Category Archives: Futurist

Measuring just 9.4 ft (2,894 mm) in length, 5.4 ft (1,655 mm) in width, 5.2 ft (1,595 mm) in height, and with a 6.6-ft (2,020 mm) wheelbase, the new Baojun is presented as a trendy four-seater aiming to appeal to younger customers.

The electric minicar is based on the Baojun E300 Plus, sharing that same bizarre design that isnt necessarily eye-catching, although SAIC-GM-Wulings insists that the car has a futuristic-looking, two-tone avant-garde split body styling to it.

Setting aside the odd suspended cab design, the EV is available in six exterior colors meant to please a wide range of tastes: Rouge, Sable, Emerald, Azure, Cream, and Mint. Regardless of the color you opt for, combinations of three body tones are used with contrasting accents on the roof, grille, mirrors, trim, and wheels.

But even though the KiWi EV may not make the best first impression based on its looks alone, at least it proves to be reliable enough once you get behind the wheel. It also packs in some nice, hi-tech features under the hood. The new Baojun minicar also boasts of delivering comfortable rides, with its McPherson independent suspension and double wishbone independent suspension design.

The rear axle-mounted motor of the KiWi EV generates 40kW of maximum power and 150 Nm of maximum torque. It has a top speed of 62 mph (100 kph), but then again, the KiWi was designed to be rather trendy and useful, not a speedster.

Range-wise, the car offers up to 190 miles (305 km) on a charge. Thanks to its DC fast charging feature, you can fully recharge the battery in one hour.

Baojuns latest telematics comes with AI (artificial intelligence) voice interaction, voice-controlled WeChat function, and real-time navigation.

There are two trim levels available with the Baojun KiWi EV. The Designer variant is priced at approximately $10,800 (69,800 CNY), while the Artist trim goes for around $12,200 (78,800 CNY).

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New Baojun KiWi EV Hits the Chinese Market, Wants to Be Trendy and Futuristic - autoevolution

Unprecedented rainfall washed away vast swathes of Greenland's ice.Storm Clouds Ahead

For the first time in recorded history, it rained at Greenland Summit Camp, a research outpost in the islands (usually) frozen ice shelf.

And it wasnt just a little slush. A torrential downpour containing 7 billion tons of rain washed away a horrifying amount of Greenlands ice last week, Earther reports, in a massive melt event that impacted 337,000 square miles about half of the ice shelf. This is, to be blunt, horrible news for the planet. Its just the third time that the ice shelf surpassed freezing temperatures this decade, the first to happen so late in the calendar year, and the second major ice melt in two weeks. Needless to say, this is a clear sign that climate change is progressing and that we, as a planet, need to take urgent action to keep it from getting worse.

Unfortunately, even new ice formed by freezing rainwater will likely be short-lived, Earther notes. The existing ice on Greenland, formed by the repeated compression of snow over the years, is bright white and reflects sunlight away from the imperiled island ecosystem.

Ice from frozen rain, however, is smoother and darker in color. That means it will absorb more sunlight, further raising temperatures in the area.

In case youre wondering why it matters that it rained on a remote, Arctic landscape: Earther reports that Greenlands melting ice could raise the sea level by an entire foot by 2100.

If that happens, entire coastal cities and communities will be devastated we can wave goodbye to almost all of Florida, much of coastal California, and countless other areas around the world.

READ MORE: It Rained at the Summit of Greenlands Ice Sheet for the First Time Ever Recorded [Earther]

More on climate change: UN Says Its Code Red for Humanity in Alarming Climate Change Report

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Red Alert: It Rained in Greenland's Ice Sheet for the First Time in Recorded History - Futurism

17 people have left the company over the summer alone. Summer Losses

The hits just keep on coming for Blue Origin.

So far this year, Jeff Bezos company lost out on a $2.9 billion contract to SpaceX and it was beaten by Virgin Galactic for the honor of sending the first billionaire CEO to space. Now a new report from CNBC reveals that Blue Origin has lost roughly 17 top employees this summer alone.

