Category Archives: robots

apartment living, cities, health, living room, robots, surveillance, sustainability, the home

This bird-shaped monitor drops dead when your indoor air is bad

Americans spend about 90% of their time indoors, where the air can be 5 to 10 times more polluted than the worst outdoor air. Bad indoor air, including high levels of CO2, has been linked with fatigue, headaches, and even respiratory diseases, all of which could be alleviated by airing out your home. That’s why two designers created Canairi: a minimalist monitor that nudges you to open the window without using blinking lights, warning sounds, or phone notifications. And no, there’s no app; just simple, intuitive design.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90747448/this-bird-shaped-monitor-drops-dead-when-your-indoor-air-is-bad
archetypes, dating, dystopia, ethics, music, robots, society, technology

This Man Married a Fictional Character. He’d Like You to Hear Him Out.

Mr. Kondo is one of thousands of people in Japan who have entered into unofficial marriages with fictional characters in recent decades, served by a vast industry aimed at satisfying the every whim of a fervent fan culture. Tens of thousands more around the globe have joined online groups where they discuss their commitment to characters from anime, manga and video games.

cinema, climate change, dystopia, forecasting, generations, robots, society, sustainability

How WALL-E Predicted the Future

The film depicts an Earth rendered uninhabitable by climate change, with the last living humans obese space tourists who communicate solely via video call and rely on meal replacement smoothies for sustenance. There are eerie similarities to much of our current reality, with extreme weather events rising in frequency, obesity rates soaring, Zoom calls taking over our lives, and the rise of meal replacement firms such as Soylent and Huel.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-20/pixar-s-wall-e-dystopian-predictions-came-true
cities, food, history, kitchen, retail, robots, technology, urban planning

Futuristic ‘automat’ dining thrived a century ago. Can covid revive it?

The arrival of the virus shut down restaurants across the country, then saw them reopen with social distancing and outdoor dining. Face-to-face contact was no longer a plus, but a potential liability. Meanwhile, restaurants grappled with labor shortages. It all made the automat ripe for a comeback.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/04/08/automat-covid-horn-hardart/
manufacturing, robots, technology, work

Robot Subscription Services Let Companies Automate on the Cheap

Society has long worried that the widespread adoption of robots will displace workers and eliminate jobs. But rather than fearing the arrival of automatons, Shakerria Grier, a 27-year-old quality auditor at Georgia-based Thomson Plastics Inc., is relieved to get the help. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-31/automation-comes-to-more-factories-with-robot-leasing