future Archives - Page 3 of 11 - David Papp

Baxter, The Blushing Robot

2017/06/13

Have you ever seen a robot blush? Baxter, the chunky red robot with a face, can do that … when he makes a mistake. But that’s OK – he’s learning. He’s at school. His teachers and trainers are a combined group from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Boston University.

Baxter is the product of Rethink Robotics. The company advertises “smart, collaborative robots” for use in manufacturing and industry. This two-armed model was preceded by Sawyer, a one-armed version with strong sensing capabilities allowing it to work safely next to humans in collaborative settings.

Solar Sinter – 3D Printing in the Sun

2018/01/102017/06/05

Find yourself stuck in the desert and in need of a bowl, a hat, robotic arm, or maybe an art deco sculpture for the living room?

Markus Kayser may have the answer. He’s created a solar powered 3D printer you can use anywhere you can find sunlight. The “Solar Sinter” – a machine inspired by 3D laser printing – uses silica-rich sand instead of a polymer. The sun’s rays are used instead of a laser to melt sand and mold it into glass patterns.

It’s called Selective Laser Sintering – or SLS for short. It refers to the heating of powdered substance into liquid form.

Tested in the African Desert

Analemma – High-rise to Space

2017/05/17

Architecture is moving up, according to Ostap Rudakevych. The partner and co-founder of NYC-based Cloud Architecture has designed a building that will orbit the earth … while hanging from an asteroid. The firm specializes in artistic installations and speculative design.

We’ve already experienced life in space with Skylab and the International Space Station. Cloud’s new Analemma Tower will now allow residential and commercial architecture to leave the ground and move into orbit.

How high can we go?

The 28.5 km high building (about 17.1 miles) will dwarf the world’s tallest skyscrapers. It will stretch through the atmosphere at about 34 times the height of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world). That’s 11.8 times the height of the proposed Dubai City Tower, part of the Jumeirah Gardens Project. With the top suspended at an elevation of 32 km and the bottom level at 3.5 km, the top level gets 40 more minutes of daily sunlight than the bottom.

Compare these 15 Virtual Reality Headsets

2017/04/28

VR Headsets are more commonly user with computer games, however they can be used for so many other exciting applications for simulation and training. Some headsets even have eye and head tracking sensors!

Applications include:

Architecture and Real Estate – The ability to be immersed in the new building or room, have 360 degree views and it really helps you better understand scale. Some things look big on paper but in reality are too small.
Education and Tourism – Great for history, geology, geography and previewing potential holiday locations.
Automotive and Flight Simulators – Car designers are using this in addition to pilots to better refine their handling skills
Medical – Practice before surgery and some of their simulators even have haptic feedback so you can feel the amount of pressure required

Future Technologies Happening Right Now

2017/06/132017/03/16

I put together this video with a bunch of short clips to show future technologies that are happening right now. Enjoy!