Magnetic human skin breakthrough could lead to new types of wearables
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Technology is getting closer to the human body but we’re still culturally not ready to “merge” with it yet, so artificial skins could be an interesting middle ground until that happens. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Recently...
A new artificial human skin gives people spiderman like superpowers
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As sensors and flexible electronics start to combine it opens up new amazing possibilities. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Researchers at the University of Connecticut and University of Toronto have developed artificial skin that gives its wearer, whether they’re robots...
Researchers tap transistors unique quantum fingerprints to ID systems and stop cyber criminals
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As the rise in the number of connected devices and systems is out paced only by the rise in #cyber attacks, researchers have found a new way to identify individual systems at the quantum level. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch...
DNA based marketing is becoming a reality, and brands are cashing in
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As gene sequencing gets cheaper, and as companies get more access to personal information, from biomarkers and wearables to big data, companies can target you in ultra-personalised ways you’d never likely dreamt of before. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore...
Teslasuit’s haptic bodysuit lets VR users experience full body immersion
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Virtual Reality headsets are all well and good but they only give users a visual experience, and haptic suits literally let you feel everything. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More. Following on from Disney’s haptic VR jacket, that let’s...
Shooting laser beams from your eyes a reality after scientific breakthrough
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Ocular lasers have many applications, but frankly I’m not sure what most of those could be (yet). Death rays anyone? Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More. Recently I talked about a new set of Mission Impossible style smart contact...
Mission Impossible style smart contact lens gets US military’s attention
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As technology gets smaller the world’s first true Smart Contact Lenses get closer than ever, and there are plenty of companies hungrily watching the space. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore More. The bleeding edge US military research organisation Defense...
First of a kind material lets solar panels generate electricity from snow
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As our knowledge of materials and how they behave improves we can generate electricity from almost anything. Scientists have announced that they’ve developed a first of its kind material that generates electricity from nothing other than, wait for it… snow. Based upon the principles...
Revolutionary Bio-Compatible transistors will let AI’s interface with your brain
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Neural interfaces that let us communicate with each other and the machines around us, as well as stream our thoughts to TV, will revolutionise humanity, but we need bio-compatible hardware. It’s a fact that silicon transistors and the brain don’t mix, and while you...
Paper based bio-battery uses bacteria to power the internet of things
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The Internet of Things relies of billions of sensors to work, but only a handful of these sensors can be powered with traditional batteries, so new alternatives are needed. In remote parts of the world, access to batteries for diagnostic devices, medical equipment and...
Scientists 3D print Lithium Ion batteries for the first time
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to 3D print batteries means we can create batteries in all shapes and sizes which will be useful for all our new gadgets. Recently I’ve been reporting on a variety of new battery developments, from polymer batteries that can charge your electric...
3D printed fashion takes over New York Fashion Week
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF 3D printed clothes can be customised and printed on demand using sustainable new materials, giving fashion designers new options and reducing the industry’s environmental impact. Downloadable 3D printed personalised sustainable fashion. I think you’ll agree it’s quite a catchy phrase – or at least...
New glasses will beam augmented and virtual reality directly into your eyes
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Augmented Reality glasses and Virtual Reality headsets use complex computers and optics to create their effects, researchers believe they can eliminate these overheads by beaming the images directly into your eyes. Researchers have proposed a new way to build Augmented Reality (AR) smart glasses...
This nano-membrane turns your skin into a loudspeaker
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Displays can increasingly be placed anywhere, and now the same can be said of loudspeakers. We all are familiar with loudspeakers; the critical element found in almost every household in one form or the other – whether they’re in smartphones, TV’s or stashed in...
Scientists have created an ultrasound patch to monitor your vital health
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Having access to ultrasound is like having a window into your body, and now it’s on a patch. Earlier this year we heard how scientists from the University of California San Diego in the US had developed a flexible ultrasound patch that allows users to see...
Scientists printed a flexible battery that could revolutionise wearable computers
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Ultra thin and ultra flexible batteries made from Graphene could make new types of wearable computing platforms a reality. Researchers in the UK who were motivated by the problem of how to power the growing number of wearables that are now hitting the market...
US military starts trialling robotic surgeons in the battlefield
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to monitor the health of soliders in battle will help keep them at peak efficiency, and military robot surgeons will help save lives on the battlefield. Keeping soldiers healthy has always been a struggle but there may soon be a high tech solution after US...
Japanese team show off their new flexible skin display technology
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Displays will one day be more than just slabs of glass stuck to our devices, and this is another step in that journey. Palm reading could take on a whole new meaning, thanks to a new invention from Japan in the form of a...
Fantastic self-healing material regenerates after suffering “catastrophic damage”
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF There are lots of dangerous industrial applications, and other use cases, where equipment of all kinds suffer extreme wear and tear, this new material could extend the life of products by multiples of time. The idea of creating self-repairing machines has been a popular...
Revolutionary Nano-antenna is hundreds times smaller than today’s state of the art
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF It’s not just our devices that are getting smaller and more powerful, the components that make our devices are also going through their own revolutions. Recently I discussed how a new Metalense breakthrough from Harvard University will help us realise atomic sized camera lenses,...