Many of Blue Origins former employees left for seemingly greener pastures such as Nitin Arora, the lead engineer on the companys ill-fated lunar lander program, who is now joining rival SpaceX.

Theres also aerospace engineer Lauren Lyons who joined Firefly Aerospace as its chief operating officer.

CNBC reports that 15 others ranging from engineers, to senior executives, to administrators, to project managers have all left the company over the summer.

Despite this, Blue Origin presents a rosier outlook of its situation.

Blue Origin grew by 850 people in 2020 and we have grown by another 650 so far in 2021, a spokesperson for the company told CNBC. In fact, weve grown by nearly a factor of four over the past three years. We continue to fill out major leadership roles in manufacturing, quality, engine design, and vehicle design. Its a team were building and we have great talent.

After Bezos flight to space this summer, Blue Origin rewarded all of its employees with a hefty $10,000 bonus. However, several anonymous employees told CNBC that the bonus was widely looked at as a way to retain employees in response to the amount that were leaving.

Theres probably not just any one reason why folks are leaving Blue Origin in droves. However, there do seem to be a few main factors at play.

For one, many employees seem downright embarrassed of their companys highly public spats with the likes of NASA, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic, according to Ars Technica. These moves are also likely going to result in Blue Origin losing out on more work in the future.

They will never get a real government contract after this, an anonymous NASA source told Ars.

Also, if Blue Origins Glassdoor reviews are to be believed, current and former employees dont have the most positive things to say about the stifling work culture and lack of job growth (nor do they care for CEO Bob Smith).

In either case, its always a bad look when your employees quit your company in droves. But its an even worse look when they go straight to your biggest competitors when they do quit.

READ MORE: Top talent departs Jeff Bezos Blue Origin as NASA lander fight escalates [CNBC]

More on Blue Origin blues: Blue Origin Lead Lunar Lander Engineer Jumps Ship, Joins SpaceX

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Blue Origin Is Bleeding More of Its Top Workers to Its Rivals - Futurism

This might be a game changer. First Fossil-Free Steel

A Swedish company has created the worlds first carbon-free steel marking a big step forward in the fight against climate change.

HYBRIT, a Swedish steel conglomerate, created the first ever fossil-free steel, according to a statement by SSAB, a steel company and one of the partners in HYBRIT. The steel was sold to Volvo as part of a test run. If successful, the car company plans to scale production of cars made of the material by 2026, reports Gizmodo.

The first fossil-free steel in the world is not only a breakthrough for SSAB, it represents proof that its possible to make the transition and significantly reduce the global carbon footprint of the steel industry, said Martin Lindqvist, president and CEO of SSAB, in the statement. We hope that this will inspire others to also want to speed up the green transition.

Steel is actually one of the most carbon-intensive materials out there. It accounts for roughly seven to nine percent of all carbon dioxide emissions on Earth, according to a study published in Current Opinion in ChemicalEngineering. Thats a fairly significant amount of emissions for the development of just one product.

It makes sense when you think about it. After all, everything from cars to buildings to furniture all have steel in them. So being able to cut that down with green steel is going to have an outsized impact on lessening global emissions.

To put it incredibly simply, you essentially need two ingredients to create traditional steel: iron ore and carbon. The ore (which already contains a good amount of carbon) is melted in a blast furnace using coking coal, which is a high-carbon fuel that adds more of the element to the iron.

After another process in which the iron is melted again and has oxygen blown through it, you get steel.

HYBRIT aims to replace coking coal with hydrogen as well as renewable electricity, according to The Guardian. If successful in its commercial phase with Volvo, we can see a veritable revolution in green steel in the future. Thats going to help go a long way in combating climate change with which, as we all know, we need all the help we can get.

