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A trip to the future with Cristina Pozzi

By sdg 16, sdg 17, sdg 8, sdg 9, technology

Does your head spin when you think about the future of work, society and family? I went on a short trip with Cristina Pozzi, author of 2050 Guida (fu)turistica per viaggiatori nel tempo [2050 (Fu)Turistic guide for time travelers]. Cristina is also the founder of  Impactscool, which brings training courses to Italian schools and universities, preparing for the big changes taking place.

Cristina: What are the changes that await us in the coming years? Cristina you’re a social entrepreneur and writer and you traveled into the future. What did you see?

Cristina Pozzi: The future I saw in 2050 is one where the environment in which we live changes because, alas, due to climate change, our planet will be subject to many changes, but also the same concept of family could be questioned, mutate, evolve, due to the evolution of genetics. For example, children could have three parents born by using the genetic material of all three, it has already been done in England.

Cristina: How are we going to increase our cognitive skills?

Cristina Pozzi: We can do it in many ways, both from a chemical point of view with medicines that are being studied to increase our attention and also with so-called neurotechnologies – we can have implants or helmets to wear that increase our creativity.

Cristina: And what if they are not within everyone’s reach because of the cost?

Cristina Pozzi: Only a few could benefit. We probably don’t want to see a society where only a few people can be smarter, more successful at work or have access to certain treatments to stay healthy. For those who cannot afford it, there may be scenarios where you can even get access to a technology in exchange for advertising, perhaps continuous, so you can always use it for “free”.

Cristina: What about sharing your DNA data?

Cristina Pozzi: That could also become a source of income, one of the many jobs that we might have because most likely we will no longer have just one job but many at the same time.

Cristina: And many jobs we know today will disappear. Which ones do you think will remain or become strategic?

Cristina Pozzi: Definitely finding ourselves immersed in a reality that’s changing fast and that we struggle to understand, perhaps also due to the presence of robots around us in many situations, the role of psychologists who can help us manage this transition, will be essential.

Cristina: Do you think there is a correct path to make this journey towards the future?

Cristina Pozzi: For now, no. The advice I always give is learn to be curious and learn to learn.

Cristina: So, by combining our natural talents and our intellect, heart, creativity and willpower. Occhio al futuro!

On air September 9, 2018

October 4, 2018
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Airlite – the air purifying paint

By ecology, sdg 11, sdg 12, sdg 13, sdg 3, sdg 9

Airlite developed a paint that purifies the air and can be used both indoors and outdoors. It neutralizes odors, bacteria and prevents mold, it repels dust and dirt and reduces air pollution.

Cristina: Don’t we all feel better when the air is light? Today we’re featuring a technology that allows us to breathe better. Hello Massimo, tell us more.

Massimo Bernardoni: It’s a paint that contains various technologies. It purifies the air, eliminates bacteria and molds from surfaces, it works over time and eliminates odors. Through nanotechnology our paint transforms pollutants into salts. Through other processes it gets rid of bacteria, mold and it keeps walls clean and smog free.

Cristina: Does it prevent the black streaks over radiators?

Massimo Bernardoni: Yes those too, no more dark corners.

Cristina: Is it all mineral-based? Any petrochemicals?

Massimo Bernardoni: We do not have any petroleum based ingredients, only mineral-based, and when applied it doesn’t smell.

Antonio Cianci: Outdoors, with this technology, painting a 150 meter stretch of roadside, both left and right, is equivalent to planting a forest as big as a soccer field. 12 meters of a painted surface with our technology, reduce the pollution produced by a car in one day.

Cristina: Does it also absorb particulates?

Antonio Cianci: In an indirect way. Particulate matter is generated by nitrogen oxides through photochemical synthesis, we lower its levels and reduce it significantly.

Cristina: It also reduces energy consumption. How?

Antonio Cianci: We have the amazing ability to reflect the warm component of sunlight, therefore painting the wall with this product can reduce the surface temperature up to 30 degrees. This way less heat passes through therefore reducing the need for conditioning the room.

Cristina: So it creates a protective but permeable coat?

