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Blogging the future

Helen Keller asked people to think about how they would use their eyes if they only had three more days to see. Thinking about what one would do forces one to understand exactly how important sight is to human enjoyment of life. Researchers at University of Washington have developed contact lenses with circuits that will enhance the way that we see the world. Future wearers of these contact lenses with circuits will be able to see what the display is superimposing on the world with a virtual display.

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More Info:

• http://www.washington.edu
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhdG9D_ARWY

The Lilypad, designed by French architect Vincent Callebaut, is a city at sea, inspired by the houseboats and water lilies from the Amazon region. Each Lilypad city, accommodating about 50 thousand people, could someday be the self-sufficient home for displaced people in the future.

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MoreInfo:

• http://vincent.callebaut.org

Engineers from the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Michigan have developed the first wireless flying-insect cyborg. Using electrodes that are connected to the insect’s optic lobes and flight muscles, these bugs could be the newest form of undercover agent.

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Imagine walking down the street, and seeing a tiny black beetle buzzing along. Would you ever fathom that perhaps this miniscule creature is the end result of thousands of hours of research and development?

The first unmanned remote controlled airplane was flown in 1916. Decades later, hundreds of tiny remote controlled planes made their way into mass production. Tiny helicopters were created as well, sending enthusiasts into a frenzy. Now, technology has created the possibility of flying a living, breathing creature.

Hirotaka Sato and Michel M. Maharbiz, at the University of California at Berkeley, and researchers at the Boyce Thompson Institute, at the University of Michigan, are using cutting edge technology to manipulate the movements of a wide range of insects, from beetles to dragon flies. By connecting electrodes to the insect’s optic lobes, the flight muscles can be controlled by a remote. The result is almost like driving a toy airplane, thus transforming these creatures into undercover bugs of the future. Insects are a seemingly perfect undercover agent, as they are inexpensive, unassuming, and versatile. A beetle, for example, can carry objects (such as a miniature camera) that are much heavier than their own body weight.

What does this mean for the future of our privacy? These controllable insects could very well change our defense mechanisms, as well as create new forms of investigation.

More Info:

• http://www.darpa.mil/MTO/Programs/himems/index.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMjJFQTZKtw

Rotterdam-based architects MVRDV recently won the Gwanggyo City Centre Competition with their design of an incredible new city just south of Seoul, South Korea. Envisioned as a verdant acropolis of organic ‘hill’ structures, the proposed complex is a fully self-sufficient city for up to 77,000 inhabitants.

The Dutch firm MVRDV has designed a fully sustainable city in the center of Gwanggyo, which is located near Seoul in South Korea. The project, Gwanggyo Power Center, looks like something from the movies: is a series of large hill-shaped structures, with outdoor terraces and plantations for storing water. The vertical design and landscape will improve the climate and ventilation and reduce energy use and water. The concept provides space for housing, offices, shops, and educational facilities. An internal irrigation system stores extra water from the buildings and uses it to sustain these green facades.

The Gwanggyo Green Power Center is completely self-sufficient, and can accommodate 77 thousand inhabitants. Also, the project will also be effective in reducing dependency on automobile or train travel and building a strong sense of community. The estimated budget and deadlines are still not defined, but the project’s completion is scheduled for 2011.

The project is innovative and intriguing, and although it may seem a bit far-fetched, this city centers may become a new future trend. It is important to stress the need for self-sustainability and energy efficiency in our future cities, and the Gwanggyo Green Power Center is a great start.

More Info:

• http://www.mvrdv.nl

Students from the College of Science and Technology at Deakin University create the home of the future: a compact house with adaptable rooms that will change as needed, and a shared garden and patio for up to 4 members of one family.

We tend to associate people who live in big houses with personal and professional success. This is one of the most striking features in our society: the values are determined by material goods that people acquire throughout life.

But at least with regard to buildings and homes, that concept may have its days numbered.

A group of students from the College of Science and Technology at Deakin University, Australia,led by Project Leader Jeremy J. Ham, has created several designs of houses for the year 2050. And one of these projects shows how one family of up to four people can live perfectly well in space of only 16 square meters (about 150 feet)!

