Tag Archives: wearables

News of The Future This Week: March 12, 2019

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“I never questioned the integrity of an umpire. Their eyesight, yes.”–Leo Durocher

Is nothing sacred?  A year after World Team Tennis went to all-automated line calls, Major League Baseball is upping the robotic ante with a potential move to eliminate the human factor in calling balls and strikes.  The human factor of a Billy Martin or Leo Durocher kicking dirt on an umpire was largely eliminated with the advent of replay reviews.  Who knows where this will lead?

While you’re reading about all this week’s future-related  news, don’t forget that you can subscribe to Seeking Delphi™ podcasts on iTunes, PlayerFM, or YouTube (audio with slide show) and you can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Argue this!

Robotics/automation–The independent Atlantic League will serve as MLB’s testing ground for robotic umpires.  We’ll leave the other proposed rule changes they are testing to the sports blogs.

–If accurate ball and strike calls is a sublime use of automation, an opera singing robot might just be ridiculous. (see YouTube video below.)

–If a singing robot doesn’t make you scratch your head, how about a holographic virtual singer–who just happened to pack them in at a concert hall in China

–Cancer patients have been getting robotic surgery.  The New York Times reports the results may be less than stellar.

–Artificial intelligence may be better at diagnosis, though.  Science Daily reports that robots can detect breast cancer as well as radiologists. But I bet the robots get paid less.

Climate change–There’s something refreshing about a politician who actually has a long-term view of our future–one that goes well beyond the next election.  You and I may not agree with everything that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez advocates, but as  futurist, I have to admire her use of scenarios to envision a better, more sustainable world in 2050.

Space Commerce–Elon Musk continues to push for a permanently manned moon base.  But Discover says we need to learn how to mine there, first.

Electric Vehicles–For electric cars to become pervasive, they are going to have to become profitable for manufacturers.  A new McKinsey report suggests a path to that end.

Seeking Delphi™ podcast/coming attractions: In the weeks ahead. look for David Wood on his newest book, Sustainable superabundance, Verne Wheelright on personal futures, and highlights from the 2019 Undoing Aging Conference (Berlin, Germany, March 28-30).

Seeking Delphi™ podcasts are available on iTunes, PlayerFM, or YouTube (audio with slide show) and you can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook 

News of The Future This Week: March 4, 2019

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“Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory.”–Franklin Pierce Adams

Is artificial human memory possible?  Today’s lead story deals exactly with that possibility–and it links rather directly to a question I have about the quest to end, and even reverse, human aging.  If we live indefinitely, will we need some sort of artificial enhancement in order to hold decades or evern centuries of additional memories?  When you reach a certain age, after all,  it’s hard enough to remember what you had for breakfast.

While you’re reading about all this week’s future-related  news, don’t forget that you can subscribe to Seeking Delphi™ podcasts on iTunes, PlayerFM, or YouTube (audio with slide show) and you can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

 Neuromorphic Computing/Memory–Researchers at UCLA claim they have created a neuromorphic “brain” out of synthetic nanowires.   They say it exhibits behavior similar to human memory.

Image: undoing-aging.org Click for link.

 Aging Research/Rejuvenation–Aubrey de Grey has become much more upbeat about the progress being made toward reversing human aging.  He now thinks robust human longevity extension could be here by 2037.  You can here his preview of the 2019 Undoing Aging conference (Berlin, Germany March 28-30) on the Seeking Delphi podcast here.   The YouTube slide show version of the interview is embedded at the bottom of this page.

Houston, the Dragon has landed. Image: NASA

NASA/Space Launch/Space Commerce–SpaceX successfully tested an unmanned launch of the first private passenger vehicle, reaching the International Space Station late last week.  If all goes well, the first manned mission will bring astronauts there later this year.  It would be the first manned U.S. space launch since the space shuttle was retired a decade ago.

—NASA intends to test a nuclear powered rocket by 2024, per it’s 2019 budget.  Other advance propulsion systems are also in the works.

CRISPR/Biotech–Switzerland-based CRISPR therapeutics has become the first non-Chinese entity to use CRISPR genetic editing to treat a human medical condition.  The procedure was done in attempt to correct a genetic blood disorder.  Previously, Chinese researchers have used CRISPR to treat cancer.

—A Chinese research group claims to have given a mouse night vision by a simple injection of nano particles into the animal’s eyes.  They say the effect has minimal side effects and lasts for up to ten weeks.

Breakthrough technologies—MIT has issued it’s annaul list of the top ten breakthrough technologies.  Custom cancer vaccines, a wearable ECG, and laboratory-grown meat are notable inclusions.

Wearables/Fitness–A university research team in Singapore says they have developed self-charging, fitness tracking socks.  The socks could also be used to power other wearables.

YouTube slide show of  the 2019 Undoing Aging preview podcast with Aubrey de Grey

Seeking Delphi™ podcasts are available on iTunes, PlayerFM, or YouTube (audio with slide show) and you can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook