The first thing I learned about Cozmo is that it doesn’t like to stay put very long. Roused from slumber, the little robot’s face illuminates, and it begins zooming around the table in front of me. A moment later, it notices I’m watching and turns to greet me, saying my name with a computerized chirp.
Is it a power station or a public art installation? Well, this shimmering piece of architectural wonder, called “The Pipe,” might just blur the lines between the two.
Continue reading… “Solar-Powered pipe can desalinate over 1.5 Billion gallons of seawater”
Around the corner from the famous Diamond District in New York City, David Weinstein sorts through some envelopes on his cluttered desk. All of them are full of diamonds.
Continue reading… “Are these lab-grown diamonds better than the real thing?”
In the hospitals of the future, your doctor may walk out with your charts and back in with a new body part for you to try on. At least, that appears to be the future the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia has in mind. The institution is in the process of constructing a “biofabrication” room meant for 3D-printing bone, cartilage and other human tissue as it is needed. Known as the Herston Biofabrication Institute, the goal of the ambitious new project, currently slated for a 2017 launch, will be to “advance knowledge and technology in 3D scanning, modeling, and printing of bone.”
Continue reading… “Hospitals could soon have ‘Biofabricated’ human tissue 3D printed”
This drone gun won’t destroy your drone, but it will take it down from over a mile away. By disabling signals keeping the drone afloat, such as GPS, the “DroneGun” can knock a drone off its course, keeping it from arriving at its destination.
Continue reading… “This drone gun can take down drones in flight”
Driverless tractors that can follow pre-programmed routes are already being deployed at large farms around the world. Drones are buzzing over fields assessing crop health and soil conditions. Ground sensors are monitoring the amount of water and nutrients in the soil, triggering irrigation and fertiliser applications.
Continue reading… “Will farming be fully automated in the future?”
A future in which homeowners display “Beware of Drone” signs on their property may not be too far off. As CNN reports, Sunflower Labs, a startup based in Silicon Valley and Zurich, Switzerland, plans to beta test their drone-based home security system halfway through 2017.
Continue reading… “Drones tested as the home security system of tomorrow”
Is Pokemon Go the only Augmented Reality game you know? Well, if so, do not blame yourself, as the game made some huge records in the smartphone gaming history, all thanks to the Augmented Reality (AR) system that Niantic incorporated inside it. This sole thing made people go crazy about catching Pokemons they watched and loved during the 90s.
Bitcoin is one of the most revolutionary ideas to come out of the tech world. A whole new form of currency was created from nothing, but people are now using it to buy everything from coffee to electronics.
Continue reading… “Renewable energy takes a page from Bitcoin”
Finland’s education system is considered one of the best in the world. In international ratings, it’s always in the top ten. However, the authorities there aren’t ready to rest on their laurels, and they’ve decided to carry through a real revolution in their school system.
Continue reading… “Finland is the first country in the World to rid of all school subjects”
In the wake of Edward Snowden’s revelations about the National Security Administration, the installation of mass surveillance equipment in cities across Europe, and disclosure of multiple massive user data leaks, people have been forced to confront the dystopian reality that big government has stepped into the role of Big Brother. What has been less discussed is the proliferation of little brothers, corporations that closely monitor their workers as a matter of course, using a variety of new technologies.
Researchers have created a machine that they claim can tell if a person is a convicted criminal simply from their facial features. The artificial intelligence, created at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, was able to correctly identify criminals from a selection of 186 photos nine out of 10 times by assessing their eyes, nose and mouth.
Continue reading… “Minority Report-style AI learns to predict if people are criminals”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.