Full Story: MIT
This sign speaks for itself about the current state of humanity and where we are heading in the future…
(via emergentfutures)
Futures Agency Member, Doug Stephens, discusses Big Data -
Companies have been tracking our habits for years and now “Big Data” technology is helping them figure out what we want BEFORE we even realize it.
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China builds world’s fastest supercomputer that can do 33,860 trillion calculations every second
China has built the world’s fastest supercomputer, almost twice as fast as the previous U.S. holder and underlining the country’s rise as a science and technology powerhouse.
The semiannual TOP500 official listing of the world’s fastest supercomputers released Monday says the Tianhe-2 developed by the National University of Defence Technology in central China’s Changsha city is capable of sustained computing of 33.86 petaflops per second. That’s the equivalent of 33,860 trillion calculations per second.
The Tianhe-2, which means Milky Way-2, knocks the U.S. Department of Energy’s Titan machine off the no. 1 spot. It achieved 17.59 petaflops per second. (Photo: Top500)
Mapping the Future with Big Data | WFS -
It is, in many ways, a snapshot of the way that statistical data from databases, user data from multiple participants, and social network data from the public will change the nature of rapid decision making in the years ahead. It’s a very big change, and Esri is at the forefront of the way big data and geography will merge in the future. June 17, 2013 at 01:17PM
iRobot And Cisco Build A Roving Telepresence Rig So Remote Workers Can Still Roam The Office
It’s no secret that iRobot’s domestic cleaning machines can carry some interesting things while they putter around and wipe up your floors, and iRobot and Cisco have taken that notion to its next logical step. The two companies have just announced that they’ve taken this smart roving robotics platform and stuck this pricey enterprise video conferencing monitor on top, all to facilitate West Wing-style walk-and-talks with colleagues who couldn’t be bothered to schlep into the office.
We’ve seen plenty of curious telepresence rigs before, but this is one of the few that makes it a point to break away from the confines of a desk. Once everything is put together, the Ava 500 stands at about 5’5″ and artfully dodges office debris the same way the more janitorial units do. Meanwhile, those remote users also get to control that roving robot by way of an iPad app, though the process isn’t as hands-on as one might hope — the Ava 500 handles most of the control itself after the user selects a destination so it’s perfect for remotely touring dangerous corners of the factory floor, but not so perfect for doing donuts outside of Conference Room B.
Peak soil: industrial civilisation is on the verge of eating itself -
Nafeez Ahmed: New research on land, oil, bees and climate change points to imminent global food crisis without urgent action
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“GE, for example, recently unveiled Project Wink in conjunction with innovation community platform Quirky making thousands of patents available for the creation of connected devices for fleet management, healthcare, and sustainability. Cisco is heavily marketing their “Internet of Everything” vision complete with multipart whitepapers, abundant data sets, and even a resident futurist.” — Why We Keep Hearing About “Internet of Things” | Tech.pinions - Perspective, Insight, Analysis (via futuristgerd)
(via emergentfutures)