Enduring relics

Some technology just refuses to die.  It may have been shipped off to the nursing home but it still manages to sneak out on the town once in a while.

Why is that?  What is it about certain gadgets that lets them live on well past their sell by date?  Technologies that we depended on last century should be well and truly buried by now but some of them just won't lie down.

I loved my Palm IIIxe

Take the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).  The Palm Pilot and its ilk were highly desirable once upon a time.  However, with the advent of the smartphone, which is a PDA and a zillion other things besides, you would think that there was no market for the humble Palm.  Not so.

According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), 350,000 PDAs were sold in the United States last year.  I doubt that you personally helped the figure along but if you work for a company that sells product lines they may well have been a contributor.  PDAs have long been used for stock control in warehouses and shops and that need is still there.  Just because new technology is available it doesn't mean that companies have thrown out the systems they've used for years.  So, yes, the PDA may be dead as a consumer gadget but it still has a niche in industry, and for good reason.

My first SLR: Canon AE1 Program

Maybe there's also a niche for photo film cameras too.  Although the digital camera has very publicly killed the likes of the once mighty Kodak, film stock refuses to die.  You can still buy single use, disposable film cameras and camera buffs need film for those quirky cameras they still play around with.  You also have to appreciate that just because something is old doesn't mean that everyone will stop using it.  People who have grown up with film and have a camera that they know and love will still support the technology, even if becomes increasingly difficult to source the film stock and the processing services.

Simplicity personified: the Rega Planar 3 turntable

A similar situation exists with vinyl records. Compact discs should have killed vinyl off years ago and digital
music services over the net should have mopped up any stragglers but no, vinyl is more popular now than it has been since its heyday.  Why?  Because people like the sound they get from vinyl.  They like the big footprint of the 33 and the wonderful equipment that plays these plastic discs.  Even price seems no barrier to sales, with vinyl releases costing considerably more than digital downloads or CDs.

People have long sounded the death knell for these technologies but when the user base for that obsolete gadget still supports it, you cannot truly kill it off.

12 obsolete technologies that refuse to die (Yahoo)

Flick of the wrist

More rumours of a iWatch are circulating.  If such a thing was launched, would it be a success?  I'm not sure it would be.  Younger people don't seem to have grown up wearing a watch.  This is not going to replace all the functionality you have on your smartphone so surely you will still need to carry one of those everywhere you go.  The more I look at this suggested vision of an iWatch the more I think of the bracelets that felons wear whilst on probation.

Oh well, each to their own I suppose.


iWatch rumours (Apple Insider)

A very big pile

The Samsung S4 is already a record breaker.  Less than 1 month after its high profile release it has already shifted 10 million units.  10 million.  Just think about that.  Can you picture 10 million anything?  I can't .  The number is way too big.

Just how big a pile is 10 million phones?

This kind of volume makes me dizzy on a number of levels.  First of all how do you set up a manufacturing operation to churn out that number of devices?  We're not talking about nuts and bolts here, stamped out on a machine.  These are high precision complex devices that need to be assembled, tested, boxed then shipped to all the corners of the earth where they may be sold.  There are some serious logistics involved here.

The designers have done their bit.  They've created a blueprint that can be turned into a plan for assembly into an incredibly clever muli-purpose computer that will fit into your pocket (assuming you've got a big pocket).

They've hit the ground running.  They've moved this large volume of hardware to the retailers and phone providers ready for the big launch then they've opened the front door and in came a tech-hungry public ready to devour this gorgeous thing.  Even with it's price tag above $1000, that was no barrier to this enormous sales figure being achieved in less than 30 days.

Technology assembly line

Just for a moment forget the actual phone technology and the machines that make this possible and just think of the human effort that has gone into a project like this.  Think of all the people in their white, corporate overalls working long hours on the assembly line. Consider all the satellite factories that produced the components that are turned into that shiny new smartphone.  Think of the drivers and pilots that ferried the product around the globe, the marketers that created the campaigns to launch this new tech beast.  Think about the retailers who threw open their shop doors to welcome in those customers in new of a tech fix,  And think about those 10 million individuals who decided that this month was the right time to invest a handsome sum of money in buying the most advanced consumer phone on the market (at least until the next one is launched).

