Category Archives: Technology

The Future Of Clothing: “Element Pure” Uses 3D Scanning, AI Technology For Perfect-Fitting Shirts

From a YankoDesign.com online article:

Element Pure AI Body Scanning Tailoring Smartphone TechThe procedure is incredibly simple, and beats having to make an appointment with your tailor for hour-long fitting sessions and getting entangled in measuring tape. Element Pure’s AI tailor needs just two things from you. A front profile and side profile photograph, taken with a standard A4 sheet kept on the floor as reference. Using those two photographs, Element Pure can generate a 99% accurate 3D model of your torso, which the AI Tailor uses to take measurements. The result is a perfectly fitted shirt that’s been designed specifically for you. You can even pick between slim, regular, and relaxed fits, as well as choose your shirt length, depending in whether you wear your shirts tucked or untucked. The AI does the job in minutes that a tailor would take hours or even days to, with no propensity for error. The fitted, tailor-made shirt delivers to your doorstep, giving you the convenience of fast fashion, with the custom-fitting of something your tailor would make for you.

The fabrics used to craft Element Pure’s shirts are woven from eucalyptus pulp rather than cotton, resulting in clothes that keep you cool, resist odors, wrinkles, and are arguably more comfortable and breathable than cotton… even the Huffington Post agrees! The fabric, named TENCEL, is developed in Austria through the ethical farming of organic PEFC certified eucalyptus wood, in a non-toxic, renewable way.

To read more: https://www.yankodesign.com/2019/09/12/this-fashion-brand-uses-a-i-and-3d-scanning-to-tailor-clothes-to-perfectly-fit-your-body/

Housing Innovations: ICON Builds First Permitted 3D-Printed Homes In Austin, TX

From an Austin.Curbed.com online article:

ICON 3D Printed Homes InteriorICON, which uses robotics, software, and advanced materials (including its proprietary “Lavacrete”) to remove numerous barriers in the contemporary building industry, debuted its first 3D printer and the country’s first permitted, 3D-printed home in at SXSW 2018 in Austin.

Community First Village, run by Mobile Loaves and Fishes to provide permanent, personal housing and services for homeless people in Austin, had quite the breakthrough day Monday. Partnering with Austin-based Icon and and Cielo property group, it opened the second phase of its development with a 3D-printed prototype house that will serve as a welcome center for the community. The 500-square-foot building took a total of 27 hours to print.

To read more: https://austin.curbed.com/2019/9/10/20858924/austin-homeless-tiny-house-3d-printing

Medical Innovations: BioLife4D Creates First 3D “Bioprinted” Human Heart From Cardiac Tissue

From an InterestingEngineering.com online article:

BioLife4D Logo“We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished, from the ability to 3D bioprint human cardiac tissue last summer to a mini heart with full structure now. These milestones are a testament to the hard work of our team and the proprietary process we have developed that enables this type of scientific achievement,” said Birla in a press release.  “We believe we are at the forefront of whole heart bioengineering, a field that has matured quickly over the last year, and well-positioned to continue our rapid scientific advancement.”

BIOLIFE4D, the biotech company based out of Chicago, announced it has successfully demonstrated the ability to 3D bioprint a mini human heart, a big step in someday printing out a full-sized human heart that can be used for a transplant.

To read more: https://interestingengineering.com/a-company-creates-the-first-3d-printed-mini-heart?_source=newsletter&_campaign=EVmJjW5YyX1pq&_uid=46dBBxnxd7&_h=0c209d493fa27bb2c39469a873cbbd733289c833&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=mailing&utm_campaign=Newsletter-10-09-2019

Medical Innovations: Researchers Successfully “Supercool” Human Livers For Later Transplant

From an MIT Technology Review online article:

Doctors have put human livers in suspended animation - MIT Technology ReviewResearchers say they’ve successfully plunged human livers to subzero temperatures and then warmed them back up.

The “supercooled” organs were still in good shape after 27 hours, adding nearly a day to how long livers can last outside the body.

The supply of donor hearts, kidneys, and livers from accident victims is sharply limited. In the US, a nationwide system of registries and transplant centers coordinates to move them around by air in coolers for what are invariably emergency surgeries.

The research is part of a wider effort to learn how to keep organs operational outside the body for longer periods of time. 

To read more: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614283/doctors-have-put-human-livers-in-suspended-animation/?utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=76642352&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_y-4VMsKkIwnBGtCLujBv0huOO8iZmVLSHmpZKga1LGyMuwA7smhGhHb-93ZZm9yIU9jR1xGWj9jujn8i-r8U3O0NAOA&_hsmi=76642352

Future Of Health Care: “Vim” Aims To Pair Patients And Top Health Providers With Online Platform

From a VentureBeat.com online news release:

Vim Healthcare NetworkVim’s solution curates top providers and pairs patients with those providers, leveraging a combination of online booking and referral coordination. On the provider side, it algorithmically analyzes referral patterns to bring to light trends without disrupting workflows, ultimately toward the goal of guiding patients to value-based health solutions in virtual networks.

Vim Healthcare Network DataVim says it has access to 10,000,000 patient profiles and 150,000 providers through major U.S.-based health plan partners. In the next 12 months, it loftily intends to “meaningfully reduce” the $1 trillion of excess cost in health care in the U.S. by targeting inconsistencies in treatment.

https://getvim.com/

To read more: https://venturebeat.com/2019/09/09/vim-raises-24-million-to-match-patients-with-top-health-care-providers/

Future Mobility: Hyundai Rolls Out Foldable Personal Electric Scooter Which Charges And Stores In Their Cars

From a Dezeen.com online article:

Hyundai Personal Electric Scooter view…this prototype is powered by a 10.5 amp hour (AH) lithium battery, which can reach speeds of just over 12 miles per hour and power the vehicle for around 12 miles on a single charge.

