Impact Lab – Page 618 – A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience

Inventions, Medical Breakthrough, Medicine, new technology

World’s first full-body medical scanner generates astonishing 3D images

November 24, 2018

The new EXPLORER full-body scanner promises faster and more detailed medical imaging(Credit: UC Davis)

After over a decade of development, the world’s first full-body medical scanner has produced its first images. The groundbreaking imaging device is almost 40 times faster than current PET scans and can capture a 3D picture of the entire human body in one instant scan.

Called EXPLORER, the full-body scanner combines positron emission tomography (PET) and X-ray computed tomography (CT). Following years of research, a prototype, primate-sized scanner was revealed in 2016. After expansive testing, the first human-sized device was fabricated in early 2018.

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Breakthrough Thinking, Ecological Products, Green Friendly, Housing

World-first: Bio-bricks made from urine

November 23, 2018

The world’s first bio-brick made using human urine was unveiled at UCT this week. In picture are (from left) the Department of Civil Engineering’s Dr Dyllon Randall and his students, Vukheta Mukhari and Suzanne Lambert.

The world’s first bio-brick grown from human urine has been unveiled by University of Cape Town (UCT) master’s student in civil engineering Suzanne Lambert, signalling an innovative paradigm shift in waste recovery.

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Alternative Transportation, Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Transportation

Large “Tesla ships” all-electric container barges are launching this autum

November 23, 2018

The Dutch company Port-Liner is building two giant all-electric barges dubbed the ‘Tesla ships‘. The company announced that the vessels will be ready by this autumn and will be inaugurated by sailing the Wilhelmina canal in the Netherlands.

The 100 million-euro project supported by a €7m subsidy from the European Union is expected to have a significant impact on local transport between the ports of Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Rotterdam.

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Health & Fitness, New Inventions, new technology, Wearables

L’Oréal’s wearable sensor will track your UV exposure throughout the day

November 23, 2018

It even integrates with Apple’s HealthKit.

L’Oréal has announced a wearable device that measures your exposure to ultraviolet radiation that can seriously damage your skin and eyes and potentially cause skin cancer. The La Roche-Posay My Skin Track UV sensor is designed to clip onto your clothes or bag, and it relies on NFC rather than Bluetooth to transmit its data, meaning it doesn’t require a battery to function. L’Oreal previously introduced a similar sensor that attached to your fingernail.

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Agriculture, Animals, Farming, Food

Millennials are disrupting Thanksgiving with their tiny turkeys

November 20, 2018

Millennials kill again. The latest victim? Big Thanksgiving turkeys.

Tiny turkeys are gaining popularity.

Small birds are having a big moment. Tiny turkeys will increasingly grace Thanksgiving tables next week, thanks to the millennial generation’s ongoing campaign to remake American gastronomy. The holiday depicted by Norman Rockwell-Grandma showing off a cooked bird so plump it weighs down a banquet plate-is still common. But smaller families, growing guilt over wasteful leftovers and a preference for free-range fowl have all played roles in the emergence of petite poultry as a holiday dinner centerpiece.

“People are starting to understand it’s not natural to grow turkeys up to 30 pounds,” said Ariane Daguin, co-founder and owner of D’Artagnan, a wholesale and e-commerce food company in Union, New Jersey. “In general, that means they were penned up with no room to move around, and that’s why they’re fat like that.”

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Agriculture, Biotech, Farming, Food, Genes, Science & Technology News

Next generation of biotech food heading for grocery stores

November 23, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) — The next generation of biotech food is headed for the grocery aisles, and first up may be salad dressings or granola bars made with soybean oil genetically tweaked to be good for your heart.

By early next year, the first foods from plants or animals that had their DNA “edited” are expected to begin selling. It’s a different technology than today’s controversial “genetically modified” foods, more like faster breeding that promises to boost nutrition, spur crop growth, and make farm animals hardier and fruits and vegetables last longer.

