Impact Lab – Page 317 – A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience

KEY POINTS

JPMorgan has released a report outlining several prospects associated with the Metaverse
According to the study, there is a $1 trillion market opportunity
In addition, JPMorgan has opened a lounge in Decentraland

JPMorgan took its first step into the Metaverse, becoming the first bank to open a virtual lounge in the popular blockchain-based realm, Decentraland.

The bank launched the “Onyx lounge” alongside a report explaining Metaverse-related corporate development potential and reasons for the bank’s “explosive interest.” Onyx lounge is the name for the bank’s suite of Ethereum-based services.

In the report published by the American investment bank, “Opportunities in the Metaverse: How businesses can explore the Metaverse and navigate the hype vs. reality,” managing directors Christine Moy and Adit Gadgil have sketched up a theoretical Metaverse future. They said in it that the Metaverse might be a $1 trillion yearly market potential as “it will likely infiltrate every sector in some way in the coming years.”

According to JPMorgan, the Metaverse offers a $1 trillion annual revenue market opportunity as artists use Web3 to commercialize their work innovatively.

According to the research, “This democratic ownership economy coupled with the possibility of interoperability, could unlock immense economic opportunities, whereby digital goods and services are no longer captive to a singular gaming platform or brand.”

According to statistics gained from four prominent Metaverse sites, the average price of virtual land increased from $6,000 to $12,000 in six months last year. According to the bank, in-game advertising spending will reach $18.4 billion by 2027.

3D Printer, Science & Technology News

Cryobioprinting could make off-the-shelf tissue-engineered structures a reality

February 24, 2022

A new cryogenic 3D printing technique could one day enable fabrication of off-the-shelf artificial muscle fibres, according to research published in Advanced Materials.

By Katie Fegan

Printing synthetic tissue that mimics the structure of muscle remains a major challenge in tissue engineering. Muscle fibres are anisotropic, meaning that their physical properties, including the ability to transmit mechanical forces, are direction dependent. Introducing a temperature gradient during the fabrication process, from sub-zero temperatures upwards, is a simple way of creating tissue scaffolds with anisotropic microscale pores. However, the freezing process is harmful to cells encapsulated within the scaffold.

Enter cryobioprinting: an all-in-one fabrication and preservation technique developed by scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Cryobioprinting combines a customized freezing plate with cryoprotected bioinks to produce cell-laden structures with anisotropic microchannels. The scaffolds can be stored in liquid nitrogen for several months and revived on demand, a feature that would allow pre-made products to be used in a clinical setting.

“Cryobioprinting can give bioprinted tissue an extended shelf life and allows convenient transport of tissue between sites, which is something conventional bioprinting methods do not readily enable,” says senior author Y Shrike Zhang. “[Cryobioprinting] may have broad application in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, drug discovery and personalized therapeutics.”

Blockchain

MARSHALL ISLANDS OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZES DAOS AS LEGAL ENTITIES

February 24, 2022

The Pacific island state, long keen to adopt blockchain technology, recognizes decentralized autonomous organizations

The Republic of the Marshall Islands has moved to formally recognize decentralized autonomous organizations, better known as DAOs, as legal entities — a move that gives collectively owned and managed blockchain projects formal recognition on the global stage.

DAOs, which are blockchain-based entities governed by self-organizing communities, have attained legal recognition in the Marshall Islands after the country passed the amended Non-Profit Entities Act 2021. The amendment allowed cryptocurrency trading infrastructure platform Shipyard Software to incorporate the island country’s first DAO, Admiralty LLC. The incorporation was aided by MIDAO Directory Services Inc., a domestic organization that was established to help DAOs register within the Marshall Islands.

As it currently stands, the new legislation allows any DAO to register and establish operations in the Marshall Islands.

AI

DeepMind Has Trained an AI to Control Nuclear Fusion

February 24, 2022

The Google-backed firm taught a reinforcement learning algorithm to control the fiery plasma inside a tokamak nuclear fusion reactor.

THE INSIDE OF a tokamak—the doughnut-shaped vessel designed to contain a nuclear fusion reaction—presents a special kind of chaos. Hydrogen atoms are smashed together at unfathomably high temperatures, creating a whirling, roiling plasma that’s hotter than the surface of the sun. Finding smart ways to control and confine that plasma will be key to unlocking the potential of nuclear fusion, which has been mooted as the clean energy source of the future for decades. At this point, the science underlying fusion seems sound, so what remains is an engineering challenge. “We need to be able to heat this matter up and hold it together for long enough for us to take energy out of it,” says Ambrogio Fasoli, director of the Swiss Plasma Center at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.