Hyundai has plans to integrate a regenerative braking system in the future, which would convert waste kinetic energy from the scooter’s brakes into electricity used to power it. The company claims this could increase its range by up to seven per cent.

Hyundai has created a prototype scooter that folds down to the size of a backpack and can be charged in a car using the energy created while driving. The scooter has been designed for use with future Hyundai or Kia models, which would come with designated storage and charging compartments.

To read more: https://www.dezeen.com/2019/09/09/hyundai-scooter-design-foldable-electric-vehicle/

Future Of Tourism: Athenea Eco-Friendly Luxury Floating Suites Will Be Available Soon

From a Curbed.com online article:

ANTHENEA IS THE FIRST FLOATING ECO-LUX HOTEL SUITE interiorThe domed capsule is the brainchild of naval architect Jean-Michel Ducancelle, who was inspired by the floating saucer in the 1977 Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. Under development for the last 15 years, this 21st-century version is outfitted with five south-facing solar panels that soak up the sun and power the electric motors and mechanical systems.

 

Half-boat, half-futuristic pod, the Anthenea is a bold take on sea-bound tourism. While we’ve already seen everything from an underwater Maldives hotel to an elevating floating home, the 538-square-foot Anthenea is being billed as “the world’s first eco-luxe floating hotel suite” (that can also be used as a spa, restaurant, night club, or really whatever the buyer can dream of).

http://www.anthenea.fr/en/homepage/

To read more: https://www.curbed.com/2019/9/5/20850121/solar-powered-floating-hotel-suite-anthenea

Health Technology: First Successful Tele-Robotic Heart Surgery Performed

From an InterestingEngineering.com online article:

CorPath GRX robot“Remote procedures have the potential to transform how we deliver care when treating the most time-sensitive illnesses such as heart attack and stroke. The success of this study paves the way for large-scale, long-distance telerobotic platforms across the globe, and its publication in Lancet’s EClinicalMedicine demonstrates the transformative nature of telerobotics,” said in a press statement Mark Toland, President and Chief Executive Officer of Corindus Vascular Robotics.

A surgeon in India has performed a series of five percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures on patients who were on operating tables 32 kilometers (20 miles) away from him. The event marks the first long-distance heart surgery.

The operation was performed in patients who have atherosclerosis, a condition where plaque builds up in the blood vessels and restricts blood flow. In this special remote procedure, a robot called the CorPath GRX robot and controlled by the surgeon inserted a small instrument called a stent in order to open blood vessels in the heart.

To read more: https://interestingengineering.com/first-long-distance-heart-surgery-performed-through-a-robot?_source=newsletter&_campaign=JerqNzW7B80q5&_uid=46dBBxnxd7&_h=0c209d493fa27bb2c39469a873cbbd733289c833&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=mailing&utm_campaign=Newsletter-07-09-2019

World’s Top Exhibitions: “The Deep Listener” By Danish Artist Jakob Kudsk Steensen, Serpentine Galleries, London (2019)

deeplistener1Designed as an augmented reality and spatial audio work downloadable as an app for mobile devices, it is both a site specific public artwork and a digital archive of these species, using tools and platforms from a range of fields including video games, computer generated images and film. Inspired by ecological science-fiction and scientific research, Kudsk Steensen creates a form of ‘slow media’ that uses the technological to foster attention rather than distraction. 

...a journey to both see and hear five of London’s species: London plane trees, bats, parakeets, azure blue damselflies and reedbeds.

Kudsk Steensen has collaborated with the field recordist and sound designer Matt McCorkle to represent five species as sound. The audio and visuals within the project are drawn directly from organic source material gathered from a period of embedded research within Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. These organic materials are then transformed through digital processes to be re-embedded within the same context.

Download brochure: https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/files/press-releases/the_deep_listener_tdl_a5_digital_v2_final.pdf

Website: https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-events/serpentine-augmented-architecture

Future Of Camper Vans: The “Hymer VisionVenture” Looks, Designed Like A “High-End Apartment”

From a Curbed.com online review:

Erwin Hymer Group debuted the VisionVenture concept interior stairsThis year at Düsseldorf, the Erwin Hymer Group debuted the VisionVenture concept. Built on a Mercedes chassis, the VisionVenture is a forward-thinking camper that looks more like a high-end apartment than a striped-down adventure rig.

To accomplish this, the camper’s interior uses warm bamboo, gray felt, and leather, mixing woods with other materials to add interest. The living area is located in the rear with two white sofas and a center dining table that folds down below the passenger-side bench. The stand-out feature of the living room is the panoramic rear window and large side windows. Fold out the rear door, drop a lower gate and the van boasts its own rear deck—complete with slide-out electric grill.

Erwin Hymer Group debuted the VisionVenture concept interior

It’s an impressive lounge area, and the kitchen goes even further with a flush cooktop, sink, refrigerator, and ample storage. The styling is fresh too, with modular, deck-like wall paneling that works to hang plants or cooking equipment as needed. Integrated next to the kitchen is a compact slate-colored staircase—reminiscent of tiny house design—that boasts storage, motion-activated lighting, and access to an inflatable pop-up sleeping area. The upstairs bed sleeps two and takes advantage of big views through the rear roll-up window.

https://www.hymer.com/de/de/modelle/technologie-innovation/vision-venture

To read more: https://www.curbed.com/2019/9/5/20851580/rv-camper-van-hymer-concept-visionventure