Innovative Future Construction

3D printing is such a futuristic way of producing and creating some object. It is quick, much more mobile and considered rather instant. What more it is customizable to your own preference, such an important aspect in our world today, an individual’s preference to a brand, shape, size or and even colour. Ever wonder what could 3D printing do for the construction sector? There is a new discovery of a material and method such as self-healing bioconcrete, with a 3D concrete printers and a new generation of solar polymers, construction will be made further convenient if not easier.

The research team in Loughborough University carrying out this project, being headed by Dr Sungwoo Lim, technologically improved a 3D printer that is capable to construct physical structures and objects straight from a given command to a computer. The process being carried out is known as addictive manufacturing whereby a specific type of concrete was established particularly for this procedure. This concrete is deposited accurately in layers under computer control. In the present day, a reinforced concrete bench that weighs at one tonne and a two-metre curvy panel was printed out.

The benefits to the construction industry with this innovation would be a decrease in waste materials, emitting lesser CO2 in comparison to a conventional concrete form building. Not only that, labour costs would also be further reduced, transportation of components and parts of a building would be lessen as printing of such materials can be commenced in an onsite factory.

To solidify this innovative idea, we could relate it back to pre-historic times where rammed earth was a process for making homes and forts for castles. Raw materials such as earth, chalk lime and gravel is compressed in forms of layer and later air dry. It has been a technique practiced to build mainstay in Africa for millennia.

Aggrebind is a company that cross-linked styrene acrylic polymer which increases the strength of soils from many variation. It was experimented with non-toxic treated soils and later grown in it. The results prove that the polymer was indeed effective with consistent and inconsistent materials which can be applied to strengthen adobe buildings. Thus this has opened a new approach to the construction sector, self-healing bio-concrete that can regenerate over the cracks using condensed bacteria within or mortar-less ‘bio-manufactured’ bricks made out of substance such as bacteria, urea waste or sand.

References:

Miller, G. (2011). Innovative materials developed for construction industry. [online] the Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-construction-industry-innovative-materials [Accessed 10 Jun. 2015].

Nano Ganesh Simplifying Farming

In India, there is approximately 14.1 million irrigation pumps for farmers to water their crops in remote areas. It seems like an easy job for them to just switch on the pump and their crops are taken care of. However not so simple, because not all of the time electric supply is available, only during the wee hours or odd timings of the day. Thus Santosh Ostwal created Nano Ganesh which is a water system for farmers to be able to take care of their crops from afar through their mobile phone. Ossian Agro Automation is an India based company responsible for this innovative idea. This idea came about when the Santosh Ostwal, co-founder of Nano Ganesh, witnessed his grandfather facing hardship caring and watching over his plantations.

The Nano Ganesh is a tool for a farmers to save time and energy by placing a modem attached to their irrigation pumps which allows them the mobility to switch on or off the pumps to water their crops. The traditional way for a farmer to care of their crops would be to walk over to the irrigation pump and switch it on and walk back from where they came from, however the time for them to walk over or drive to their desired pump location would take up a few hours especially for those irrigation pumps located in the outskirts. There is also a hazard warning when walking over to the respective pumps in the middle of the night where wild animals will be lurking the bushes in hope to counter the next prey, be it a farmer. With Nano Ganesh installed it assists the farmers to a more comfortable and convenient way of taking care their plantations. The Nano Ganesh was restricted to a radius of 10 kilometres from their pumps previously, though now they have upgraded the technology to support unlimited range permitting farmers flexibility to turn pumps on and off wherever they maybe with their mobile phone.

This innovation has the ability to monitor the availability of electricity to the pump as well as authenticate the on and off status of its operation. The benefit of such technology is cost-saving from wastage of water and electricity. In addition to that, over-watering would lead to soil erosion and nutrient depletion from the ground.

The Nano Ganesh can reduce the environmental and financial costs farming, it is reckon that farmers can recover the cost of this innovative technology in 11 days from conserving water and electricity expenditure. It is a very efficient and effective technology to assist farmers in today’s world. Nano Ganesh was able to help 10,000 farmers in India and is currently used in Australia and Egypt.

References:

Nourishing the Planet, (2015). Mobile Technology Helps Farmers save Time, Water, and Electricity. [online] Available at: http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/mobile-technology-helps-farmers-save-time-water-and-electricity/ [Accessed 8 Jun. 2015].

Farm For The Future

Technology has taken over the society and it is vital to today’s world, making life so much easier than before. Now technology has also taken over agriculture industry by transforming into a high-tech enterprise and replacing farm workers. Technological advancement brings benefit to famers by constructing a stress free and more cost effective agriculture. In today’s technologies, there are now flying robots and self-driving machinery which are able to automatically survey and treat crops. 

