And We All Float On, Alright: Flying Taxis To Be Tested In 2017

Alright nerds.  It’s Friday, and while you’re dreaming about the impending weekend, why not also dream about the phenomenal parts of our future?  Especially that old (new?) chestnut, flying cars.  Why aren’t they already floating around in this glorious 21^st-century utopia we’ve created for ourselves?  Well, glorious 21^st-century utopia or no, the flying cars could be swooping in for testing as early as next year.

It is time.
(Image courtesy darkroastedblend.com.)

Robot Lawyer To The Rescue! Chatbot Helps Homeless Get Re-Situated

A while ago we wrote about “the world’s first robot lawyer”, an AI software program that interacts like a chatbot and has already helped hundreds of thousands of people defeat parking tickets.  Now, its creator has raised the bar for the 'bot to take on another societal issue:  homelessness.

When human society turns heartless, only the heartless can help human society?
(Image courtesy southernmarylandlaw.com.)

Sharing Economy Is Caring Economy: New App Helps "Hack Hunger"

Yesterday we wrote about a less-pleasant (though useful) "Uber" type of "shared economy" app involving dog poop.  Today, we'll brighten the mood and talk about the victories of a shared-economy app that has been aiding human sustenance!

Be a superhero, straight from your smartphone!
(Image courtesy appdevelopmentmagazine.com.)

Swoop Out With The Poop Out: New App Hires People To Remove Your Dog's Mess

There's shitty jobs, and then there's LITERALLY shitty jobs.  In an age where manufacturing jobs are waning but posting pictures of your food on the internet can be a full-time business, the strange powers of commerce and instant gratification have combined into one nasty but necessary gig...

They'd use the app themselves, but they're too busy
sending selfies to all the bitches.
(Image courtesy 123rf.com.)

Drone-O-Gram! Amazon Secures Patent For Air-Based Deliveries

Like it or not, drone technology is here to stay.  Besides providing for brutally asymmetric warfare, however, they could also be pretty useful for delivering things other than bombs.  Since we all know the surveillance state isn’t about to let anything get actually lost anymore, it only stands to reason that a new patent could provide drone-docks all around your neighborhood…

Just make sure they use lots of bubble wrap in the packing...
(Image courtesy dailymail.co.uk.)

Olli, Olli, Oil-Free: New Electric, 3-D Printed Shuttle Bus Rolls Out In DC

The description sounds like the ultimate futuristic vehicle, but the technology is here today: an autonomous, 3-D printed, electric shuttle bus. As of today, it’s transporting the citizens of one of America’s oldest cities into the future…

This cozy little computer-generated craft
might be revolutionizing shared vehicles in big cities.
(Image courtesy csmonitor.com.)

Top Of The Crops: New Aeroponics Farm In New Jersey To Revolutionize Urban Farming

As we continue to re-think our old societal conventions regarding even the most time-honored traditions of humanity, we begin to find ways to majorly improve on some techniques that have lasted for thousands of years. Conventional farming has recently joined this upheaval, with new tactics and layouts producing more yield than field-workers of yore may have ever thought possible. One such installation is set to make records near the NYC area…

The greatest salad bar of all time, or the start of a new farming paradigm?
(Image courtesy weburbanist.com.)

NYC, NSFW: Graffitti Artist Uses Public Wi-Fi Terminals For Publicity; Porn

New York City is a haven for artists, and not all of their mediums are conventional ones.  Nowhere is this more apparent than in the realm of "street art", the sometimes destructive but often clever ways artists make their mark on the very architecture of the city itself.  Now, with the city offering computer terminals in places where payphones once lurked, it was only a matter of time before someone put the internet's favorite pastime into the public eye...

An un-pornographied wifi portal in NYC.
(Image courtesy fastcolabs.com.)

Go Out With Your Glow Out: Prototype Bio-Fueled "Mourning Lights" For Cemeteries

Sure, the future may look cool now, but what about looking further...say, for after you're dead?  If you're not useful and good-looking already, here's a way that you may be able to improve that...although unfortunately, it'll be too late for you to really enjoy it.

Not exactly like this, although that would be cool.
(Image courtesy aliexpress.com.)

Pizza Delivery Bots: Dominos' Autonomous Awesomeness

You may have heard that robots are coming to take your jobs.  While we'll still require human brain-meat to calculate and create certain amazing things (like cool blog articles, amiright?), it's getting more and more clear that many menial gigs are about to go extinct.  This week's sacrifice to the Singularity?  Pizza delivery people.