The residence has a single room, but at the same time possesses dining room, office, living room, bathroom, etc.. How is this possible? The students created the concept of “modules” so that the environments are “assembled” in accordance with the time or need.

This tendency to abolish the walls of a house, incorporating the environment and the people who live there, is becoming more popular among architects. This project shows the most extreme aspect of this innovative and interactive trend.

The house of the future also has garden and yard surfaces, touch screen walls, and translucent panels. In addition, housing is self-sustaining. The house has received a number of adjectives such as intelligent, virtual, recyclable, smart, and interactive.

The concept is built upon a dynamic blend of space, time, and necessity, for people in the future. The results can be seen in the video below.

More Info:

• http://www.ab.deakin.edu.au/online/futurehouse/
• http://www.deakin.edu.au/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SNRzQSBJ8g

The Universal Exposition of 2015 (Expo 2015) will be held in Milan, Italy. Designers and innovators from around the world will come together to display their new products and technologies.

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Man is the true protagonist of Expo 2015. Most people are under the impression that the point of Expo 2015 is to show off all of the innovative and wonderful technology of tomorrow. Well, it is. But in reality, all of those innovations are to better improve our lives. If there are no improvements, if these innovations don’t change a thing, what is their purpose?

Working on the future of a city is a challenging experience. I have designed 25 solutions for the Expo that will make it a much more enjoyable and relaxing experience for the visitors. Solutions such as automatic RFID identification will allow for automatic identification and access to permitted areas and reduced waiting times. Biometric scanners will be used to ensure that only the authorized personnel are allowed in restricted areas. And visitors will be able to connect to the Expo online to better manage their time and visit. These are just some of the many ideas and solutions that I have created to enhance the visitor’s experience at Expo 2015.

The purpose of the Expo is not only to show where technology and where the world is going, but also to show where technology is, how far it’s come. The Expo will be a place to show the visitors all of the services available to them. The enhanced security and more personalized service that is available through many forms of media and technology. Visitors will feel more at ease and more at home than ever before, while at the same time they will be able to admire countries, cultures, and people from around the world all from the city of Milan.

The Expo will illustrate all the advances man has made to live a better life. It will put on display the great strides we’ve taken, and where we are headed in the years to come. At the Expo, we will feel more connected than ever before thanks to all of the resources that will be available to us as visitors. Because after all, we are guests of honor.

More Info:

• http://www.milanoexpo-2015.com/indexe.htm

San Francisco designer, Joanna Borek-Clement has created an innovative architectural urban design that could alleviate pollution and overcrowded streets. Sky-Terra is a structural system based on the concept of adding a new and eco-friendly level to major cities, adding new public spaces to already crowded cities.

Although skyscrapers might be beautiful, complaints have come from some of them ruining the horizon, by sticking out like a sore thumb in the middle of a vast wilderness. Look around any large metropolis and you will note the same things: no room for expansion, pollution, crowded city streets, a vast array of buildings that take away sunlight from the avenues below. They cast an ominous, eerie shade on the city below, taking away the suns warmth, and replacing it with the shades chillier temperature. The need for public spaces is crucial in any busting metropolis.

Joanna Borek-Clement is a designer from San Francisco who has envisioned a new way of constructing high-rises using a new architectural design. Her design is inspired by the shape of a neuron cell, and would allow the streets below to be filled with parks, and recreational community buildings. Her idea shows buildings sprouting up from the ground, and branching out wider towards the sky, sort of like building an alternate layer far away from the ground. These interconnected towers would also be built of mass-produced materials that would allow for the conservation of critical energy and precious resources.

I like this project: it makes a lot of sense for the environment and for bettering the general life of city dwellers. I find that its practicality could lead the project to materialize into something concrete within the next several years. A new, intricate layer in the sky could better the quality of life for the ones who seek to stay below it.

More Info.:

• http://joannaborek.com/index_welcome.html

Moy, the futuristic car created by Croatian designer Elvis Tomljenovic, is a concept car for a technologically-driven generation. Moy is completely customizable, made with polycarbonate layers and LED fibers. The driver is once again the commander of his vehicle, as he is able to choose any design or pattern for his car.

Henry Ford, at the time of the presentation of the Ford T in 1908, said that the cars would be available in every color as long as it was black.

