Scientists find a way to turn the internet into the world’s largest earthquake detection system
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF There are hundreds of thousands of earthquakes a year, and a new detection system could help save lives. The internet isn’t your phone. It’s not Instagram, YouTube, or Netflix. Behind those screens the internet is actually a sprawling network of hundreds of undersea fiber optic...
Room temperature superconductors in sight as scientists smash record
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to create room temperature superconductors with zero electrical resistance will revolutionise everything from computing and energy to telecommunications. Superconductivity. It’s not on everyone’s hit list of top technologies to follow, and most people probably don’t give a damn about it, but that...
Mercedes shows off the company’s latest autonomous vehicle concepts
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As we watch the future of autonomous transportation evolve automotive companies are now experimenting with new business models and product concepts. As more vehicles, from cars to aircraft and everything in between, become electric and autonomous Mercedez Benz decided a while ago that it...
Futurist Keynote, Germany: Life in 2030, RWE
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF A lot has changed in the last ten years, and even more will change in the next ten. Are you ready? Firstly, a big thank you to Kathrin and the team for inviting me to be the keynote at this years RWE Leadership meeting...
BMW unveils it’s first fully autonomous motorbike
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF While a fully autonomous motorobike sounds odd, it’s designed to improve driver safety and comfort. Will you need a motorbike license to ride in the future? Well, maybe not. At the Miramas testing ground circuit in Provence, France, last week, BMW unveiled its first autonomous...
Graphene breakthrough opens the door to terahertz computer chips
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Graphene’s weird properties could help create computer chips that are thousands of times faster than today’s chips. Today’s silicon based electronic CPU’s, like the ones sold by AMD and Intel, operate at clock rates of several hundred gigahertz, hence the GHz acronym given to...
This creative AI paints like the old masters
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We’re always told ai cannot be imaginative or creative, but human creativity can be cloned. Recently art made by Artificial Intelligence (AI) software has become a field in its own right and it’s become quite a niche market in certain circles. As a result...
A new AI tool is mastering how to create complex drugs and molecules
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Chemistry plays a vital role in our society and being able to create new drugs, and chemical cocktails and compounds, will revolutionise everything from cars to healthcare. Chemists have a new lab assistant, and its name is Artificial Intelligence (AI), and they join synthetic...
Researchers built a breakthrough quantum transistor using just a single atom
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As transistors get smaller companies are going to be able to create computers that are orders of magnitude more powerful and energy efficient than today’s platforms. Over the past couple of years we’ve seen the development of a wide range of transistors that push...
VW pledges to build a huge supercharger network across the US
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Unless you’d been asleep at the wheel recently you can’t help but notice that it looks like the days of the combustion engine are numbered and that electric vehicles are the future… It’s no secret that Volkswagen wants to sell more electric cars in...
Revolutionary algorithm will soon let scientists simulate the entire human brain
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today we can simulate 10 percent of the human brain in a supercomputer, but a whole brain simulation would revolutionise neuroscience, unlock the secrets of the brain and lead to new breakthrough cognitive treatments. The renowned physicist Dr. Richard Feynman once said “What I...
Blockchain without the miners, IOTA unveil their revolutionary new cryptocurrency
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Mining cryptocurrency is an incredibly contentious, complex, and energy expensive operation, but now a German non-profit has built a cryptocurrency that does away with miners completely, and they’re being backed by the biggest names in tech. Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency on a hot...
European giants team up to build electric aircraft
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Aviation is one of today’s biggest polluters so now companies are ploughing more effort into building the world’s first viable electric aircraft. In March this year Rolls Royce’s CEO announced that the future of flight was electric, and this week Airbus, Rolls Royce and Siemens announced...
Scientists have a plan to seed life throughout the universe
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today we have the power to create new species of animals never previously thought possible and at some point it seems inevitable that humans will start seeding new life across the universe. In the past six months’ scientists have created alien life forms unlike...
Wireless charging, the next frontier for electric vehicles gains traction
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Just as countries are starting to get used to the idea of rolling out fixed electric vehicle charging stations a new technology is emerging on the scene that could quickly render them obsolete. Just as we are beginning to get used to the idea...
Audi unveils a future without cars
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Most people think that self-driving cars are simply the next natural evolution of the car when actually they signal the death of the car as we know it. Not all concept cars make it off the auto show floor and into production, but now,...
ThyssenKrupp unveil their new cable free, go anywhere elevators
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Tomorrows skyscrapers will be 3D printed into a whole host of different, strange shapes, but in order to make them a reality we need a new type of cable free elevator and ThyssenKrupp look like they’re about to deliver In the 160 or so...
Plasma jet engines get ready for real world trials
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Plasma engines are the stuff of science fiction, and now it looks like they’re ready to come out of the labs and push new limits. Imagine a jet engine that could propel an aircraft faster than a traditional engine and take it all the...
Hackers have found a new way to hack Samsung’s iris security system
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Biometric security systems are awesome, until they’re hacked, and increasingly companies and individuals are finding that their latest and greatest biometric security systems are easier to hack than the password systems they replaced Criminals know you love taking selfies, and they love your selfies...
Adidas shows off it’s new ‘on demand’ clothing store
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF It’s inevitable that one day we will be able to personalise and manufacture bespoke clothing on demand, in store and at home, and Adidas’s first stab is a good start but there’s still a way to go. It normally takes most clothing companies anywhere...
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