World In Future » Future living

Venus Project: Dream of the perfect world

admin — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:06:39 +0000

Imagine a city totally redesigned using the minimum expenditure of energy possible and using the cleanest technology available. This city will be working in harmony with nature to achieve the highest standard of living for the whole community.

perfect world

White dome shaped houses, sea cities, eco-focused space stations – is this the face of the future? Yes according to Jacque Fresco, founder of The Venus Project. A plan and vision for a global change in the way we all live, The Venus Project sets out to address some of the earth’s greatest challenges faced today and in the future. Social problems like unemployment, violence, poverty and over population as well as environmental problems like global warming and the finite level of the earth’s resources are all within the broad spectrum of issues to be resolved in this blue-print for a new world civilization.

Turning from a money-based economy into a resource-based economy as the Venus Project proposes may ultimately be the only choice we have if the world continues as it is. Venus Project proposes a completely different system which is updated on accumulated knowledge and technologies. Scientists were never tired to wonder what kind a company that would eliminate boring and monotonous jobs, which would eliminate accidents in transportation, which would allow people to have a high standard of living, which would eliminate harmful substances added to our foods, to provide other energy sources, clean and efficient, etc..

Major difference between a resource based economy and a monetary system is that a resource based economy is really concerned about people and their welfare, while the monetary system has become so distorted that people issues are secondary, if that even taken into account.

perfect world

Products are put on the market depending on how much money can get. If there is a problem in society and can not earn any money in solving the problem will be solved. Resource-based economy is not anything close to what has been tried before.

With all the technology today we can create abundant. Could be used to improve the lifestyle of all. There are abundant in the world if we use technology wisely and if we preserve the environment.

perfect world

How free is that? The project will make use of a resourced based economy in which all use of money, credit, barter and debt is eliminated. All resources become the common heritage of the community and not just a select few. In an economy based on resources rather financial wealth, we can utilize existing resources and easily produce all of the necessities of life gaining high standard of living. By removing the stress due to accumulating enough money to take care of the family or providing nutrition to communities in poverty, society as a whole will be able to evolve. Food, clothing, safety and quality of life are all basic requirements of life and there is no need to pay for them. I believe that this could be a wonderful experience for all of mankind, but the question of feasibility arises. It would be impossible to find funding for a project of this scale, the only way a project of this magnitude could work would be in a “resource-based world economy” and “the world’s resources are held as a common heritage of all of the earth’s peoples.”

Fresco believes he has the ideas and plans that can ultimately eliminate poverty, politics, and war through the depletion of the monetary system, and by focusing more on our technology, and technological advances.

perfect world

If you’d like to find out more about The Venus Project visit www.thevenusproject.com

Solar Roadways – Roads Of Future World

admin — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:24:56 +0000

Free energy is everywhere around us. There are many ways to generate and collect energy from various sources like sun, wind, water etc. but somehow people always tend to make things more difficult by not using these renewable sources of energy. In last few years there is a great amount of new ideas for generating energy. People suddenly realized that everyday stuff can be a source of energy, riding a bike, running or just walking, sun rays hitting our roofs etc. But, is there any other option, something so obvious that we practically can’t imagine that being used for collecting energy. We simply have to change our way of thinking if we want to change the world.

So how about solar roadways? Are they a roads of future? Why use roads just for driving and collecting tolls, why don’t we use them for collecting energy. Of course, nowadays roads can’t be used for collecting energy but Solar Roads could.

Solar Roadway

US Department of Transportation recently awarded $100,000 to Solar Roadways to build prototype of first ever Solar Road Panel. So how does these future world roads work?

“The Solar Road Panels will contain embedded LEDs which “paint” the road lines from beneath to provide safer nighttime driving, as well as to give up to the minute instructions (via the road) to drivers (i.e. “detour ahead”). The road will be able to sense wildlife on the road and can warn drivers to “slow down”. There will also be embedded heating elements in the surface to prevent snow and ice buildup, providing for safer winter driving. This feature packed system will become an intelligent highway that will double as a secure, intelligent, decentralized, self-healing power grid which will enable a gradual weaning from fossil fuels.

Replacing asphalt roads and parking lots with Solar Roadway panels will be a major step toward halting climate change. Fully electric vehicles will be able to recharge along the roadway and in parking lots, finally making electric cars practical for long trips.”

