Another Great Year for Wind Power

December 18, 2020 - This year shows strong growth for wind power when the total global installed capacity added a record 62,000 MW, making the total capacity more than 480,000 MW. Wind power is by far the renewable source with the largest growth in worldwide capacity during the last decade.

The US was quite slow adopting wind power compared to many European countries, but passed Germany as the biggest producer of wind power in the world in year 2013. US now has a capacity of 84,000 MW compared to 48,000 MW for Germany. China was the country with the strongest growth related to the total capacity, adding another 25% and still the third biggest producer in the world with 30,000 MW installed.

US is though behind Europe when it comes to wind power as part of the total electricity demand, serving only 6%, compared to 12,7% for Europe. Denmark is with 40% still the country with the highest share of wind energy, most likely reaching 50% within the next five years. Even though wind power as a renewable resource has its environmental advantages, the increasing demand for wind power is related to the low cost for the energy output, pressed down with more efficient larger wind turbines and the maturity of the market.

The trend in the last decade of wind energy has been towards more offshore sites. In Europe, offshore now counts for about 19% of all wind power capacity, compared to less than 2% 15 years ago. The already projected wind farms give a forecast of about 50% of the total European capacity to be offshore by year 2030.

Argument: Wind power has had a strong growth during the last decade and will continue to. The numbers are from the European Wind Energy Association, the American Wind Energy Association, the Danish Wind Industry Association, the German WindEnergy Association.

http://www.newsoffuture.com/wind_power_future_energy.html

Hot Gadget: Speed Up Your Home With 4 THz

February 14, 2025 - Today is the release of the first home computer with the new 4 THz microprocessor, currently the highest performing processor available. Several analysts have doubted of the need of the 4THz processor for the home market, but the pre-sale for the last couple of weeks look positive according to the manufacturer.

The computer has the 100TB memory drive that became standard about 5 years ago, basically because the lack of interest in more storage for home computers. It's nice that they have included 1,000 movies in the package but as you can guess they are not the latest releases.

It has 512 GB RAM memory, the size of the box is 10.3" x 7.9" x 1.2" (WxDxH) and it is of course compatible with all the wireless screens that you have at home. The introduction price is set to US$ 399.

Argument: According to Moore's Law the number of transistors that could be placed on a computer chip would double every 18 months which has been the case since the 1970s. Gordon Moore has though revised his law since then which could give us a microprocessor of 4 THz by 2025.

Questions: Will there be need for more than 100 TB storage memory for the home market? What else can drive the development of home computers than moving images, as in movies and games?

http://www.newsoffuture.com/speed_up_your_home_future_technology.html

Home of the Future Becomes a Reality

Japanese government completes work on house that never runs out of beer or rice, and can monitor residents' health.

A Japanese government-led team has completed construction of a network that connects all of the appliances and electronic devices in a rented home to showcase home networking technologies.

The house is the result of a three-year project started by Japan's Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) in 1999. The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) was assigned to oversee the project.

Over the past year, JEITA has deployed 50 home networking applications in a rented home. Companies participating in the project include Matsushita Electric Industrial, Hitachi, Sony, and Sharp, among others.

Welcome Home

The rented JEITA house is a typical two-story Japanese home, complete with a traditional Japanese tatami room, a living room, and a kitchen on the first floor, and bedrooms and a study on the second floor. But less typical features are readily apparent. At the front door, Sony's pet robot Aibo greets visitors. And from the living room, people can water the garden and feed the dog outside--via cell phone.

"Every device in the home, even a small light, has a private IP (Internet Protocol) address," says Yoshinori Sugihara, general manager of the Special Project Promotion Office of JEITA. "Technically speaking, the systems adopted here are fairly simple. While engineers might not be especially proud of them, we tried to build this house from the users' point of view."

The JEITA house incorporates an array of notable features.

For example, no keys are required to unlock the front door. Instead, the house relies on a fingerprint scanner to confirm the identity of the person who wants to open the door. The fingerprint data can also be sent to Aibo, which can perform a unique "welcome dance" to greet different members of the family.

There is no need to wait at home for delivery of a parcel either. A box for parcels stands just outside the front door. A family member can use a cell phone to check on the arrival of a package and can open the box remotely. The box recognizes the identification of the delivery and issues a signed receipt to the deliverer.

