Singularity Surplus: New Uses for Hot Techs and New Tech for Unwanted Heat

Advances in exponential technology happen fast — too fast for Singularity Hub to cover them all. This weekly bulletin points to significant developments to keep readers in the know.

Here’s a clever new use for 3D printing — no seriously! It’s now possible to rob someone’s house using 3D printing. A company called Keys Duplicated prints keys from photographs, so snap a picture of any key you can see and within a few days you’ll be receive a duplicate in the mail. The company pitches its service to people who need an extra key to their own house, it should be noted.

Google isn’t content to design just the software for self-driving cars; the company plans to launch a prototype vehicle designed from the bottom up to be driven by an algorithm. The car has no brake pedal or dashboard — forget about a steering wheel!

What if, instead of telling your credit card company what your mother’s maiden name is yet again, you simply asked your question and allowed a voice recognition system to verify that you are who you say you are? That’s what Israeli company Nice is doing. The company already offers voice-based emotion detection for use in improving customer service.

Waste heat is heat that escapes when buildings are heated or industrial processes completed. It’s ironic that a good chunk of the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change comes from heat noboby wants. The irony isn’t lost on MIT and Stanford researchers who have devised a way to feed the wasted energy into batteries to be used again.

Photos: Stocksnapper / Shutterstock.com, Champion Studio / Shutterstock.com, Jose Luis Olivares / MIT