Self-cleaning dishes.
You would think that living in the 21st century would mean that we would no longer have to deal with mundane tasks like washing dishes. Even the best dishwashers have trouble getting the dirt off sometimes. But, the Swedish design studio, Tomorrow Machine, has a brilliant solution: dishes that clean themselves.
Continue reading… “Self-cleaning dishes make washing dishes a thing of the past”
On November 7, 2014, I attended the “Idea Jam – Innovating for the Future” session put on by the Pacific Center for Workforce Innovation in San Diego. The purpose of the session was to identify the major challenges to the San Diego workforce in the coming years and to generate audience participation in visioning exercises to explore new and innovative workforce development ideas. The event was held at Colman University, and major sponsors were SDG&E, Qualcomm, the Eastridge Group, Point Loma Nazarene College, and Cal State University, San Marcos.
To get our creative juices flowing, Master of Ceremonies Susan Taylor, San Diego’s TV news icon, introduced futurist speaker, Thomas Frey, of the DaVinci Institute as the keynote speaker. It is difficult to do justice to his very visual presentation of images of break-through technologies, but his statements alone created much food for thought about the future. He stated, “We are a backward-looking society…the future gets created in the mind. The future creates the present…Visions of the future affect the way people act today.” He rhetorically asked, “What are the big things that need to be accomplished today?
Continue reading… “Exploring the Future of Jobs and Education”
A 3-D printer can already make a prototype or spare part out of metal or polymer. Researchers at Princeton University have now taken an important step toward expanding the technology’s potential by developing a way to print functioning electronic circuitry out of semiconductors and other materials. They are also refining ways to combine electronics with biocompatible materials and even living tissue, which could pave the way for exotic new implants.
Continue reading… “3-D Printing for Bionic Implants”
For many more people than realize it, electric cars are already adequate for their needs and better than a gasmobile for their bank account and quality of life. However, it often isn’t good enough for disruptive technology to be better than the incumbents. It has to be much better. The target for electric cars, in order to meet that challenge, is a very long-range and affordable electric car. That would bring electric car convenience to another level, and leave gasmobiles with not a single actual advantage over electric cars, compared to nearly 10 for electric cars.
Continue reading… “Nissan’s New Electric Car has Range”
A new wiper-free windshield is being developed by McLaren.
The annoying sound of windshield wipers may soon be a thing of the past. The car company, McLaren is designing a sports car that uses a system adapted from fighter jets to keep a driver’s vision clear in bad weather without the need for blades.
Continue reading… “McLaren aims to replace windshield wipers with fighter jet technology”
A group of people in San Francisco have invented a drum kit that you can wear inside your clothing. Now, you or anyone around you could secretly be smuggling musical instruments — in your pants.
Continue reading… “DrumPants – turn your pants into a walking drum kit”
Custom 3D printed keys.
Shapeways, a 3D printing marketplace and KeyMe, an digital key storage startup are teaming up to let users print their own custom keys in materials like brass and plastic (which is surprisingly sturdy, KeyMe tells us).
Continue reading… “KeyMe partners with Shapeways to offer custom 3D printed keys”
Marcus Kayser’s Solar Sinter project
When Markus Kayser, a design student, wanted to test his solar-powered, sand-fed 3-D printer, he knew the gray skies outside his London apartment wouldn’t do. So he shipped the 200-plus-pound contraption to Cairo, Egypt, flew there himself, and haggled with officials for two days to get it out of customs. A few small “tips” and 11 hours of driving later, he finally made it to the Sahara. But soon the mercury hit 104 degrees, his components nearly overheated, and he was forced to improvise.
Continue reading… “A solar-powered 3D printer that prints glass from sand”
A pizza made with the Foodini 3D printer.
3D printersthat print food-based products have been around for a few years now. The first commercial chocolate 3D printer arrived back in 2011. But the Barcelona-based 3D printingstartup Natural Machines wasn’t satisfied with mere chocolate. They wanted to 3D print a more balanced meal — say, a pizza. (Video)
Continue reading… “Foodini: A 3D food printer for your kitchen”
Lumus DK-40
Lumus, a transparent display specialist and military head-up screen supplier, is wading into the wearable computing market, revealing a new developer kit that, unlike Google’s Glass, offers full augmented reality support. Set to debut at CES 2014 next month, the Lumus DK-40 monocular dev kit may look ostensibly like Glass at first glance, but where Google’s headset has a small display-block suspended in the corner, the entire right lens of the Lumus wearable is in fact a 640 x 480 display. That means developers building apps for the Android-powered headset can overlay graphics directly on top of the real-world view, rather than simply sliding in separate notifications as Glass does.
Continue reading… “Lumus DK-40 Glass to have full augmented reality”
3D printed prosthetic eyes.
U.K.-based Fripp Design has found a surprising application with 3D printing: prosthetic eyes. Fripp Design says it can churn out as many as 150 prosthetic eyes an hour, and sell them for as low as $160 each. That’s a major improvement over glass prosthetic eyes, which not only take weeks to make, but also sell for thousands of dollars.
Continue reading… “3D printed prosthetic eyes could be made faster, cheaper, and better”
Devices with “smart” technology these aren’t only our phones. It seems as if everything from watches to toothbrushes are integrating intelligent tech into its design.
Continue reading… “Top 8 futuristic gifts for your smart home”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.