That’s where DeepMind comes in. The artificial intelligence firm, backed by Google parent company Alphabet, has previously turned its hand to video games and protein folding, and has been working on a joint research project with the Swiss Plasma Center to develop an AI for controlling a nuclear fusion reaction.

Medical Breakthrough

Bionic eye tech aims to help blind people see

February 23, 2022

Existing bionic eye systems have a chip fitted to a person’s retina, which connects wirelessly to a camera fitted to glasses

By Bernd Debusmann Jr

Once upon a time there were some unusual Australian sheep, with exceptionally sharp eyesight.

The small flock spent three months last year with bionic, artificial eyes, surgically implanted behind their retinas.

These sheep were part of a medical trial that aims to ultimately help people with some types of blindness to be able to see.

The specific aim of the sheep test was to see if the device in question, the Phoenix 99, caused any adverse physical reactions – the bionic eye was said to have been well tolerated by the animals. As a result, an application has now been made to start testing in human patients.

The project is being carried out by a team of researchers from the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales.

The Phoenix 99 is wirelessly linked to a small camera attached to a pair of glasses, it works by stimulating a user’s retina. The retina is the layer of light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye that convert light into electrical messages, sent to the brain via the optic nerve, and processed into what we see.

Uber

Uber Plans to Accept Crypto Payments, CEO Says

February 23, 2022

The San Francisco-based transport giant will “absolutely” accept crypto payments, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an interview with Bloomberg. Sponsored

By Wahid Pessarlay

IN BRIEF

Uber CEO said the company will accept crypto payments, but didn’t reveal when.
He pointed out the challenges with using cryptocurrencies.
Dara Khosrowshahi said there are always conversations about crypto inside the company.

The Trust Project is an international consortium of news organizations building standards of transparency.

Among many things — fares, food delivery, stocks, etc. — the CEO said that Uber users will be allowed to pay fares in digital assets without disclosing an exact date. He added that there are “conversations all the time” about cryptocurrencies within the firm.Sponsored

“I think right now what we see with Bitcoin [BTC] and some of the other cryptos that they are quite valuable as a store of value,” Khosrowshahi said. “The exchange mechanism is expensive, it’s not great for the environment.”

Crypto-Technology

Intel designs new crypto mining chip that’s ‘1000 times better’ than current processors

February 23, 2022

The ‘blockchain accelerator’ chip is also claimed to be more energy efficient, one of crypto’s biggest criticisms

By Adam Smith

Intel is designing a new chip specifically designed to mine cryptocurrency.

The manufacturer announced that the “blockchain accelerator” is set to ship later this year, saying that the technology “has the potential to enable everyone to own much of the digital content and services they create” as people “usher in the era of metaverse and Web 3.0”.

The chip itself will apparently provide “over 1000x better performance per watt than mainstream GPUs for SHA-256 based mining”, with the company saying it will provide more details at the International Solid State Circuit Conference (ISSCC) this month.

“We are mindful that some blockchains require an enormous amount of computing power, which unfortunately translates to an immense amount of energy. Our customers are asking for scalable and sustainable solutions, which is why we are focusing our efforts on realizing the full potential of blockchain by developing the most energy-efficient computing technologies at scale,” senior vice president Raja M. Koduri wrote.

drones

ABB to provide charging infrastructure for Lilium’s electric passenger-carrying drone

February 22, 2022

BY MARK ALLINSON

ABB E-mobility has agreed to provide the charging infrastructure for Lilium’s high speed regional air network, using electric passenger-carrying drones, scheduled for commercial launch in 2024.

Lilium has plans to launch networks in Florida, Germany, and Brazil. As part of the agreement, ABB will develop, test and supply the MegaWatt fast charging infrastructure necessary for the quick turnaround times needed for electric aviation.

The ABB charging points are designed to be capable of fully charging batteries in approximately 30 minutes, and charging up to 80 percent in 15 minutes, enabling the 20-25 flights per aircraft per day planned across Lilium’s global vertiport network.

The initial range of a 7-Seater Lilium Jet is expected to be 155 miles with an average speed of 175 mph.

Frank Muehlon, president of ABB’s E-mobility division, says: “Combining Lilium’s mission to grow sustainable aviation with ABB’s global market expertise and leadership in e-mobility and charging infrastructure is a win for the environment and a win for passengers.

