Editor Due

Anfang Februar trafen sich im Office of Naval Research in Virginia zur zweijährlichen Versammlung der Spitzenforscher der US-Marine. Die Gruppe hatte sich versammelt, um innovative Technologien zu besprechen, welche die Navy einsetzen könnte.

Wie werden wir uns in Zukunft fortbewegen? Die Konferenz «Mobilität 2025» präsentierte eine Studie, die das Gottlieb-Duttweiler-Institut bei den SBB in Auftrag gegeben hatte. Experten und Querdenker zeigten Mobilitäts-Perspektiven und -Grenzen auf.

The recent hype over 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, shoudln’t fool you into thinking it's new. This process – which consists of printing layer upon layer of a material, usually plastic, to make an object out of a 3D digital drawing – has been around since the eighties.

Die Schweizer Industrie ist auf einem guten Weg zur vernetzten Wirtschaft. So beschäftigen sich knapp zwei von drei Firmen bereits mit der intelligenten Fabrik – oftmals im Beobachtungs- und Analysestadium, aber auch in Einzelprojekten. Das ist das Ergebnis einer länderübergreifenden Studie der Unternehmensberatung Staufen AG.

Hightech-Textilien sind dabei sich zu etablieren. Kein Wunder also, wenn die Zukunft intelligenter Textilien von der Klimaregulierung über den Kampf gegen Schmerzen bis hin zu Naturmaterialien reicht.

Es ist dünner als unser Haar und soll die Datenübertragunf beschleunigen. Im Schott Key Technology Center schneidet ein blauer Spezial-Laser Aussparungen in eine biegsame, ultradünne Glasscheibe. Der Mainzer Spezialglas-Hersteller Schott treibt die Entwicklung von Glas voran, das dünner ist als ein menschliches Haar. Solche Spezialgläser versprechen mehr Tempo bei der Übertragung von Daten.

Die Rechenzentrumsexperten gehen davon aus, dass die Cloud-Nutzung weiter wachsen wird und bis zum Jahr 2025 rund zwei Drittel der Rechenzentrumsleistungen in der Cloud stattfinden werden.

With more than half of the British countryside being managed by precision farming methods, is the new agricultural revolution gathering pace?

The world is spinning faster than ever before! As manufacturers proclaim new, apparently game-changing products and bikers marvel at them thinking “WOW – surely more isn’t possible,” the engineers carry on refining. The (mostly) healthy competitiveness between global giants and local workshops ensures continuous product improvement and innovation, which is sometimes meaningful and sometimes just pure marketing hype.

Every month, it seems, a mammoth cyberattack sponsored by a nation-state comes to light. In recent years, more than 20 countries have announced their intent to launch or beef up their offensive cyber capabilities. The result is a burgeoning digital arms race that presents a major threat to the security of our data.

The need to strengthen cross-border cooperation in investigation, information exchange and capacity-building in the face of the growing professionalisation of cybercrime will be a key area for discussion during the 3rd Europol – INTERPOL Cybercrime Conference.

Cybercrime poses a potential existential threat to our society, and we're completely unprepared. Whether or not Chris Roberts, the security researcher who recently claimed to have hacked into the flight control system of a plane while it was in flight, was telling the truth about his ability to hijack a plane, we've most definitely entered the era of cybercrime.

Speaking at an international conference on science and technology in Kyoto, Abe pledged Japan would contribute to innovations in driving technology.

Some people who have lost their vision find a “second sight” taking over their eyes – an uncanny, subconscious sense that sheds light into the hidden depths of the human mind. When Daniel first walked into London’s National Hospital, ophthalmologist Michael Sanders could have had little idea that he would permanently alter our view of human consciousness.

Novel molecular structures are a first step toward economical carbon capture at a wide scale. A viable technology for economical carbon capture would be a huge step in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

With space at a premium and affordable housing scarce, some architects are thinking small when designing domestic space. Imagine a house in which – at the flick of a button – your bed descends from the ceiling, your dining table pops out from the floor panels, and your projector screen unfurls from the roof.

Almost a hundred years since Albert Einstein proposed gravitational waves as part of his general theory of relatively, we are still no closer to finding them. Was Einstein wrong?

A throwback to early 20th Century aviation may hold the key to eliminating the sonic boom - at least according to researchers at MIT and Stanford University. Strongly reminiscent of biplanes still in use today, the researcher's concept supersonic aircraft introduces a second wing which it is claimed cancels the shockwaves generated by objects near or beyond the sound barrier.

Liquid crystals are familiar to most of us as the somewhat humdrum stuff used to make computer displays and TVs. Even for scientists, it has not been easy to find other uses. Now a group of researchers is putting liquid crystals to work in a completely unexpected realm: as detectors for the protein fibers implicated in the development of neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

“The Reader’s Brain: How Neuroscience Can Make You a Better Writer”: A new book uses insights into the reading brain to give writers clear-cut, science-based guidelines on how to write anything well, from an email to a multi-million-dollar proposal.

Born in the electric surfboard-crazed nation of Germany, the J-Force eBoard is one of the fastest electric-propelled boards on the market, reaching 34 mph (55 km/h) on the open water. In place of the usual handheld controller, the eBoard uses a wearable glove that puts speed control at your fingertips ... literally.

The crowdfunded drone explosion continues with the features VR-headset FLYBi, a wrist remote and automatic battery-swapping, quadcopter designed to put you in the "cockpit," sort of. It aims to fulfill the promise of earlier concepts like Oculus FPV that merge virtual reality tech with drones to provide a first-person view of the flight.

Laser technology has come a long way over the decades, having made leaps from science fiction to science fact within the medical field, manufacturing, and even as a "death star" beam to help unlock the mysteries of the universe. But the latest laser-enabled concept is something the average consumer can more readily appreciate. The Skarp Razor may become the first-ever personal shaving tool powered by a laser.

Researchers from Telekom Innovation Laboratories and TU Berlin in Germany and from the Aarhus University in Denmark covered a touch screen in gel that can harden into buttons of all shapes and sizes so you can use the display even if you can’t gaze at it.

Driven by the explosion of residential solar power, the market for home energy storage—which attracted little interest until earlier this year, when Tesla announced its Powerwall battery—is suddenly looking crowded.