What's Emerging September 2022
A newsletter on interesting stuff that is emerging around the world so you can think about strategy
Welcome to our end of September newsletter.
In the next few weeks, Paul will be continuing work with Save the Children on their strategic planning. He also continues to participate in a global research project led by Simon Wardley from the UK and is continuing a year-long foresight advisory role with Vision Australia. He will also be presenting to the CEO Institute Future CEOs Group on De-Risking Global Supply Chains.
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:
“Very fast:” UNSW researchers develop high speed motor that could boost EV range
Engineers from UNSW Sydney have designed and built a new high-speed motor which they say has the potential to increase the range of electric vehicles while simultaneously reduce the amount of rare earth materials needed.........….. Read more
What are we Writing About?
Paul’s presentation to the Tasmanian Forest and Wood Products Forum is now up on our website. You can go to our home page and look under latest presentations to access it.
What’s Emerging
Design of Bangor-Belfast electric ferry by Artemis revealed
Artemis Technologies has unveiled the design of a new 100% electric foiling fast ferry to be used in a Belfast to Bangor pilot scheme..……read more
The chips are down: Putin scrambles for high-tech parts as his arsenal goes up in smoke
It's the microchips that look set to get Vladimir Putin in the end. Six months into its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is being throttled by a severe technology deficit inflicted by sanctions. Paul: important lessons here about supply chains and logistics in a modern world..... Read More
Japan’s $2-billion initiative to prep pandemic vaccines in 100 days
The Strategic Center of Biomedical Advanced Vaccine Research and Development for Preparedness and Response (SCARDA) will initially invest in vaccine research for eight pathogens, including coronaviruses, monkeypox, dengue virus and Zika virus, using a range of technologies for vaccine delivery, such as mRNA technology, viral vectors and recombinant proteins.......……. Read more
Drone swarm that 3D prints cement structures could construct buildings
Bit by bit, drones can print structures made of foam and cement. The technique could transform future construction sites and post-disaster reconstruction..……read more
Termites are spreading as the climate warms and could increase carbon emissions, study finds
“Using data from 133 sites spanning six continents, we found that termite wood discovery and consumption were highly sensitive to temperature (with decay increasing >6.8 times per 10°C increase in temperature)—even more so than microbes. …….. With tropicalization (i.e., warming shifts to tropical climates), termite wood decay will likely increase as termites access more of Earth’s surface”..…..Read more
We’re using artificial intelligence to detect wildlife trafficking
This technology uses artificial intelligence to recognise the shapes of animals when scanned at international frontlines such as airports and mail centres...........…..Read more
An EV With 1000km of Range Is Tantalizingly Close
The Chinese Zeekr car brand, which will go on sale next year, will be the first to have a new highly efficient battery. .........….. Read more
One in seven buy now, pay later customers had more than 20 loans last year, Choice survey shows
“Our research shows that buy now pay later is effectively sold as a regular line of credit, but without any of the important consumer protections.
“So many families around Australia are having to draw on buy now pay later, week after week, but the lenders really have no legal obligation to conduct affordability checks.”.....…. Read more
SpaceX Starlink now reaches all seven continents as it tests polar service
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) announced it was testing Starlink's "polar service" at McMurdo Station, the largest station on Antarctica which serves as a logistics hub for the NSF-managed US Antarctic Program (USAP). ....…..Read more
Scientists Use CRISPR to Condense a Million Years of Evolution Into Mere Months
Made in a lab in Beijing, Xiao Zhu pushes the boundary of what’s possible for genetic engineering and synthetic biology. Rather than harboring the usual 20 pairs of chromosomes, the mouse and its sibling cohorts only have 19 pairs. Two chunks of different chromosomes were artificially fused together in a daring experiment that asked: rather than tweaking individual DNA letters or multiple genes, can we retune an existing genomic playbook wholesale, shuffling massive blocks of genetic material around at the same time?..........….. Read more
Say Hello to Crazy Thin ‘Deep Insert’ ATM Skimmers
A number of financial institutions in and around New York City are dealing with a rash of super-thin “deep insert” skimming devices designed to fit inside the mouth of an ATM’s card acceptance slot. The card skimmers are paired with tiny pinhole cameras that are cleverly disguised as part of the cash machine. Here’s a look at some of the more sophisticated deep insert skimmer technology that fraud investigators have recently found in the wild...….….Read more
The trucking company that will go fully electric within three years
Gilberto Enkerlin, the CEO of Norway-based earthmoving company Tom Wilhelmsen, says the company already operates seven Volvo FE electric trucks (medium load up to 26 tonnes) and is soon to take deliver of two Volvo FMX trucks (heavy duty up to 44 tonnes). They mostly operate as tippers, carrying earth and waste from construction sites......…… Read More
Meta Built an AI That Can Guess the Words You’re Hearing by Decoding Your Brainwaves
Their approach involved splitting the brain and audio data into three-second-long snippets and feeding it into a neural network that then looked for patterns that could connect the two. After training the AI on many hours of this data, they then tested it on previously unseen data........…. Read more
Linux Foundation Announces an Intent to Form the OpenWallet Foundation
The Linux Foundation, a global nonprofit organization enabling innovation through open source, announced the intention to form the OpenWallet Foundation (OWF), a new collaborative effort to develop open-source software to support interoperability for a wide range of wallet use cases......…. Read more
Amazon’s robots are getting closer to replacing human hands
Preliminary tests show a prototype pinch-grasping robot achieved a 10-fold reduction in damage on items such as books and boxes....……. Read more
Business Tips
How to Promote Yourself, Even When You’re Uncomfortable Doing It
Good tips from Jason Feiffer..…… Read more
The 4 iOS 16 settings you need to turn off now to save your data
Your iPhone wants to be connected 24/7, and Apple has built a whole raft of features into iOS that wants to take advantage of that connection. Problem is, using these features can put a serious dent in your cellular data plan, which either means that you end up paying extra fees or being kicked to a lower-speed tier by your provider.……Read more
The Best Packable Backpacks and Daypacks for Traveling Light
Paul: Those of you who know me will know that I am obsessed with never travelling with checked luggage. However, I always pack a foldable small carry bag in my carry-on luggage so I can walk around at my destination with a few small items. BTW my go to carry on bag is my Pakt One which is one of the best gifts anyone ever gave me. My iPad Pro goes in the special padded pocket.....…. Read more
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