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Archive for the ‘habitats’ category: Page 112

Jul 2, 2016

Solar nano-grids light up homes and businesses in Kenya

Posted by in categories: business, computing, economics, habitats, nanotechnology

First installations go live as INTASAVE Energy pursues $30M impact investment.

Villagers in Lemolo B and Echareria in Nakuru County, Kenya, are waking up today to a new future as new solar nano-grids installed over the last two weeks allows them to switch on lights and operate new agri-processing machinery. The two communities are the first to receive a revolutionary new model for clean, affordable and reliable energy where a central solar hub provides both commercial energy for new village enterprises and household energy using cutting-edge up-cycled laptop batteries. The hub allows energy to be shared between households, businesses and the community bringing economic, social and environmental benefits.

The installation is the start of a major INTASAVE Energy solar nano-grid initiative (SONG) that ultimately aims to bring the benefits now beginning for villagers in Lemolo B and Echareria to over 450,000 people across the globe. INTASAVE Energy has launched a $30M impact investment programme to make this goal a reality.

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Jun 30, 2016

The World’s First Freeform 3D Printed House Is Slated To Open in 2017

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, habitats

With Singapore planning to 3D print public housing and the fascinating 3D Print Canal House in Amsterdam, the concept of 3D printed houses is hardly new. But as a result of a Freeform Home Design Challenge hosted by a Tennessee-based startup Branch Technology, the world will see its first freeform 3D printed house called ‘Curve Appeal’ by first half of 2017.

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Jun 26, 2016

The bot revolution: How conversational interfaces will replace apps

Posted by in categories: habitats, internet, robotics/AI

I have been helping by advising various companies across multiple industries plan & prep for more on boarding of bot technology as part of their own IT infrastructure and application layer. What I have seen companies who are at a turning point for their applications and infrastructure are wanting to invest in more automation meaning more online bot technology so that the resources that they currently have can be scaled to focus on new products & services innovation to help IT become a profit center & deploy commercial services and products to the company’s external customers.


We’re at the cusp of a sharp rise in devices that have no screen but do have conversational voice controls, such as the Amazon Echo. Smart home and Internet-of-things (IoT) objects that respond to users’ voices will improve and become more intuitive with further iterations and wider adoption.

Already they can, for example, dim the lights in a room and play a favorite song. With practice, and, by the virtues of machine learning, these user experiences will become ever more intuitive, capable, and innate.

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Jun 23, 2016

SpotMini Robot Dog

Posted by in categories: habitats, robotics/AI

I need these for my home.


The latest robot from Boston Dynamics can do all your chores for you—with its face.

Meet SpotMini.

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Jun 22, 2016

A Tiny House Was Built in 24 Hours, Thanks to A 3D Concrete Printer

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, computing, habitats

Forget pitching a tent when camping; soon (at this rate) we can have the 3D Printer print us a cabin.


A tiny house was built using Vesta, the 3D concrete printer. It took 24 hours to build the structure. The developer aims to shorten the construction time with the third version of the device.

Vesta, the 3D concrete printer, was just used to print a house. Though the word “house” may be a little suspect. Admittedly, given its size, the structure is more of a tool shed than a home, but one could theoretically live inside of it.

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Jun 15, 2016

Chinese company prints villa on-site

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, 4D printing, habitats

Amazing; imagine when 4D printing produces building materials that self assemble themselves and with 5D printing the building can monitor the building and repairs itself someday in the future.


Hushang Tengda has 3D printed a 400 square meter luxury villa, on site, in just 45 days.

Construction is a huge deal in the 3D printing world right now and the likes of WinSun have made an impact with the first 3D printed office in Dubai. It also printed a five-storey apartment building and 10 3D printed houses in just 24 hours back in China. This villa is a still a breakthrough though, because it was built on site.

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Jun 13, 2016

How Quantum Computing Can Make Finance More Scientific

Posted by in categories: business, computing, finance, habitats, quantum physics, singularity, transportation

Exponential Finance celebrates the incredible opportunity at the intersection of technology and finance. Apply here to join Singularity University, CNBC, and hundreds of the world’s most forward-thinking financial leaders at Exponential Finance in June 2017.

Modern life is punctuated by market cycles.

One year the gears of commerce are whirring along. Businesses are hiring and investing. People are buying houses and cars, televisions and computers. Things are going great. Then a year later, the gears screech to halt—sweeping layoffs, plummeting investment, and crashing markets. No one’s buying anything.

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Jun 13, 2016

3D Printing and Diversity: It’s Time to Start Taking It Seriously

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, biotech/medical, business, habitats, transportation

Finally, someone is getting the concept about why in tech where you’re producing technologies that ultimately support many areas of the consumer market in the form of bio/ medical, consumer commercial products, art, homes/ buildings, autos, etc. You must be more inclusive in your teams or find your product and services will plataeu as more and more competitors crowd the space over time; something that other industries have learned many many decades ago.


3dp_blendoor_logo

Because most of the quickly growing companies and startups that tend to dominate it emerged from the maker community, the 3D printing industry often seems to find itself a little sequestered from the rest of the tech industry. Part of the reason is that very few of the industry’s largest companies started or are even based in Silicon Valley. While there is more to the tech industry than Northern California, it is often treated like the popular kids’ lunch table: everyone wants to sit there, and those that are tend to ignore those that aren’t. Sure most of the world’s large tech shows and conferences include plenty of 3D printing these days, but there still isn’t as much crossover as you’d expect, and 3D printing is still treated like that weird cousin who you’re not exactly sure is going to amount to anything.

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Jun 13, 2016

IKEA Indoor Gardens Produce Food Year-Round for Homes & Restaurants

Posted by in categories: food, habitats

IKEA recently launched a hydroponic gardening system to allow people to grow fresh produce at home (without soil or sunlight) and has just unveiled a similar system under development that is aimed at helping restaurants raise ingredients in-house.

ikea home grown

The KRYDDA/VÄXER hydroponic garden lets sprout seeds without soil using absorbent foam plugs that keep plants moist (without over-watering, thanks to a built-in sensor). Germinated seeds can then be transferred to pots fitted into a growing tray featuring a solar lamp. The system is designed to be easy to use for even inexpert gardeners.

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Jun 11, 2016

Six-Foot 3D Printer To Build Massive Mobius Strip Landscape House: Dutch Architect Designs ‘Endless’ House

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, habitats

Wow — if Mrs. Winchester (of famed Winchester Mystery House in SF) had lived today; she could have had her dream infinity house.


Dutch architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars has done something with a large 3D printer that few have probably ever attempted. He took a concrete structure and turned it into a Mobius strip, or “Landscape House,” so the building literally has no ends.

There are currently no practical reasons for this structure to be made, which is probably why nobody has jumped at the chance to build it. Other than being artistic, having such an odd form would serve almost no purpose and prove to be problematic as a home. Moving furniture or any appliances into the structure would prove to be an obstacle, even for the fully-abled. It would likely end up being a playground for children at a science museum or an exhibit at a university.

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