The hype around blockchain is massive. To hear the blockchain hype train tell it, blockchain will now:
What the heck is a blockchain, anyway? And can it really do all these things? Can blockchain bring something amazing to industries as diverse as health care, finance, supply chain management and music rights?
Continue reading… “Why Blockchain is Hard”
The Swedish company Oatly won over American baristas and launched a massive trend
When Chicago barista Dominic Rodriguez first heard about oat milk, he was skeptical. He had latte-making down to a fine art — at coffee competitions, he sculpts swan-necked turkeys and roses out of foam — and in his experience, plant-based milks didn’t foam correctly. “I’m a milk guy, I don’t need milk alternatives,” he said. But then Intelligentsia, a well-respected coffee shop he frequents, started serving oat milk, and Rodriguez thought there was no way they’d promote it if they didn’t think it was good.
He gave it a shot. It needed less steam than cow’s milk, but more heat, and frothed into a stable textured foam that was easy to pour. He examined his drink. It looked normal. He sipped it — it didn’t taste exactly like cow’s milk, but it was sweet and thick and rich, not watery like most almond milks. He liked it. But would his customers agree? Resoundingly, yes. Now, around 40% of all drinks ordered at his workplace, Metric Coffee, use oat milk; his matcha oat milk latte is a top seller.
Continue reading… “How Oat Milk conquered America”
ELON MUSK’s Starlink, the controversial space internet system designed by SpaceX, may have an undisclosed purpose.
Aside from providing high-speed internet access to billions of people in “underserved communities around the world”, Elon Musk’s vision could advance the ambitions of SpaceX’s sister company, Tesla. Manny Shar, head of analytics at Bryce Space and Technology, told Express.co.uk: “I do see the potential for Tesla with Starlink.” When a Tesla vehicle rolls off of the manufacturing line it comes internet-connected with an AT&T LTE cellular connection much like what is in a mobile phone.
VW’s solution is better than a barf bag, but testing continues on the perfect solution to a messy problem.
One-third of all people are highly susceptible to motion sickness, according to the National Institutes of Health.
It tends to get worse when that susceptible person is a passenger instead of a driver, which will be the case more often as self-driving cars and semi-autonomous driving features enter the mainstream.
Volkswagen is testing solutions to carsickness in self-driving cars that involve such features as red and green LED lights and movable seats.
Forget the technical and safety challenges facing self-driving cars’ march toward the mainstream: good old-fashioned carsickness is coming up as a worthy consideration for automakers designing autonomous vehicles. Volkswagen has announced that it has set scientists in Wolfsburg, Germany, on the task of studying motion sickness in autonomous cars and developing anti-puke solutions (our term, not VW’s).
Continue reading… “Volkswagen is testing anti-vomit technology for autonomous cars”
More and more people are switching to pedal powered couriers
Don’t be surprised if you see a bike piled high with parcels rushing past you in the cycle lane.
It’s probably one of the dozens of new cargo bikes that are replacing delivery vans across London.
From traders at Bermondsey Blue Market to businesses at London Bridge, more and more people are switching to pedal powered couriers.
Continue reading… “Bikes are starting to replace delivery vans in London”
As the auto industry contemplates the shift from sales to services, automated logistics like this new BMW car-cleaning drone are coming into focus.
Automakers have been talking about a shift from new car sales towards a more service-oriented business model for some time, but for many of these car companies such a shift has proven difficult. One reason for this emerged in recent news about the General Motors Maven car-sharing experiment, in which the massive automaker struggled to manage direct consumer relations that have traditionally been handled by dealers. But what if the shift toward services took advantage of maturing automation technology, like car washes provided by autonomous flying drones? That’s a possibility that BMW seems to be looking into, according to recently-published patent application documents.
This new application envisions an automated system by which an unmanned aerial drone can be reserved or summoned to automatically wash a car. The drone would be able to recognize the target vehicle, determine that all windows and doors are closed and send an alert if they are not, detect the level of dirt, remove any objects that prevent cleaning as well as take before and after photos to be sent to the customer. The washing process would involve pre-washing, washing, drying and waxing, although the patent application does not specify details for how the washing would take place. The drone could be located in the vehicle it would clean, essentially making it a self-cleaning vehicle, or it could be placed in another vehicle that would act as a home base for drones that clean other vehicles.
Continue reading… “Your BMW may someday be cleaned by an aerial drone”
Tesla says it has improved its self-driving Navigate on Autopilot system with its latest software update. Consumer Reports begs to differ.
Last month, Tesla updated its Navigate on Autopilot software to allow its cars to change lanes automatically, without prompting or warning the driver. This gives the system the ability, for example, to navigate highway interchanges by choosing the appropriate lane. The system fulfills Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s promise to develop a system that can drive itself from highway on-ramps to off-ramps without intervention (though several system warnings note that the driver still has to pay attention, and it will shut off if the driver doesn’t hold the steering wheel for too long.)
Only, Consumer Reports says that the system does a poor job changing lanes and that watching over the system and correcting its mistakes is more work for drivers than just driving themselves.
Continue reading… “Tesla Navigate on Autopilot drives itself poorly, Consumer Reports finds”
What goes up must come down, even in car-loving America.
For the auto business, “the pain is just beginning,” according to the Nomura analyst Masataka Kunugimoto and his team. “We now expect global auto demand to be down 3%,” year on year, in 2019, he told clients recently.
Artificial Intelligence hype is only going to increase.
We know what blue collar jobs are, but what are “new collar” jobs? We are in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and artificial intelligence, analytics and automation is radically changing jobs.
Continue reading… “Fourth Industrial Revolution points to “New Collar” jobs”
What infrastructure improvements will promote the growth of autonomous vehicles while simultaneously encouraging shared ridership?
Imagine a future in which fleets of autonomous buses and shuttles effortlessly navigate through city streets to their designated stops. Ridesharing services dispatch shared autonomous vehicles (AVs) to pick up multiple passengers traveling along similar routes. Robo-taxis drop off passengers at subway stops for the next legs of their trips. Some traditional car owners decide that they no longer need personal vehicles because shared-mobility AVs fulfill their needs. Road congestion drops because there are fewer vehicles.
Now imagine an alternative future in which everyone who once owned a traditional car instead has an AV. Many people without licenses also purchase AVs for their personal use, even though they haven’t had a car for years or never owned one. Passenger-miles traveled increase by 25 percent.1 AVs circle while waiting for their owners to finish shopping or running errands if no parking spaces are available, or else they run a variety of errands, ranging from delivering groceries to picking up dry cleaning, themselves. City streets become even more gridlocked.
Continue reading… “A new look at autonomous-vehicle infrastructure”
New York(CNN Business) Getaway in Brooklyn was comfortably full for a Saturday night, when I came in to try my first “shrub” — an acidic beverage made from vinegar, fruit, sugar, club soda and zero alcohol.
I ordered a carrot-and-ginger shrub and hoped it would be palatable. I was pleasantly surprised, drank the whole thing and, voila, was not even tipsy. Even more exciting: my bill. It was a mere $15 for two drinks and a bread bowl — to soak up the non-alcoholic beverages, of course.
Getaway is a sober bar, a new kind of dry nightlife option that is cropping up in New York City. The idea is to provide outlets for people who want to socialize in a bar-like location, but without having to drink alcohol.
Continue reading… “People are sick of drinking. Investors are betting on the ‘sober curious’”
With the start of the new school year just around the corner, prospective students are asking what has become a very tough question: Should I go to college?
Continue reading… “Is college worth it? It’s a definite maybe.”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.