Flying robotic jellyfish.
Leif Ristroph, an applied mathematician at New York University, wanted to build the “simplest possible” flying machine. Ristroph glued together several tubes of carbon fiber to build this: a sphere with four wings attached to it that propels it as a jellyfish swims. (Video)
Continue reading… “The flying machine that was inspired by a jellyfish”
Global consumption of natural gas will rival the use of coal and steal the market share from oil on the world market.
The “next defining energy trend” is poised to be natural gas as it increasingly becomes a primary global energy source, according to a report released today by GE.
Continue reading… “Natural gas is set to be the next big energy trend”
Circuit Scribe, a new Kickstarter project, seems to have made laying out a new electronic circuit a less cumbersome task. Instead of fiddling with those components, you can just draw a circuit on paper, hook up a battery to it, and go on your way.
Machines will generate more data than will people in 2014.
Connected fitness gadgets such as Fitbit and Jawbone are being snatched up by consumers this year. But in 2014, we will see this kind of ubiquitous sensor technology extend to the enterprise as part of the “Internet of things,” according to an analyst at Frost & Sullivan.
Continue reading… “2014 will be the year of the Internet of Things”
Futurist Thomas Frey: Recently my wife Deb came up with a rather comical phrase to describe her occasional memory lapse, referring to it as her “photogeriactric memory.”
Continue reading… “Where do great ideas come from? More importantly, where do they go?”
The same research team is also working on a digital lollipop.
In Sword Art Online, an anime series, gamers take part in a virtual world that is teeming with danger, but also with food. What if such an experience was a reality? What if you could not only interact with food in a virtual environment, but also actually taste it? Scientists at the National University of Singapore have developed a new electrode that could be the first step in making that happen. (Video)
Continue reading… “Scientists create electrode that lets you taste virtual food on your tongue”
3D printed modular cell phone.
Motorola announced last month a plan for a modular smartphone. Project Ara will be a simple way for users to individualize their phones, swapping out parts like the battery and camera until users have a phone that’s just for them. They plan on doing that with 3-D printing.
Continue reading… “Project Ara: Motorola And 3D Systems will 3D-print modular cell phones”
London’s subway will be supplying green energy to warm up more homes around the borough.
A new project announced by the Islington council will redirect the heat from a Northern Line of London’s subway to vent to homes across the city, giving homeowners a new way to get through the cold season. The project will deliver cheap heating to 500 homes around the area. It will not only be saving consumers money, but also the environment from 500 tons of CO2 emissions.
Continue reading… “Heat from subways to warm homes in London”
The impact of most of these “chemicals of emerging concern” on the health of people and aquatic life remains unclear.
A new report by the International Joint Commission, a consortium of officials from the United States and Canada who study the Great Lakes has found that only about half of the prescription drugs and other newly emerging contaminants in sewage are removed by treatment plants.
Continue reading… “Only half of prescription drugs are removed by wastewater treatment plants”
There will be a job market for wearable computer developers and engineers.
Developers are still learning how to use Google Glass. The Glass Development Kit is expected to be unveiled shortly and will build on the Android toolkits that a small but growing developer community is learning their way around the platform. But there are unique challenges for wearable computer software creation. How do you create apps for a wearable computer that lacks a mouse, a keyboard, and a touchscreen? How do you create programs for a hybrid of glasses and a computer that depends on a voice interface and a single button? It creates challenges.
Continue reading… “Developing apps for wearable computing poses new challenges for developers”
Sony’s SmartWig
Sony’s patent for a “SmartWig” is a strange concept that leaves you scratching your head. While tech companies are chasing the smartwatch and eyeglass form factors for the future of wearable computing devices, Sony’s exploring the possibility of using wigs that connect wirelessly to smartphones.
Women are more likely to form social alliances and then manage threats from outsiders through social exclusion.
In a lab at McMaster University in Ontario, researchers took 86 straight women and paired them off into groups of two—either with a friend or a stranger. There, a researcher told them they were about to take part in a study about female friendships. But they were soon interrupted by one of two women.
Continue reading… “Women have evolved to be ‘indirectly aggressive’: Study”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
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