Huge numbers, indeed.  Any closer to being able to appreciate the energy harnessed to make this happen?  No, me neither.

It's great to live in an age of technology but it's also rather humbling when you start thinking too hard about it.

S4 is the fastest selling Android ever (Stuff)

The future of the assembly line (IEEE Spectrum)

When phones go bad

Playing fair

There's an infamous saying that goes "Nothing is certain but death and taxes".

Well, no-one has yet managed to cheat death but there sure are plenty of commercial giants that rort the tax systems of the world.

Currently one particular bad fruit  is being quizzed by the US Senate as to  how they could earn $22 billion through an Irish subsidiary, yet paid only $10 million in taxes.

They're certainly not alone in this flagrant abuse of their corporate power.  However, they are the most valuable company in the world and if you were looking for a reason to loathe them, well . . . personally, I'm well beyond the loathing stage.

Senate panel asks for explanations (NZ Herald)

You can ask but you won't necessarily get an answer (TheVerge)

Highly questionable behaviour, again (Guardian)

Anode sponge

There are so many exciting research projects underway to find that most elusive of holy grails - the perfect battery.

It's clear that many battery start-ups are focused on improving a specific part of the battery.  Some are looking to see if they can find a battery material superior to lithium - if you believe Pellion, that material may be magnesium.  Others are focused on materials to construct the electrodes from - look at the great work that Amprius are doing with silicon nanowires versus Prieto's version using copper.

Another high-profile start-up with its own unique perspective is Xerion Advanced Battery Corp, founded by
University of Illinois science whiz, Dr Paul Braun.

Braun Research Group (Source: otm.illinois edu)

Braun's research group has developed a technology they call StructurePore, which as the name suggests, creates a porous material that behaves like a high-tech sponge.  Like many of these innovations in the battery world, Xerion have come up with a simple but effective method for fabricating their material.  To make their electrode they begin with a template container, which they fill with tiny glass or polymer balls.  Next they pour in liquid metal which sets around the balls.  When the template and balls are removed the remaining electrode is revealed with millions of tiny pores.  The electrode is then filled with conductive metals.  The result is an electrode that allows the ions to move much more quickly than in a conventional one and delivers huge improvements  in charge and discharge rates.

Although the electrode design is all new this technology works well with all the other components of lithium ion and nickel metal hydride (NiMH) designs, so could well be incorporated into existing processes rather than demand a totally new design.

What's particularly exciting about this technology is the speed with which a battery can be recharged.  Xerion believes that a battery for a cellphone, laptop or camera using their design could be re-charged in ONE MINUTE or less.  A heavier duty version for automotive use in hybrid vehicles could be completely recharged in the time it currently takes to stop and refill the petrol tank.

Let's hope that it's not long before dead cellphones and laptop batteries are a thing of the past.

StructurePore cathode technology

Braun Research Group at University of Illinois

Nanowire from recycled silicon

The technology world produces a lot of silicon - after all most of our computer powered gadgets are awash with the stuff.

However, once the product reaches end-of-life, the silicon is very difficult to recycle.  Most likely it will end up contributing to the shameful waste mountains polluting our world.

There is, though, a very novel use for this computer junk and one that could usher in the next generation of nanotechnology-driven products.   Battery technology is making great inroads into game-changing advances in the electrode design for the next generation of lithium ion batteries.  By replacing the solid graphite (carbon) anode with a 3 dimensional array of silicon nanowires, various teams of researchers are increasing the energy density (power to volume capability) by up to 10 times that of the very best current generation lithium ion batteries.  Silicon is a much better conductor than carbon and it absorbs up to 10 times more lithium ions. It can handle 10 times the electrical current of carbon, allowing for more amps to made available to the power-hungry devices of today.

