Starting a modern payments network underpinned by Ripple and supported by rules and governance for global settlement.
Ripple, which earlier this month completed a $55 million Series B financing round, has announced that a number of global banks are joining forces to establish the first interbank group for global payments based on distributed ledger (blockchain) financial technology.
Continue reading… “Six Global Banks Lead Standardizing Global Payments via Blockchain”
(CNN)Anyone who’s lost an evening researching flight deals knows that airfare pricing can seem pretty random — high one week, low the next and long-distance often cheaper than short-haul.
SEATTLE, July 22 — Seattle-based company Vulcan Aerospace announced that its Stratolaunch Systems, an air-launch platform for rockets, is close to completion.
According to the company’s website, the Stratolaunch has a wingspan of 385 feet and measures 238 feet in length. This six-engine aircraft is currently the world’s largest aircraft.
Continue reading… “Stratolaunch – The World’s largest aircraft is almost ready”
Free wi-fi almost anywhere you go.
When the president of the European commission gave his annual state of the union speech this week, he hit all the typical SOTU talking points—unity, pride, stability.
But tucked amid all that was an unusual promise for EU residents: free wireless internet for parks, libraries and other public spaces across Europe.
Continue reading… “Europe’s Plan for Free Public Wi-Fi Puts America to Shame”
First there was poker. Then there was the spelling bee, Scrabble and the recent emergence of e-sports.
Now ESPN is betting that speeding drones will be the next noncontact “sport” to find a mass audience.
The Drone Racing League announced on Wednesday that it had signed deals to broadcast a 10-episode season on ESPN and ESPN2, along with the European stations Sky Sports Mix and 7Sports. The schedule begins with an introduction to drone racing on Thursday at 11 p.m. on ESPN2.
Continue reading… “Drone Racing: ESPN’s Newest Televised Sport”
Over the last many centuries, human life expectancy has very gradually lengthened with improved health and medical technologies and research. In the next 20 years, we can expect our expected life spans to be extended at a far more rapid pace than in the past.
The thinking: Spend billions of dollars, save even more.
The $8.5 trillion global construction industry isn’t exactly known for its efficiency. The U.K. Green Building Council estimates that 15% of materials delivered to construction sites end up in landfills, the result of mismanaged scheduling and purchasing.
Continue reading… “The Construction Industry Loves Drones”
DETROIT (AP) — A three-wheeled electric vehicle could be on the road later this year in the U.S. and Canada.
Electra Meccanica Vehicles Corp. of Vancouver, British Columbia, officially unveiled the one-seat Solo on Friday. The Solo could go on sale as early as November pending approval by U.S. and Canadian regulators. It costs around $15,500.
Continue reading… “3-wheeled electric vehicle scheduled to go on sale this year”
Would you like to work for a robot? Although the automation of skilled jobs is a reality, your boss is probably (still) a human. Even though the most optimistic artificial intelligence (AI) enthusiast would struggle to persuade us that the technology to create non-human leaders is upon us just yet, robots could be managing people in the decades to come. So would a robot leader be much worse than your current boss?
Continue reading… “A robot could be the best boss you’ve ever had”
With more than 6,000 applicants from over 100 countries competing, the firstinternational beauty contest judged entirely by artificial intelligence just came to an end. The results are a bit disheartening.
The team of judges, a five robot panel, attempted to pick winners from the submitted photos in hopes that it could determine which faces most closely resembled the idea of “human beauty.” Each of the five robot judges used artificial intelligence to analyze specific traits that contribute to perceived outer beauty.
Continue reading… “The first AI-judged beauty contest: Robots are racist”
When it comes to making the concept of delivery drones a reality, using vans to handle the brunt of the work is an idea that has some merit. We saw some researchers float the idea a couple of years ago and it now appears Mercedes-Benz also sees some potential in the approach. It has teamed up with drone company Matternet to create a concept vehicle dubbed the Vision Van which would deploy drones from its rooftop to carry packages over the final leg of their journey.
Continue reading… “Mercedes-Benz Vision Van concept sends drones to last-mile delivery”
As the sun set over the Olympic Mountains on a warm and muggy Sunday, I trekked from the manicured suburbia of Sammamish, Wash., to Seattle’s historic Fort Lawton district, where an eclectic home, known as the Bird House, sits among low-hanging branches at the end of a quiet street.
The Bird House belongs to musician Perry Emge, and on this day, he and his home were playing host to the SIXR Festival’s Summer 2016 Cinematic VR Challenge.
Continue reading… “Cinematic VR Challenge shows how Virtual Reality will transform film”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.