Glimpses of the Future – February 2016

By 01/02/2016 March 1st, 2016 Glimpses of the Future

Ford Believes Wearables Will Be Part Of In-Car Technology

Ford has announced the opening of a wearables research laboratory because it considers a relationship between wearables and driving have some kind of potential.

Following the mantra that “the connection between what you wear and what you drive is getting stronger”, Ford’s new Automotive Wearables Experience laboratory brings together a bunch of scientists and engineers to integrate wearable devices and vehicles.This, Ford believes, will make driver-assisting technologies more aware of the driver behind the wheel, for instance when he or she is stressed or sleepy. And the ability to measure blood pressure, blood glucose and heart rate via wearable technology could also benefit semi-autonomous driving features.

Even Fishing Rods Are Being Connected

Seattle-based start-up FishSentry has developed a set of connected fishing rods designed to make reeling in the big one a more frequent event by nudging the user’s mobile device when there’s a nibble on the end.

FishSentry’s range of rods are fitted with sensors both at the tip and the base, which take dozens of readings each second to pick up on sudden shakes that might indicate some hungry marine life down below. With a Bluetooth LE chip built-in, the rod then sends this information to a companion smartphone app to alert the user.

This seems a little excessive for the hobbyist wandering down to the jetty to drop a line in on the weekend, but for those trolling from a boat with multiple rods to keep an eye on it could serve a rather useful purpose. The team notes that it can also help avoid lost causes, as it would detect when the line hooks seaweed or other debris that renders the bait useless, allowing them to reel in and cast again.

Travellers Delighted As London Drops Proposed Regs On Uber

Uber won a major victory in the UK after Transport for London abandoned controversial proposals aimed at tightening the regulation of private-hire vehicles.

The decision followed a fierce lobbying campaign by Uber during a three-month consultation that pitched the popular taxi app against the capital’s black cab drivers.

The shelved proposals included forcing customers to wait for five minutes between requesting a car and beginning a journey, and a ban on being able to see available vehicles on a smartphone app.

Uber said the decision was a victory for common sense and that it was pleased TfL dropped its “bonkers” ideas.

Soluble Sensors To Monitor Brain Pressure

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have created a new dissolving sensor to monitor brain pressure and temperature that’s far less invasive and much safer than existing sensor technology.

The team set out with one clear goal – to create a sensor that can be placed in the brain, is completely wireless and, once its job is done, dissolves away entirely. The device they built is made chiefly from silicone and polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), and is smaller than the tip of a pencil. It’s able to wirelessly transmit accurate temperature and pressure data, and the researchers believe that it could be easily adapted for use in other organs around the body.

Rules For Autonomous Cars

After years of silence silence on the issue of autonomous vehicles, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx has announced that he’s giving the DOT six months to draft comprehensive rules governing how autonomous cars should be tested and regulated.

The feds are also planning to fund new projects: President Obama’s 2017 budget proposal includes nearly $4 billion over 10 years for pilot programs testing connected vehicle systems.

It’s a bold step automakers and others working on self-driving tech are likely to welcome, because they’ve long fretted that states would do what the feds have not, and create a patchwork of rules and regulations that could hamper development of the technology.

World Leader In DNA Analysis Turns Its Attention To Cancer

The world’s largest DNA sequencing company says it will form a new company to develop blood tests that cost $1,000 or less and can detect many types of cancer before symptoms arise.

Illumina, based in San Diego, said its blood tests should reach the market by 2019, and would be offered through doctors’ offices or possibly a network of testing centres.

The spin-off’s name, Grail, reflects surging expectations around new types of DNA tests that might do more to defeat cancer than the more than $90 billion spent each year by doctors and hospitals on cancer drugs. Illumina CEO Jay Flatley says he hopes the tests could be a “turning point in the war on cancer.”

Airbus Creates Anti-Drone System To Protect Aircraft

Airbus Defence and Space recently introduced its Counter-UAV System as a way to detect potential UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) threats from a distance of between 5 and 10 km (3 and 6 miles) and bring them down with electronic countermeasures.

The system uses a combination of radars, infrared cameras and direction finders to identify drones and determine their threat potential. A human operator compares the data from the system to a threat library and real-time analysis of control signals, to determine whether or not to jam the signal and interrupt the link between the drone and its pilot and/or its navigation system. A direction finder within the system can then be used to detect the location of the pilot for apprehension.

The company’s Smart Responsive Jamming Technology ensures that only the signals used to operate the drone are jammed while other nearby frequencies remain unaffected and operational. The jamming technology is also designed to allow the user to both identify the UAV and initiate a controlled takeover if necessary.

New Wearable Delivers Heat To Fight Pain

Previously limited to use in clinical settings, ReGear Life Sciences’ new wearable Vivy device is designed to let people deliver their own heat treatments to combat pain, wherever they happen to be.

Vivy takes the form of a belt that contains a rechargeable battery, a control module, and induction coils that create the heat. By contrast, traditional diathermy machines are relatively large, and must be operated by trained clinicians.

Users wrap Vivy around the injured body part, power it up, then use its button controls to set the duration of the session. From there it goes to work delivering a deep-heat treatment, letting the user know when it’s finished. There’s also a companion smartphone app, on which users can create a treatment schedule, track the results of their sessions, and access other information.

UK Report Says Blockchains Of Vital Importance

In a major 88 page tome on Blockchain and distributed ledgers, the UK Government’s Chief Scientist, Sir Mark Walport, sets out how bitcoin’s Blockchain technology could transform the delivery of public services and boost productivity.

The British report states that Blockchain technology could provide government with new tools to reduce fraud, error and the cost of paper intensive processes and it also has the potential to provide new ways of assuring ownership and provenance for goods and intellectual property.

Drugs To Be Made From Gut Microbes

Scientific discoveries in recent years suggest that some serious conditions could be cured by adding “good” bacteria to your digestive tract. Now several companies are racing to develop drugs that do so.

It’s a jungle in there: massive populations of microbes, immune cells, and cells of the gut tissue are interacting and exchanging countless chemical and physical signals. Disruptions to this complex ecosystem, often called the microbiome, have been linked not only to gastrointestinal problems but also to metabolic, immunological, and even neurological disorders.

Drugs To Be Made From Gut Microbes

Scientific discoveries in recent years suggest that some serious conditions could be cured by adding “good” bacteria to your digestive tract. Now several companies are racing to develop drugs that do so.

It’s a jungle in there: massive populations of microbes, immune cells, and cells of the gut tissue are interacting and exchanging countless chemical and physical signals. Disruptions to this complex ecosystem, often called the microbiome, have been linked not only to gastrointestinal problems but also to metabolic, immunological, and even neurological disorders.

Marvin Minsky – Pioneer of AI – Has Died

One of the founding fathers of Artificial Intelligence research, Marvin Minsky, has died at the age of 88.

I never met Professor Minksy but his writings and some of the students he taught became a huge influence on my research.

I recall how he became disillusioned with AI research 30 years ago but in recent years became re-energised as progress has been made in deep learning.
His contribution was of the greatest importance.

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