Nanowires of silicon, anchored and spaced to allow expansion 

Unfortunately the nanowires that make up these next generation electrodes are a very fragile commodity and silicon does have some inherent problems that scientists have needed to overcome.  When used as an electrode, silicon expands about 4 times more than the equivalent carbon based one would and that has led to issues with cracking.  Unless the wires are anchored they quickly disintegrate and become useless.   However, by using colloidal nanosphere lithography manufacturing processes, they can now fabricate perfect "forests" of 50 - 70 micron thick nanowires that are spaced sufficiently to allow for expansion and are coated with a thin layer of copper to improve ion absorption and to protect the fragile structure. This process of using masks to shape materials is not new but its application to the burgeoning nanowire sector brings us a reliable and relatively cheap manufacturing process with huge potential.  It's all very well coming up with great ideas but commercial success is dependent on being able to actually turn that idea into a tangible product.

Check out the battery tech provided by promising start-ups like Amprius, who are using silicon nanowires in their almost-ready-for-market battery that will power some cellphones as early as 2014.  Take a look at the great work that Prieto Battery are doing with the use of copper coated anode sponges - another very clever and demonstrable manufacturing process.

http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/10/discarded-silicon-gets-new-life-in-lithium-ion-batteries/

How nanowires work (HowStuffWorks)

Nanowired anode

The Amprius cell is a reality, not vapourware

Here's a battery start-up that has real product in the market.

Amprius, yet another start-up from Stanford University isn't actually making batteries but it is producing vital components for them.  Amprius has developed a very special electrode made from silicon nanowires.  Rather than try raising the huge capital needed to build a manufacturing capability, Amprius has partnered with asian based battery producers.

Source: Amprius Technologies      

As with many of these next generation technologies, actual information about them is scant.  We do know that the nanowire anode can improve energy density by up to 10 times over the current capability of top of the line lithium ion.  This makes them highly desirable in the electrical vehicle sector.  The maximum recharge cycles could also be greatly higher than current technology with a jump from around 500 cycles to 6,000.  This technology will be based on using carbon nanotubes.  The nanotube structure could allow the device to eventually be printed using a special cellulose paper.  It has the potential to give us 'paper batteries'.

Amprius seems to be doing everything right at the moment, having recently raised $25 million from various sources.

Amprius Technologies home

The component market place

Silicon nanotubes in lithium ion batteries

Water battery

Future is wet for grid power storage

Sometimes technology advance has a very simple goal.  It may not be to do things faster or longer, it may be just to do them as cheaply as possible.

 Current changes the colour of Prussian blue dye          

In the arena of grid power storage, cost control is paramount.  Traditionally we don't store generated electricity because it is too expensive to be cost effective.  However, if we had a large capacity battery that was a cheap as chips to make and run, power storage could become viable.

Take solar or wind or any other renewable source where the generator is at the mercy of the weather elements.  During the day solar panels can harness all that sunshine to turn into electricity but at night when the sun disappears over the horizon that power generation capability is lost.  Day time sunshine yields far more power than we could use locally but come night time, when the lights go on and the power consumption goes up, demand cries out for the power we didn't need before.

One Stanford PhD student surveyed this landscape for his thesis and set out to design and build a battery that is so cheap, it could be viable for power storage.  (Have you noticed how it's US based university boffins that seem to be having most of the good ideas in the battery technology field recently?)

Colin Wessels formed a start-up, Alveo Energy to pursue this dream.  His technology uses copper, iron, water and some electrochromic prussian blue dye to create a simple battery.  It's a large unit, the size of about four car batteries and it's heavy too.  Size and weight are not such an issue when a battery is intended for fixed rather than portable usage.  This prototype one is a 50 kg 1 kWh battery.

On the face of it, not a particularly exciting project but cost-wise, this is very exciting indeed.  Wessels reckons his battery can be constructed for less than $100 per kilowatt hour.  Lead batteries are $150 to $200 per kWh and lithium is way more expensive and cost-wise, not really even in the running for use in power storage.

Clearly the US government sees great promise in the Alveo Energy project as they have invested $4 million via an ARPA-E grant (one of the larger grants so far allocated to battery projects).

