Innovation in technology. Interesting things on the web! Carbon dioxide stones
The rapidly changing world constantly poses new challenges for humanity, to solve which we will need no less rapidly developing technologies that seem like the epitome of science fiction. You may have already heard about some of these technologies, as many of them have been on the scientific horizon for some time, but 2016 promises to be the year of a real breakthrough. We present to you a list of the most significant developments, according to the Council on Emerging Technologies of the World Economic Forum.
Nanosensors and the Internet of nanodevices
One of the most exciting areas at the moment is nanosensors that can circulate inside the human body or be embedded in structural materials. The ability to connect all these sensors to the Internet will have a huge impact on the future of medicine, architecture, agronomy, drug production and other fields of science. New generation batteries
The main obstacle to the development of renewable energy sources is the mismatch between demand and production capabilities. Another problem is the impossibility of storing excess energy produced under ideal conditions for subsequent transmission to the network. New high-capacity batteries based on sodium, aluminum and zinc solve this problem and make it possible to build mini-grids that can provide a clean, reliable, 24-hour power source for an entire community. Blockchain Decentralized Trust System
Blockchain, or transaction block chain, is the term known from the digital currency Bitcoin: a decentralized public network of transactions that is not owned or controlled by any one person or organization. With investments exceeding $1 billion in 2015 alone, the economic and social impact of blockchain has the potential to change the way global markets and governments interact. 2D materials
Graphene is perhaps the most well-known material consisting of a single atomic layer, but it is far from the only one. Thanks to sharply falling production costs, such materials could soon be used in a wide range of applications, from water and air filters to a new generation of clothing and batteries. Self-driving cars
Although self-driving cars are not yet fully legalized in many countries, their enormous potential in various applications is leading to rapid development of key technology towards full autonomy. Organs on a chip
Miniature—memory card-sized—models of human organs could revolutionize medical research and drug development by giving researchers the ability to observe biological mechanisms at work. Photocells based on perovskite materials
The new materials have three advantages over traditional silicon solar cells: they are more efficient, easier to manufacture, and can be used almost anywhere. Open AI ecosystems
Combined advances in natural language processing and social awareness algorithms, coupled with the unprecedented availability of data, will soon allow virtual assistants to assist people with a wide range of tasks, from managing personal finances to providing wardrobe advice. Optogenetics
The possibility of using light and color to record the activity of neurons in the brain has been discussed for some time, but thanks to recent developments, light rays can now penetrate deeper into tissue, which could help treat people with brain disorders. Metabolic systems design
Thanks to advances in synthetic biology, systems biology, and evolutionary engineering, many chemicals can now be produced more easily and cheaply using plants, a list that will grow every year. 
Woven pavilions
The bureau's Billie Faircloth expects augmented and virtual reality to be heavily used in 2016. In his opinion, very soon we will see more examples of integrating these tools directly into the design environment. For example, virtual reality can be integrated into visualization processes, allowing the simulation of various natural conditions. Using the developments of the gaming industry, applications for virtual excursions of their own projects are already being developed, which architects have begun to use in their work with clients. In addition, the development of smartphone applications and homemade VR headsets made from cardboard provide a good foundation for the rapid development of this area.
Big Data
As one example of similar developments, Scott Marble cites the VIMtrek service, which allows you to transfer a BIM model into a high-quality 3D virtual environment while preserving all information on the object. Working with data and the ability to analyze it, according to Marble, will become key factors in the future work of an architect.
Google's Flux Metro project is currently working on creating a city-level design tool. Like a BIM model, the program collects various information about the city, development, zone distribution, restrictions and prescribed rules that may affect the final project.
GIS technologies
We also use GIS tools with Evgeniy Shirinyan (read more on the PROSAPR port). Both Ronald Real and Virginia San Fratello from the workshop Rael San Fratello agree with their great potential in the architectural environment. Using GIS, large amounts of information that make up the structure of an entire city can be organized with simple manipulations for display in the form of various maps and territory analysis schemes. For example, Professor Nicolas de Monchaux from the University of California at Berkeley is working on an application that, based on GIS data, selects the best solutions for connecting different areas with each other.
Don't get hung up on technology
Eric Owen Moss, whose museum is one of the best buildings in the United States in 2016, instead of forecasts for the future, suggests thinking about more global issues. In his opinion, increasingly, architects began to forget the original utilitarian function of any tool.
Any program does not create a building, but is only used in the hands of the architect in a certain way to achieve specific goals in the project. We must remember: we do not belong to the tool, but the tool belongs to us. Moss's studio is currently working on a (W)rapper office building project without the use of columns and beams, using computer technology for calculations. Only the computer here is not used to obtain a finished form, but rather to test one’s own ideas for structural strength.