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has declared gene editing one of the breakthroughs needed to improve food production so the world can feed billions more people amid a changing climate. Yet governments are wrestling with how to regulate this powerful new tool. And after years of confusion and rancor, will shoppers accept gene-edited foods or view them as GMOs in disguise?

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Alternative Transportation, Automation, Automobiles, Food, Shopping

Ford teaming up with Walmart and Postmates on robot deliveries

November 20, 2018

Self-driving vehicles delivering groceries in Miami

Ford is joining forces with Walmart and Postmates to create a grocery delivery service using self-driving vehicles in Miami, the companies announced Wednesday.

Ford has been using Miami as a test bed for its self-driving vehicles since earlier this year. And more recently, the auto giant joined with Postmates to see how people ordering takeout food would interact with an autonomous delivery van.

Now Ford is moving to the next stage: grocery delivery. The company says it will experiment with different vehicle types, as well as modifications to those vehicles needed to keep perishable food items fresh. It will also experiment with a variety of scenarios, such as multiple deliveries on one trip and the user experience of retrieving delivery items from a fully driverless vehicle.

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AI, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, China, Crime Prevention

Chinese ‘Gait Recognition’ tech ID’s people by how they walk

November 20, 2018

CHINESE ‘GAIT RECOGNITION’ TECH IDS PEOPLE BY HOW THEY WALK

In this Oct. 31, 2018, photo, Huang Yongzhen, CEO of Watrix, demonstrates the use of his firm’s gait recognition software at his company’s offices in Beijing. A Chinese technology startup hopes to begin selling software that recognizes people by their body shape and how they walk, enabling identification when faces are hidden from cameras. Already used by police on the streets of Beijing and Shanghai, “gait recognition” is part of a major push to develop artificial-intelligence and data-driven surveillance across China, raising concern about how far the technology will go. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

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Amazon.com, Home Technology, LED

This LED faucet light changes color based on water temperature and it’s my new favorite thing

November 20, 2018

Sometimes the simplest little gadgets can be so cool, and that’s exactly the case with the DLAND RC-F03 Colorful LED Water Faucet Attachment. This little device screws into any standard tap in your sink and water flows through it normally. But here’s the cool part: it has different color LEDs inside that automatically turn on when water flows through it! Red means hot, blue means cold, and green means just right. 2-packs are only $9.99 right now on Amazon, so definitely check it out.

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Biotech, Business, Employment, Hot Issues, Science & Technology News

Alarm over talks to implant UK employees with microchips

November 20, 2018

Trades Union Congress concerned over tech being used to control and micromanage.

Britain’s biggest employer organisation and main trade union body have sounded the alarm over the prospect of British companies implanting staff with microchips to improve security.

UK firm BioTeq, which offers the implants to businesses and individuals, has already fitted 150 implants in the UK.

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Engineering, Inventions, New Inventions, new technology

Quantum ‘compass’ promises navigation without using GPS

November 20, 2018

It could keep society humming when satellites fail.

GPS is vital to modern navigation, but it’s extremely fragile. Never mind coverage — if a satellite fails or there’s a jamming attack, it quickly becomes useless. Scientists may have a much more robust answer, though. Scientists have demonstrated a “commercially viable” quantum accelerometer that could provide navigation without GPS or other satellite technology. The device uses lasers to cool atoms to extremely low temperatures, and then measures the quantum wave properties of those atoms as they respond to acceleration.

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Agriculture, Artificial Intelligence, Farming, Food, Robotics

How small robots may kill the tractor and make farming efficient

November 19, 2018

The Bristol-based Small Robot Company has created a series of agile robots for farming. By being customisable they could help to replace the tractor

Agriculture has a reputation of being stuck in the past. In reality, for farmers, their workplaces are a fertile testbed for innovative technology – they were among the first to embrace commercial drone use, and autonomous vehicles that could work effectively (and safely) in confined areas of farmland. Among the latest developments in agri-tech are small, farming robots that can improve crop yield and reduce farming’s impact on the environment.

Continue reading… “How small robots may kill the tractor and make farming efficient”