The ARPA-E project description summarises the goal of the venture:

Open Framework Electrode Batteries for Cost-Effective Energy Storage
Alveo Energy will develop a grid-scale storage battery using Prussian Blue dye as the basis for active material within the battery. Prussian Blue is inexpensive, readily available, and most commonly known for its application in blueprint documents. Alveo will repurpose this inexpensive dye for a new battery that can endure more charges under more extreme circumstances without suffering internal damage, helping to facilitate the adoption and deployment of renewable energy technology.


It will be 2016 before Alveo has a demonstrable prototype but this will certainly be one to watch.

The bottleneck of battery storage for renewable energy (Wired)

$4 million ARPA-E grant for Alveo water based battery

Rapid charger

Rapid charging and longer lasting lithium battery technology

Amy Prieto with her 3D 'sponge' battery

American universities are very good at launching start up commercial ventures for the many exciting technology developments coming out of their labs.

Colorado State chemistry professor, Amy Prieto is the brains behind Prieto Battery.  Amy's technology is a lithium ion battery with an anode (positive electrode) comprising copper nanowires.

The Prieto battery is not like the conventional battery made up of anode and cathode, separated by a liquid electrolyte.  Instead the electrolyte is a solid polymer.  By creating an anode from millions of nanowires this electrode has a much greater surface area than a conventional one, meaning it can store many more lithium ions.

The electrodes are intertwined (or interdigitated) in a 3 dimensional array that greatly increases the power density.  There is almost instant recharge capability at just 5 minutes and the batteries should last 5 times longer than traditional lithium ion.   For a cleaner, greener advantage the solid polymer electrolyte means that the toxic elements found in conventional batteries are largely eliminated.

Prieto is not alone in the use of nanowire and nanotube technology for the electrodes but their technology, and their ability to raise the millions needed for research, means that they are getting much closer to producing the highly anticipated prototype.

Interdigitated (intertwined) electrodes in Prieto Li-Ion battery

Links to Prieto battery technology

Prieto battery home

How the Prieto lithium battery works

The Prieto battery technology (youTube)

Battery sponges (Discovery)

The search for a better battery

I've got my eye on you

Is it just me or does anyone else find eye tracking technology just a bit too spooky?

Peek a boo - eye tracking technology is coming to a phone near you

There's been a rush to patent various eye tracking technologies recently.  Samsung is getting a lot of press about it and the new Samsung Galaxy S IV smartphone was rumoured to track your eye movements, although some reviewers are saying it's looking at your facial movement rather than tracking your eye position. Eye Pause and Eye Scroll are new buzz words we're going to have to get used to.

I'm wondering what this all means.  Once activated how long does the tracking sensor lock on to your eye?  What can it see?  Does it burrow  inside your head and detect your deepest, darkest thoughts?  How long do you need to close your eyes before it gives up trying to track you?

There you go - I've started thinking about where this could lead and I'm scared again.  Keep it away from me.

Galaxy S4 review (Cnet)

Galaxy S4 launch presentation (Mashable)

Eye tracking in the S4 (Wall Street Journal)

Does it work with games? (Guardian UK)

LG goes one up on Samsung (GottaBe Mobile)

Orwellian outlook

"You are being watched every hour of every day"

You are being watched !

Imagine a society where everyone was tagged and all of your movements were recorded.  This has echoes of an Orwellian world of totalitarian governments where papers were required to be carried at all times and could be inspected many times a day.  With modern technology like RFID, NFC, or GPS monitoring that tracking would not just be occasional but instead it could be active 24/7.

Popular culture has embraced the concept of tracking with many science fiction (or maybe science forecast) movies, like Gattaca, Logan's Run, Minority Report.  The TV series Person of Interest highlights the huge usage of cameras that use facial recognition techniques and record this information in vast state-controlled databases.  Analysis of this huge data store is somehow use to predict crime before it happens.

