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3D printing managed by robots
Posted: 20 October 2017

Just as we suggested might become the case, a small manufacturing plant using 3D printers has scaled up by adding a robot to do the work at night. See the attached MindBullet for further scenario options!

This robot-run 3D printing farm is the future of light manufacturing
20 October 2017
Even small businesses are now running lights-out facilities using robots and automation
MindBullet logo THE CURSE OF ABUNDANCE
Free energy spawns hordes of wetbots and kills off big brands
Dateline: 13 July 2033
"We're closing up shop. Wetbots made us broke." The production chief of iRobot consumer products grins ruefully. "Luckily we've still got our military ...
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THE STREETS HAVE NO NAMES

Published on: 19 October 2017

In today’s modern cityscape, there are no streets or cars

Dateline: 19 October 2028

We live in a strange new world. Odourless aftershave. Wheat-free bread. Virtual assistants. Pointless pastries, devoid of sugar, made with boosted broccoli from basement farms, yet deliciously popular. And cities without streets. China's latest planned urban extravaganza, a megalopolis known as Yuyuan or 'Harmony Garden', isn't built around roads and streets. The walkways and thoroughfares linking the multiuse 3D-printed buildings can accommodate pedestrians, ebikes and hoverboards. Jogging and ...

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Scary scenarios for the future
Posted: 17 October 2017

As futurists, we often tend to favour a techno-optimistic view. After all, if you don't think the future can be better through your own efforts, then what's the point of trying to create the future? But we should not ignore the dystopian scenarios, some of which are pretty horrific, and possible, even if we think ...

10 Predictions About the Future That Should Scare the Hell Out of You
17 October 2017
The future looks bright, except when it doesn’t. Here are 10 exceptionally regrettable developments we can expect in the coming decades.
MindBullet logo THE FUTURE SURE AIN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE
The future will always surprise us
Dateline: 11 August 2026
Back in the 1950s, seventy years ago, people made all sorts of predictions about what the future would be like. We'd have flying cars and robot maids, it ...
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No more helium shortage
Posted: 16 October 2017

You may not have been aware of it, but the world was facing a possible shortage of helium, which is used in space rockets and MRI medical devices. Helium, besides being lighter than air, and a safe way to inflate party balloons, is an inert, stable element that won't combust or explode under pressure, making it ...

Massive 'Life-Saving' Helium Field Just Turned Out to Be Far Bigger Than We'd Hoped
16 October 2017
New analysis of a gargantuan helium deposit discovered in Tanzania last year has revealed that there may be much more of the gas than initial surveys ...
MindBullet logo US BANS HELIUM EXPORTS IN ELEMENT TRADE WAR
China's medical and consumer electronics manufacturers in turmoil
Dateline: 15 August 2015
In a widely expected, but controversial, move the US has banned all helium exports to China and its major trade partners, following China's banning of all ...
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Mainstream metal printing
Posted: 13 October 2017

We've talked a lot about 3D printing over the years, and its potential to disrupt traditional manufacturing businesses. Now metal 3D printing is about to go mainstream, with office-friendly studio systems and high-speed manufacturing systems from Desktop Metal. And in a variety of metals, from titanium to ...

100x faster, 10x cheaper: 3D metal printing is about to go mainstream
13 October 2017
Desktop Metal - remember the name. This Massachussetts company is preparing to turn manufacturing on its head, with a 3D metal printing system that's so much faster, safer and cheaper than existing systems that it's going to compete with traditional mass manufacturing processes.
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INTERNET OF ORGANIC THINGS

Published on: 12 October 2017

Plants that tweet and pets that ping

Dateline: 13 October 2023

Does your prize rose bush send you an email when it needs specific nutrients, or tweet incessantly when it's thirsty? Does your Labrador retriever ping you on your smartphone, when he's restless and wants a walk? Only if you've got smart soil sensors, for the rose, and a smart dog-collar for the Lab. But all these things we've connected to the 'net, they all need power - battery power, and even enhanced with tiny solar cells, like all electronics, they eventually wear out and have to be replaced, or ...

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