What's Emerging January 2022
A newsletter on interesting stuff that is emerging around the world so you can think about strategy
Welcome to our first newsletter for 2022. We hope you all had a happy and safe Christmas and New Year and are powering along into 2022.
In the next few weeks, Paul will continue working with a council on their community vision. Paul will also continue working in his role as advisor for foresight and strategy to Save the Children Australia He is also running a project on how to maximise the adoption of new irrigation technologies in the Dairy and Cotton industries via the use of Sense Maker narrative collection techniques. He will also be continuing work on the new project with Vision Australia on their 10 year vision and strategic planning and working with the General Melbourne Cemetery Trust on strategy. Paul has also joined a new global research effort with Simon Wardley and The Leading Edge Foundation. More on that at the end of February.
We also have a number of new and interesting projects in the final stages of negotiation and Paul will be recommencing face to face speaking engagements with three of those currently under consideration for May.
Please Contact Us if you want to talk about any of these approaches for your organisation or industry or want a presentation for your organisation or conference.
The Emergent Futures Team
In case you missed it. The most popular link from the last edition:
The Atlantic’s vital currents could collapse. Scientists are racing to understand the dangers.
This was the equal winner. If you want to understand where hydrogen may or may not fit in the energy transition over the coming years this is a good place to start.……Read more
What are we Writing About?
Paul has posted an article on a scenario of what the Pandemic might look like though to August. Go to our Home Page to look under our latest work to read it.
What’s Emerging
Hyundai shuts down its engine development team amid focus on electric cars
Hyundai reportedly had 12,000 people working on engines, but they are now being transferred to EV powertrain development:…. read more
New elevator data tells the story of the movement of people in cities globally
KONE, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, has analyzed data from its global elevator portfolio to tell the story of the flow of people in cities around the world over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. The data collected covers the period from before the first lockdowns confined most populations to their homes, to the present day, and provides an original data set for illustrating the return of people to workplaces, educational institutions, hotels and within residential buildings. ..…. Read more
Australia’s Redflow Completes California Flow Battery Project
The project – which represents Redflow’s biggest single deployment of batteries to date – is comprised of 192 zinc-bromine flow batteries housed in 12 x 160 kWh Redflow Energy Pod units clustered into four strings, and tied to four 125 kW Dynapower inverters.….. Read more
Human brain cells in a dish learn to play Pong
Living brain cells in a dish can learn to play Pong when they are placed in what researchers describe as a "virtual game world". "We think it's fair to call them cyborg brains," says Brett Kagan, chief scientific officer of Cortical Labs, who leads the research...…… Read more
Canon Confirms We’ve Seen Its Last Flagship DSLR
The age of Canon DSLRs is rapidly coming to an end. Canon has officially confirmed that the Canon 1D X Mark III will be its last flagship DSLR camera as it turns its attention toward a future of mirrorless cameras.…..Read more
A Cookie Robot is Pumping Out That New Cookie Smell in Huntsville, Alabama
The customer orders their cookie through an app or an iPad touch screen as an order interface. They have a choice between drizzled chocolate or caramel, and on top of that, they can choose from six different dry toppings. The customer can also choose between three different types of cookies: chocolate royale, the sugar cookie and a lemon cooler. The total combinations of cookie, drizzle, and toppings are 160 variations......….. Read more
Freight Operators Plan to Deploy Thousands of Remote-Operated Forklifts
ArcBest and NFI Industries led a $42 million investment in Phantom Auto and its technology aimed at expanding the pool of workers in a tight labor market.Phantom’s technology allows off-site drivers to operate equipment using video and audio streams, opening up freight-handling jobs to workers in other regions. Operators can switch between forklifts in different locations depending on demand..…. Read more
Japan to Open Its First Esports High School in Spring
The school will be located in Shibuya and will be funded by Japanese telecoms company NTT’s esports outfit, as well as that of Japanese soccer club Tokyo Verdy. Kids shouldn’t expect your average teachers, either, as professional esports players, members of NTT, and Tokyo Verdy will make up the school’s staff.......….. Read more
Experimental mRNA HIV vaccine shows promise in animals
The first two FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines have been extremely successful and helped launch the technology. But researchers have been studying mRNA technology for other uses for decades. Researchers are now investigating whether mRNA can be used to create vaccines that protect against other viruses......…..Read more
James Webb Space Telescope Deployment Sequence
An amazing technological feat.
Delicious plant-based fried chicken is at KFCs nationwide in the USA
On January 10, nearly two years after being trialed in test markets, Beyond Fried Chicken became available at KFCs nationwide. Developed in conjunction with Beyond Meat, it’s the first plant-based chicken to launch in fast-food restaurants across America. Beyond Fried Chicken—which is shaped into fried chunks that are somewhere between a chicken nugget and a chicken finger—will be sold in six-piece packs starting at $6.99...…….Read more
Instagram surpasses 2 billion monthly users while powering through a year of turmoil
“That’s a pretty significant compound annual growth rate of users,” said David Heger, an analyst at Edward Jones. Heger said the speed of expansion to 2 billion users is particularly important given the hefty competition that’s emerged from TikTok, which has surged in popularity by making it simple for people to create and share short, funny videos....…. Read more
German Bionic debuts a new exoskeleton with upper- and lower-body assistance
The new system is capable of supporting up to 66 additional pounds per lift. It also adds walking assistance to the mix. That’s a first for the Cray X line — and a combination of support that is generally split between separate devices. The company notes, “It works by gently pushing the legs forward when loads need to be moved from a to b. It thereby helps reduce premature exhaustion and preserve the energy levels of workers conducting tasks involving both lifting and walking.”.....…Read more
Electric Trucks: Volvo Increases Range 85%, Kenworth Triples Orders
The company says improvements in battery design have increased the energy storage capacity of its batteries by as much as 40% while a dedicated Battery Thermal Management System has been added to manage and maintain ideal environmental temperatures. In addition, the company now offers a 565 kWh, 6-battery package that offers an operational range of up to 275 miles with a full load. Charging capacity has been increased to 250 kW, which enables an 80% recharge of the 6-battery package in 90 minutes or 60 minutes for the 4-battery package......……. Read more
Business Tips
This edition they are all about health. If you are not looking after your body then your performance will be less than optimal.
NO AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL IS GOOD FOR THE HEART, SAYS WORLD HEART FEDERATION
Paul: Nobody is going to taken any notice of this...…… Read more
How accurate is your RAT? Three scenarios show it's about more than looking for lines
A useful way to think about your decision making - it is not just the test positive or negative that counts in your assessment……Read more
12 Signs You Have a Fake N95, KN95, or KF94 Mask
The highly contagious Omicron variant has sent us on a mad dash for more-protective masks, such as N95s, KN95s, and KF94s. And along with that comes the nagging concern over being duped by counterfeiters. At best, fake respirator masks are just a waste of money. At worst, they give those who need protection most a potentially dangerous false sense of security..…. Read more
Wearable resistance: how to get stronger by simply moving, with a little help from small weights
It’s the time of year to make resolutions to improve fitness and strength, but this may not require a gym membership or even hard work. Strength training can be effective with small weights, provided by household items like a small can of spaghetti or wearable resistance loads incorporated into clothing...……Read more
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