Consider how new passports are issued with biometric information encoded on a chip, how visitors to US, even if they are only passing through as transit passengers, are herded through Immigration. The US government is building a huge database on non-US nationals and potentially has more information about these individuals than their only sovereign governments.  What does the US intend to use this data mine for?  Will they be passing this on to other state authorities or commercial organisations?

The answers to these questions are not something that we will readily find in the public domain.  Many commentators will provide an opinion.

Like any tracking technology there are some really positive benefits.  Unfortunately the shadow of big brother means that we all need to be aware that for all the advantages of modern tracking technology there are some real dangers to our privacy and personal freedom.

Sometimes being connected may not always be in your best interests.

Some tracking news stories

Police use GPS to track (Cnet)

Surveillance cameras

Tag and track in american schools

RFID for toll road tracking

RFID tracking blog (Techdirt)

CCTV in UK cities (Business Insider)

Chicago is most watched US city (CBS News)

CCTV surveillance in New Zealand (Waikato Times)

Person of Interest Fan Blog

For fans of the TV show Person of Interest

Middle aged cell

Would you believe it?  The mobile phone is 40 years old this week.

Oh how far we have come - 40 years of cell phones

Take a look at the original incarnation in the picture.  It looks very much like a orthopedic shoe for legs of unequal length.

We've come so far from these humble beginnings.  The original phones had terrible battery life, poor range and very few towers to communicate across.  Fast forward to 2013 where there are an estimated 6 billion mobile devices across the globe.  The modern smartphone is full blown computer, GPS navigation device and games console as well as a phone.  It's become an indispensable, even vital device to young and old.  Could you manage without yours?

Happy birthday, mobile !

Stories about 40 years of mobile phone

40 years of cell phones in pictures

Happy Birthday (DailyTech)

The mobile phone at 40 (Daily Telegraph)

40 years ago today (Fox)

The mobile, then now and in the future (BBC video)

Game of phones (Stuff)

Mobile phones will exceed world population by 2014

Mind control

Imagine that you could operate machinery, turn on lights, close the curtains, change the TV channel or adjust the volume, just by thinking about it.

Wouldn't that be fun, crazy, spooky?

Well, maybe it's time to work out what your reaction would be to having such control because it's not far away from becoming a reality.

Mind control with the Emotiv headset

There are some very clever people out there who understand a lot about interpreting the electrical impulses produced by your brain.  Using some very complex algorithms they also learned how to apply this, despite the fact that everyone brain is different.   Your brain is folded into a unique pattern.  This was a major challenge to solving how to callibrate a machine that could detect electrical impulses effectively regardless of your cerebral layout.

Watch this amazing TED demonstration, hosted by entrepreneur Tan Le demonstrating an amazing and surprisingly cheap headset from Emotiv.

TED is an excellent technology resource

It's great to see such an eloquent and straightforward speaker
explaining something that is certainly beyond my comprehension.

Chipped

Tracked and dangerous

Does your office door magically open when you wave a plastic card close to a scanner?

NFC equipped Snapper Card

Do you pay for your morning bus ride by holding a Snapper card (Oyster in London, Octopus in Hong Kong) in front of a GPS-enabled reader whilst waiting for it to debit your card for the fare?

Well, if you answered yes, the chances are you are using a contactless card, probably featuring a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) chip and possibly Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

Hong Kong's Octopus Card is like Snapper

The chip in the card requires no separate power source and uses just the radio waves emitted from the reader/writer.  All very clever and generally reliable.

RFID has become so common place in proximity cards that most people don't even stop to think what is happening every time you wave the card.  RFID provides a unique code that identifies the user individually.  This means that each card can be tailored to the user's specific requirement so if you don't need to be given access to a specific area, well that's easily sorted.

NFC technology in a payment card

You may also have already experienced the next generation of point of sale (POS) devices that use Near Field Communication (NFC) to automatically debit your bank account when you wave a card, like a Visa payWave, a MasterCard PayPass or even an NFC-chipped smartphone in front of a special reader.  Just 'Tap and Go'.