Images architectmagazine.com
Learning and learning smart systems are one of the most controversial areas in the development of modern technologies. Artificial intelligence sounds cool, but what will superintelligence do if you give it freedom? Will he solve all people's problems or will he consider people themselves to be the problem?
Perhaps someday artificial intelligence will go crazy and destroy us all, but so far everything is going well. Neural networks are already successfully solving some of people’s everyday problems related to organization and selection.
Google uses neural networks for games, smart note sorting, creating playlists, improving translation quality, and other companies are following suit.
Neural networks have shown themselves to be excellent in the artistic processing of photos and videos, and Prisma even became the best Android application of 2016.
Reusable rockets
Elon Musk is a true genius of our time. The man who created PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX.
Each of Musk's endeavors deserves the title of the best technology in history created for the benefit of humanity, but this time we're focusing on rockets and space.
One of SpaceX's key goals is to create reliable, reusable launch vehicles that deliver cargo and then return to Earth intact, ready for refueling and the next flight.
This approach significantly reduces the cost of space transportation, and it is thanks to SpaceX that our descendants will build their new home on Mars.
Gigabit Internet from space
SpaceX is just a transportation system. Obviously, it was created to send something into space. What exactly? In addition to colonizing the Red Planet, Elon Musk wants to give humanity universal gigabit Internet.
With the help of SpaceX rockets, four and a half thousand satellites will be launched into orbit, that is, three times more than the total number of all operating satellites now. Together they will provide fast Internet to every square centimeter of the Earth.
Google and several other progressive giant companies immediately joined in financing the project.
What will happen to the greedy cellular operators and equally greedy wired Internet providers? What's the difference. What's more important is that we will all finally have affordable internet at unprecedented speeds.
Self-driving cars
Six years ago, the news about the creation of driverless cars seemed like another dubious idea from Google, and this year the first driverless taxis were launched. Whether drivers like it or not, driverless cars are the future, and it’s better for living people not to get behind the wheel at all. The robot does not drive drunk, does not fall asleep while driving, does not drive recklessly, is not in a hurry, and does not violate traffic rules.
Operating as a single system under the control of advanced AI, self-driving cars will completely change the way we think about transport and movement.
Alternative energy sources
Technologies for obtaining energy from water, wind and sunlight have been known for a long time, but right now we are seeing a rapid transition from theory to practice. All progressive countries of the world are actively working to ensure that alternative energy sources become the main, traditional ones. A complete cessation of burning oil, coal, gas products, and possibly also the energy of atomic decay, with a transition to 100% clean production.
A gigawatt solar power plant is being built in the United States, which is comparable to the reactor of a modern nuclear power plant. People are putting solar panels on their roofs. Affordable personal energy generators are being developed and put into production.
Self-lacing sneakers
A great invention doesn't have to be big, especially if it solves relevant, everyday problems. Are your shoelaces constantly coming undone? Don't want to tinker with the nodes yourself? Nike took a radical approach by creating self-lacing sneakers.
The Chinese offer their own version of smart sneakers: without self-lacing, but with connection to a smartphone and at a much more modest price.
Technological equipment is an extremely promising area of research that will make people's lives better. Imagine a smart jacket that is not afraid of fire and water, will dry itself if necessary and adjust the temperature based on human biometric data and environmental data.
Do you prefer traditional shoes without the technical bells and whistles? There are useful articles for you too.
Electronics that don't need to be charged
Absolutely all wearable electronic gadgets, even the smallest ones, require power. They, one way or another, need a tiny battery or battery, but that will soon change.
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed technology that can convert existing waves generated by Wi-Fi routers and similar ubiquitous technology into energy. The principle of operation is similar to sending signals by a mirror reflecting the light of the sun.
Obviously, the wave energy is not enough to operate powerful devices, but all kinds of smart watches, fitness bracelets, smart home sensors and even compact video cameras will soon be sold without a battery inside.
NFC, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and fingerprint payment
In the USA and some other countries, Apple Pay was recognized as one of the best technologies in 2014–2015, but the “Apple” payment system came to Russia quite recently. Now iPhone and Apple Watch owners can use their gadgets to pay for goods and services, abandoning archaic pieces of paper and bank cards.
Samsung also presented its payment system. Samsung Pay differs from others in that it supports not only NFC, but also an imitation of a bank card with a magnetic strip. Such outdated terminals, unlike newer ones with NFC, are installed almost everywhere, which means that owners of Samsung smartphones will be able to pay for purchases in more places.
Contactless payment has been available to Android users and bank card holders with NFC for a long time, but the advent of more thoughtful, universal, unified, system-level integrated technologies will certainly contribute to further improvement and improvement of the shopping process using Android devices, as well as a more active implementation of NFC terminals in stores and retail chains.
However, paying using a smartphone or watch is already a thing of the past. The future of payments lies in fingerprint technology, which requires only a fingerprint. In Russia, such systems are currently being tested by Sberbank.
