These past few years I have been asked many times why I don’t have a blog.
And two years ago when I wrote the book Web 2.0 The Internet Has Changed, and You?, they began to tease me online (always affectionately however, thanks 
). The title of my book could be found in many blogs, and they turned it against me: “Vito: the internet has changed, and you?” they would write. (more…)
Here is my first post, it is called “indestructible materials”, and it is one of the episodes from the series “Live from the Future”, now showing on the Discovery Channel. Many people have asked me if they could find this or other episodes online, and the response was “no, sorry”. Well now the response has changed and now it is “Yes. Now you can find it here on this blog.”
We can all become superheroes with new materials discovered through science; introducing D3O, a material which will allow us to become indestructible.
Every generation has its superheroes. For me it was Batman, the Rocket Red Brigade, and Superman (but to my father he was still known as Nembo Kid). For my younger friends it was the generation of Marvel Comics, from Spiderman to the Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk. For my children it was Sharkboy and Lavagirl. What do these different generations of heroes all have in common? Superpowers. And, obviously, they all fight evil. The superheroes are the contemporary versions of God and demigods; or of the angels, if you prefer a period more recent and a more Christian version.
The superheroes are the mirrors in which one reflects on the larger side of one’s self, that which strives to vanquish the evil that one encounters. And in order to do so, we must be equipped with what we do not have: superpowers. In this truth lies the key difference between ourselves and superheroes. If we were able, we too would truly eliminate the bad. Unfortunately, we do not have these powers, so we can forgive ourselves for this small display of cowardice…Within the superheroes lies the fascination of this dream and our conscience’s alibi.
Times have been hard for maintaining our excuses and alibis because science has progressed exceptionally in this time period, and the amount of our discoveries in the past ten years of this new millennium equates to the number of all of the discoveries made in the last thousands years of history. One of the most important fields of discovery is material science, which has begun to mix the properties of computer chips with that of telecommunications, and mixed with nanotechnology. The result is extraordinary. Computer chips have brought about the ability to consider, to work out information, and to summarize. Today’s telecommunications capabilities allow us access and communication 24 hours a day and without any burdensome lines. Nanotechnologies have the ability to miniaturize everything and mix, weave, and tie together all of the other existing materials.
The result? Superpowers.
Take invisibility for example. Invisibility has been studied at the University of California in Berkeley by a team of scientists at the “Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center” run by Professor Xiang Zhang. For the first time in history, a 3D material has been created that inverts the natural direction of visible light; by using close infrared waves, it has the ability to turn objects invisible to the human eye. Or take for example indestructibility, which will soon become a reality thanks to the engineer Richard Palmer from Brighton in the United Kingdom. He has created D3O, a material that, on impact, can change its molecular structure and become indestructible for split second. This crucial hundredth of a second allows the material to sustain the entire traumatic blow, thus saving the person for which the blow was intended. The following video will help explain D3O and its powers of indestructibility.
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Tech entrepreneur, Tan Le, explains what Emotiv is and how it may be applied in the future. There are many possible applications for this type of technology: from a more realistic video game experience to aiding people who are wheelchair-bound.
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The research on (BCI) Brain Computer Interface, started in 1970 at UCLA, with financing from the National Science Foundation. The research from this sector are now numerous, and point towards neuro-prosthetics that can repair a persons poor hearing, as well as eyesight and movement. The systems of BCI are based on the interpretation of brain signals, and work to improve the way they function.
Today however, with an extraordinary influence by videogame fanatics, it is possible to find on the market a headset for videogames that can turn thoughts into actions: Emotiv. The special headset has a non-invasive technology that can interpret electric impulses from the brain, and monitor the reactions from the user. The headset is configured through the software Emokey, that allows the integration of our mood to any type of videogame.
Emotiv allows for three levels of detection: expressive – to notice the expression of our face; affective – captures our emotions, which dynamically modify the context of the game (music volume and colors – adapt to our sensations); cognitive – to control objects, by simply thinking of the action that are about to take place.
Technology entrepreneur Tan Le was interviewed by David H. Freedman from INC Magazine.
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The artificial tree—product of GRT (Global Research Technologies of Tucson, in Arizona)—holds carbon dioxide, thanks to an absorbent coating formed by water and calcium; but in contrast to natural trees, it is not capable of releasing oxygen back into the air.
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According to the EPA, the median amount of CO2 emissions produced by a family of two amounts to 13 tons of CO2 in the atmosphere every year, without taking into account transportation. We thought that we could solve the problem of pollution by simply increasing the “green spaces” and nature and let photosynthesis take care of the rest. Unfortunately, this isn’t an efficient proposal.
Perhaps some of you may remember the Sleipner project, active from off the shores of Norway since 1995: one of the many project developed for entrapment of carbon dioxide. Due to these activities it has been possible to acquire a lot of significant experience for the future development of CO2 recycling systems.
Professor Klaus Lackner, a geophysics professor at Columbia University in New York—interviewed in the video by BBC for the series “Five Ways to Save the World”—has in fact worked since 2003 on a car that would be capable of capturing carbon dioxide and transform it into dust, and in this way allow us to store it underground or in the ocean, lowering the consumption of petroleum or gas.
Lackner has also studied ways to store CO2 based on the process of rock weathering: when the gas that bonds to magnesium forms carbonic rocks that hold the carbon in a permanent and safe manner.
Lackner’s project is truly interesting, but the cost and amount of energy in order to capture the carbon dioxide is greater than what we could achieve by recycling the CO2.
