Week three of this roundup coincides with some amazing advancements in the world of technology. NASA launching a new lander to Mars was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the previous week. Back on Earth, some sharp minds have been looking into new ways of optimizing safety and communication at work and making cities smarter. Dying to know more? Read on!

Bridging crucial information gaps

What is an absolute necessity for you when you think of a safe work environment? To Eigen, a specialized software provider (just like us!), communication is key. In Oilfield Technology, Laura Dean describes how Eigen developed a new way of communicating for the Oil and Gas industry. Eigen created a new program that can be used as an application or integrated in wearable technology, such as a visor, which allows users to immediately access crucial information related to safety alerts, performance data, equipment parameters and more. Especially for offshore workers, accessing this data has proven a challenge, but that problem will be fully eliminated with Eigen’s advancements, creating a more efficient and safer work environment. Read all about it here!

BASF: pushing innovation

The chemical multinational BASF has proven once again why they are at the forefront of their industry. They have found a solution to one of their greatest logistical challenges, and that solution isn’t something to scoff at: autonomous vehicles. And if that wasn’t enough, they are the first in their industry to do so! From rail to road, transport becomes cost-effective, sustainable, flexible, and perhaps most importantly, safer. Let’s see how long it takes before the others follow. Admire their work here.

Using Google Street View data to make cities smarter

Google’s Street View function has many useful and amusing applications: from examining your journey or destination in detail, to looking at all the funny moments the Google car has involuntarily captured. The University of Cambridge has found a new use for these data to improve transport. Their study states that these freely available images can be used to analyze travel patterns in cities, and subsequently advise on transport policy. Healthier living includes healthier transport, and using these data could help governments improve their cities to allow for its people to walk, cycle, skate, and what-have-you to their heart’s content. In short, we can use Google’s data to make cities smarter, and people healthier. Kristin Houser on Futurism tells us more about it here. Cheers, Google!

XR: not just for games and social media

Most of us are familiar with XR – extended reality – through applications like Snapchat and Pokémon Go, but this cutting-edge technology has so much more potential. Techtalks asks us to imagine a world where students can take their phones outside and go on an educational scavenger hunt, where we can ‘try on’ a new shirt without having to touch it by looking through XR wearables, and more. We can add a layer of information to our reality without completely immersing ourselves in a different one the way VR offers. Even in healthcare, XR can assist in surgeries or help students practice techniques safely. In any environment where you need real-time information and predictions about your surroundings, the possibilities are endless. Who knew Pokémon Go would be such an innovator? Let’s imagine a new world!

A journey back in time

Who can talk about the technological progression of humankind and leave out the exploits of NASA and the latest news on Mars? Claudia Geib from Futurism certainly can’t, and neither can we. We know so little about the red planet, but with the successful launch of the InSight mission on Saturday, May 5th, more knowledge will be on its way. InSight is a lander which will gather information about the composition of Mars from November onward when it is expected to arrive. Why do we want to have this information about a cold dead rock in space? Well, the interior of our blue planet has been recycled after millions of years of internal movement, this is not the case for Mars. Therefore, analyzing the interior of Mars enables us to go back in time and see how it all got here, and a step forward in such a big question is bound to lead to some great answers! More detailed information is one click away.

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