READ MORE: Behold, Carbon-Free Steel Now Exists [Gizmodo]

More on climate change: 2021 Wildfires Spewed Record breaking Amount of CO2

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Scientists Develop the World's First Carbon-Free Steel - Futurism

Brooklyn Park, Minn. Taco Bell is building a restaurant with a new drive-thru concept in Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis. Construction is underway on the 3,000-square-foot, two-story restaurant. Completion is scheduled for summer 2022. Known as Defy, the new restaurant concept was developed in partnership with Minneapolis-based Vertical Works Inc., a design company that works with quick-serve restaurants, retailers and healthcare tenants. In 2020, Border Foods, one of the largest privately held Taco Bell franchisees in America, enlisted Vertical Works to create a new restaurant design. With Defy, Taco Bell and Border Foods will partner on their 230th restaurant and 82nd new restaurant build. The concept reimagines the traditional drive-thru experience with four lanes, three of which are dedicated to mobile or delivery order pickups. This way, customers who order via the Taco Bell app or third-party delivery services can skip the line. The drive-thru lanes are situated below the restaurant kitchen. Additionally, digital check-in screens enable mobile order customers to scan in their order via a unique QR code. Food is delivered in a contactless manner via a proprietary lift system. The Defy footprint is smaller or equal to existing Taco Bell store footprints. There will be no indoor dining.

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Taco Bell to Reinvent Drive-Thru Concept With Futuristic Restaurant in Suburban Minneapolis - Shopping Center Business

A new patent filed by Tesla suggests that the Cybertrick may have some futuristic curved windows that are also durable. The patent was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month and covers windows with curves and feature lines. The patent filing also included a method for manufacturing them.

The production method described in the patent involves applying localized heat from a laser or heating element to a location of a substantially planar glass structure (the glass window, in essence) and bending it at the location to form the feature line. The radius of curvature is a range between 2 millimeters and 5 centimeters. Also, layers of curved or joined glass layers can be added to create a curved multi-layered glass structure.

In the description, Tesla already reminded us that this is possible, since windshields exist. However, the processes for creating windshields starts with a flat sheet of glass that is cut into specific dimensions and heated in an oven to the right temperature, at which point they can be slightly bent or curved into the desired shape. This process is limited by just how much bending or curving you can do with the glass. An example of this is that only smooth, high radius curvatures (13 meters or more) are used for automotive glass structures. With this new patent, Tesla is changing this.

Theres a chance that Tesla may use this new method of making automotive glass for some of the interior elements of the Cybertruck, such as the dash, the front portion of the interior, or in the gauges, displays, and inside panels for doors. Even the consoles could be made from this new glass.

We dont know for sure yet if Tesla will even use this glass (I think it will, but many patents are filed for things that never make it into commercial products). But its exciting to think about, and the patent gives us another clue as to how the Cybertruck may look when its finally ready.

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Will The Tesla Cybertruck Have Futuristic Curved Windows? - CleanTechnica

Lone Starr strikes again.Space Jam

The US Army recently unveiled plans to develop, test, and deploy high-altitude systems that can fly over other countries to surveil them and jam enemy communications from up on high.

The system doesnt quite reach space (unless you adhere to the same definition of space as Jeff Bezos or Richard Branson). Instead, the High-Altitude Extended-Range Long Endurance Intelligence Observation system (HELEIOS) would be a network of balloons or solar glide vehicles that can hover at least 60,000 feet off the ground. The upcoming electronic warfare tools dont quite broach the thorny subject of the increasing military weaponization of space but only in the most literal interpretations of what the Army has planned. Because, make no mistake: This is a weapon of a certain stripe.

HELEIOS may not be a spy satellite, but it sure operates like one. With the balloons in place, the Army would be able to monitor, intercept, and block enemy communications. We know, its not as exciting as a laser battle where potential orbital warfare is concerned. But: The ability to jam signals could be key to battle (if not devastating for some) in a future where orbital communications networks are essential for military success.

