Category Archives: Futurism

In Brief

While Tesla continues to invent and engineer cutting-edge electric vehicles, they are often in an unreachable price range for many. And, while theTeslas Model 3 has made manyheadlines with its technological advances and competitively comparable price point, GMs latest triumph, theChevorlet Bolt EV (or Chevy Bolt, for short), has been making some serious waves. Priced at around $30,000 (post tax-credit), the Bolt can drive over 320 km (200 miles) on a single battery charge.

Production of the Chevy Bolt began in October of 2016 and has been taking away some (well, quite a bit) of the limelight from the Model 3. Now, the Model 3 already has 400,000 preorders and is bound to be a massive success. However, the specs of the Chevy Bolt are impressing many.

Named Motor Trends Car of the Year for 2017, the Chevy Bolt is more than just an affordable alternative. The comfortable compact vehicle can go from 0-97 kph (0-60 mph) in just over 6 seconds. And, while thatis slower than all of the Tesla vehicles currently on the market, it is fast enough for the average car owner.

GM has also included OnStar 4G LTE connectivity in the Chevy Bolts. They also plan toequip the electric car withCruise Automations experimental self-driving technology (to what extent it has not been made clear).

Despite whether the GM or Tesla vehicle wins (though most are certain that the Bolt will not outsell the Model 3), this surge in electric vehicles is a good sign. As climate change becomes an ever-growing reality, it is imperative that we lessen and eventually cut our dependence on fossil fuels. And, while a lot of electricity is still produced using coal, renewable energy sources are becoming more feasible and powerful by the day. And so, as the technology for renewable energy resources advances, it is a hopeful thing to see, similarly, a rise in the production of electric vehicles.

Read the original here:
A New Electric Car Is Giving Tesla a Run for Its Money - Futurism

Regulation Rollback

According to reports, the Trump administration is preparing to enact an executive order to reduce the role and consideration of climate change in policy decisions. This move will rescind much of the environmental progress made by the Obama administration. The order would affect policy in a variety of fields, impacting drilling, coal mining, pipeline construction, and even appliance standards. Ultimately, the order would set back climate change progress in a major way.

The executiveorder would drop the metric of climate change from official environment reviews. It would also remove the social cost of carbon from these same reviews. This metric was used to evaluate the potential damage that climate change could have on the economy.

This order is also likely to be just the beginning of the administrations regulation rollback. The source of the information regarding this order mentioned that the new rules could set new requirements for the EPA to determine if current regulations are harmful to energy production.

One of the many promises that helped propel the current POTUS to victory in the Electoral College was his promise to coal miners. He seems intent on attempting to keep that promise. These new rules will make it easier for the industry to mine coal, and incentivize coal more as a more attractive energy resource.

Many scientists, environmentalists, and average citizensare vehemently against this newly presented executiveorder. Paul Getsos, national coordinator of Peoples Climate Movement stated, It also sends a dangerous message to the world that the United States does not care about climate change or protecting front-line communities.

To compound the effect of this upcoming order, the administration has released the presidents 2018 budget proposal. The proposal guts funding to such environmentally centered departments like the EPA and the Department of the Interior. The Sierra Clubs Executive Director Michael Brune stated the following in a press release:

Money talks, and Trumps budget proposal screams that the only thing that matters in his America is corporate polluters profits and Wall Street billionaires. If Trump refuses to be serious about protecting our health and climate, or our publicly owned lands, then Congress must act, do its job, and reject this rigged budget. The American people are watching, and they will continue to demand that their voices are heard and protected. Any member of Congress that fails to put the American people first will need to start updating their resume.

Regardless of who sits in the Oval Office, climate change is real. And regardless of who is the head of the EPA, carbon dioxide is causing the planet to warm. There is no debating the science of these claims. In fact, the debate is largely subsiding since the majority of people now all agree on the legitimacy of climate change, and that human activity is causing it. Hopefully, these orders will not be a sign of future action, because no matter what is happening in politics, the effects of climate change are becoming more real and more drastic each and every day.

Read more:
Donald Trump Is Dropping Climate Change Impact From Governmental Reviews - Futurism

Facebooks Building 8

In April 2016, Facebook announced the launch of Building 8, a research lab to develop hardware projects in the style of DARPA. The internet behemoth even enlisted former DARPA executive Regina Dugan to head up the division. Dugan, who was part of Googles advanced projects division before taking on Building 8, has been leading an all-star roster of tech veterans since the project started.

Currently, Building 8 has four projects underway, and they touch upon cameras and augmented reality, devices that fly, and even brain-scanning technology.According to Business Insider, the technical lead for each project functions as a mini-CEO for the team, which has two years to produce a proof of concept.