A virtual reality
VR is literally everywhere. Manufacturers of televisions, game consoles, computer components, smartphones, developers of operating systems, applications, gaming services - all are actively promoting the technology.
Virtual reality does provide a new level of sensation and maximum immersion, but its scope goes far beyond entertainment. You've probably seen the Russian Railways training program that uses VR to recreate various situations on the railway and practice the actions of service personnel.
There is a high probability that in the near future we will study and work in systems that combine virtual and augmented reality, and concepts such as “monitor” and “screen” will be forgotten.
Superplants, genomic medicine and immune engineering
The term "GMO" has become one of the main horror stories for uneducated people around the world. The fear of the new and incomprehensible has given rise to hysteria on such a scale that in some countries, including Russia, the cultivation and breeding of genetically modified plants and animals has been banned, unless this is done for scientific purposes. “Non-GMO” labels appear on water bottles and salt packages.
But in normal states genetic engineering continues to develop. A technology called CRISPR makes it possible to modify the genomes of organisms, in particular plants, with unsurpassed precision, adding desired properties and eliminating unnecessary ones.
Creating perfect crops is, of course, wonderful, but what about the perfect person? Genetic engineering can treat diseases, including hereditary ones.
You probably know that the functioning of our immunity is ensured by T-cells, which find and destroy any nasty thing in the body. More precisely, almost any one. There are some things the immune system can't do, but properly modified T cells can destroy HIV, cancer and other diseases.
Remarkably, the T cells generated in this way are well controlled. They can “sleep” in the body and turn on on command - a special substance introduced into the body. To prevent random attacks on the body, they can be trained to attack only when two or more signs characteristic of cancer cells are detected at once.
Experiments on mice and human embryos have shown that genetic engineering has enormous potential, but there are also problems. In addition to improving technology, which requires time and money, science faces ignorance.
People are capable of demonstrating a complete lack of common sense. They easily believe in completely refuted quackery, like, but they reject really working, proven, explained medical methods, like, and demand to ban them.
We hope that in a year, when Lifehacker publishes a selection of the best technologies of 2017, the first on the list will be the found cure for stupidity.
The passing year, despite the crisis, will be remembered by us for bright events and new technologies that are firmly integrated into our daily lives. Summing up the year, we recall the most striking decisions that changed our ideas about modern business.
VR and AR
Virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are taking the world by storm. Major corporations such as Alibaba, eBay and HTC are launching virtual reality stores. Apple has patented a helmet and is developing VR glasses. Retailers are actively launching virtual fitting rooms, hoping to attract new customers.
Some experts say that virtual reality will soon take us to a new retail dimension, and call the integration of offline stores with digital technologies the next stage in retail development. Others are more sceptical. In their opinion, the use of such solutions is a viable idea for implementation in the store. In addition, launching smart mirror fitting rooms, interactive screens and other technologies is quite an expensive and labor-intensive process.
In any case, the development of VR and AR in the past year is just the beginning.
3D technology
3D technologies will soon cease to be something unique and will be as commonplace as smartphones or computers. Already, food, clothing, shoes, sports equipment, car parts, musical instruments and even buildings are being printed on 3D printers.
For example, in Dubai using 3D printing technology. The area of the one-story building is about 250 square meters. m. There is everything you need: electricity, telecommunications, water supply, air conditioning system. We built an office using a giant printer in just 17 days. The office of the Dubai Future Foundation is located in the building.
3D technologies are indispensable in business. The largest companies, including Carrefour, Gap, Guess, Columbia Sportswear, Benetton, s.Oliver, in retail. The technology is used for optimal placement of goods on shelves, merchandising, and drawing up a strategy for working with the assortment in the store. Another direction is influencing the buyer, predicting his behavior to increase sales.
Internet of Things
According to analysts, by 2020, 26 billion “things” will be connected to the Internet. Everything - from household appliances to construction equipment, from cars to buildings - will transmit data and “communicate” with other objects or people. This means continuous measurement and recording of data.
The Internet of Things market is open, in demand and very promising. Thus, Intel Corporation changed its strategy; PCs were replaced by data centers and the Internet of Things. The Russian Foundation for the Development of Internet Initiatives decided to test solutions from startups in the field of IoT, and the Internet of Things Center began operating in Moscow.
The company already has devices for maintaining microclimate, implantable microchips, smart meters and smart mirrors, geolocation services for employees and cargo, smart home systems and cloud platforms for developers.
Image recognition
Technologies for recognizing faces, images, and call quality are becoming increasingly popular. Thus, Amazon acquired a photo recognition startup, and eBay bought a developer of image recognition and search technology. In Russia, recognition technologies are also popular, both in the banking sector and in retail.
Recently, the Bitrix24 company used neural networks and facial recognition to increase sales by launching face tracker and visit tracker tools. Russian developer VisionLabs this summer. The company offers solutions for banks and retail stores that allow them to identify and verify the faces of visitors. All this helps to counteract fraud, recognize loyal customers, and increase the speed of their service.