Inventors are now creating robotic field machines which helps farmers to perform tedious tasks such as hand harvesting fruits and vegetables. This robotic field machines have been used in some agriculture industry such as nursery plants, vineyards and fruits and vegetables. These machines are intact with GPS which helps farmer to determine the amount of fertilizer for each field and help to dispense the exact amount of fertilizer needed for each field. For example, in France vineyard there exist a robot called the “Wine Bot” and this wine bot helps in pruning vines, monitoring vine health and soil. The WineBot has a camera on top which helps to see the surrounding of the vineyard and two more cameras at both of the arms to check the vines. It helps to capture and record data from vines to vines and to recognize the plant features. With this WineBot, winegrowers do not need to worry about the quality of the pruning and it helps to save their time by walking around the vineyard.

All these advanced technology does bring benefits in agriculture industry in so many ways but there is also a bad side of it.  Although farmers are not needed for farming anymore for watering or harvesting the plants but this will cause them to lose their job. Besides, a large amount of money is needed also to purchase the machine. 

Reference:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/slideshows/science-technology/wall-ye-wine-robot-the-new-vineyard-worker-/it-takes-on-chores-such-as-pruning-and-de-suckering/slideshow/16554640.cms

Robots: Making Lives Better

Today as our world becomes more and more advance, we find ourselves being surrounded by technologies more than ever before. From the introduction of the world wide web, the first touchscreen mobile phone and now, the beginning of a new era, robotics. Many engineers are competing in creating the best but not least, the most life-like robotic to be introduce to the world. Although there are 7 billion and growing people roaming this planet yet, we are still lacking in human resources and labor. Thus, we are creating the birth of robotics in hopes to solve this matter.

Source: Sullivan Corporation

 The idea of robotics is an ingenious idea as they are capable of traveling where people cannot go (Bekey et al., 2008). Not only to the extent of which humans cannot reach but robotics can be helpful towards the simple human needs for instance, housecleaning, cooking or practically taking care of the household. The reason why we are considering about living with robots is because we are always on-the-go, busy and doing the laundry is merely the least of our concerns. According to the Business Insider Malaysia, they asked 9 successful people to share one thing they would buy that makes their lives easier or better, Tim Ferriss, an entrepreneur mentioned, he would buy housecleaning as he doesn’t have time to wash and fold his clothes (Torabi, 2015). In South Korea and Japan, they have long started when it comes to investing in robotics especially, personal and service robotics vehicles. They are currently in the works of creating eldercare robotics due to Japan and South Korea’s high aging population (Bekey et al., 2008).

The idea of robotics wouldn’t be realistic without having any loopholes to begin with. Many would argue that robots does not know how to ‘feel’ and it will be hard for it to connect with us. Safety is very important which means the significant challenges in human-robot interfaces need to be overcome by the industry (Bekey, 2008). Therefore, the research of human-robot interaction (HRI) is in the works. Not only that, us, humans are developing and learning each day, so for a robot to grasp on it would be difficult and it was need a lot of upgrading as well. However, Sony and Fujitsu may be changing that fact as they are creating systems from eye-hand coordination, well-developed visual perception to a fast, power-efficient and well-packaged torso and set of limbs (Hirukawa et al., 2004).

References

Bekey, G., Ambrose, R., Vijay, K., Lavery, D., Sanderson, A., Wilcox, B., Yuh, J., & Zheng, Y. (2008). Robotics: State Of The Art And Future Challenges. World Scientific & Imperial College Press,    London.

Torabi, F., 2015, 9 successdul people share the one thing they buy that makes their lives easier or better,  Business Insider Malaysia, viewed 4 May 2015, <http://www.businessinsider.my/successful-people-what-makes-my-life-easier-2015-3/#AT2UrGxHqduzTMMF.97>. 

Real Telepresence

Humans are the only creatures that tend to track time during their existence in life. With time being very limited due to the increase of work load traffic in working hours. Most of them are not able to manage time in a more efficient way. However, with the introduction of the 21st century technology of what we called as 'Real Telepresence' has changed the way how business meetings are conducted. In the past, business meetings were organized under tight and time limited schedule; with the introduction of this technology, it saves business partners a whole lot of time by conducting these meetings without having the hassle to plan ahead.

Telepresence is the use of various technology to make a person feel present in a room or premise, to give the feeling of being present or to have an effect via telerobotics at an other place than their true location. 'Real Telepresence' combines virtual reality holograms with high quality voice and video to make users feel as real life as possible. It grants these virtual reality meetings to be as immersive as possible using Polycom Immersive Telepresence Solution.