Respecting the protocol of Kyoto, there is no doubt that there is a need to go down the path of reduction of consumption of fossil fuels. Above all, if we are conscious of the demand for energy coming from developing countries, and of the serious environmental damages and problems we will face should we not succeed in balancing our energy consumption within a few years.
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Twice nominated “British Designer of the Year”, Hussein Chalayan is renowned for his innovative usage of material and propensity towards integrating them with new technologies. Is this the fashion of the future?
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Fashion can show the spirit of an entire era. From the XIX century until now, we have witnessed the transformation of fashion. What was once a tailor is now considered a stylist: a person who interprets contemporary fashion into a full, modern outfit. Then there are a few stylists whose designer clothing become famous around the globe such as Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Thomas Burberry (inventor of the material that is water proof and doesn’t rip), and some of the most popular such as Mary Quant, the inventor of the mini skirt.
Now designer Hussein Chalayan is making a mark in the fashion world with his hi-tech collections, which have started the era known as “Animatronic Fashion.” Chalayan has revealed his collections in popular museums such as the Tate Modern, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Kyoto Costume Institute. The creations of Chalayan reveal his inspiration tied to anthropology, history, science, philosophy, and technology. His models wear a special type of corset that is connected with cables that are able to morph the clothing. By pressing a button, a special mechanism can transform the clothes, making them look completely different than the initial form. The technology allows long dresses to shorten, tight ones to loosen, and open jackets to close.
Hussein Chalayans clothes have their own “soul” and a name: ‘Afterwords’. The concept is based on ‘wearing portable architecture’, and it demonstrates to us how furniture can transform itself into clothes; ‘Airborne’ uses LED technology to further beautify dresses completely covered by Swarovsky crystals; ‘Before Minus Now’ is a cloth that is made from the same material used to create airplanes – which changes form thanks to a control from a distance. ‘Readings’ was built with more than 200 lasers which generate a spectacular light show.
The “Animatronic Fashion” might seem far away, but many stylists have been inspired by Chalayans art and are working together so that this project can materialize into something epic.
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Alternative fuel methods are springing up all over the world, showing that gasoline is not our last source of hope to power vehicles. Everything from electricity, to solar power, to hydrogen, and now: vegetable oil, has been shown to power cars just as effectively while also helping the world with pollution.
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Vegetables: often seen as health food items with countless positive benefits for the body, now can have a positive impact on the environment as well. The following invention shows that when vegetables are manipulated to the fullest extent, they can be used for virtually anything imaginable.
The first ever race between cars was in 1887, the cars were mind numbingly slow, and the wheels seemed more like that of a bicycle instead of a modern day race car. Today formula one cars have intricate, powerful engines that can push the boundaries of speed to new limits. They all ran on gasoline powered engines, and lightweight metallic frames, until now.
A formula-3 race car made entirely from vegetables? The thought at first might be absurd, but one needs to see what James Meredith has materialized using this concept over the past few months. The vehicle has a two liter biodiesel engine that can run on vegetable oil left over from frying foods, or also on chocolate powder. The wheel has a carrot base and the wing mirror is made using potato starch. The list goes on and on, showing how every unique part of the race car has pieces of vegetable integrated inside: the body is made from recycled bottles, the seats from soybean oil and recycled foam.
If environmentalists thought the new generation vehicles could not get any greener, the vegetable race car is as environmentally friendly as it gets.
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Washing clothes by barely using any water? As impossible as that sounds, a system has been put in place where environmental friendliness meats cleanliness. In the future, doing the laundry won’t be nearly as wasteful for our limited and precious natural resources, and it doesn’t include going to the lake and washing clothes like they did centuries ago.
The first ever washing machine was patented in 1858 by Hamilton Smith. This rotary machine accomplished the simple deed of washing away dirt from clothes. As the years rolled on, washing machines became more and more effective, being able to use detergents as well to make clothes smell like new, while also washing away stains. Now, theses machines are used in most households all over the world. But the environmental consequences are noteworthy, namely: the millions of gallons of water needed for washing machines to operate at optimum capacity.
Researchers at the University of Leeds have developed a washing machine that uses an astonishingly low amount of water. It only consumes a mere 2 percent compared to any other conventional washing machine. This technology is already being dubbed as the “virtually waterless washing system”. The process uses plastic granules that are mixed with the clothing and have the power to remove stains singlehandedly. This process is capable of removing virtually any type of dirt or build up, and when the clothes are taken out, they are almost dry.
The process being developed will have beneficial effects for the earth and water usage. Each washing cycle will lead to less build up at industrial sites such as wastewater treatment centers. As this technology spreads around the globe, fresh, usable water will be available for other services, rather than wasting by the gallon as it washes clothes.
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This video explains a new trend of “try-vertising” in which consumers are able to try new products for free. It’s a win-win situation: buyers get to use the products for free before they hit store shelves, and companies gain valuable market research.
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In the last few years we have directly, or implicitly, experienced and assisted to the creative freedom of art directors, advertisers, and copywriters. In Japan and Korea, the presence of advanced technology and an innovative culture for excellence, has opened the doors for all sorts of experimentation, with the realization of interactive windows, holographic displays, or women window displays (dressed by automatic product distributors).
In the meantime, the exposition of the internet to its business models, it is not beyond contributing further to this scenario.
Contrastingly in the United States, the concept of “sampling” is back in style, or rather free product trials. But this time inaugurating a new era of advertising: “Try advertising”.
With the Alliant International University campus in San Diego, “Sample U” has arrived: a laboratory dedicated to the study of marketing consumer products. “Sample U” offers products that are virtually unavailable, available directly from the manufacturer, in exchange for some information about the identity of the user and their experience.
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