The imposition to the market of a single car color coincides with the beginning of marketing interpreted as “product orientation”.

The 1900′s was the century of mass production: standardized product, thought of to please as many people as possible. The new millenium on the other hand, started a new trend: personalization. Today at the center of the production process, lie our desires, and that is what leads companies to design products which allow us to express our inner creativity.

100 year have passed since the release of the Ford T, and today we can change the color of our car anytime we want.

It is called Moy, and it was projected by the Croatian designer Elvis Tomljenovic, who won a contest for the Automotive Design Conference in Zagreb.

Moy is the concept car for the “generation that will use technology as a basis to express themselves and to communicate”. The body of Moy is composed of thin layers of polycarbonate that contain a layer of liquid crystals, also with LED’s and electro-chromed fibers. Outside of the technical specifications the principle is the same as a screensaver, all one needs is a computer. One picks an image he likes, or creates one, and then sends it via wi-fi to the car, which applies it to the car’s body. The concept surely will draw interest, even because Tomljenovic thought of equipping the car with an electric motor, to demonstrate his support for environmental sustainability, which is now in the DNA of this young designer.

The real test now is to make the Moy secure while driving in the bustling traffic of our crowded streets, and to transform it from being a brilliant idea to an actual successful product. Aesthetically pleasing, personalized, with an electric motor, respectful for the environment, safety. Will this be the car of the future?

More Info.:

• http://www.yankodesign.com/2009/04/08/have-a-different-car-everyday/
• http://tomljenovic.carbonmade.com/projects/2271356

Carolina Pino, a student at NYU, has created what she calls Shellhouse Living Portable. They are traceable, portable shelters for the homeless. She created it to allow even those less fortunate to network with the world.

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Carton is a symbol of consumerism: a material that highlights the contradictions of the capitalistic world, divided by abundance and misery. It can contain food or objects of any type, and it can be thrown away and be recycled later on. The first carton boxes in history dated back to 1817, the year in which England used this material for commercial shipping. From that point on, carton has been present in our daily lives, sometimes being almost invisible.

But this time, it has been used as the main protagonist in the artwork of a young Chilean designer, a brilliant NYU student Carolina Pino – an artist splitting her time between Santiago, Chile, and New York. Her project is named “Shellhouse Living Portable.”

Carolina explains that her carton shelters for the homeless are the creation of a project that tried to capture something extremely economic by using technology: apparently something that hasn’t been explored, until now. The carton house is equipped with a circuit that transmits radio signals and transforms a simple box into a traceable internet device. Through the internet connection, the “shellhouse” is visible online and traceable inside of the city while navigating on google maps.

An inspired effort to aid the less fortunate of our community, this project can show new possibility towards the control and prevention of homelessness, while also helping those who live in the streets of our cities, and assuring them that they are not forgotten. Bravo, Carolina!

More Info.:

• http://carolinapino.net/
• http://www.shellhouse.org/

All five senses are appealed to with the new cocoon helmet, which allows the user to be in any location or historical event and actually have all their senses stimulated simultaneously.

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Whoever thought history cannot be relived, and that every corner of the globe cannot be explored, might want to rethink their theories. Imagine sitting at home, and being able to relive moments that happened centuries ago, or feeling as if you were in the middle of the scorching hot Sahara desert. Technology isn’t far from creating this fantasy into a reality.

The Virtual Cocoon will consist of a headset incorporating specially developed electronics and computing capabilities. The project leaders are scientists David Howard from the University of York, Alan Chalmers and Christopher Moir from University of Warwick, along with experts from the Universities of Bangor, Bedford, and Brighton.

One puts on the virtual helmet, and the user immediately sees the action unfolding right before their eyes thanks to the high definition screen. A surround system accompanies the scenery, and chemicals are released to match the exact scent of the event. If one dares to venture into the desert, they will feel the scorching heat, or if they are strolling a beautiful garden, the scent of roses will be released to make the experience and unforgettable one. Smell will be generated electronically using a technique that will deliver a pre-determined smell recipe on-demand while the team intend to provide a texture sensation relating to something being in the mouth and tactile devices will provide touch input.

More Info.:

• www.davidhoward.co.uk/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Chalmers