With Polycom's Immersive Telepresence solutions, Surgical tutorials. University lectures. Production meetings and Conferences could be conducted easily across limitless distance as long as all participants are in the same room. Nonetheless, conversations, insights and knowledge can be shared and discussed easily.

Reference:
http://www.polycom.com/products-services/hd-telepresence-video-conferencing/realpresence-immersive.html#stab3

Budgee

As a ‘busy bee’, when you are grocery shopping you would be constantly on your phone or answering calls while trying to push the cart and read the nutrition facts label on the products. How about a little robot that will make your grocery shopping a little bit more manageable?

             

         This adorable contraption is called Budgee, the robot that follows you around and carries your things.  Created by Five Elements Robotics, this robot has a mission, and that mission is to obediently follow you around while carrying your things to make your life a little bit lighter, in a sense.  This robot can carry up to 23kg which is perfectly fine for groceries as well as other uses. For example, you need to carry a huge stack of papers in the office; Budgee would be able to help you.  Budgee follows you around with a portable ultrasound device that can be kept in your pocket or clipped on your bag’s strap, it is relatively small therefore it is easy to carry it around.  It takes about 6 hours to charge it and can be use up to 4 to 6 hours, depending on your the usage.  Currently, the estimated price is 1,399 USD.

                Unfortunately, there is also a downside to Budgee; the reason is that it does not have an anti-theft or a locking mechanism. It is best to not place valuable belongings in Budgee such as purses, handbags, wallets and etc. But, there are plans to equip Budgee with locking mechanism which is still in the works. And, it is obvious that not every working class people are able to purchase this robot because robots like these does not come cheap.

                With a little saving up and plenty of contemplating whether this would be a good purchase, I would say it would be a good purchase. It may not be full of gadgets but it helps with little things that we humans are not capable of carrying 10 things at once. Unless, you are a juggler at a circus. Jokes aside, I would recommend this definitely.

Main website: 5elements Robotics

See Budgee in action here!

Reference: 

1) Budgee shows off his features. (2015). [video].

2) 5elementsrobotics, (2011). Home. [online] Available at: http://5elementsrobotics.com/ [Accessed 30 May 2015].

Double Telepresence Robot

This technology is for the work-class people who are not able to be there for the meeting or those who work at home and etc. It could be that you have an errand to run, for example you have to get your boss’s dry cleaning, but you have a meeting with him/her in 5 minutes, this is where Double Telepresence Robot can help you.

What is the Double Telepresent Robot?  To best describe it, it is like an iPad on a Segway. The Double Robotics invented this telepresence bot gives you a presence in the office without you being there. And, No it does not comes with an iPad in it so you have to get one for yourself. The current estimation price for this product is USD 2,499.95.

            You can imagine the possibilities with this robot, from being at an office party when you are sick at home to attending a meeting while you are in another country. This robot helps you to be there, at the same not being there.

Well there are also a few disadvantages to everything and so does this robot.  First, if you are a boss that has a huge ego and has created a ‘serious’ image for yourself, then this may not be the one for you. The reason why is because this technology looks ‘cute’ and it is hard for the people to take you seriously. Unless they respect you well enough? Second, sometimes when they are bumps on the carpet or sharp turns and such, the robot may not be able to surpass it and it may take time. So, you may need to call out for help so people can assist you.  Last, but not least, with bad connection the audio may not be clear or the video feed may not appear but mostly related to technical problems. For example you want to conduct a meeting but everyone is waiting for you to “appear” in terms of the video because of the bad connection.

            All these disadvantages require patience, creativity and mastery to use the full potential of the robot. For working class people this is a very useful product with few minor disadvantages.  I highly recommend using this product for work related purposes.

For more information go to: Double Robotics

Reference : Double Robotics (2015) Double: The Ultimate Tool for Telecommuting,Available at: http://www.doublerobotics.com/ (Accessed: 30th May 2015).

The fold-able bike

Back in the days, getting transportation and finding parking slots was easy, so easy that you can still choose where to sit and park unlike in today’s world, if you are able to find a seat in a public transport and a parking slot, call it your lucky day. Over a period of time, the growth of number of vehicles found on the road has risen tremendously and it is still growing! Based on the list of countries by the number of road motor vehicles per 1000 inhabitants in 2010, Malaysia is ranked number 47 out of 192 with 361 vehicle for every thousand citizens (World Bank, 2011).

Not only that, it has become common for people to be late for an occasion due traffic and lack of parking spaces. No matter what time of the day it is, finding parking is still difficult. Based on my experience, even if let’s say my classes does not start till 12.30pm, I still have to leave my house by 10am just so I can get a slot and there are days where I do not even want to drive around because all I can think is “it is impossible to find parking now”, “where shall I park” “which highway should I use to avoid traffic?” and so on.