It is estimated that is will take roughly five billion 12′ by 12′ Solar Road Panels to cover the asphalt surfaces in the U.S. alone, That amount of Solar Road Panels can produce three times more power than U.S. ever used.

We just can’t wait to see more of these roads all over the world in the near future.

Source: Solar Roadways

Green Roof: Solution To Outdated, Historical Bridges

admin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:28:48 +0000

While it is true that rail and air are important parts of our transportation system, cars, buses, and trucks remain the mode of travel many of us need daily. In time as we build out and expand our transportation system, it is critical to replace the outdated and undersized parts.

Existing I-5 bridges are old, and thus â€˜historicâ€™, but they are unattractive.

The Oregon/Washington I-5 Freeway Bridge is clearly the single worst element in the Oregon/Washington region’s transportation blood and great example of outdated, historical bridge which needs some touch from the future. Good companies and valuable people are crippled if key portions of their day are spent in slowed or stopped traffic.

Furthermore, it is quite harmful to business effectiveness and cultural mental health to have permanent guaranteed delay built into the system.

Humans are capable of designing and building a 21st century bridge, so why rebuild the bridges and their preâ€“fifties technology. Would you re-make your grandma’s ice box, or get a state-of-the-art refrigerator? The two existing I-5 bridges are old, and thus â€˜historicâ€™, but they are unattractive. While it is true that ‘good looks’ are not standard for historic character, we cannot keep every old thing, without turning this urban landscape into an un-functional lifeless museum.

The design of the I-5 Columbia Crossing Bridge must meet all immediate needs, and it must look to the future. There is a need to make the finest multi-modal bridge we can.

Great artist and architect, Bill Badrick, has some awesome concept ideas for bridge of the future.

This bridge would be amazing. It would draw visitors from around the world, and be an unparalleled recreation opportunity for those in the Portland/Vancouver area.

First, the park roof, like the covered bridge roof / walls, will protect everyone on the roadway from the rugged winter storms.

Second, the structural support elements of the bridge and the protective paint will not be exposed to wear and tear. This will extend the bridge’s critical maintenance- free life well into the future.

Concept drawing of a proposal for a new Washington/Oregon greenway bridge

Third, the Park-Roof will allow the natural ‘democratic’ travel of native animals from state to state.

Finally, a one-of-a-kind park, will draw cultural visitors and well – heeled tourists from around the world. This Park-Roofed Multi-Modal Bridge can be regional symbol, Green- Golden Gate Bridge.

Awesome concept drawing of a proposal for a new Washington/Oregon greenway bridge

Source: Bill Badrick

Intelligent Fog: Will Change Our Lives Completely!

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:00:59 +0000

Consider all-pervasive intelligent fog, everywhere and everything. This fog will have amazing potential for transforming our environments, and our lives. Latent in every inch of space this fog will have incredible computing power.Â Instead of building the object you want atom by atom , the tiny robots from this fog would link their arms together to form a solid mass in the shape of the object you wanted? Then, when you got tired of driving that same car, the robots could simply shift around a little and you’d have an elegant BMW.

The Utility Fog, or UFog, invented by Dr. Hall, is like a dreamland material which consists of smart, tiny and identical nano-robots, named foglets. Each foglet is mostly made of arms and a nanocomputer and would be 6 to 10 millionths of a meter in size. The individual foglets would take up only 2 to 3% of the space in the volume they fill, leaving the rest of the space for air and light. Hence, a room filled with UFog would be transparent up close, somewhat cloudy at a distance. You could fill a house with them and they would be unobtrusive.

The Secret to this future technology. Tiny foglet!

With all the computing power contained in these trillions of foglets they could be programmed with a wide spectrum of behaviors that mimic materials of different mass, motion, appearance, and function.

When joined these foglets could make everything you imagine

They could:

Change a certain volume from one substance to another, for example, change running water to solid wood
Make objects appear and disappear, hence furnish your house
Build entire cities, whether in Bogota or on the Moon
Monitor your bodily functions, such as heart rate, etc. and take preventative action if necessary
Have your DNA pre-programmed, thus provide you with total immunity from all bacterial and viral agents, such as colds and AIDS
Perform surgery on the spot
And much more!

