“The promise of autonomous vehicles is great.”–Dan Lipinski
Ah, the promise may indeed be great, but the inevitable unintended consequences, as is depicted in the cartoon to the left, will continue to perplex. Personally, I don’t have to worry about my wife running off with a driverless car. She’d be perfectly happy to run off with her horse.
While you’re reading about all this week’s future-related news, don’t forget that you can subscribe to Seeking Delphi™ podcasts on Apple Podcasts, PlayerFM, MyTuner, Listen Notes, or YouTube (audio with slide show) and you can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Hear Seeking Delphi™ host Mark Sackler’s views on the future, and how we should think about it, on Matt Ward’s podcast, The Disruptors, episode #131.
Autonomous Vehicles–Everybody is getting into the act. Now Hyundai says it will team with Aptiv to market a self-driving car by 2022. The big question, though, is whether all these players will set a standard to communicate with each other. That subject was addressed as part of an APF award-nominated Seeking Delphi™ podcast on future driving.
America: not so keen on this? Image: Shutterstock
–Before the automotive powers-that-be get too enthusiastic about rushing to market, they better start dealing with consumer attitudes. A University of Washington study suggests American commuters are not too keen on the idea of self-driving cars.
–Just when you thought all the autonomous car issues had pretty much surfaced, along comes BMW with an ad on their twitter account about having sex in self-driving cars. They quickly removed that add with no explanation for the deletion.
Orion capsule. Image: NASA
Space/NASA–NASA has taken a major step towards its goal of returning American astronauts to the moon by 2024. They have ordered 6 Orion capsules–with an option for an additional 6–from Lockheed-Martin
–Astronauts will need more than new vehicles to return to the moon; they will also need new spacesuits. Current models are designed only for spacewalks, not for walking on the lunar surface. To that aim, NASA now plans to test new spacesuits on international space station in 2023–one year in advance of the present lunar landing schedule.
–NASA hasn’t forgotten about the rest of us. We don’t need spacesuits, but we do need to watch out for asteroids that pose a threat to Earth. A new space telescope to watch out for them is planned for a 2025 launch.
Energy–Researchers at Duke University claim a breakthrough technology for creating new meta-materials that can be used to harvest thermal energy. They work much like solar cells, but absorb from the infrared, rather than the visible, spectrum.
–IKEA doesn’t just make furniture. They make energy, lots of energy. They do it by investing heavily in solar and wind energy, and now say they will produce more than they consume by sometime next year.
Quantum computing–Does Google reign supreme in the quantum world? That’s what they are claiming with what as they say is the solving of problem that classical computers can’t touch. Here’s more on quantum computing: a Seeking Delphi™ podcast with Strangeworks founder and CEO whurley (William Hurley), recorded at SXSW in Austin, Texas in March of 2018.
Seeking Delphi™ podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts,, PlayerFM, MyTuner, Listen Notes, or YouTube (audio with slide show) and you can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook
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Robotics/Coming Attractions–The next Seeking Delphi™ podcast will feature an interview with Joanne Pransky, who bills herself as The Worlds First Robotic Psychiatrist.®
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