Remote Control

Everything from opening curtains to turning on lights or the air conditioner is controllable with a single remote control from the plasma-display television in the living room.

The house never runs out of beer. When only three cans of beer remain in the refrigerator, the house sends an e-mail order for more to a store. The house can also order more rice: A sensor attached to a rice container detects when rice is running low and automatically orders a new bag via e-mail.

A cell phone-controlled system in the garden waters plants and feeds pets, allowing family members who are away on vacation or out shopping to take care of plants and pets.

For elderly family members, the house incorporates sensors in a specially modified bed to monitor the occupant's health conditions. When the censor detects something unusual, such as an irregular heartbeat or breathing cycle, it automatically sends a message to other family members' cell phones.

On the balcony, a clothesline monitors changes in the weather. When rain starts to fall, the clothesline automatically pulls a covering sheet over clothes that have been hung out to dry.

Stay in Touch

Each room in the house includes a hands-free speaker/microphone with voice-recognition capabilities that allows family members to stay in contact. For example, instead of a parent's having to yell to the kids when dinner is ready, the system can place a phone call or send an e-mail message in response to a voice command.

The house can learn and adapt to the habits of each family member. For example, if one family member habitually goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night, the system can spring into action as soon as the person gets up from bed, automatically warming the toilet seat and lighting the way to the bathroom. Similarly, the house will turn the toilet-seat heater and lights off as the person returns to the bedroom.

All of the home networking technologies incorporated in the JEITA house will soon be available commercially. The project team aimed to keep the cost of fully networking a home as low as $37,450, Sugihara says.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,82066-page,1/article.html

Researchers pave the way for Canada's first intelligent home

As the Canadian population ages, the number of people affected by Alzheimer's disease and other dementias is expected to increase dramatically. It is estimated that by the year 2031, more than 750,000 Canadians will have Alzheimer's or a related dementia. Researchers at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (Toronto Rehab) are leading the way in the development of intelligent, self-adaptive technologies that will enable older adults with cognitive impairments to safely remain in their homes.

"Often when a person gets moderate to severe levels of impairment, they are taken out of their home and put into a care facility," says lead scientist Dr. Alex Mihailidis, a mechanical and biomedical engineer and researcher at Toronto Rehab. "We are using artificial intelligence to support aging-in-place so that people can remain in their homes for as long as possible."

Dr. Mihailidis and his research team at the Intelligent Assistive Technology and Systems Lab, a Toronto Rehab and University of Toronto joint venture, have developed home-based computer systems that use artificial intelligence to promote independence and ensure the safety of older people living at home who might experience memory loss, confusion, or other cognitive problems as a result of Alzheimer's disease or stroke.

Alzheimer's disease and other related dementias often affect a person's ability to perform daily personal care activities, such as proper toileting. Dr. Mihailidis and his team have developed a "talking" bathroom outfitted with a computer screen that gives video and verbal cues to assist with hand washing.

The team has also developed a personal emergency response system that can detect when a person has fallen and call for help. Using ceiling-mounted cameras in the house, pictures are fed to the computer system, which analyses the images to determine the position of the occupant and whether or not a fall has occurred. A voice recognition system will then ask the occupant if they need help.

"Often we hear of cases where an individual has fallen and is found three days later lying on the bathroom or kitchen floor. When this happens, their chances of survival and recovery are drastically reduced," says Dr. Mihailidis. "Our emergency response system will ensure they get the help they need immediately."

It is the ability of an intelligent system to monitor a person and situation, take into account probabilities and statistics, and come up with a course of action that distinguishes an intelligent home from a smart home, according to Dr. Mihailidis. "Smart homes respond to pre-programmed requests but cannot learn and adapt. Our systems use computer algorithms that act more like a human in terms of rational thought and decision-making. They actually learn and adapt to a person's needs."

Toronto Rehab researchers are the first internationally to test home-based artificial intelligence systems in clinical trials. One study found that subjects' ability to complete hand-washing steps without help from a caregiver increased by approximately 25% when the computer prompting system was employed. Another study showed that the team's emergency response system detected 77% of falls staged in the lab.

"Our systems are not intended to replace professional or family caregivers. However, the results from our studies are encouraging and show that the use of artificial intelligence in a home setting can provide safety and security and enhance the quality of life for older adults who would like to remain in their homes as they age," says Dr. Mihailidis.

