Lifeboat Foundation

Hyper-connectivity has changed the way we communicate, wait, and productively use our time. Even in a world of 5G wireless and “instant” messaging, there are countless moments throughout the day when we’re waiting for messages, texts, and Snapchats to refresh. But our frustrations with waiting a few extra seconds for our emails to push through doesn’t mean we have to simply stand by.

To help us make the most of these “micro-moments,” researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have developed a series of apps called “WaitSuite” that test you on vocabulary words during idle moments, like when you’re waiting for an instant message or for your phone to connect to WiFi.

Continue reading “Learn a language while you wait for WiFi” »

Bandages which can detect how a wound is healing and send messages back to doctors could be trialled within the next 12 months, scientists have said.

The bandages would use real-time 5G technology to monitor what treatment is needed and also keep track of a patient’s activity levels.

The work is being led by Swansea University’s Institute of Life Science.

Continue reading “Swansea University smart bandage trials ‘within 12 months’” »

I’ve been reading about Gcam, the Google X project that was first sparked by the need for a tiny camera to fit inside Google Glass, before evolving to power the world-beating camera of the Google Pixel. Gcam embodies an atypical approach to photography in seeking to find software solutions for what have traditionally been hardware problems. Well, others have tried, but those have always seemed like inchoate gimmicks, so I guess the unprecedented thing about Gcam is that it actually works. But the most exciting thing is what it portends.

I think we’ll one day be able to capture images without any photographic equipment at all.

Continue reading “The endgame for cameras is having no camera at all” »

In aerospace, parts are complicated, and manufacturing them can be very expensive and time consuming. When rocket engine parts can take up to a year to make, it is very difficult to start a new rocket company and for aerospace companies to be cost effective, innovative and nimble.

These barriers to entry are why you don’t see many start-up space companies and why the industry has relied on the same basic engine designs as those built during the Apollo program.

3D printing is changing all that. At Virgin Orbit, we are building a rocket system that will send small satellites into orbit. We aim to open access to space for small satellites to improve life on earth through services such as internet connectivity to the under connected and data for planning, production, disaster mitigation etc.

Continue reading “How 3D printing is changing the future of the space industry” »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzcLsCXR8qE&feature=share

Ray Kurzweil is probably the most qualified individual to talk about the future of technology. He does it at CeBIT in a captivating presentation about technologies that will be as important as the internet. Ray is an Inventor, Entrepreneur, Futurist, Writer, founder of the Singularity University and now at Google. (Intro is temporally missing). March 2017.

Orbital manufacturing is already paving the way for better solar panels, faster internet, cleaner computer chips, and lab-grown human hearts.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=p2MEaROKjaE

I do not think, at least at first, that any brain interfaces for the masses will be anything other than organic. Possibly a synthetic virus that can be inserted and removed without the invasion of instruments. Those things we might have to deal with either way are summarized here.

How closely will we live with the technology we use in the future? How will it change us? And how close is “close”? Ghost in the Shell imagines a futuristic, hi-tech but grimy and ghetto-ridden Japanese metropolis populated by people, robots, and technologically-enhanced human cyborgs.

Continue reading “Ghost in the Shell Thrills, But Ducks the Philosophical Questions Posed by a Cyborg Future” »

Artificial intelligence has reached peak hype. News outlets report that companies have replaced workers with IBM Watson and that algorithms are beating doctors at diagnoses. New AI startups pop up everyday, claiming to solve all your personal and business problems with machine learning.

Ordinary objects like juicers and Wi-Fi routers suddenly advertise themselves as “powered by AI.” Not only can smart standing desks remember your height settings, they can also order you lunch.

Much of the AI hubbub is generated by reporters who’ve never trained a neural network and by startups or those hoping to be acqui-hired for engineering talent despite not having solved any real business problems. No wonder there are so many misconceptions about what AI can and cannot do.

Continue reading “Understanding the limits of deep learning” »

Artificial intelligence is not a vague concept we picked up from a science fiction novel. It is the single biggest technology trend since the Internet, and the money-making potential is huge.

Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are all ready to soar on the winds of change. Most people expect it to be a zero-sum game, but their varying strengths will allow them all to succeed.

Microsoft is likely going to own the enterprise segment. Amazon will probably win the consumer device fight, and Google could become a healthcare giant.

Continue reading “AMZN, MSFT, GOOG: Who Will Win the Artificial Intelligence War?” »