Technology
Our relationship with robots is messy and confused
An animal charity in San Francisco has become a target for much global criticism and local abuse, all because of the behaviour of its most recent recruit: an R2D2-style robot. The 1.5 metre tall Knightscope ...
How big tech can anticipate its responsibilities
“The Circle” is a powerful albeit dystopian novel by the American writer Dave Eggers, about an eponymous fictional Internet company. Think Google, Apple, LinkedIn and more rolled into one. The novel follows the central character ...
Micro-factories: are they the future of manufacturing?
Developing economies have the prize consumers: new wealth and hunger to catch-up with developed world lifestyles. And even more significantly, at the bottom of the pyramid are estimated to be 4 billion people on low ...
Use versus ownership: sustainability and smart manufacturing
Predictions for the future of manufacturing tend to focus on fast, adaptable networked systems and customised delivery. But that’s still taking the availability of resources as a given. Ideally, and alongside the high-tech advances, we ...