Monthly Archives: May 2018

May 19

What happens when you make a public good free to use? What benefits does that realize?

Posted on by

What happens when you make a public good free to use? What benefits does that realize?

Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh

Radical move. But not exactly no cost to citizens. As explained in the article, “To ride Tallinn’s network of trams, buses and trains for free, you must be registered as a resident, which makes the municipality profit €1,000 from your income tax every year. All you need to do then is getting a €2 green card and carrying your ID on public transport” “Tallinn, known for its digital government and successful tech startups, is often referred to as Europe’s innovation capital. Now celebrating five years of free public transport for all citizens, the government is planning to make Estonia the first free public transport nation. Allan Alaküla, Head of Tallinn European Union Office, shares some valuable insights for other cities.

Five years ago, citizens of Tallinn were asked in a referendum if free public transport should be realized. Why should citizens be involved in such political decisions?

“A decision for a long-term project should not only be taken by the current elected council, but it should be locked politically by asking for support from the public. Although a local referendum is not legally binding, the mandate from the popular vote is stronger than just from the council.”

[…]

Who is profiting the most from free buses, trams and trains in Tallinn?

“A good thing is, of course, that it mostly appeals to people with lower to medium incomes. But free public transport also stimulates the mobility of higher-income groups. They are simply going out more often for entertainment, to restaurants, bars and cinemas. Therefore they consume local goods and services and are likely to spend more money, more often. In the end this makes local businesses thrive. It breathes new life into the city.””

https://popupcity.net/estonia-to-become-the-worlds-first-free-public-transport-nation/
May 18

Let’s have flying electric cars.

Posted on by

Let’s have flying electric cars.

Originally shared by Greg Batmarx

The future of electric aviation seems so far off and yet so very close that I think the only possible similarity would be to compare it to the electric vehicle (EV) rebirth of 2008. But just as back then, how many get the importance of electric aviation and its most urgent breakthroughs?

Focusing Now On Electric Aviation Is Crucial To Our Environment & Tomorrow’s Future

William Garvey at AviationWeek recently asked some industry leaders about the potential of and need for electric aviation.

Greg Bowles vice president of global innovation and policy at the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, explained the current situation of combustion aircraft engines as yesteryear’s dial-up, wired telephones.

But today’s smartphones are more than telephones, as will be the case with electric airplanes. Software, computer boards, and augmented controls, will be used for much more than propulsion and will do so with precision, immediacy, efficiency, and endurance unknown in mechanical systems.

Guy Norris Aviation Week & Space Technology’s Los Angeles bureau chief, added that the electric power’s benefits lie in the ability to maintain a high power output at any high altitude. Additionally, electric airplanes (e-planes) can produce a great amount of torque at takeoff and be quieter than jet engines when landing.

On a technical sidenote, removing inlet air nozzles and other openings means the electric motors can be mounted anywhere, and that is a big help when you have drag reduction in mind.

Consider as well an electric motor’s simplicity, which means reduced maintenance and close to zero emissions. You can see why many companies are eyeing this technology eagerly.

When it comes to how soon, Bowles feels battery technology is almost there after improving around 3–5% every year for the past 20 years.

He was quoted as saying The days of electrical propulsion are basically here.

However, all is not butterflies and unicorns. Sadly, DARPA just announced its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) Aurora Project was cancelled. That’s a strike to the movement.

Bye Aerospace in Denver agrees that the e-aviation future is nigh, though, as do other e-plane makers (naturally). Bye Aerospace’s electric two-seat Sun Flyer, which will be followed by a four-seater, just finished its first test flights. The aircraft should be certified under FAR Part 23 and will be priced around $289,000 or $389,000 depending on seat configuration. The company claims to have 121 deposits.

NASA is also testing an electric conversion from an Italian-made Tecnam P2006T twin modified X-57 with a smaller, highly loaded wing that will host two electric wingtip-mounted cruise engines and propellers. How many? How about 12 smaller electric motors with adjustable five-blade props that fold and disappear at cruising speed.

NASA hopes to demonstrate a 500% increase in high-speed cruise efficiency, with a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and quiet flight. So far, the X-57 can cruise at up to 172 mph.

Boeing, Airbus, Bye Aerospace, Hamilton aEro, Pipistrel, Lilium, etc., are all companies, big and small, acting today to shape and become part of tomorrow’s electric aircraft adventure.

Any aviation company not looking into e-planes and electric aviation, in general, is living in the dinosaur age.

https://cleantechnica.com/2018/05/07/electric-aviation-is-the-next-big-thing/

May 16

It can already be hard to tell whether a poster on social media is a person or a bot (though that’s partly because a…

Posted on by

It can already be hard to tell whether a poster on social media is a person or a bot (though that’s partly because a lot of people give what are effectively preprogrammed responses to certain topics, and aren’t very good at sentences). Should there be a requirement that an AI announce itself as such when making a voice call?

Originally shared by Singularity Hub

Google’s Duplex Raises the Question: Should Robots Sound Robotic? https://suhub.co/2L4AE0M

May 16

I found this interesting, not least because my grandmother (b.

Posted on by

I found this interesting, not least because my grandmother (b. 1901, 4 years after New Zealand women gained the right to vote) was very much involved in the surf lifesaving movement in New Zealand, and my mother (b. 1927) was a competitive swimmer.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/women-swimming-pioneers-suffrage?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=aaf0dc23d7-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_05_15&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f36db9c480-aaf0dc23d7-63025685&ct=t(EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_5_15_2018)&mc_cid=aaf0dc23d7&mc_eid=dc8fe37556
May 15

The basis of this project is taking the multiple redundant codings for particular proteins and replacing them with a…

Posted on by

The basis of this project is taking the multiple redundant codings for particular proteins and replacing them with a single coding, thus defeating viral replication strategies.

I can’t help thinking that if something exists in multiple redundant forms, there must be some kind of advantage which we just don’t know about yet. But I suppose this project is one way of finding out what that is.

Originally shared by Singularity Hub

Scientists Kick Off Synthetic Biology Project to Make Virus-Resistant Super Cells https://suhub.co/2KqZTt2

May 14

Because it’s Peter Diamandis, this overhypes the positives, doesn’t mention the many challenges, and leaves out…

Posted on by

Because it’s Peter Diamandis, this overhypes the positives, doesn’t mention the many challenges, and leaves out cultural and psychological factors entirely. But it’s still an interesting summary of food technology currently in transition.

Originally shared by Peter H. Diamandis

Tech – Future of Food http://bit.ly/2IhWAaY

http://bit.ly/2IhWAaY