Trends Identified
Renewable energy technologies
Following recent technological breakthroughs, a growing number of current and emerging technologies in the area of renewable energy generation have achieved a sufficient level of technical and economic maturity to render them ready for large-scale deployment.
2018
World Economic And Social Survey 2018: Frontier Technologies For Sustainable Development
United Nations
Energy storage technologies
The technology of utility-sized energy storage has been advancing and becoming more economical. The appropriate method of storing energy depends on the resources available to the local power producer. The existing technologies for storing energy include: (a) hydropower and compressed air storage; (b) molten salt thermal storage; (c) the redox flow battery; (4) the conventional rechargeable battery; and (e) thermal storage.
2018
World Economic And Social Survey 2018: Frontier Technologies For Sustainable Development
United Nations
Autonomous vehicles and drones
Autonomous vehicles are perhaps the most visible applications of advanced algorithms, sensors and powerful computing power. Five levels of automation exist for vehicles (excluding zero automation), ranging from basic driver assistance (level 1: “hands on”) to full automation (level 5: “steering wheel optional”) (see figure A.1). The most successful automation system currently available, offered by Tesla in its passenger cars, provides level 2 automation (“hands off ”), where the driver can rely on the vehicle to steer and control speed but must be attentive and ready to intervene when required. A significant amount of research is being conducted whose aim is to allow vehicles to operate at level 3 (“eyes off ”) and higher automation levels. While some automakers are announcing plans to market level 3 automation capabilities in the next two years, level 5 automation is, by some estimations, decades away.
2018
World Economic And Social Survey 2018: Frontier Technologies For Sustainable Development
United Nations
Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology
In 2009, a person or persons going by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto proposed a public distributed ledger system which would rely on cryptography and self-interest to enable electronic transactions. This notable innovation, in the form of a system underpinned by incentives and mathematical proofs, would obviate the need for trust in any one actor or central institution as the basis for preventing fraud and ensuring that the ledgers were kept up to date. Within such a system, every participant therefore works to build a single public ledger of transactions and constantly verifies its validity. That ledger is known as the blockchain. The blockchain works through a competitive process whereby the first to successfully validate a block of transactions and broadcast the solution to the network wins a monetary reward. The proposed block is quickly and independently verified by every participant. If a majority of the network agrees that the block is valid, the block and the transactions it contains become part of the consensus blockchain (see figure A.2). The innovativeness of this system lies in the way in which the various parts combine to create the trust and guarantees that the traditional financial system derives from institutions and regulation. The incentives align the interest of participants towards contributing to the system’s security. In contrast, the traditional system relies on a complex armature of reporting, oversight and implicit or explicit guarantees, ultimately backed by the reputation of the central authority. As such, the blockchain technology presents the possibilit y— a first in the field of finance !— that trust in institutions backed by government can be replaced by trust in computer code.
2018
World Economic And Social Survey 2018: Frontier Technologies For Sustainable Development
United Nations
Machine Vision
From detecting corruption to diagnosing cancer, there are a multitude of uses for this AI technology.
2018
Most contagious report 2018
Contagious
Follow the Crowd
Influencers were everywhere in 2018, but are they about to be usurped?
2018
Most contagious report 2018
Contagious
Divisive Values
Brands are no longer shying away from polarising political and social issues, and they’re increasing their fame and fortune in the process.
2018
Most contagious report 2018
Contagious
Future Foods
People’s attitudes to food are changing, and science is beginning to catch up.
2018
Most contagious report 2018
Contagious
Retail Hacked
Retail has always been competitive but things have moved up a gear. Survival of the fittest, fastest, smartest and most creative is now the order of the day.
2018
Most contagious report 2018
Contagious
Contrabrands
2018 was a good year for the legal cannabis industry but marketers must work hard to shake off weed’s illicit associations.
2018
Most contagious report 2018
Contagious