Robotics
Robotics is developing rapidly. IBM developed a robot lawyer, Amazon began using robots to work in warehouses and, thanks to this, reduced operating costs by 20%. Auchan will launch robots in hypermarkets that will help customers carry their purchases. And Adidas uses robots to sew sneakers.
In Russia, robots are actively used to consult clients and conduct marketing campaigns. Thus, the Promobot company is an autonomous, “living” robot with character. It is designed to work in crowded areas. The robot helps people with navigation, answers any questions, broadcasts promotional materials and remembers everyone with whom it had to communicate.
Another developer - Alfa Robotics - is a robotic self-service checkout ARC 70. The device communicates with visitors, remembers and recognizes faces, as well as types of goods by image. In addition to a set of standard functions (scanning and weighing goods, displaying information about purchases on an interactive display, paying for goods by bank cards and cash, printing a receipt and issuing change), the cash register stores and analyzes purchase history and makes individual promotional offers to customers.
Prepared by Anna Olenkova
10/07/2015, Wed, 15:15, Moscow time , Text: Sergey Popsulin
Analysts have announced the 10 most important technology trends that companies will have to pay attention to in 2016.
Key technology concept
By strategic technology trend, researchers understand those trends that will have the greatest impact on organizations. The corporate sector should pay attention to them, as they are likely to require significant investment, and ignoring them could lead to negative consequences for the business.
Device network
A network of devices refers to multiple terminal devices that allow people to access applications and information or interact with each other, businesses and government organizations. Such devices include smartphones, wearables, consumer and home electronic devices, vehicles and sensors of all kinds.
Unified Experience
The development of a network of devices will lead to the need to maintain a unified user experience, which should include not only methods of interaction with an electronic device, but also with virtual reality. Analysts predict that by 2018, the ability to create a unified experience will be the most important differentiator for ISVs.
Materials for 3D printing
Advances in 3D printing technology have led to an increase in the number of materials suitable for this purpose. Currently, 3D printing uses nickel alloys, carbon fiber, glass, electrically conductive inks, pharmaceutical and biological materials. The variety of materials will continue to grow, and 3D printers will be used in new fields such as aerospace, medicine, automotive, energy and military-industrial complex. With increased material diversity, enterprise 3D printer shipments will grow at a CAGR of 64.1% through 2019.
Analysts named the main technological trends in 2016.
New data sources
Today, computing systems process text, audio and video data. The emergence of new types of data - for example, sensory information - will force us to look for new methods for combining sources. Blocks of information are often isolated from each other, incomplete, inaccessible and illegible. New discoveries in methods of semantic analysis and construction of graph databases, along with other new methods of analysis and classification, will help bring order to the chaos of the information universe.
Improved Machine Learning
Deep neural computer networks will go beyond classical computing systems and will be used to create systems capable of learning and perceiving the world around them independently and autonomously. The growth of data sources and the complexity of information will make manual classification and analysis uneconomical and unrealistic. Thanks to neutron networks, these tasks can be automated.
Autonomous agents
Machine learning will lead to an increase in the popularity of smart machines - robots, autonomous vehicles, virtual personal assistants and smart advisors that will work autonomously or semi-autonomously. The predecessors of such machines today can be considered such functions as Google Now, Microsoft Cortana and Apple Siri. And it is their development that will play a primary role for the industry, although the development of physical machines - electromechanical robots, etc. - will also continue.
Adaptive Security Architectures
The complexity of digital business, coupled with the emerging “hacker industry,” makes it much more difficult for organizations to protect information. The creation of security perimeters and the use of policies no longer meet modern requirements, this is especially noticeable against the backdrop of the proliferation of cloud services and open APIs in organizations for integration with the systems of partners and clients. Leaders must continue to identify threats and prevent attacks, but they must also turn to more sophisticated techniques, including behavioral analysis of users and communities.
Improved system architecture
Networks of devices and smart machines will require significant computing resources, as a result of which highly efficient neuromorphic architectures based on field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and graphics accelerators will become widespread. New architectures will make it possible to achieve computing speeds measured in teraflops.
Network applications and service architecture
According to analysts, companies will move from linear application designs to more flexible application and service architectures. Based on software-defined services, this new approach will deliver web-scale performance, flexibility and speed. Microservices architecture is an emerging method for building distributed applications with flexible delivery and scalable implementation, both on-premises and in the cloud.
Platforms for the Internet of Things
This is not the first year that researchers have pointed to the Internet of Things as one of the most important trends. However, now they have more clearly articulated what exactly will happen. It is expected that 2016 will be the year of development of platforms for new technology. However, due to the disorganization of vendors, the process of standardization of such platforms will not be easy until 2018.
