There’s a huge fortune to be made if you can solve the problem of cheap payments. Payments are one of 10 big problems that are crying out for a solution (others include cheap battery storage, water desalination, and a pill that makes you lose weight).
Continue reading… “Why there’s a big opportunity to revolutionize the financial system”
How do you apportion blame between a human driver and a car’s automated systems?
Driverless car research is booming. Millions of dollars are being spent by Google, the major automakers, and government agencies both in the U.S. and abroad to support the development of vehicle-automation technology with the potential to make road travel far safer than it is today. But what will happen when automation is suspected of causing, as opposed to avoiding, an accident?
Continue reading… “Who is at fault in a driverless car crash?”
Huge concrete bridges will be turned into vertically-stacked neighborhoods.
Along an old highway that winds through the mountains in southern Italy, a series of huge concrete bridges will eventually be turned into vertically stacked neighborhoods–as long as the government can come up with the cash to build the project. (Pics)
Continue reading… “Italy’s old bridges will become inverted high-rise communities”
Bitcoin and other digital currencies have captured the attention of the media, entrepreneurs, and regulators. The coverage has described exchange meltdowns, price volatility, and government crackdowns. However, the focus on Bitcoin as a currency may distract businesses and governments from its disruptive impact: as a technology.
Continue reading… “Bitcoin will go far beyond payments in the future”
Solar Roadway panels
Sandpoint, Idaho could be the first city in the nation with solar roadways thanks to an Idaho inventor. However, the inventor behind the revolutionary idea needs help from the public. (Video)
Continue reading… “Solar Roadways offer an asphalt alternative”
Mirrors in orbit would reflect sunlight onto huge solar panels.
What if you could imagine looking at Tokyo Bay from high above and seeing a man-made island in the harbor, 3 kilometers long. There is a massive net stretched over the island and studded with 5 billion tiny rectifying antennas, which convert microwave energy into DC electricity. Also on the island is a substation that sends that electricity coursing through a submarine cable to Tokyo, to help keep the factories of the Keihin industrial zone humming and the neon lights of Shibuya shining bright.
Continue reading… “The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency plans to build an orbiting solar farm”
Science fiction can be used to help scientists think about the uses and ethics of their inventions.
The Smithsonian Magazine May issue has an essay on the relationship between science, science fiction, and the future by Boing Boing buddy Eileen Gunn. She writes, “What’s science fiction good for? Major writers — Ursula K. Le Guin, William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Samuel R. Delany, Kim Stanley Robinson, Cory Doctorow and others — talk about why science fiction likes to think about the future and how science fiction can be used to help scientists think about the uses and ethics of their inventions. The rest of the issue covers science and ethical issues of the near future.”
Continue reading… “Science fiction influences our thinking about the future”
Multimaterial 3-D printing – a complex lattice using different inks.
3D printing capabilities are rather limited despite the excitement that 3-D printing has generated. It can be used to make complex shapes, but most commonly only out of plastics. Even manufacturers using an advanced version of the technology known as additive manufacturing typically have expanded the material palette only to a few types of metal alloys. But what if 3-D printers could use a wide assortment of different materials, from living cells to semiconductors, mixing and matching the “inks” with precision?
Continue reading… “A 3D printing breakthrough: 3D printed biological tissue”
E-Learning carries with it the promise of an educational revolution.
E-Learning has the potential to revolutionize education. It can provide for a truly personalized learning experience, and take each student down the path that is uniquely theirs.
Superhydrophobic Engineered Cementitious Composite
A new advanced water-repellant concrete impregnated with tiny super strong fibers promises to leave roads and bridges free of major cracks for up to 120 years. (Video)
Continue reading… “New water-repellant concrete could last more than 100 years without maintenance”
It’s not exactly E=mc². But for would-be job hunters, it’s probably a lot more useful.
Continue reading… “Google’s incredibly simple formula for killer résumés”
In recent decades, many Western nations have experienced significant declines in crime, but could the removal of lead from gasoline explain that?
Continue reading… “Did removing lead from gasoline spark a decline in crime rates?”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.