Aww, it's so cute, you almost don't want to crush it for stealing your livelihood.
(Image courtesy engadget.com.)

Seek Guidance (Through Traffic) From Morgan Freeman's Voice

The demand is simple:  you need to go places, which likely requires directions.  Those directions can be read off of a boring old map, or a guy who once played God can liltingly illuminate them for you.

"Get busy ridin', or get busy dyin'."
(Image courtesy buzzfeed.com.)

3D In The UAE: Dubai's Latest Architectural Innovation Is A 3D-Printed Office Building

The world has watched Dubai build all manner of architectural artwork...first by rising phoenix-like to form a bustling desert oasis in record time, then erecting sights like the massive Burj Khalifa tower, or islands in the shape of the entire world.  Now, they're setting the stage for a new kind of innovative intrigue...

Your future workspace could be one of these cozy little rounded rectangles.
BTW, that's the Museum of the Future in the background.
(Image courtesy techspot.com.)

Iran, And You Can Run Too: New Iranian App For Avoiding Morality Police

In much of the world, apps can provide amusing diversions or helpful little bits of information for daily life.  However in Iran, one app has achieved a new level of importance regarding an issue that few Westerners would (hopefully) never have to worry about...

How would you like to be fined and forced to sign a confession of repentance
just for not covering your hair?
(Image courtesy bbc.com.)

A Breath Of Fresh Air: New "Smog-Sucking" Towers Scrub The Skies

Air pollution is an issue in many major cities, but how is it possible to ameliorate the damages caused from...well, it being a city?  Until the clean cars come along, or truckers figure out a way to make some seriously heavy-lifting bicycles, these new smog-removal towers sound like a good plan...

Its physical similarities to the Monolith of "2001" are probably intentional.
(Image courtesy dezeen.com.)

Slip Into The Past Via Smartphone! New App Pinpoints Old And New Cityscapes To Discover

New York, New York, it's a hell of a town.  That much is obvious.  But in the gleaming city of glass, it can sometimes be difficult to remember the extent of the history that has happened through the many years the Big Apple has grown, fallen, gotten chomped up, and re-budded on the tree of life.  Now, thanks to a new app, you can enjoy some top-shelf time-travel right on your phone.

Yes, Mulberry Street in Chinatown/Little Italy has always been madness.
(Image courtesy ny.curbed.com.)

Shot Through The Art, And You're To Blame: New Tattoo Recognition Software Spots Evildoers By Their Ink

We all know that the encroaching insidiousness of facial recognition technology is getting harder and harder to thwart.  This can be somewhat of a good thing, like when it actually catches criminals or finds your lost dog, but for the average citizen, you can't even skip church without getting compiled into a face database (dataface?) these days.  No matter how much weird makeup you use to try to obscure yourself, there's just too many cameras out in the world attempting to capture your likeness.  Now, the technology has been refined to include the art on your body in addition to your body itself...

Just in case you didn't make it this obvious.
(Image courtesy creativefan.com.)

If You Suspects Something, Text Something: New Anti-Terror App For New Yorkers

Are you remaining vigilant in these trying times, citizen?  Well just in case you were thinking of keeping to yourself and minding your own damn business, the government doesn't want you to, and there's a new app to abet that.

Your activism needs no more than the swipe of a finger.
That should probably be worrisome, right?
(Image courtesy ny.gov.)

iTinerant iSores: New App Helps New Yorkers Dodge "Homeless Hotspots"

It's no secret that our technology has surpassed our humanity.  Now, a new aspect of technology will help you literally pass right on by the elements of humanity that you'd rather not see...

Not exactly the best kind of Victoria's Secret model.
(Image courtesy nypost.com.)

A Bridge To The Future: 3-D Printing Robots To Build Metal Footbridge Over Amsterdam Canal

The projects that 3-D printers are now capable of undertaking are vast, from organs to garments to housing.  The architectural aspects are proving to be fascinating new ways of creating structures, including some that might not be cost-effective or even physically feasible for humans to similarly construct...

Bots building beauty...coming soon!
(Image courtesy trueactivist.com.)

Way To Go: New Apple Maps Launch To Include Public Transit, Indoor Maps & More Flyovers

It's a feature that has benefited humanity tremendously since its inception, and now, it's even more comprehensive.  Apple Maps is upgrading their app to include subways, trains, new flyover views, and even robotically-determined floorplans inside of buildings.

Plot your commute or view your dream vacation, all in the palm of your hand.
(Image courtesy technewstoday.com.)