The proposed Infinity London tower, whose construction could begin in 2020, would be 55 stories tall and adorned with a rooftop infinity pool with transparent sides and a transparent floor.
Swimmers would enter and exit the pool via “a rotating spiral staircase based on the door of a submarine, rising from the pool floor,” the company designing the pool said.
The pool’s designer, Alex Kemsley, explained to INSIDER how this actually works.
A game-changing CoinShares report reveals that three-quarters of bitcoin mining is done using renewable energy including hydroelectric power.
By CCN: Contrary to popular opinion, it appears that Bitcoin mining might not be as bad for the environment as people think. In a highly detailed report, CoinShares research reveals that 74% of mining activity runs on renewable energy.
“We show that Bitcoin mining is mainly located in global regions where there are ample supplies of renewable electricity available. And…we calculate a conservative estimate of the renewables penetration in the energy mix powering the Bitcoin mining network at 74.1%, making Bitcoin mining more renewables-driven than almost every other large-scale industry in the world.”
Continue reading… “Bitcoin mining is shockingly mostly powered by green energy”
Amazon unveiled its newest drone design for its Prime Air fleet on Wednesday. (Jordan Stead / AFP)
Amazon.com Inc. has unveiled a revolutionary new drone — part helicopter and part science-fiction aircraft — that the company expects to use for test deliveries of toothpaste and other household goods starting within months.
The new device takes off vertically, then tilts to fly horizontally like a plane. It also features artificial intelligence, using a suite of sensors the company said will allow it to fly robotically without threatening traditional aircraft or people on the ground.
Continue reading… “Amazon unveils a chopper-plane mashup to deliver packages”
Starting July 1, all electric vehicles with four or more wheels in the EU will be required to emit noise of at least 56 decibels if the car is going 20 km/h or slower, the New Atlas reports.
This makes a ton of sense as electric cars don’t make any of the engine noises we’ve grown accustomed to from standard Earth-killing gasoline cars. Making sure pedestrians can hear cars coming could increase the safety of visually impaired individuals, as well those of us who have the bad habit of walking into traffic while looking at their phones.
Continue reading… “EU will force electric cars to emit a noise below 20 km/h on July 1”
The technology isn’t ready. Society isn’t ready. And the law isn’t ready.
This week, San Francisco became the first major U.S. city to bar itself from using facial recognition systems. The city’s Board of Supervisors voted 8–1 on Tuesday to prohibit the police and other public agencies — though not private companies — from using the emerging technology in any form as part of a larger bill to regulate broader surveillance efforts.
Some cheered the move as a victory for privacy and civil liberties. Some criticized it as a blow to law enforcement and public safety. And cynics dismissed it as an empty gesture, given that San Francisco wasn’t using facial recognition technology in the first place. Continue reading… “The best reason for your city to ban facial recognition”
Fintech startup Bunq provides full-fledged bank accounts. But if you’re happy with your existing bank, the company is launching a new free tier so that you can cut down on banking fees.
The Bunq Travel Card is a Mastercard without any foreign exchange fee. The company uses the standard Mastercard exchange rate but doesn’t add any markup fee — N26 also uses Mastercard’s exchange rate. Most traditional banks charge you 2 or 3 percent for foreign transactions.
When you get a card, you can then top up your account in the Bunq app. You can also send and request money with other Bunq users. But it isn’t a full bank account.
Continue reading… “Bunq launches travel card to make foreign exchange fees disappear”
Plenty of things can go wrong when you’re driving a car, though thankfully the vast majority of trips go without a hitch.
Tire punctures, for example, are a real headache, but thanks to a collaboration between Michelin and General Motors (GM), the deflating experience could soon be a thing of the past.
Following years of research, Michelin announced this week that it’s ready to hit the road with UPTIS, its “unique puncture-proof tire system,” and is partnering with GM for real-world trials using Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles. Testing starts this year and if all goes well, airless tires could be coming to a passenger car near you as early as 2024.
Continue reading… “No more flats: Michelin and GM to bring airless tires to passenger cars by 2024”
Boston Dynamics’ faintly terrifying quadruped dog robot—SpotMini—was first announced in 2016 and is expected to go on sale later this year. The robot has a whole lot of whizzy sensors and cameras, spindly mechanical legs, a creepy grabber arm that opens doors, and mind-bogglingly impressive robotics technology. (It’s expected to carry a five-digit price tag—a fitting sum to bring the uncanny valley direct to your home.)
But it’s never been very clear what, exactly, the point of Spot is—especially as a consumer product.
Continue reading… “Boston Dynamics’ first consumer product might be a battle bot”
Robert Downey Jr. used his part of the opening keynote for Amazon’s Re:Mars conference in Las Vegas Tuesday evening to announce the launch of a new organization that is committed to using advanced technologies for the good of the environment. The Footprint Coalition, as the group is called, is scheduled to officially launch by April of 2020.
“Between robotics and nanotechnology, we could clean up the planet significantly, if not totally, in 10 years,” Downey Jr. said, relaying that he had been given these insights a few weeks back by a roundtable of experts. “God I love experts. They’re like Wikipedia with character defects,” he joked during his talk.
US Adults Spend More Time on Mobile than They Do Watching TV
For the first time ever, US consumers will spend more time using their mobile devices than watching TV, with smartphone use dominating that time spent.
Consumers’ use of smartphones will continue to make up the majority of their media consumption, but we predict that use will plateau by 2020, as consumers become increasingly uneasy about overuse of mobile devices.
Continue reading… “Average US time spent with mobile in 2019 has increased”
The 65+ Age Group Will Make Up a Growing Portion of the US Population
IBM Watson is trying its hand at in-home health monitoring with a new system that combines IBM’s machine learning software with cutting-edge Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors to paint an accurate, real-time picture of seniors’ daily lives.
IBM’s teaming up with UK-based startup Cera Care — which links caregivers with elderly patients — to get the product into roughly a dozen patient homes in a six-month pilot phase launching in June, Reuters reports.
Here’s what it means: IBM’s making its home healthcare debut with a unique approach.
Share of Global Consumers Who Would Switch to a Big Tech Provider for Banking Services, by Segment
Facebook is in the process of finalizing plans to launch its crypto in 2020, reports the BBC. The social media giant will roll out the digital currency in around a dozen countries by the first quarter of next year, with the company planning to begin testing for the crypto, internally dubbed GlobalCoin, by the end of this year, according to the outlet.
Here’s what it means: Facebook has tech and resources, but trust will be the currency that’ll really determine the success of its crypto project.
Continue reading… “Facebook plans to launch its cryptocurrency in 2020”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.