As the internet of things, edge computing, and 5G connectivity all converge, we move relentlessly toward a world of ambient computing. It will be always on, ever around us and responding to us, whether we realize it or not. How do ambient computing and digital twins combine in the realm of ambient science? Intel’s Katalin Bártfai-Walcott joins me on the newest Seeking Delphi™ podcast to discuss exactly what this is and what its implications might be.
Hmmm. Will we be caretakers for them, or them for us? Will there even be a next generation of work? Hot on the heels of my Seeking Delphi™ podcast interview, with John C. Havens, on ethical considerations in artificial intelligence, comes a flurry of additional A.I.-related stories.
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On more than one occasion, I have traveled in an elevator that could move horizontally as well as vertically. How did I manage that? It turns out I was dreaming–and I must admit I experienced a bit of a disappointment when I woke up. Honestly, the feeling of moving sideways in an elevator was just, well, cool. Now, though, a new technology might actually make that feeling possible.
Elevator Technology–Thyssenkrupp Elevator Technology, of Berlin, Connecticut, USA, has developed and, in fact, installed the world’s first cable-free horizontal-vertical elevator in a test tower in Rotweill, Germany. (See YouTube video embedded at the bottom of the page).
Cars. Self-driving cars. Electric cars. Giga-factories to build electric cars. There’s a traffic jam of car stories in The Future This Week. Add a self-assembling moon base and loads of al energy projects and we’re good to go.
Almost on cue for the stories above, Tesla announced a wide range of ambitious expansion plans at its annual shareholder meeting. Chief among these was a stated goal to eventually build 10-20 gigafactories, with a production capacity of between 12 and 24 million vehicles annually. They’ll need some ambitious charging schemes like the ones mentioned above to make those number viable. Actually, they might first want to concentrate on figuring out how the hell they can sell that many vehicles.
Self-Driving Cars–Honda announced a target date of 2025 for bringing fully self-driving cars to the marketplace. They’ve set a date of 2020 for rolling out vehicles with an autonomous freeway driving option, as an interim step.
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