To the Stars with Data: June 13 2021
Rescue cockroaches, 3D printed rockets, the coming of electronic vehicles, and more...
Hello!
This past week, I’ve been thinking a lot about productivity and how our intention and behavior don’t always correlate. My thoughts can be summed up by this Tweet:
Someone should be able to interpret your priorities from your schedule.
If they don't see what you claim to be prioritizing, you aren't prioritizing it.
After implementing just a few small tweaks in my schedule, I’ve experienced a solid, measurable growth in my productivity over the past week.
But there’s also been another side effect: joy. Because I limit certain activities (i.e. video gaming), I enjoy the activities more when I do partake in them. (If you want to read more about this, Arthur C. Brooks wrote an excellent article about this in The Atlantic.)
Anyways, here’s your weekly dose of futurism!
-Joe
Thought-Provoking Data Viz
Let's say a raindrop fell somewhere in the United States (and didn't evaporate or get absorbed). Where would it end up?
River Runner provides all the juicy details in a fantastic, interactive visualization. Prepare yourself for a journey!
Earth News
🐜 Disaster recovery cockroaches to the rescue!
Quick Hits. To aid in finding humans in disaster recovery missions, some researchers propose electronically-outfitted cockroaches. They put a electronic “backpack” on the cockroaches that allow them to control where the cockroach ventures. The device can detect humans with 94% accuracy.
My Thoughts. When disaster strikes, we need to move fast to save lives. Having an army of remote-controlled sensors crawling throughout rubble has the potential to drastically reduce the amount of time searching for survivors. I’m also a fan of how simple this solution is; designing and building our own crawling robots would take significantly more time and money.
Bonus: Having personally grown a colony of hundreds of Madagascar Hissers from an initial brood of 5, I have a soft spot for these cute little critters. Respond to this email directly if you want some pictures!
💻 AI designs viable computer chips in a fraction of the time of humans
Quick Hits. Researchers at Google developed an AI that creates computer chip floor planning in 6 hours (it would take humans months to accomplish the same task). The AI’s designs are on par or superior to human designs.
My Thoughts. Nowadays, we are surrounded by computer chips (semiconductors); they’re in our phones, watches, cars, TVs, and even toothbrushes. Being able to produce more efficient and better-performing semiconductors is lucrative. Being able to design better chips in hours instead of months? Ground-breaking.
Space News
🖨 Relativity Space is producing a fully reusable, 3D-printed rocket
Quick Hits. Relativity Space unveiled its new Terran R rocket, which is completely 3D printed and reusable. The company claims that it can be built in 60 days. Because of the lower number of joints (due to its additive manufacturing process), the likelihood of failure during launch is reduced.
My Thoughts. Combined with SpaceX’s Starship (I discussed it 2 weeks ago), it seems like humanity is really gearing itself for commercial space. Additive manufacturing (AKA 3D printing) seems to be playing a role, as many leaders in the industry are taking advantage of the technique (NASA, SpaceX, and Rocket Lab).
🚀 Bezos’s Blue Origin Auctions First Spaceflight Seat and Bezos Flies Too
Quick Hits. As I mentioned last month, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin just closed the auction for a space on Blue Origin’s first spaceflight. The winning bid? $28 million. Jeff Bezos also announced earlier this week that he and his brother would be joining the winner on the flight. The target flight date is July 20.
My Thoughts. Bezos going into space is a big deal. He is one of the wealthiest people on Earth, so the public sees him as having a lot to lose. If he arrives safely back to Earth from the flight, I suspect it will have a large impact on people’s willingness to consider space a safe destination. For those of you wondering what’s happening to the $28 million, it is going to Blue Origin’s Club for the Future, “whose mission is to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and to help invent the future of life in space.”
Things that make you think
⚡ Why electric vehicles (EVs) may come sooner than you think
Quick Hits. When looking at electric vehicles (EVs) through the lens of the “S-Curve”, we are entering the steep part of the “S”, or when we expect to see exponential growth in the adoption of the technology. According to UBS projections, 20% of car sales in 2025 will be electric, 40% in 2030, and ~every car in 2040. Woah.
My Thoughts. EVs—compared to other technologies often plotted on S-curves (i.e. the internet)—are unique because there are additional, climate-related incentives driving their rapid adoption. Not only do these incentives drive more consumer demand for EVs (especially if governmental subsidies are in effect), but they also spur faster innovation of technologies enabling EVs (i.e. EV batteries).
Bonus. Do you ever look back at something from 20 years ago and think “oof, that didn’t age well.” (r/AgedLikeMilk anyone?) I hope that’s how we think of vehicles with combustion engines in 20 years.
Future-Thinking Companies
🌿 Small Robot Company - produces robots that autonomously drive through fields and track crop progress through imagery, destroy weeds with electricity, and plant new seeds
🤖 Teachable Machines - allows users to create their own AI algorithms