Lightsabers

Posted 12:40pm Sunday 1st May 2016 by Anthony Marris

Described by the revered Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi as an elegant weapon for a more civilised age, the lightsaber is a blade of energy which can deflect blaster bolts, cut through steel and sever the odd limb or two. Fandom website Dorkly ranked the lightsaber as the coolest fictional weapon in a Read more...

Why do we need..augmented reality?

Posted 1:00pm Sunday 24th April 2016 by Anthony Marris

Augmented reality (AR) is where applications on mobile and tablet devices are able to use both the camera lens and a database to add additional information onto a real world scene in real time (or near to). This is different from Virtual Reality. In VR, the scene is created from nothing and fed to Read more...

Why Do We Need.... Artificial General Intelligence

Posted 12:56pm Sunday 17th April 2016 by Anthony Marris

The creation of an Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), a synthetic self-aware intelligence that is capable of replicating, and ultimately exceeding human thought processes has been both the dream and concern of scientists, programmers, engineers, and futurists for decades. Prominent minds like Read more...

Why Do We Need...drones?

Posted 12:11pm Sunday 10th April 2016 by Anthony Marris

Previously I have mentioned UAVs (drones) used in a military setting. I am not a fan of them. Now my attention is on civilian UAVs, the cute and cuddly version compared to their military brethren. But not really. UAVs have so much great potential. Search and rescue, agriculture, conservation, law Read more...

Why Do We Need...drones?

Posted 1:15pm Sunday 3rd April 2016 by Anthony Marris

Circling 30,000 feet above a desolate village in Afghanistan (or Yemen, Somalia or Pakistan) is the latest chariot of fire, harbinger of death and destruction ready to launch Hellfire upon the plain. With politically disarming names like Shadow, Global Hawk and Rainbow, they can lurk for at least 30 Read more...

Why do we need..MOOC?

Posted 1:52pm Sunday 20th March 2016 by Anthony Marris

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are free online university based courses that allow anybody with a decent internet connection and an interest in knowledge to learn about something new. The courses are structured and typically range from 4 weeks to 3 months, some with fixed start dates and others Read more...

Why Do We Need...tinder?

Posted 3:23pm Sunday 13th March 2016 by Anthony Marris

Tinder is a matching (dating) service which utilises geolocating software and your Facebook profile to help make lasting connections. And by lasting connections, I mean as long as they “last”.  Public opinion on Tinder is varied. A straw poll I conducted had mixed results. Some Read more...

Why Do We Need…Streaming Sites?

Posted 1:32pm Sunday 6th March 2016 by Anthony Marris

Streaming sites like couchtuner, watchseries, putlocker and xhamster are what the world wide web was built for – the freedom of information and sharing of ideas.  This sharing of information and knowledge helps to inspire the next generations. Star Trek forecast the invention of the Read more...

Why Do We Need…Revolution 4.0?

Posted 12:48pm Sunday 28th February 2016 by Anthony Marris

Revolution 4.0 (which I will call Rev4.0) is the ménage a trois that connects robotics, the internet we use for shopping, streaming etc, and cloud computing. The aim of Rev4.0 is to create “smart factories”, a more intelligent (read efficient) means to manufacture Read more...