Obayashi Corp. is building the Tokyo Sky Tree and plans to build a space elevator by 2050.
Space elevators are one of the promising technologies of the future. Now a Japanese construction firm that specializes in the very tall could make them a reality. By 2050, so still pretty far on that horizon, but it’s a start.
The Orbit
New technology can make life’s most tedious tasks more interesting. Take laundry, for example. The Orbit is a waterless washing machine, which levitates your clothes and scrub them clean with dry ice in a matter of minutes.
Continue reading… “Orbit – waterless washing machine uses levitation and dry ice to clean laundry”
Understanding the chemistry of phytoplankton is key to controlling Earth’s climate.
Tiny ‘phytoplankton’ in the oceans have a huge impact on Earth’s climate – and understanding them could be key to the planet’s future health.
Continue reading… “Ocean plankton the key ingredient that decides the future of Earth’s climate”
Airport terminal of the future.
Welcome to the airport terminal of the future. There are self-service bag drops but no check-in desks. Your passage is seamless, punctuated behind the scenes only by discrete Near Field Communication (NFC) sensors.
Continue reading… “What will the airport of the future look like?”
Futurist Thomas Frey: What music comes to mind when you try on your new pair of jeans? Does that “music in your head” somehow change when you try on a different brand?
Continue reading… “Rethinking Retail and 18 Examples of Change”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHSDpE0kTag&hd=1[/youtube]
There are still some social settings where people must forgo the urge to pull out a cellphone and send a quick text message or two. But those who can’t bear such timeouts may soon have a way to keep communicating.
Continue reading… “PocketTouch – text from your pockets with ‘stealth screen’”
Photo of me demonstrating an unuual thermoelectric generator
with NY Times Correspondent Matthew Wald
Futurist Thomas Frey: On Wednesday I was invited to speak on a panel at the 2012 National Electricity Forum, an event sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, in Washington DC.
Continue reading… “Dismantling of our Power Industry Infrastructure”
A prediction of the future supercontinent, Amasia.
The Earth has been covered by supercontinents, giant combinations of continents, many times in its past, and it will be again one day in the distant future. The next predicted supercontinent, dubbed Amasia, may form when the Americas and Asia both drift northward to merge, closing off the Arctic Ocean, researchers suggest. (video)
The demand for applications has created 466,000 jobs in the U.S. since 2007.
If you are looking for a promising career in a lousy economy then you are apt to find it in apps — the services and tools built to run on smartphones, computer tablets and Facebook’s online social network, according to a new study.
Continue reading… “‘App economy’ is a big U.S. job creator: study”
Neuroscience in future military conflict, on the cutting edge of medical science should remember that their work could have other, more harmful uses.
It sounds like science fiction warfare. But directed energy weapons that use wave beams to cause pain, and electrical brain stimulation that boosts a soldier’s combat ability are advances in neuroscience are on the horizon.
Continue reading… “Neuroscience could assist soldiers in the future”
A picture of me speaking at yesterday’s TEDxReset in Istanbul.
Futurist Thomas Frey: Yesterday I was honored to be one of the featured speakers at the TEDxReset Conference in Istanbul, Turkey where I predicted that over 2 billion jobs will disappear by 2030. Since my 18-minute talk was about the rapidly shifting nature of colleges and higher education, I didn’t have time to explain how and why so many jobs would be going away. Because of all of the questions I received afterwards, I will do that here.
The Hiriko
A tiny revolutionary fold-up car, the Hiriko, designed in Spain’s Basque country as the answer to urban stress and pollution was unveiled Tuesday before it will hit European cities in 2013. (Pics)
Continue reading… “Futuristic fold-up electric car unveiled in Europe”