Technology
Holograms have been a long time staple of science fiction for their usefulness in communications and understanding when viewing models. How about advertising? Blade Runner took a noticeable aesthetic in doing so but the London-based company kino-mo has their own style. As stated, kino-mo uses their hologram technology, called Hypervsn, to display astounding advertisements in mid-air through stunning designs which move and rotate in beautiful symmetry. Show off your latest product or hype up a recent sale in a fantastic mid-air presentation which catches everyone’s eyes. The potential for the technology is endless but can easily be wielded by an expert artist or design team to create their ideal ad. Each Hypervsn resembles a small propeller attached to a surface and can project a small hologram but when combined they can create larger holograms. This invention will soon help to revolutionize personal advertising as well. If you’re walking in public and they have a mobile version you can put your product or brand on display. Strap it outside your house for 24/7 broadcasting. Just chill in a busy sidewalk and light up your ads for hundreds to see. Expect to see someone’s ad floating near you soon.
https://newatlas.com/kinomo-hypervsn-hologram/47292/
McDonald’s across Erie, PA are receiving upgrades and renovations with kiosks as well as staff booms since the kiosks generate more orders to fill simultaneously. This has been an expected response to having more kiosks so don’t fear for your job (mostly) since they’ll probably move you to the kitchen. This will be the introduction of more automation into McDonald’s and it is hard to say where it will ultimately lead. Automating the kitchen is already being accomplished in companies like Zume, Miso Robotics and Moley Robotics Kitchen however they’re still a good distance from replacing humans. For now…
http://www.goerie.com/news/20181213/with-kiosks-mcdonalds-across-erie-region-redefines-fast-food
Sustainability
Virgin Trains is a train company in the U.K. owned by the Virgin Group (yes Richard Branson’s Virgin company) which has launched a zero waste landfill initiative intended to reduce waste and optimize a valuable resource in their possession which they’ve neglected to consider for years. The old policy was to discard damaged clothing worn by the employees and switch it for new clothing. After all, you need to continuously have new uniforms designs to keep up with the fashion of the time. The older uniforms will now be recycled into blankets bags and coats for the homeless. The reprocessing will be done by prisoners at HMP Northumberland. Prison labor isn’t the best way to show your support for zero waste and can be rife with abuse. Concerns aside, it is still excellent to see Virgin taking a step in the right direction.
Space
The company Planetary Resources made waves when it launched, announcing their intention to become a major player in the asteroid mining business. The idea is to utilize minerals found throughout the Solar System instead of solely being dependent on Earth, opening new markets ready for the taking. However, they’ve experienced serious funding difficulties, Luxembourg sold their stake in the company and a New York blockchain company called ConsenSys recently acquired their assets. Their future remains highly uncertain, especially since any aerospace requires serious funding to conduct research in space. It also remains to be seen to what ends a blockchain company could envision a use for asteroid mining. If it were a large company it would be sensible but not for a smaller one. I recall way back in 2012 when I heard about Planetary Resources and understood their big dreams, no matter how difficult they seemed. The dream for them seems to be fading but with recent accomplishments in space by China and NASA it could soon find a new home, somewhere.
http://fortune.com/2018/11/24/asteroid-mining-space-planetary-resources/
Virgin Galactic, after much delay and anticipation, has flown a sub-orbital flight with WhiteKnightTwo releasing SpaceShipTwo which achieved the feat. VG have been another company promising sub-orbital tourism to high-paying clients. It has however not been easy and has taken them years just to produce evidence that their vessels are capable of flight. With every passing year they promise that the long anticipated flights are just within reach only to postpone and delay. When they start is subject to speculation but always remember that with a new technology there will always be unexpected delays and never promise what you can’t deliver.
Voyager 2 has officially passed the heliosphere! It is now the second object created by man to be confirmed as leaving our Solar System (kinda). Since the heliosphere is where the effects of the Sun fade away and the effects of interstellar space begin to surge we can say that any object passing this point has said goodbye to our Sun. This was detected by a sudden plummet in the level of hydrogen by the Plasma Science Instrument which is still operational. If Voyager remains operational hereafter we can expect some ability to make measurements outside of our solar system however it will be far below what we’d expect from a current day space probe.
https://www.iflscience.com/space/voyager-2-has-just-entered-interstellar-space-nasa-confirms/
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