The idea is blanketing the deep area with low-cost attritable sensors to enable deep sensing and deep effects, Col. Daniel Holland, the Army capability manager for electronic warfare, explained at a Tuesday presentation attended by C4ISRNET. Essentially our question is can we get the payload light enough to fly on this penetrating, high-altitude, attributable platform, get close enough to place our effects on target, likely with a special purpose electronic attack or RF-enabled cyber.

Based on Hollands comments, it seems that technical and logistical issues like figuring out how to control a free-floating balloon are currently holding the Army back from deploying HELEIOS. Issues like is it a good idea to put cyber warfare balloons in the sky? or what will any other country think about this? dont seem to be on the list of concerns, though.

Of course, its an impressive technological feat to add a sophisticated payload to a balloon, then, use it to bring down digital communications. But if nothing else, it reinforces the idea that space (or at least: high-altitude airspace) has undeniably become militarized for the foreseeable future.

READ MORE: U.S. Army wants a high-altitude jammer [C4ISRNET]

More on the militarization of space: Air Force research Lab Says Force Fields Are on the Horizon

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The Army Plans To Build Balloons That Can Jam Communications From Above - Futurism

Taco Bell is no stranger to rolling out innovative food items (they have Loaded Nacho Fries for crying out loud!), but the new drive-thru concept they're proposing just might take the cake. While the next generation of innovations for restaurants like Panera and Pizza Hut are applaudable in their own rights, Taco Bell has a vision that just might change they way we do fast food.

Aptly titling the experience Taco Bell Defy, the new designwhich is scheduled to open in Brooklyn Park, MN, summer 2022will feature a two-story building and a much faster way to get your TB fix. The innovative restaurant will also include a four-lane drive-thru concept with three of those lanes strictly dedicated to mobile and/or delivery order pickups.

Along with the extra lanes, the new 3,000 square-foot restaurant will allow those who order on the mobile app to have a digital check-in screen and scan their order via a unique QR code. That's not the exciting part though. When customers pull forward to get their order, they'll be able to receive their meal through a proprietary lift system and interact with team members via a two-way audio and video experience. Talk about reaching new heights!

Though I'm sure we can expect to hear much more about the new restaurant closer to its opening date, we'll just have to live off the excitement that they've teased us with so far for now. Here's looking forward to seeing more Defy locations throughout the nation in the future!

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Taco Bell Previewed Its Futuristic Drive-Thru Concept And It's Absolutely Incredible - Delish

That WHOOSH you'll feel this weekend is Earth not being obliterated.Rock On

Even though we havent had too many truly near misses, let Asteroid 2016 AJ193 (as its technically known) serve as reason to reevaluate all of your life choices this weekend.

Itll be taking a (relatively) very near fly-by of our planet, casing the place, looking mean, and then. moving on to the rest of the solar system. Even though its officially classified as potentially hazardous thanks to its close proximity to the planet, it doesnt stand a chance of obliterating us, although it will come pretty, pretty close.

Per IFL science, Asteroid 2016 AJ193 named as such for when it was first spotted (in 2016) by the Haleakala Observatorys Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) facility, located in Hawaii will cruise by on Saturday at a distance of 2.1 million miles. That may not sound like much, but the observatory team notes its the closest approach for several decades. Per the raw Jet Propulsion Lab data (which you can view here), IFL points out that AJ193 is 8.9 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

This on its own would be pretty fascinating, but the thing is an absoluteunit to boot. Its size has been compared to the Burj Khalifia, the Empire State Building (which its three times the size of), and the Eiffel Tower (which its four times the size of), the Pentagon, a mountain you get the idea. The thing ishuge.

Of course, every time Earth has a close encounter with a rock spiraling by our airspace, its not unreasonable to ask what the hell wed do if, in fact, one of these things cruised our way. Dont worry: There are people working on this very problem. The answer is not nuke it as they do in Michael Bays seminal astro-geology cinematic masterpiece Armageddon, but thats not entirely off-track. NASAs been cooking on a project they call DART: the Double Asteroid Redirection Test.

