solar-powered device kills 99.999 percent of bacteria”
Eon Musk has confirmed the next step in the evolution of sustainable energy: Rather than adding solar panels to an existing roof, the panels will BE the roof. What seems like an obvious progression for this technology is actually a unique move in the market.
Continue reading… “Solar Panels Will Be Your New Roof says Elon Musk”
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”
The spectacular growth of the New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market in China continues; state media reports that sales were up a massive 162% to 170,000 units in the first half of the year. NEVs include pure-electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV).
The 170,000 NEVs were divided by 134,000 EVs and 36,000 PHEVs.
Continue reading… “Chinese Electric Car Sales Up 162% So Far This Year”
Nikola Motor Company is an American manufacturer that wants to build electric semis. They recently announced that they raised $2.3 billion in the first month since they opened their pre-sales.
Continue reading… “Electric truck maker Nikola raises $2.3 billion in first month”
The US is only now warming up to the idea of electric cars and other eco-friendly modes of transportation, however Norway is whole-heartedly embracing them. It might become the first country to actually ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles in its aim to reach zero vehicle emissions by 2025.
Continue reading… “Norway might become the first to ban gas-powered cars”
Monsanto is using a genetic technology that can feed plants through vase water for anti-aging technology for flowers . The St. Louis biotech company, known for its transgenic corn and soybeans, and for being the target of anti-GMO campaigners, disclosed in a patent application that it’s now testing a new way of stopping roses, carnations, and petunias from wilting.
Continue reading… “Monsanto is cultivating a rose that won’t wilt”
Futurists are accustomed to launching headfirst into some very complex subjects, but even the most high-minded and enthusiastic of prognosticators may take a pass when it comes to dealing with the future of sleep. That’s no cop out, it’s just that we humans — those in the developed world at least — maintain such a complicated relationship with sleep.
Continue reading… “What “Sleep” Will Be Like in the future”
There will soon be a personal craft that can take off and land vertically. It will be electric and seat two people, and is the starting point for what is hoped will be a generation of environmentally friendly and quiet planes. CEO Daniel Wiegand is wanting the plane to be suitable for daily use as an airport is not needed.
Continue reading… “Lilium: The first electrical vertical take-off and landing plane”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.