Therefore, it is time to introduce the Urb-E bike. 

This is the latest invention by Urban Mobility. This is a fold-able bike that consist of a seat, two freely rolling wheels about 15 centimeters in diameter, handle bars, 20 to 25 centimeters front drive wheel with an electric hub motor and a folding triangular frame holding the batteries. The Urb-E has a 20 mile range just from a single charge and it can go up to a speed of 15 mph. This amazing invention can be folded to the size of a carry on luggage and you can bring it everywhere with you for instance, having it placed next to you in class or work without having to worry about it getting stolen. Moreover, it has a smart phone holder that works for both IOS and Andriod devices. With this, it enables you to charge your devices while riding.

source: IndieGoGo

Source: IndieGoGo

Source: IndieGoGo

With the introduction of the Urb-E bike, this will make a difference in our society. Since it is fold-able and portable, individuals now, do not have to worry about looking for parking slots. Not only that, more and more people be more on time. This invention not only will help many struggling individuals but this will also help the environment as well since it does not run on any sort of fuel by instead, lithium ion batteries. 

Source: IndieGoGo

Unfortunately, this invention cost about $700 USD and if you’re planning on investing this one of a kind creation to travel everywhere, think again. This is because it only travels to a maximum of 15 mph. I believed that if this bike cost way lesser and can travel at least more than 50 mph, this will bike might just be the answer to most if not, everyone’s struggles of finding transportation and parking spaces. "Felt like the kind of vehicle an enlightened citizen of 2030 would own. It’s fast, maneuverable, and lightweight. With a 20-mile range on a full battery charge, it could work well for most city dwellers’ daily commutes" (The Verge). 

For more information about the Urb-E bikes, visit IndieGoGo.com to learn more.

Thermomix

I have learned that our world has been so advanced in technology. These days people around us have been so busy with their work, assignments, college, basically almost everything.  Sometimes, people can be so busy that they won’t be able to have a decent meal or even have the time to cook a meal for their own family or themselves. Mostly they would just call for delivery or they live on takeaways and there's this amazing invention that will help them to cook their own meal by just adding the ingredients into the machine. This machine is called the Thermomix, it will cook for you anything ranging from juices, pasta or soups. . The concept of this Thermomix is to help remove the hassle from cooking and prepare nutritious meal for the family or yourself. It provides 12 services, from chopping, to blending, to boiling and to cooking and all of these is done in one device. When it is so easy and fast to cook, family can spend quality time and food at home.This will help to save money from spending on takeaways and enjoy real quality food. besides that, Thermomix also helps to expand your ability to make something you never knew that you will be able to. Although Thermomix brings so much benefit there is also a bad side of it. What I feel if people are so dependent on Thermomix this will cause them to not be able to experience the real way of cooking and they will just fully depend on the machine. 

For more information regarding the Thermomix, visit their website.

Virtual Grocery Shopping: QR-Code shopping

With the ever growing economy of the countries around the world, people are working as hard as they could to keep up with society's living standards. People have grown busier these days and most of them are unable to fork out time to even buy their own groceries.

Tesco has set up virtual grocery stores in subways and trains commuters for the busy working people to do their grocery while walking to work. According to Tesco, Korea has one of the busiest and hardworking people, therefore, taking an hour for a week for grocery shopping can be a real drag.

Tesco has set up plastered walls along the walkways of subways, and these walls are lined up with products containing a special QR code specifically for each product. All the shopped has to do is download an application to scan the QR code and will be directed a payment section and once he/she had paid, the groceries will be sent to their home. It is a big advantage to have your groceries delivered to your door in big cities where driving isn't a good option. It also saves the shopper's time for needing to go to a shopping market to single-handedly pick out their grocery items.

However, a downside for this virtual shopping is that shoppers are unable to see the product's information, shoppers can turn the product around to see it's nutritional facts. The consumers are also unable to tell the expiry date of a product, they can only take what the shop has given them. It is a small price to pay for the convenience.

http://www.geek.com/mobile/koreas-tesco-reinvents-grocery-shopping-with-qr-code-stores-1396025/

The Hive

This blog is dedicated to all the working bees out there who we believe need technologies to make daily lives easier not necessarily faster. People are always on the go, major parts of the world are always out and about, just like bees. You see, every worker bee is important to the hive, every hive is important to nature, nature is important to us humans, like oxygen. We just can't live without bees. Without these mother nature's little helpers working their hardest everyday, we won't exist for long. With that in mind, think of the working bees who clock in and out everyday daily to fulfill their jobs and tasks because it may seem like it is small and unimportant to some but what they are doing makes a whole lot of difference to their company or their "hive" as well as the society. Same goes to bees, they are small but they do a whole lot without us realizing it.