Basically, DART aims to see if kinetic impactor technology (or: flying a small spaceship into an asteroid to move it off course) would work. That said, a recent hypothetical had some bad news to deliver: Wed be screwed, and in the test, Europe wouldve gotten obliterated (and then, a laArmageddon, we wouldve tried to nuke it, go figure). Either way, asteroid detection and deflection tech remains relatively important: Assuming theres still a habitable planet to destroy by then, an oncoming asteroid set to roll by in 2068 thats coming uncomfortably close is all the more reason detection of these fly-bys remains crucial to developing. Also, the nukes. Apparently, we gotta keep those around, too.

READ MORE: Asteroid As Large As A Mountain Will Fly Near Earth This Weekend [IFL Science]

More on death rocks from space: Theres a Chance This Giant Asteroid Will Smash Earth in 2068

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Massive Asteroid That Could Obliterate Earth to Fly By, Case the Joint - Futurism

Fusion energy to many, the holy grail of sustainable energy is on the edge of its next breakthrough.

Using a powerful laser at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California, researchers managed to heat up a peppercorn-sized sample of two hydrogen isotopes well past the temperature of the Suns core, a process known as inertial confinement fusion (ICF).

ICF is one of two major branches of fusion energy research, with the other being magnetic confinement fusion, a field that has seen its own recent breakthroughs.

During the experiment carried out at the NIF earlier this month, scientists managed to harvest 70 percent of the energy about 1.35 kilojoules worth used by the powerful laser to start the fusion reaction inside the reactor, the BBC reports.

While that may not sound like much, its a big leap in the field. This is a huge advance for fusion and for the entire fusion community, Debbie Callahan, a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where the NIF is located, told the BBC.

In other words, we are slowly approaching the point where are truly achieving nuclear fusion, or generating a net-positive amount of energy the industrys holy grail that has yet to be reached despite almost a century of research.

The promise is as lucrative as it has ever been: an infinite supply of carbon neutral energy without ever running the risk of a nuclear meltdown.

Scientists at the NIF are particularly excited about their recent experiment as the fusion reaction is starting to be hot enough to lead to more fusion reactions, a process known as ignition.

Self-sustaining burn is essential to getting high yield, Callahan explained to the broadcaster. The burn wave has to propagate into the high density fuel in order to get a lot of fusion energy out.

It was a big moment for the team. Demonstration of ignition has been a major scientific grand challenge since the idea was first published almost 50 years ago, said Jeremy Chittenden, co-director of the Centre for Inertial Fusion Studies at Imperial College London which is helping analyze the data, in a statement. It was the principal reason for the construction of NIF and has been its primary objective for over a decade.

The NIF team have done an extraordinary job, Steven Rose, director of the Center for Inertial Fusion Studies at Imperial, added. This is the most significant advance in inertial fusion since its beginning in 1972.

The research could also have wider reaching implications for the world of physics. The NIF lasers already created the most extreme conditions on Earth, but the new experiment appears to have doubled the previous temperature achieved, said Brian Appelbe, Research Associate in the Centre for Inertial Fusion Studies at Imperial, in the statement. We have entered a regime weve previously never been in this is uncharted territory in our understanding of plasma.

That said, its too early to pop the champagne corks. The team is still going through the data with a fine-tooth comb to ensure that we understand the result, according to Callahan.

The scale of the NIF experiment also leaves something to be desired, despite the high praise. It only yielded about the equivalent to the energy required to boil a kettle, as Chittenden told the BBC.

Its scale may be a long, long way off. But any kind of breakthrough in this field, one thats long vexed some of the worlds greatest working scientists, where the stakes could not be higher, is nothing if not slightly astounding on its own.

READ MORE: US lab stands on threshold of key nuclear fusion goal [BBC]

More on fusion energy: Jeff Bezos Is Helping Build a Fusion Power Plant in the UK

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Scientists Are On the Edge of a Fusion Power Breakthrough - Futurism