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XPrize Founders Launch Tech Innovation Competition
metlin writes "The organizers of the Ansari X-Prize have launched the equivalent of the X-Prize in a variety of technology areas, called the WTN X-Prizes. The idea is to have a series of prizes for important technology challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, which will be judged by the World Technology Network. The website mentions that, 'The concept of the WTN X PRIZES is to utilize the concepts, procedures, technologies and publicity developed X PRIZE Foundation's Ansari X PRIZE competition for space and the global science and technology innovators identification process and community developed by the World Technology Network (WTN) to launch a series of technology prizes seeking to meet the greatest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century.' Sounds like a good idea, maybe this will help make that flying car a reality?"
I'm getting a bit worried that the X-Prize people have lost focus. Better to do one thing right at the time as they have with the Ansari X-Prize.
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Seriously... why is having flying cars lauded as "the next big thing" all the time? There are several things that would make travel easier and cheaper, such as electric or hydrogen powered cars. Or, even at the less techinical side of things, an effective public transport system. Also nicer to the environment.
Also, think of the mess you get when theres a car crash on a motorway. Now multiply that by 40 times - thats the mess you get when flying cards run out of fuel and plough into regular traffic.
Instead of worrying about flying cars, lets just try and make the cars we DO have less of a hassle.
Are we afraid the guy who invents the usable flying car won't be able to sell any? Is there someone with an AI sitting around saying, "If only I could figure out how to make some cash off this?"
The prize for the space travel thing was incentive to do it cheaply, wasn't it? That doesn't work when the hard part is doing it at all.
That said, it's still pretty cool.
I feel someone should offer a nice prize for creating an efficient and clean way of producing hydrogen for fuel cell technology. Fuel cells already exist, but the cost, pollution and work involved in producing the hyrdogen required to run a fuel cell is prohibitive. If cheap and clean hydrogen production was achieved, we would be able to stop burning fossil fuels, the world would be a cleaner place, and stuff like flying cars could very well become a reality due to the sheer amount of power fuel cells can produce.
I'd hope they come up with real 21st century ideas, rather than rehashing old 20th century ones. Besides, what's the point of being able to fly to work when you still can't find anywhere to park? Anyway, the real problem isn't making a cheap flying machine as much as making it safe for the average person to control it - so what they'd really need are AI pilots, rather than flying cars.
it's as simple as unplugging the ethernet cable and using a Linux or OS X box to surf.
Quid festinatio swallonis est aetherfuga inonusti?
Africus aut Europaeus?
I just hope one of the prizes is for a technology to help us kick our oil addiction... Peak Oil is coming people!
A true highway autopilot in a sub $30k car
Safe fog and rain navigation for the same car
Economic and RELIABLE robotic assembly lines
Stuff like that.
Always going forward, 'cause we can't find reverse.
Cheap ways to purify water etc.
The much-talked about global water-crisis in the making needs some attention.
Crazy ideas aplenty: Thinking of Dune: the big 'stills, that take moisture out of the air and cool it, so it condenses, comes to mind. But something like that would be possible to build with simple stuff... In 'underdeveloped' nations...
I gave up moderation on this thread to make this point -- so listen up, bitches.
/. reaction to any Windows security comment -- and a bad one at that.
Why is this +5 insightful? It's not offering insight into making Windows more secure; it's a knee-jerk
For example, unplugging the ethernet cable would render the box useless in a home network. It's analogous to saying, "Can't write with your left hand? Cut it off and use the right hand instead!".
Please. It's +interesting at best, but in no way insightful.
Sony ha
offer the prize for making a working ethanol (or bio diesel)production plant that has a lower cost of energy than say a 30 dollar barrel of crude oil. As far as fuel cells go, I guess adding fuel cell tech to efficiently use ethanol, would be useful.
..........FULL STOP.
... sure it isn't as "cool" but is the greatest problem facing humanity.
I believe one very good place to start off would be IT development in the poorest of the poor countries (which is one of the UN's goals for the millenium). The reason is that, as others pointed out, the X Prizes work best when used to increase incentive for things we already know how to do. This could improve the lives of people living in these countries AND make us, as a species, better able to know what we know.
maybe this will help make that flying car a reality?
Oh God I hope not. It is bad enough now with drivers not watching what they are doing in two dimensions and now you want to add a third!? The day that they let the average Joe Blogs drive a flying car is the day I give up driving and to back to walking/cycling/public transport - I'll live longer!
Karma? Hey I just call it as I see it.