Tag: future

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We get a flying car?

A few days ago in my post about the guy making a warp drive in his garage I mentioned that I didn’t get my flying car. Then I find this demo video, complete with dramatic Euro music.

This isn’t exactly what some of us imagined when we thought of a flying car. Essentially this is an airplane that you can drive in traffic. I imagine it will still require a pilot’s license. It also requires a conventional runway to take off and land. However, it is a flying car. We can’t complain that they didn’t deliver.

I’m thinking more about the vertical take off and landing (VTOL) sort of design. There is something in the works but, as you can see in this video, it leaves a bit to be desired.

This model, produced by Moller International, only goes about 10 feet up in the air. Looking at it I imagine it’s something like running several lawn mowers together, so it may not be that smooth, luxurious ride you may crave.

Who knows? The automobile evolved pretty quickly from its horseless carriage origins. Maybe the flying car will do the same.

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AC vs DC: the Battle’s Not Over

You’ve probably heard about the epic battle between inventors, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla about how electricity would be delivered to the masses. If not, this video will catch you up.

As the video shows, Edison’s campaign was pretty grim. He was convinced that AC power was unsafe and publicly electrocuted a number of animals, including an aging elephant, to prove it. AC had advantages for cheaply delivering power over long distances, so it ultimately won out…or did it.

In this article, Will Tesla Batteries Force Home Wiring to go Low Voltage?, innovations in battery technologies developed by Tesla Motors may force homes and appliances to rewire for DC to be more efficient. The irony of this is staggering. A company inspired by and named for Nikola Tesla may reverse a long-standing convention and get us closer to Edison’s original vision for power distribution.

It makes one wonder if their battle may continue wherever they may be, if they might look at what their creations have wrought and continue to keep score.

You might also be interested in Edison’s device for contacting the dead. We’ll be examining this in more detail soon.

 

 

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JAW MADE WITH 3D PRINTER IMPLANTED IN HUMAN

Here's the first 3D printed jaw used to implant in humans.

The day of the Cyborgs is coming, for this is just the beginning!

Now, using metal or even robotic parts to replace and repair damaged human tissue isn’t even close to being something new in science, but creating those parts with a printer certainly is.

A 3D model used to create the jaw bone using the actual dimensions of this person's skull.

 I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we’re in the future people!

Technology is ever accelerating and I look forward to the fascinating and fantastic future that awaits us.

BBC News writes:

A 3D printer-created lower jaw has been fitted to an 83-year-old woman’s face in what doctors say is the first operation of its kind.

The transplant was carried out in June in the Netherlands, but is only now being publicised.

The implant was made out of titanium powder – heated and fused together by a laser, one layer at a time.

Technicians say the operation’s success paves the way for the use of more 3D-printed patient-specific parts.

The surgery follows research carried out at the Biomedical Research Institute at Hasselt University in Belgium, and the implant was built by LayerWise – a specialised metal-parts manufacturer based in the same country.

Read more at bbc.co.uk