Animal magic

RFID controlled cat flap

RFID technology is widely used for livestock tracking. A valuable animal like a cow or sheep will probably be 'chipped' by the farmer and recorded as a stock item in the farm's database.  That unique code can then be used to track every treatment received by the animal, monitor weight gain, record sale of the animal or provide evidence of ownership for insurance purposes. Not only livestock have benefited from RFID.  Many pet-owners will 'microchip' their wee ones by having the vet insert an RFID under the skin.  These tags can then be read at animal shelters, or council inspectors for tracking down the owners of lost pets.  You may even invest in a pet door that reads the RFID to allow or prevent entry (I want one of these).

This all seems really useful - sounds like a great idea that should be encouraged, doesn't it?

Hey, we could even use it to track people.  Hmm, now I'm not so sure I like the sound of this.  Well, why not - we already track felons released into the community via ankle bracelets linked to GPS.

Check out this post for a discussion on the darker side of tracking.

Understanding the difference - NFC and RFID

Some tracking news stories

Ear tag (Wikipedia)

AniTrace UHF RFID products (Manufacturer site)

Auckland Snapper thrown back

Snapper in a smartphone

OysterCard FAQ

Contactless card technology (EFTPOS NZ)

Aerographite

This Aerographite sounds like a wonderful new material with a  very promising future.  Let's consider some of it's properties.

• It's incredibly light - the lightest material  yet at just 0.2 mg per cc.
• It is highly resilient - crushing it by up to 95 per cent does not damage it at all.  In fact the action of pulling it back into shape may actually strengthen it.
• It's conductive and could be used as a battery.
• It's also super-hydrophobic, meaning that it will repel all moisture. 

Aerographite

Wow, a material that could be turned into a battery, is incredibly light, absolutely waterproof and can be subjected to high crushing pressure but remain undamaged?  Now, that has got to be worth investigating further.  Aerographite seems to address three of the major issues with current battery technology.  Batteries are easily damaged by knocks, they don't work well with water and they are usually very heavy.

Although the article doesn't give many clues about power capacities it does state that Aerographite may be useful for powering electric vehicles in the future.  That sounds like it must have good power delivery and duration since vehicles demand both.  Given that the batteries in conventional electrical vehicles are the heaviest components, this material could radically change the power to weight ratio required for propulsion.  Theoretically, a vehicle that used Aerographite batteries would be substantially lighter and could afford to sacrifice a percentage of its power yet still achieve the same or better performance.

There are countless other devices that are impacted by the weight of their batteries.  Assuming that the material is suitable for use in consumer gadgets like smartphones and video cameras.  Could such a technology perform the same function as an existing nickel metal hydride.   Replacing a set of heavy AA, C or D size batteries with a material that's lighter than air - now that has massive potential.

I'll be watching this one very carefully indeed.

Aerographite at Wikipedia

Extremetech article about Aerographite

More on Aerographite (Geekosystem)

Next10 Ten for Ten

Next10: 10 technologies for the next 10 years

I love to read, I listen and I absorb yet at best I'm a novice.  I can't predict the future but I can see important work going on all around me.

I have packaged together 10 technologies that I think will be game-changers for the next decade.  So please, consider my suggestions and tell me whether I'm on the right track or missing the wicket by a mile.

Click each of the links to read more about my predictions for these technologies.

1. The internet

I've placed the the internet as my number 1 in my list because I'm am very confident that we will continue to see a year-on-year expansion of what is already in place.  Speeds will increase, the volume of users and devices will explode, and will need a whole lot more places to store it all.

People are going to move to the 'cloud' for storage and and applications, simply because it makes sense.  Portable devices, the interface of the future, don't want to be responsible for holding precious data so we will need a reliable, secure, easily accessible repository for all of this stuff - cloud storage is the answer.


2. Nanotechnology

This is such a game changer.  Nanotechnology has a big part to play in a number of my predictions.  It's going to make a massive impact in the materials we use, the medical advances that make our lives healthier and longer.  I have no qualms about placing this fundamental technology so high on my list.