About Toronto Rehabilitation Institute The Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (Toronto Rehab) is at the forefront of one of the most important and emerging frontiers in health care today - rehabilitation science. As a fully affiliated teaching and research hospital of the University of Toronto, Toronto Rehab is Canada's largest provider of adult rehabilitation services, complex continuing care, and long-term care. Toronto Rehab is advancing rehabilitation knowledge and practice through research, education and patient care.

http://www.torontorehab.on.ca/news-view.cfm?autoid=145

Future House Project

The widespread adoption of digital technologies is leading to profound changes in how we communicate with others, shop for goods and services, receive news, manage our finances, learn about the world, participate in politics, deliver and receive medical care, conduct business, manage resources, find entertainment, and maintain autonomy as we age. Increasingly, these activities will take place directly in the home. As our notion of banks, bookstores, universities, communities, and cities change in response to new technologies, the home will take on extraordinary new importance.

The home as it exists today cannot meet these demands or take advantage of new opportunities created by social and technological changes. Most people live in spaces poorly tailored to their needs, and technologies for the home are too often irrelevant gadgets, meeting no fundamental need and developed out of context.

House_n research is focused on how the design of the home and its related technologies, products, and services should evolve to better meet the opportunities and challenges of the future. Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers are investigating methods for merging new technologies with person-centered design. They are generating new ideas, technologies, and methodologies that support the creation of innovative products and services that satisfy the emerging and future needs of people as they live in their homes. This broad research approach is leading to innovative product ideas that are unlikely to be uncovered in more narrowly-focused industries or research endeavors. To facilitate these studies, a unique "living laboratory" residential home research facility called the PlaceLab has been constructed near MIT.

House_n is a multi-disciplinary project lead by researchers at the MIT Department of Architecture. Participants include our industrial sponsors, the MIT Media Lab and other departments at MIT, Intel Research, the Boston Medical Center, Stanford Medical, University of North Carolina School of Public Health, Bensonwood Homes, and CIMIT.

The School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology invites interested companies and organizations to participate in this multi-sponsor collaborative effort. Industrial sponsors are encouraged to bring their unique perspective to the project and to participate in this unique exploration of the future of the home with members of complementary industries.

The changing home, rendering by Kent Larson


New ways to get information about the home, featuring alumni Tyrone Yang and Byron Stigge


Research in real homes, featuring students Joyce Ho and Emmanuel Munguia Tapia

http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n/intro.html

City at Sea

	The Freedom Ship has little in common with a conventional ship; it is actually nothing more than a big barge. The bolt-up construction and the unusually large amount of steel incorporated into the ship meets the design engineer's requirements for stability and structural integrity and the cost engineers requirements of "economic feasibility" but the downside is a severe reduction in top speed, making the ship useless for any existing requirements. For example, it would be too slow to be a cruise ship or a cargo ship. But what if this big, overweight, barge was assigned a voyage that required slowly cruising around the world, hugging the shoreline, and completing one revolution every 3 years? If the designers then incorporated the following amenities into this barge, what would be the results? 18,000 living units, with prices in the range of $180,000 to $2.5 million, including a small number of premium suites currently priced up to $44 million. 3,000 commercial units in a similar price range 2,400 time-share units 10,000 hotel units A World Class Casino A ferryboat transportation system that provides departures every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, to 3 or more local cities giving ship residents access to the local neighborhood and up to 30,000 land-based residents a chance to spend a day on the ship. A World-Class Medical Facility practicing Western and Eastern medicine as well as preventive and anti-aging medicine. A School System that gives the students a chance to take a field trip into a different Country each week for academic purposes or to compete with local schools in numerous sporting events. For example; The Freedom Ship High School Soccer team plays a Paris High School team this week at home and an Italian team next week in Italy, while the Freedom Ship High School Band presents a New Orleans Jazz musical at a concert hall in London. An International Trade Center that gives on-board companies and shops the opportunity to show and sell their products in a different Country each week. More than 100 acres of outdoor Park, Recreation, Exercise and Community space for the enjoyment of residents and visitors. Many of you already know what we have created. Those of you who "do not get it" may feel free to move on to the next web site. For those of you who are still with us, I am sure we do not need to explain to you what this lifestyle will be like - you already know! Therefore, we invite you to join with us in the creation of this new lifestyle. We are expanding our web site and will pass on more information as soon as we are permitted to do so. Thank you, Norman Nixon, PE, CEO

http://www.freedomship.com/

Welcome to the City of the Future

Our present-day cities are already obsolete and are threatening to engulf the entire countryside, permanently destroying vast areas of our best food-producing land. Victory City™ is the wave of the future. It's an entire city all under one roof, to be built and operated by private enterprise alone. There will not be just one, but many such cities throughout the entire world. Boasting no crime, no pollution, and no over-crowding, Victory City is a veritable utopia for those who've grown weary of trying to find solutions to today's urban problems.