None of these new products have been released yet, but Facebooks developer conference, FB8, takes place in San Jose, California, on April 18 and 19, and Building 8s new toys couldplay a central role at the event, though nothing on the schedule explicitly mentions the division.

With Building 8, Facebook took a risk, stepping into hardware development despite a lack of experience in that realm, and theyre now competing against giants like Google and Apple. The new division is even structured very similarly to Googles ATAP and X moonshot lab,and teams are conducting research in some of the same areas.

A Facebook that can read your mind has been on Mark Zuckerbergs mind for a while now, and Building 8s team includes a neuroscientist, formerly of Johns Hopkins, who was part of the team that developed a mind-controlled prosthetic arm. This scientist now leads the brain-scanning tech project for Building 8.

Introducing both virtual and augmented reality into the Facebook world has also been an interest of Zuckerbergs, andanother current Building 8 project involves cameras and augmented reality.

A third project with medical applications is being led by a Stanford interventional cardiologist with expertise in the development of early stage medical devices. These academic collaborations arealso a part of the Facebook long game, which culminated with the launch of SARA, the Sponsored Academic Research Agreement, in December 2016.

Building 8 is also taking to the air with the help of Frank Dellaert, a computer vision and robotics expert leading what appears to be a consumer drone project. Dellaert was previously the chief scientist at Skydio, a drone startup, and that companys former head of hardware, Stephen McClure, has also signed on to Building 8. They are joined by several former GoPro employees. Dugan wrote of Dellaert, Hes going to help us make things fly when hes not guarding the door.

Building 8 is reportedly planning to jumpstart a fifth project, as yet unspecified and leaderless.

Based on the highly qualified hires for Building 8, Facebook appears to view the division as a long-term investmentand is quiteserious about manufacturing and selling its own devices whatever they turn out to be.

The rest is here:
Inside Building 8, Facebook's Secret Innovation Weapon - Futurism

I Said Yes Immediately

Stephen Hawking, the worlds most renownedphysicist and cosmologist, stated today that he is, in fact,heading to spaceand its happening all thanks to the Virgin group (and a bit of modern technology).

In astatementback in2015, Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin group, said that, one day, he hoped to be able to carry Hawking to the stars. In the statement, Branson noted that this offer came as a result of the great respect and admiration that he has for Hawking:

Professor Stephen Hawking is one of the people I admire most in the world, an undisputed genius who has opened our eyes to the wonders of the universe, while also happening to be a kind and delightful man. He is the only person I have given a free ticket with Virgin Galactic, and he is signed up to fly as a Future Astronaut with us if his health permits it.

At 75 years of age, Hawking wont be the oldest astronaut ever (that designation belongs to John Glenn, who went to space at the age of 77), but he will be the first person to go to space with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)also known as Lou Gehrigs disease. ALS is amotor-neuron disease that generally leads to death within five years of the initial diagnosis. Hawkings condition was first diagnosed when he was 21, and he was not expected to see his 25th birthday.

Fast-forward 50 years, and here we are.

Traveling to space, of course, is risky business, even more so when health concerns come into play. Now, it seems that Hawking is set to go. Hawkings voyage to space will alsogive scientists an opportunity to study the effects of ALS in new ways, such as how it operates in zero-gravity.

When discussing the anticipated event, Hawking toldGood Morning Britain that he never dreamed hedhave such an opportunity, and that he said yes immediately. Hawking continued by noting that he looks forward to the voyage with great anticipation, comparing flying into space to the same joy that his three children have brought him. During the discussion, he stated, my three children have brought me great joy and I can tell you what will make me happy, to travel in space.

Of course, space is one thing, but this isnt the first time Hawking experienced Zero-G

Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwoisa reusable, winged spacecraft designed to carry up to eight people (including two pilots) into space, and the link between Hawking and Virgin Galactic isnt exactly new. Just last year, Hawking unveiled the name of theSpaceShipTwo craft, the VSS Unity. During afour-minute recorded video, Hawking explained that the Unity: will help bring new meaning to our place on Earth and to our responsibilities as its stewards, and it will help us to recognize our place and our future in the cosmos which is where I believe our ultimate destiny lies.

Ultimately, Hawking has long been an advocate of commercial spaceflight, and to this end, he notes that he greatly admires Virgin Galactics role in democratizing space, specifically, he clarified hisrespect for enabling more of humanity to experience the true wonder of space.

In Hawkings interview withGood Morning Britain, he focused on the importance ofthe unifying power of space exploration, especially in terms of bringing together governments from across the globe and inspiring future generations.