3. The global community

We can already see the huge impact that connecting people together has had on how we use the internet.  Social media is just the start.  We will be need to be connected to others for our shopping, our continuing education, our career progress.

It will be hard to find a place on this planet that will not be enveloped in this global community explosion.  Time to get on board and find your rightful place !

4. Battery technology

After a lot of thought I've placed this one 4th because I believe we are heading for a new era in battery technology.

Batteries as a power source have always been the weak link.  They fail when you need them most, they weigh you down when you're on the move.  They're an ecological nightmare.

All that is changing and thanks to new technologies and space age materials batteries are about to  become a whole lot better.

5. Radical materials

This is truly exciting technology.  It's as exciting as a magic show and it's the leading edge of science - a roller coaster of invention.  There are fortunes to be made as these materials take their place as the basic building blocks of every new technology that will follow.  Be amazed !


6. The communication interface

So long a barrier to getting online, the basic interface is changing fast and it's making the online world accessible to everyone.

Forget the keyboard and the mouse.  The new world is all about intuitive commands - human voice, eye movement, hand gestures.

Our gateway to the online world is getting a whole lot more accessible for all.

7. Robotics

No, not the stuff of science fiction movies, but expect the next generation of robots to learn new skills, move more naturally and become indispensable for manufacturing everything we need in our brave new world.

8. Fabricating anything

We're starting to see the very early indications of what can be constructed through 3D printing.

This technology is in its infancy but be prepared for this technique to revolutionise the way we manufacture everything.

9. Solar power

Our sun- it's been there forever and it's the reason there is life on earth.  Finally, we are turning up the heat on solar power - a truly renewable energy resource.

10. Exploiting the oceans

We've only just begun to scratch the surface of what lies in our oceans.  An unimaginable treasure trove of precious resources.  Will our exploitation of the sea be measured and fair or will big business rape and pillage the depths?  Let's hope that we can all share in this bountiful resource.


So, there it is.  My top 10.  I welcome your comments.  Yes, really !!

From 10 to 5

Since building this list mid-March, I've rationalised my top 10 down to my top 5 game changers for the next 10 years.  Check them out here.

Travel like a speeding bullet

http://travel.msn.co.nz/asia/242427/tube-travel.slideshow

A future travel concept on MSN Asia suggests that we can revolutionise travel by shooting pods through tube tunnels at speeds of 6500 kph.  That's a lot faster than I can relate to.

I'm guessing that they're looking at very long distance travel to make this worthwhile and it certainly sounds exciting - if not a little daunting.

I'm curious to know how you catapult human beings to 6500 kph without certain pressures on the anatomy making you very uncomfortable (or maybe even dead?)

How do you slow these things down at the other end without serious damage to internal organs?

What's the 'jet lag' like when you arrive?  At least on a long haul flight you are adjusting to new time zones as you travel more sedately but at this kind of speed your internal body clock is going to be way out of kilter with the local time on arrival.

If these tubes are travelling at such speeds what are the g-forces like on acceleration, deceleration and even the shallowest of curves?

Is in-flight catering possible? Will my gin and tonic stay in the glass and will I end up wearing my in-flight meal?

I'm asking a bunch of questions that already skip over the logistical challenges of building these things.  Unless you want to fire a bunch of these 6 person tubes all to the same final destination in a serial queue, you will need multiple parallel channels.   These tube tunnels are going to need to go through mountains, across oceans, under cities and no doubt through elevated sections, too.  Given the trans-continental scale of such a transport system, where is the funding and the state buy-in to approve such a project going to come from?

Maybe I sound like a critic but I'm not.  This is hugely exciting but I'd just like to know whether my initial concerns stem from a lack of understanding on my part or some very real technical challenges.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this concept.

Tech for weapons

This piece of tech gave me the shivers when I saw it.  The power to take a camera, an explosive device or a toxin up the side of building and deliver it to the enemy.  They just wouldn't see it coming.

It looks so life-like crawling up the wall - like a giant and very deadly insect.

I hope I'm on the right side if a technology like this is deployed !

Spooky.

Rise V2 / V3