Harvard’s new multi-material 3D printer makes printing soft robots faster and easier
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Many 3D printers still only print one material, or at best switch between different materials very slowly, this new printer therefore opens up a host of new use cases. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. 3D printers are...
Researchers created a digital metamaterial to create better cloaking devices
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Metamaterials are odd, they’re freaks of nature, and now they’re going digital which opens up an amazing number of possibilities. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. As you’ll know by now I follow a huge number of technologies,...
US startup uses an old NASA recipe to create “meat” from thin air
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As we investigate new ways to feed the planet some of the breakthroughs in food production are “unconventional.” Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you should have heard of...
Researchers create a bone like metal foam that heals at room temperature
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF When metal breaks it takes a huge amount of energy and heat to fix it, but this new breakthrough fixes that problem. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. For 6,000 years, humans have been making things from metal...
4D Bio-Printing emerges to help scientists print better human organs
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF 3D Printing human organs has its problems so scientists created a 4D Bio-Printing technology to solve them and pave the way for better printed, on demand, human organs that grow with their hosts. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my...
Hypersonic flight a step closer after revolutionary British hypersonic engine aces tests
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The future of flight isn’t just supersonic, it’s hypersonic, and a new British hypersonic engine just aced its tests bringing it a step closer to commercial flight. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Hypersonic planes, like the stunning...
World first as astronauts 3D print beef in space
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Getting food into orbit is expensive, and most of the food is dubious anyway, but 3D printing and new technologies are giving us entirely new ways to produce food anywhere and anytime. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog....
Scientists develop the world’s first infinitely recyclable plastic
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today’s plastics can’t be recycled forever because of the way they’re made and the way recycling systems today work, but a new breakthrough solves both these issues. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Recycling sounds great in principle,...
Watch the world’s largest 3D printer print a 25 foot boat
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF 3D printing improves sustainability, lets us print products on demand and eliminate global supply chains, and revolutionises manufacturing. Now it’s scaling. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Boeing said many years ago that one day they’d like to...
UK startup’s new method drastically reduces the cost of clean meat
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Clean meat, real meat that is produced in the same way animals produce meat but outside the animal, will revolutionise food production – if the costs are right. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. It’s thought that lab...
Gallium “heartbeat” discovery gives re-configurable electronics a boost
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today’s electronics are static, but tomorrow’s electronics will be able to re-configure themselves automatically as needed. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. A drop of liquid gallium will oscillate like a beating heart when placed inside a ring-shaped...
MIT’s new ink lets any object instantly change colour
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The ability to change products colours and patterns dynamically opens up a whole new range of opportunities for personalisation. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. The color-changing capabilities of chameleons have long bewildered willing observers. The philosopher Aristotle...
Scientists accidentally 3D printed the world’s first liquid magnets
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Magnetic liquids could open up a whole host of interesting applications, most of which we can’t imagine yet, but shape shifting robots could be one of those. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Let’s face it – polymorphic...
Chicken nuggets grown in a lab from feathers for the first time
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Feeding the world’s growing population is one of the great challenges of our time, but new food production technologies could make famine a thing of the past. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! Watch a keynote, grab a free book, read thousands of...
Adidas unveil world’s first fully recyclable sneakers that last you a lifetime
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Advances in new materials, production techniques and company processes mean we increasingly have a way to eliminate many forms of needless waste. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! Watch a keynote, grab a free book, read thousands of articles, and...
University nabs multi-million pound to create next gen reconfigurable electronics
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF When electronic systems are manufactured today they’re fixed forever, but in the future they’ll be able to re-configure themselves opening up millions of new use cases. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More and connect with Matthew. The University of Southampton in the...
Ingenious new fabric cools you down and warms you up
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We adapt to the weather by changing our clothes, but in the future our clothes will be able to adapt to the weather. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More. Recently I wrote about a new type of 3D printed fabric...
NASA steps into the unknown with project to 3D print spacecraft in orbit
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Launching equipment and satellites into orbit is expensive, space limited, and slow, so NASA wants to eliminate these bottlenecks and 3D print and assemble objects in space. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More. A little while ago I discussed...
Scientists use light to create a new state of physical matter
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The ability to combine light and physical matter to create a new type of hybrid matter opens the door to creating new materials and products with extraordinary capabilities. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More. Recently scientists have turned light...
Scientists unveil self-healing asphalt to end potholes
WHY TIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Many a motorist has been upended by potholes, as their cars clang into one, this might be a way to end them for good. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More. Self-healing materials are in vogue at the moment with...