Antonio Cianci: Yes, the paint is permeable, it allows the passage of all the components without causing stagnation, such as those bubbles we sometimes find on our walls, which trap mold. Our paint creates a natural conditioning system.

Cristina: How many colors are available?

Antonio Cianci: 180. I must say that architecturally the performance is beautiful, suited also for high-end finishes. And it cleans the air.

Cristina: This is what happens when two brilliant Italians come together. Occhio al futuro

On air May 5, 2018

August 3, 2018
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Quakebots, seismic monitoring

By sdg 11, sdg 9, technology

How IoT and cloud technology can change the way we monitor earthquakes

Italy is the most earthquake prone country in Europe, lying close to the line where the Eurasian and African plates meet and constantly grate against each other creating seismic and volcanic tension. According to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (Ingv), the earthquakes counted in 2017 alone along the Italian peninsula were over 44,000. An average of 120 per day, five per hour. That is: an earthquake every twelve minutes. Most of these are micro-earthquakes, shocks that are rarely felt by the general population.

How does all this seismic activity affect our homes, buildings and infrastructures? Understanding these vulnerabilities and taking steps to help prevent major damage is essential and could potentially save lives.

Quakebots is a seismic monitoring system that uses IoT and cloud technology to record how buildings react to seismic stress. Through the use of AI, they create classification maps that can help understand which buildings may be most vulnerable.

Sensors, called nodes, are installed inside buildings on a load-bearing wall and from that moment start using the wifi network to communicate information to the cloud system. All systems work on the network, so data coming from a system is used to create value for other buildings. The data can then be used by engineers and architects for the different phases of seismic retrofitting. “In Italy we have 7 million buildings in areas with high to medium seismic risk that were built before the 70s” explains Quakebots Founder & CTO Gianni Alessandroni.

Earthquakes are not the only contributing factor – anthropic activity, the vibrations caused by traffic, railways, subways, or even remodeling inside the buildings themselves. The system is able to record all these vibrations and give information about the stress that the building undergoes.

Alessandroni explains how his involvement in the aftermath of the earthquake in l’Aquila (2009) helped shape the idea that became Quakebots. “At the time, I was in charge of the support service for the regional emergency services hotline in Abruzzo. On the day of the earthquake at 6 am, we were told that the hospital had to be evacuated. We took everything we had in the office – servers, workstations – and we went up to L’Aquila and within a few hours we rebuilt a dispatch center, allowing emergency services to continue uninterrupted. I saw the damage, what happened and in the wave of emotions I asked myself if those buildings had previously given any signs of the devastation to come.”

Currently they have almost a hundred buildings being monitored 24/7 in various regions of Italy, including Calabria and Umbria, and their network of Quakebot Nodes is growing. They’ve even received funding from the European Commission SME Instruments Horizon 2020 and won a grant from the Microsoft Bizspark+ program.

August 3, 2018
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Caracol, design and 3D printing

By sdg 9, technology

How 3D printing and artisanal traditions walk hand in hand into the future

Every innovation has many consequences and exploring new design horizons also means bringing together different technologies. In this case, robotics and 3D printing, or additive manufacturing.

The symbol of Caracol Design Studio is a snail, which has a shell with a complex and layered structure. A good metaphor for the idea of what lies behind systemic design.

The impact of 3D printing can be felt in many manufacturing supply chains. For example, they’re working on the design of a customized ergonomic chair. Paolo Cassis, one of Caracol’s founders, explains that they would start by scanning your body and back and using the data, elaborate it digitally to produce a chair, with millimeter accuracy, via the robot and the 3D printer. For a cost of a few hundred euros.

Another example of efficiency with this manufacturing process is the creation of a simple clamp, which affects the performance of a robotic arm. Caracol printed a clamp which is much lighter than the piece traditionally made of metal. Their clamp, installed on the robot, has allowed companies to save money as the the robotic arm is lighter and can achieve the same results as larger, more expensive robots.

This doesn’t mean that they don’t value the way things used to be done, in fact, they believe that the value of tradition should be carried forward even in an innovative field like 3D printing, precisely because a beneficial collaboration between tradition and innovation can be an engine of the progress of design.

August 3, 2018
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