Cars and traffic signals are communicating with themselves, soon to leave the driver ou.
Major automobile manufacturers are experimenting with technology that allows cars and traffic lights to communicate and work together to ease congestion, cut emissions and increase safety.
Volkswagen collaborated with Siemens in October to test a smart light system in its German hometown of Wolfsburg.
With a section of road that has 10 traffic signal systems the companies have information transmitting about their light phases.
The idea is that the system will be able to tell the driver when to expect a wave of green lights. The goal is to eventually make the system work with a range of cars and brands.
The network uses WiFi technology and sensors to produce position data than is more accurate than GPS.
Volkswagen and Siemens are using sensors to detect pedestrians and cyclists at two of the crossroads in Wolfsburg.
The sensors process that information, and then the traffic controller can send a message to everyone that there is a cyclist on the left.
Despite 3D printing first appearing over 25 years ago, interest in this innovative technology has exploded over the past decade. Not long ago, few thought that it would become a legitimate alternative to traditional production and printing processes.
Just as any other new technology, 3D printing has yet to establish a footing in industrial or consumer markets. However, there is one area in particular that is already embracing the benefits that 3D printing can bring; education. Still, 3D printing's influence in this sector is only in its infancy.
• New learning possibilities – In addition to literally seeing their designs come to life, students can interact with the finished product and experience it ways not previously possible.
• Access to learning materials – If a school or teacher doesn't have access to learning materials, they can simply make them then and there.
• Creates excitement and engagement – Rather than passively reading from a textbook or listening to the teacher, students will have a more active interest in 3D printing, as it is very much a hands-on activity.
• Encourages creativity and innovation – With access to design software and a 3D printer, the possibilities of what a student can create are endless, which encourages greater innovation.
• Promotes critical thinking and problem solving-skills – In areas of education where students must exercise critical thinking and problem-solving skills, a 3D printer can assist immeasurably.
• Better knowledge retention rates – People learn new information and knowledge more effectively if they do rather than just seeing or listening.
Although some may feel as though 3D printing is simply a way for students to experiment and express their creativity, this technology can be much more practical than that. In fact, learning materials produced for subjects like math and science could inspire the next generation of engineers, architects, designers, or any other creative yet empirical occupation.
It can also help students that struggle with learning theories and topics from a textbook but are much more capable when given tangible objects to work with. Therefore, students that were previously disillusioned with education could not only be reinvigorated by the prospect of learning but also unlock their hidden potential.
One of life's little nuisances, spam calls. Never talking to another telemarketer again, sounds too go to be true. Google's engineers have been hard at work bringing that reality to android users.
Their service enables Pixel phone users two options, the first being an on screen transcription of real time incoming calls. Giving the user a short on screen message of who may be calling them with the choice of answering the call. The other option is a feature powered by Duplex. The last time Google demonstrated its Duplex AI was making a call to restaurants and hair salons to book reservations.
Whether this will work is another question entirely as telemarketing databases track phone pick-ups and target those numbers more. Will Googles Call Screen be flagged as a pickup by telemarketers, it could result in more calls. We'll have to wait and see how it works in practice.
In what other ways can we remove accepted annoyances and solve our problems with a little creativity and know how.
How else can the relatively burgeoning field of Bio-Engineering grow? With the astonishing creation of CRISP-Cas9 what other possibilities loom ahead with tech that allows us to not only edit but use genomes in whole new arenas.
Imagine a synthetic material that could grow like trees, taking the carbon from the carbon dioxide and incorporating it into the material's backbone. A material designed, by researchers at MIT & University of California at Riverside, to react with carbon dioxide and ambient light. Which has potential for commercial applications such as self-healing coatings and crack filling and future advances leading to materials utilized in construction materials and composites.
Currently the synthetic gel-like material performs a process akin to the way plants convert carbon dioxide into glucose. This material might be made into prefabricated panels to be assembled at a build site. With an added bonus of, the material hardening & solidifying only when exposed to air and sunlight, reducing energy consumption and saving on transportation costs.
This completely uncharted area of materials science brings about a new technology of carbon-fixing materials that don't yet exist. Not only does it avoid fossil fuels for its creation but consumes carbon dioxide from the air. Thus giving obvious benefits for the environment & businesses alike.
Until now research to utilize chloroplasts has been quite limited as the chloroplasts stop operating within a few hours. The light harnessing power researchers utilized came from chloroplasts found in spinach leaves. However these chloroplasts are not alive but catalyze the reaction of carbon dioxide. The material researches used is a polymer made from aminopropyl methacrylamiden and glucose, an enzyme called glucose oxidase, and the chloroplasts becomes stronger as it consumes carbon.
Their work shows that carbon dioxide need not only be a burden and a cost. It is also an opportunity as carbon can be found everywhere.
If we read the latest bot-ploy — predicative keyboards penning an entirely new, nonsensical chapter of Harry Potter than nonetheless imitates J.K. Rowling's syntax down to a T — we can't help but wonder when AI will automate even fine art majors out of a job.
According to PayScale, Inc. and Future Workplace, almost half of managers surveyed perceived that their employees recently graduated from college were well-prepared for the workforce. These are the top four skills students should focus on improving.
1. In business writing, brevity is key when communicating via email with co-workers, managers, clients, and customers. This differentiation between writing papers in college and business writing lies with a misunderstanding of message. You are always writing for your audience. Messages should focus around the needs of the readers, wants and priorities. The best way to resolve this is to speak through the five w's: who, what, were, when, and why.
2. Fear of public speaking is estimated to affect 75% of the population of America. This is the second ranked sill employers are disappointed in. Public speaking goes beyond presenting to a large audience. It is more commonly seen during meetings. If public speaking gives you nerves a jolt, making key points to speak about can be a useful technique, since we are more likely to forget a speech wrote word for word. Create reference points to bullet key information in your talk. Giving special attention to the start and the end of your talk. Those are the points your audience is most likely to remember.
3. Being information literate is the third skill managers found lacking. You will need to have the ability to break down and understand data using software like Excel, Tableau, or Python. Data has an influence on every role in an organization, from marketing to customer service. You may need to take initiative to find the bounty of free online resources and create a personal project to develop these skills.
4. Roughly 60 percent of employers said that critical thinking and problem solving skills were the number one soft skills needing improvement among recent college grads. The way one handles a crisis or responds to a conflict could be a metric of these skills. Seeing as most recently graduated students aren't as experienced at handling business scenarios, they should look for guidance. Not all problems have a clear intuitive path to a solution. Finding a mentor and inquiring for solutions to the situations handled in the past may guide to creating your own step by step resolutions.
Maintaining the mindset of a life-long learner and continuing to update skills and learn new skills throughout your career.