“Moreover, we see this planned partnership as an important commitment to all relevant charging standards that are adopted by multiple electric ‘vehicle’ manufacturers.

Tesla

New Concept Lets Elon Musk’s Cybertruck Drive on Water

February 22, 2022

A James Bond-inspired concept will allow Elon Musk’s Cybertruck to be driven on water.

The Cybercat idea is designed to quickly transform Tesla’s vehicle into an all-electric high performance amphibious catamaran.

It sees the addition of electric outboard motors, pontoons, and optional hydrofoils in the Foiler model, which fold or collapse into parts to be stored in the vehicle.

They can then be installed “by a single person in less time than it takes to launch a boat.”

Elon Musk has previously said the Cybertruck design “influenced partly by The Spy Who Loved Me”, and even bought the 1976 Lotus Espirit featured in the film.

Now Cybercat creator Anthony Diamond believes that taking the vehicle onto the water will “pay homage to this passion.”

He explains, “We believe that with more than 1.3 million Cybertruck reservations, the market potential for Cybercat is immense and total gross margins comparable to those generated from the Tesla Model S and X vehicle lines combined are achievable.”

The Cybercat has estimated pricing of between $22,900 and $32,900, while the Foiler would market at $35,400 to $42,900.

Robots

Robots paint luxury building in Dubai, bots ten times faster than humans

February 22, 2022

Usually, a single apartment unit takes up to 4 man-days of manual painting, while MYRO can auto-paint it within 4 hours

Arab News

Dubai: UAE-based Emaar Properties has deployed robots to complete the painting works of its luxury high-rise residential project in Downtown Dubai.

The robots for painting works are developed by MYRO International, a Singapore-based company known for distributing robotic products and automation solutions for the construction, painting, and coating sectors.

MYRO bots are currently deployed to Emaar’s residential project Forte, for a stage 1 trial.

The productivity of these robots is nearly 1000 sq ft/hour, which is ten times faster than manual painting.

Usually, a single apartment unit takes up to 4 man-days of manual painting, while MYRO can auto-paint it within 4 hours.

NASA

A million miles away, NASA’s James Webb Telescope snaps its first space selfie

February 21, 2022

This “selfie” was created using a specialized pupil imaging lens inside of the NIRCam instrument that was designed to take images of the primary mirror segments instead of images of space. (NASA)

By Denise Chow

A million miles from Earth, the James Webb Telescope has snapped its first selfie from orbit.

NASA released the self-portrait Friday, along with several mosaic images that the telescope captured while gazing at its first star. The images were taken as part of a monthslong process to assess the health of the observatory’s various mirrors and instruments.

Nearly 50 days after Webb launched into space, the photos are early indicators that it is functioning as expected and is ready to begin its mission.

“This amazing telescope has not only spread its wings, but it has now opened its eyes,” Lee Feinberg, Webb’s optical telescope element manager at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said Friday in a news briefing.

But before Webb can begin capturing jaw-dropping images of galaxies, star clusters and planets, mission controllers need to be sure that the observatory’s huge primary mirror is properly aligned.

Measuring more than 21 feet across, its honeycomb-shaped primary mirror is designed to collect and focus light from objects in the cosmos. To fit inside its rocket for launch, however, the telescope’s mirror, along with several other components, were carefully folded up.

Over the course of several weeks, as the telescope journeyed to its final destination in orbit around the sun, it delicately unfurled. Each of the telescope’s 18 gold-coated, hexagonal mirror segments were moved into place.

3D Printer

UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND INVESTIGATES 3D PRINTING FOR FUTURE OF PERSONALIZED MEDICINE

February 21, 2022

Spritam, the world’s first FDA-approved 3D printed drug.

By HAYLEY EVERETT

Researchers at the University of Queensland (UG) have published a new paper exploring 3D printing’s role in the future of personalized medicine for patients.

According to pharmacist, UQ PhD student and lead author of the study Liam Krueger, the technology is refined enough to accurately print specialized dosages onsite in hospitals and pharmacies in coming years. Through the study, the researchers are hoping to accelerate the advancement of 3D printed pharmaceuticals within Australia and beyond.

“3D printing is regularly used in other medical settings such as dentistry to create implants, however the utilization of the technology is lagging in the pharmaceutical space,” said Krueger.

“WITH THIS RESEARCH WE ARE HOPING TO GAIN MORE MOMENTUM FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS TECHNOLOGY WHICH WOULD BE AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE FUTURE OF THE AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL LANDSCAPE.”