A few advances this week in the awesome technologies that will probably change this decade…
20. A little girl with a rare disease can now use her arms thanks to a 3D printer. This is the most powerful single piece of evidence I have yet seen for my belief that 3D printing will change the world. It clearly demonstrates how someone’s life can be dramatically altered by the ability to cheaply print completely customized physical parts. It’s not clear to me whether the girl will need the exoskeleton for the rest of her life or if the assistance will enable her to developer her muscles to the point where she eventually will not need them.
3D Printers are also being used to enhance stop-motion moviemaking. And (if you’re into this) there’s a Japanese company that will print a 3D version of your fetus.
21. Google has been self-driving its cars around for awhile now, and while they’ve likely been refining their sensors and algorithms this whole time, I’ve been waiting for visible signs of progress. Well, this week Google announced they’re letting the self-driving car team upgrade from paired test runs to solo commuting. To me, that’s a sign of growing confidence, though the technology is still advancing slower than I’d like.
22. Planetary Resources, the asteroid mining venture, continues to add billionaire investors and is now reportedly in talks with a major mining company. The plan still has a very long way to go, but it’s continuing to look more and more serious.