The possibilities are virtually endless but we can turn our imagination on, and imagine future world filled with this friendly fog.

For example, rather than paint the walls in your home, just coat them with this material and they could be a different color every day, or become a floor-to-ceiling TV. Floors could look like hardwood, but feel soft to our feet.

Furniture and decorations could change into anything our hearts desire just by wishing it so. And this intelligent fog would keep us safe from storms. Even the impact from a nuclear explosion could be rendered harmless.

No more home security worries because when you leave your home for work or go to vacation, intelligent fog could convert everything, including the house itself, into air molecules. Upon return, it would sense your presence and restore everything to normal.

Surround your car with this material and in the event of a crash, it would enable you to take a 100-mph impact without even messing your hair. However, youâ€™ll never get in an accident as UFog could one day make all roads and vehicles accident-free.

Although utility fog sounds like a fantastic, far-future technology, it could truly be feasible in the next couple of decades.

Climate Change Effects Will Bring Climate Refugees

admin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:54:37 +0000

We present you a work of Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut: Lilypad, a place for climate refugees. Mr Callebaut offers a solution for surviving climate change effects.

LILYPAD, A FLOATING ECOPOLIS FOR CLIMATE REFUGEES

According to the less alarming forecasts of the GIEC (Intergovernmental group on the evolution of the climate), the ocean level should rise from 20 to 90 cm during the 21st Century with a status quo by 50 cm (versus 10 cm in the 20th Century). The international scientific scene assets that a temperature elevation of 1Â°C will lead to a water rising of 1 meter. This increase of 1 m would bring ground losses emerged of approximately 0.05% in Uruguay, 1% in Egypt, 6% in the Netherlands, 17.5% in Bangladesh and up to 80% approximately in the atoll Majuro in Oceania (Marshall and Kiribati islands and step by step the Maldives islands).

If the first meter is not very funny with more than 50 million of people affected in the developing countries, the situation is worse with the second one. Countries like Vietnam, Egypt, Bangladesh, Guyana or Bahamas will see their most inhabited places swamped at each flood and their most fertile fields devastated by the invasion of salt water damaging the local ecosystems. New York, Bombay, Calcutta, HÃ´ Chi Minh City, Shanghai, Miami, Lagos, Abidjan, Djakarta, Alexandriaâ€¦ 250 million of climatic refugees and 9% of the GDP threatened if we not build protections related to such a threat. It is the demonstration inflicted to reluctant spirits by a climatological study of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) and that challenges our imagination of eco-conception!

Lilypad, a prototype of auto-sufficient amphibious city

LillyPad

It is a true amphibian half aquatic and half terrestrial city, able to accommodate 50,000 inhabitants and inviting the biodiversity to develop its fauna and flora around a central lagoon of soft water collecting and purifying the rain waters. This artificial lagoon is entirely immersed ballasting thus the city. It enables to live in the heart of the subaquatic depths. The multifunctional programming is based on three marinas and three mountains dedicated respectively to the work, the shops and the entertainments. The whole set is covered by a stratum of planted housing in suspended gardens and crossed by a network of streets and alleyways with organic outline. The goal is to create a harmonious coexistence of the couple Human / Nature and to explore new modes of living the sea by building with fluidity collective spaces in proximity, overwhelming spaces of social inclusion suitable to the meeting of all the inhabitants â€“ denizen or foreign-born, recent or old, young or aged people.

LillyPad

Entirely autosufficient, Lilypad takes up the four main challenges launched by the OECD in March 2008: climate, biodiversity, water and health. It reached a positive energetic balance with zero carbone emission by the integration of all the renewable energies (solar, thermal and photovoltaic energies, wind energy, hydraulic, tidal power station, osmotic energies, phytopurification, biomass) producing thus durably more energy that it consumes! True biotope entirely recyclable, this floating Ecopolis tends thus towards the positive eco-accountancy of the building in the oceanic ecosystems by producing and softening itself the oxygen and the electricity, by recycling the CO2 and the waste, by purifying and softening biologically the used waters and by integrating ecological niches, aquaculture fields and biotic corridors on and under its body to meet its own food needs.

LillyPad

Climate change effects are more present each day so we must take them seriously.

Source: Vincent Callebaut

One iRing To Rule Them All

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:22:08 +0000

We all know that iPod and iPhone are gadgets that you want to hold as much as possible in your hand and to let yourself and others to fully enjoy their beautiful design.