As Alan Stern, head of the New Horizons mission to Pluto, famously stated, enterprises like this are worthy for a number of reasons, but that, for him, two stick out in particular: Beyond the obviousthat were creating new knowledgewe create a greater society. We do something which is, in the case of great exploration, historic. Its something people read about, not just days and weeks later, but decades and centuries later. It makes a mark for our time of what we aspire to be, which is a greater society.

In short, the things that we invest in (whether that is sports, or war, or science) are a direct reflection of both the values that we hold and the society that we are currently building. And as is clear from this revelation, Hawking truly believes in going where no ones gone beforeor at least, only a very few people.

Read this article:
Stephen Hawking is Going to Outer Space - Futurism

In Brief

In case you hadnt noticed, there are a lot of agencies and companies working hard to get humans to Mars. SpaceX says it will definitely launch their crewed mission by 2020. NASA has a mandate to get the US to Mars by 2033.

China will launch its first Mars probe by 2020 with the aim of becoming a frontrunner in space exploration by 2030. While that hasnt included explicit plans for Mars yet, other frontrunners in space will be there in the 2030s. Mars Ones goal is to establish a permanent human colony on the Red Planet. The UAE has also stated that it plans to place a human colony on Mars, with a safety goal date of 2117.

While getting to Mars may be the initial hurdle to overcome, the challenges wont stop oncewe get there. Humans living on Mars must be equipped to handlethe necessarysocial disruptions, potential emotional turmoil, medical dangers, and other potential hardships. Life on Marswould demand that humans adapt to the planet rather than expecting Mars to adapt to their presence. Physical health problems that arise on Mars could well beuntreatable, depending on the type of expertise, equipment, or other resources that would be needed to treat them. Further complications could arise on a genetic basis, as concerns of consanguinitycould be a threat to colonies if an insufficient number of people for propagation made the journey.

Mental health concerns could be even more salient for Mars colonies, which would essentially be cut off from the life they knew on Earth. Although results from NASAs HI-SEAS isolation experiment which seals off small crews near the top of Hawaiis Mauna Loa volcano have been promising, many believe that there is really no way to truly prepare humans mentally for life on Mars while theyre still on Earth.

The real, and perhaps simplest, answer may be that life on Mars wont be for everyone. Neither is life in New York City, or tattoos, or any number of lifestyles or practices. The beauty in the diversity of human experience is that all those things have theirloyal adherents and so will off-world living.

Read more from the original source:
Space Agencies Want to Put Humans on Mars by 2033, but Will Humans Be Ready to Go? - Futurism

A Solar Scope

Each day we get closer to exploring farther reaches of our solar system and universe. We have come incredibly far and seem to make progress with each day. However, our ability to survey the outer corners of the cosmos is limited by our current telescopic technology. Now, modern telescopes are nothing to scoff at. As the iconic Hubble Telescope is phased out, the James Webb Space Telescope will continue to capture the beauty of outer space. But scientists have figured out a way to push the boundaries of telescopic technology even further: by turning the Sun (yes, that sun) into a telescope.

To use the sun as some sort of massive magnifying glass, scientists have deferred to Einsteins Theory of Relativity. According to the theory, large objects (like the Sun) bend the space around them, and so anything traveling in that space (even light) bends as well. In a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, if light is bent around an object in a particular way, it can magnify the space (quite literally, space) behind it.

Scientists have previously used gravitational lensing to help telescopes to be more effective, but now, researchers aim to use this distribution of matter as a telescope. This new approach certainly has its pros and cons. In order to harness this lensing, the necessary instruments would need to approach pretty close to the sun, in order to reach a target 550 AU away. While humans and probes have traveled much closer to the sun than this, and plan to do so in the future, this difficult journey would take a long time and the equipment would have to be somehow placed into the middle of space.

However, if this is pulled off, it would be a massive leap forward in imaging technology. We could finally get a closer, clearer look at Trappist-1, and would be that much closer to discovering life outside of Earth.

As mentioned previously, this sun scope is not the only highly advanced space-imaging technology thats surfacing. The James Webb Space Telescope, set to launch in October of 2018, will hopefully continue and advance the incredible work of the Hubble Telescope. In fact, this telescope is so powerful that Lee Feinberg, an engineer and James Webb Space Telescope Optical Telescope Element Manager at Goddard, was quoted as saying. The Webb telescope is the most dynamically complicated article of space hardware that weve ever tested.

The technology that we use to capture the incredible images of space isimproving every day. Modern telescopes will continue to advance, becoming more powerful, more precise, and more detailed. So, while the idea of a sun-based telescope is incredible and could yield unprecedented images and information, even if it doesnt pan out, we will most certainly continue to find improved ways to look at the Universe.

Here is the original post:
NASA Plans To Turn The Largest Object in Our Solar System into a ... - Futurism