What do the inventions of the future look like?
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Category: futurism
This article is the first part in a series on smart cities. See more from Christine Wong.
Smart cities are coming under siege.
In Songdo, South Korea, clusters of concrete high-rises sit empty, waiting for an influx of foreign workers that hasn’t materialized. The $40 billion smart city, which was to be completed last year, is only 70 percent finished. Just 100,000 people live in Songdo so far, well short of its target population of 300,000.
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Scientists have discovered a new species of crab that swam the seas 95 million years ago — and behold, it could be the next Pixar character.
The small, pocket-size crab, named Callichimaera perplexa, was different than its modern cousins.
This crab sported a tiny lobster-esque shell, with legs flattened like oars, and huge Pound Puppies-style peepers that protruded from its head — a trait that indicates the creature used its eyes actively for whatever it did, researchers said.
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China’s Gen Z isn’t impressed by glitzy brand names and traditional advertising campaigns. Many are looking beyond the physical stores and e-commerce portals their predecessors preferred. They’re buying goods suggested by social media influencers known as wanghong. And they’re using messaging, short videos, livestreaming, and social media apps as gateways to making those purchases.
Traditional retail and e-commerce hold little interest for consumers who are wedded to smartphones and take their cues from influencers.
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This is a Chinese supercar concept. It is called the ME Sports (ME-S for short), and arrives from a new company called Enovate. When it finally sees the light of production in the year 2021, it plans on going really, really fast.
Like, 0-62mph in around three seconds, fast. And doesn’t it look sweet?
Speaking to TopGear.com at this year’s Shanghai motor show, an Enovate spokesperson said that because the company is shiny and new, it wanted to make something ‘iconic’.
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