But sometimes it is more convenient to keep these devices in your pocket and still have a full control over them.

We present you iRing, Bluetooth ring concept, that allows you to control playback and volume on any of your Apple media devices.

This ring has incredible design just like devices it controls.

iRing

Design: Victor Soto

Intelligent Tap For Perfectly Washed Hands

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:42:39 +0000

How long do your hands stay clean after you wash them? Not very much, because you always: touch the tap with your dirty hands, wash your hands, and again touch the dirty tap with your clean hands. So, your hands are not actually clean even after you wash them. Is there a better way? Yes, there is, and it is called “The Water Symphony”!

The Water Symphony

So how do you wash your hands without touching the tap? This is a futuristic tap with OLED display, sensors, and microphone. Next part is very cool, you come to the sink and pronounce a needed temperature value. You bring your hands to the tap and water (with temperature you requested) starts to flow. You can adjust water pressure by moving your finger from one to another sensor.

The Water Symphony

“Magic” is under the sink. There is a microprocessor and a water temperature and pressure adjustment device.

The Water Symphony

Design: Mukomelov Studio

Creative Way To Prevent World Hunger In Future

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:58:39 +0000

In article named Would You Like To Drink The Air? we talked about the problem of lack of drinking water even with fact that 70% of Earth is covered by water. Food is even a bigger problem. By the year 2050, the human population will count 9 billion people approximately. That is 50% more people than today. More people equals more food, but there is over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops (world wide) in use today (sources: FAO and NASA). So, by today’s standards, if we use current techniques, there will be not enough food for whole world population (even today we have huge problems in Africa and in some other parts of the world ).

Vertical Farm Project offers a solution:

The concept of indoor farming is not new, since hothouse production of tomatoes, a wide variety of herbs, and other produce has been in vogue for some time. What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate another 3 billion people. An entirely new approach to indoor farming must be invented, employing cutting edge technologies. The Vertical Farm must be efficient (cheap to construct and safe to operate). Vertical farms, many stories high, will be situated in the heart of the world’s urban centers. If successfully implemented, they offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply (year-round crop production), and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.

Designs

Piramid Farm by Eric Ellingsen and Dickson Despommier

"The Living Skyscraper: Farming the Urban Skyline" by Blake Kurasek

Zabeel Park Vertical Farm

"VF - Type O" by Oliver Foster

Source: Vertical Farm Project

Futuristic Home With Neighbors Of Your Choice

admin — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:33:33 +0000

MercuryHouseOne is a habitable unit designed as a mobile lounge, integrating functional and aesthetical considerations.

It looks very impressive and, as authors say, ” its shape recalls the beauty and perfection of a water drop”.

While respecting ecological issues, it is designed to fit both in a natural and urban environment. The marble is backlit at night, enhancing the form and creating special attention for evening events.

MercuryHouseOne

The exterior shell is a double curve shape made out of ultralight white Carrara marble.

MercuryHouseOne

The interior layout can be set up in a range of configurations to accommodate different uses and needs. The latest lighting, video, and sound technologies is used in the habitat in order to create a unique experience inside. The unit is powered by solar cells and is energetically autonomous.

MercuryHouseOne - interior

Source: Architecture and Vision

Car That Goes Without Driver

Car Free London in 2030

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:31:19 +0000

London without cars – sounds very optimistic and like a distant future. It’s very hard to imagine a London without cars so lets imagine a part of London without a car. Il Choi, David Seesing, Miika Hekkinen and MÃ¥rten WÃ¥llgren imagined that kind of part of London and they called it London Garden. Why do we need London Garden? Creators say:

“Every day 190 000 cars are driving within the congestion zone of London. Due to this amount of traffic, drivers spend more than 50% of their time wainting in queues which has brought the average speed down to 10 mph which is nearly the same speed as when we used to travel with horse and carriage. As a result bike journeys have been increased by 12% within the last year”

London Garden - why?

By driving this kind of bicycle you are actually generating energy or you can use it as scooter if you generated enough energy.

Bicycle

Bus uses your previously generated energy.

Bus seat

Bus stop collects energy from sun, water and wind.

Bus stop

More about this project at martenwallgren.blogspot.com