http://www.victorycities.com/index.html

Quotations about Technology

All of the biggest technological inventions created by man - the airplane, the automobile, the computer - says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his laziness.

~Mark Kennedy



Inventor: A person who makes an ingenious arrangement of wheels, levers and springs, and believes it civilization.

~Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary


Modern technology
Owes ecology
An apology.

~Alan M. Eddison


It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.

~Albert Einstein


One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.

~Elbert Hubbard, The Roycroft Dictionary and Book of Epigrams, 1923


For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.

~Richard P. Feynman


If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger.

~Frank Lloyd Wright


Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation...tooting, howling, screeching, booming, crashing, whistling, grinding, and trilling bolster his ego. His anxiety subsides. His inhuman void spreads monstrously like a gray vegetation.

~Jean Arp

http://www.quotegarden.com/technology.html

Top 10 Inventions Needed - Future Technology

This was a wish list that was originally intended to provide inspiration for inventors. First written in April of 1997, I thought it might be fun to follow-up each year and find out if anyone has been working on these ideas for future technology. I have included websites for you to "check out" inventions that are, are close to, or kinda close to what I am hoping will soon exist in the technology available to us presently.

1. Future Technology - Free Energy

I want my energy bill to come only once, not every month. So be it solar or electro-magnetic, please make it personal and portable with batteries that keep going and going.

Check out - D.O.E. Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

2. Future Technology - Transporter

What kind of technology is required to scramble a person's atoms and send them for regrouping in foreign lands all in the blink of an eye? Imagine, I could work in Tokyo and sleep in Paris. Beam me up.

Check out - Quantum Teleportation or Scientists Report 'Teleported' Data

3. Future Technology - Replicator Technology (Stuff for Free)

Every time I saw Captain Picard (Star Trek Next Generation) ordering his Earl Grey Tea or Councilor Troy getting a triple alien fudge dessert from one of those replicators on the Enterprise, it made me jealous. I imagine you could send the dirty dishes back to the void where they came from. BTW, a replicator is a device that uses transporter technology to dematerialize quantities of matter and then rematerialize that matter in another form.

4. Future Technology - Universal Communicator

Forget long distant bills and roaming charges (especially with me working in Tokyo and sleeping in Paris). I want a very small device that lets me talk and see anyone, anywhere and anytime. All for the price of the device and please throw in the ability for universal translation for a modest surcharge.

Check out - Not quite what I meant however, there is Intel's Universal Communicators

5. Future Technology - The Cure

For you name it.

Check out - Curing Brain Diseases by Growing New Cells?

6. Future Technology - Fountain of Youth

As a woman I consider this as a no-brainer desire for future technology. The "Fountain of Youth" was a legendary spring that renders anyone who drinks of its waters permanently young. What is the real future technology that will extend our lives and keep us looking youthful without surgery?

Check out - Scientists discover cellular 'fountain of youth' and Anti-Aging Medicine or Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine.

7. Future Technology - Protective Force Field

To shield me from the sticks and stones.

Check out - A Force Field for Astronauts?

8. Future Technology - Flying Cars

I want a smooth ride all the way and I hope it's a convertible.

Check out - The Skycar, How Flying Cars Will Work, Flying Cars Ready To Take Off, Flying car more economical than SUV, or Retrofuture.

9. Future Technology - The Battery Operated Butler Did It

What can I say - housework sucks.

Check out - Robotics and Robots

10. Future Technology - The Time Machine

I have a few famous inventors I would love to meet in person and the idea of messing with the time-space continuum is exciting as well.

Check out - Attention Chronic Argonauts and fellow Time Travelers

http://inventors.about.com/od/fstartinventions/tp/Future_Techno.htm