Recent attacks on civilians in the U.S. and Europe have exposed a gap in the intelligence community’s efforts to track suspected extremists and prevent mass killings, a half dozen American, British and French counterterrorism officials told Reuters.
The attacks have a common theme of being carried out by actors with an apparent history of mental illness – but few if any direct links to extremist groups.
Mobile phones hold a trove of personal information that can be valuable to law enforcement investigating serious crimes, but they are notoriously hard to get into without a passcode or the owner’s fingerprint.
Police in the US found a way around this difficulty by 3D printing a murder victim’s finger to gain access to their smartphone and hopefully find evidence that would lead to the perpetrator of the crime.
Continue reading… “Police unlock murder victim’s phone by 3D printing his finger”
Designer and entrepreneur Massoud Hassani hopes to rid the planet of its estimated 100 million buried land mines within 10 years. That’s why several years ago, he developed the Mine Kafon – a device that rolls across minefields like a tumbleweed, tripping mines as it goes. While it’s a clever idea, he still wanted something that works faster. To that end, he is now developing the Mine Kafon Drone.
Continue reading… “Mine-hunting drone could make the world a safer place”
Religious leaders and institutions have taken part in efforts to address important social issues throughout American history, from slavery to civil rights to today’s advocacy in areas such as reducing poverty.
But Americans appear to be growing more skeptical of how much of a difference churches and other houses of worship make in tackling social concerns. A majority of U.S. adults still say religious institutions contribute either “a great deal” (19%) or “some” (38%) to solving important social problems. But the combined figure of 58% has fallen significantly in recent years, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. About four-in-ten Americans (39%) now say religious institutions make little to no contribution in this area.
Continue reading… “Fewer Americans now think churches are important to solving social problems”
A few days ago, Facebook announced the success of the first test flight of Aquila — the social networking company’s solar-powered, high-flying, laser-shooting drone meant to bring speedy internet access to the furthest reaches of the globe.
Continue reading… “Video: The successful first flight of Aquila — Facebook’s internet beaming drone”
Disney Research has been on a serious roll with its 3D printing innovations and 3D printing patents. Fromhigh-res 3D printing processes, to replicating reflective properties onto 3D printed surfaces, to 3D printed wall-climbing robots, it seems as though Disney is looking to redefine how movie merchandise is made using 3D printing technology. But their latest study shows that they are also keen to bring 3D printing principles to other industries, for they have developed a new compiler that lets knitting machines behave like 3D printers and easily produce customized objects.
Continue reading… “Disney Research lets knitting machines behave like 3D printers”
62% of enterprises will use AI technologies by 2018
Artificial intelligence has replaced big data this year as the most talked about new set of technologies. As with big data five years ago—behind the hype, the confusion generated by an ill-defined term, and the record funding by VC—we are starting to see emerging investments and practical applications where it matters most—in enterprises.
A new report from Narrative Science, based on a survey of 235 business executives conducted by the National Business Research Institute (NBRI), sheds light on the state-of-AI in enterprises today and in the future: 38% of enterprises are already using AI technologies and 62% will use AI technologies by 2018. Keep in mind that “AI technologies” is a broad term that includes machine and deep learning, recommendation engines, predictive and prescriptive analytics, automated written reporting and communications, and voice recognition and response.
Continue reading… “Survey Says AI Rapidly Adopted By Enterprises”
George Matus was 11 years old when he flew his first drone. “I was immediately hooked,” the young man tells me with a grin. By age 16 he was competing as a professional drone racer and acting as a test pilot for new aircraft. Now 18, he recently finished high school but decided to defer college, opting instead to pursue a fellowship offer from tech billionaire Peter Thiel.
Continue reading… “Fastest consumer drone in the world records 4K video at 85 miles per hour”
Bitcoin is the virtual currency that everyone is talking about. There are now 15.5 million Bitcoins in circulation. But it’s not the only option out there in the crypto-world. Like Bitcoin, there are coins available to be mined and, eventually, there can be multiple options to be traded on the open market and used to purchase goods and services.
One such virtual currency is OneCoin, run by Dr. Ruja Ignatova which is set to drive the industry forward.
Continue reading… “How Bitcoin Will Have Major Effects On Society”
Electric power could be the dominant form of propulsion for all new cars sold in the UK as early as 2027, with more than 1.3 million electric cars registered each year, according to forecast analysis by Go Ultra Low, the government and industry-backed campaign.
This means that, according to Go Ultra Low, the UK is on target to meet a government forecast that all new cars and vans will be electrically-powered by 2040.
Continue reading… “Electric cars could eclipse fossil fuels by 2027”
Here’s a tattoo your mom might actually condone you getting.
The temporary, electronic “tattoo,” developed by a team of scientists at Tel Aviv University’s Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, sticks to skin and uses a carbon electrode and a conductive polymer to measure biometric signals for hours. When worn on the face, the electrodes are sensitive enough to record variations in muscle activity, which can identify expressions and even emotions, according to a paper published last month in the journal Scientific Report.
Continue reading… “Can an electronic face ‘tattoo’ biometrically map your mood swings?”
“My name is Yoshiyuki Kawazoe. This is my hotel.” The University of Tokyo’s associate professor of architecture gestures behind himself to a flat, two-story building that doesn’t really look like a hotel. “Two-hundred people were involved in making this happen,” he says. “Experts in environmental design, engineering, architecture, robotics and construction … it’s their hotel.” The “Hen-na Hotel” will go down in tourist guides as the robot hotel, but there’s more being invested in here than just talking robots: The minds behind it hope the facility will change the world of low-cost hotels — and save the world. (Well, at least a little.)
Continue reading… “Ridiculous Japanese robot hotel is serious business – really!”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.