One of the disadvantages of working in an open office space is that not everybody likes to clean up after themselves. Many have the bad habit of eating at their desk, so there will most definitely be crumbs on the carpet. Rainy days result in dirty shoes. Somebody celebrating their birthday can leave a trail of confetti on the floor and just like that, the whole space can be a mess in just a few minutes. But what do you do when you have a visit from your customers and the place needs to look sparkling clean, but the cleaning crew isn’t coming before they arrive? Robots Will Save Us This is when 21st century tech comes in handy. By using IoT technology, an intelligent robot vacuum cleaner concept was created for smart offices. Each of the robot vacuums has a different approach to cleaning. Some are methodical, while others may move around randomly, which can be a bit confusing, but in fact, they’re mapping the whole surface with in-built cameras or other smart sensors. Some of these devices are controlled via a mobile app that allows you to schedule the cleaning sessions and access status, battery and alerts through your phone, while others come with a remote control that allows you to direct the device to the exact spot you want them to clean. One such example of commercial indoor robotic vacuum designed specifically for office buildings is using an intelligent booking system in Outlook to schedule the automated services. The robot creates and updates its program in real time, considering existing bookings made in Outlook. In addition, the device analyzes when one room was booked and plans its next cleaning session so those conference rooms are always clean for the next meeting...

During the recent Argentum Senior Living Executive Conference in San Diego, sociobiologist  Rebecca Costa shared scientific breakthroughs that are prolonging the lives—and quality of life– for seniors. Preventing Falls In seniors, falls are directly linked to shorter lifespans. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that the death rate from falls among adults ages 65 and over has increased 31 percent from 2007 to 2016. The rate is growing the fastest among seniors aged 85 or more years. Understanding the cause of falls has helped researchers develop tools to prevent them. An article in the National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health reveals that changes in gait are the predecessors to falls. Gait disorders are often indicative of lesions in the nervous system, adverse side effects from medications, the onset of dementia, or misalignments within the spine, hips, or knees. With advanced technology called predictive analytics, caregivers can now foretell when a person is going to trip within three weeks with 86 percent accuracy. Sensors attached to the senior or the senior’s support mechanism (such as a can or walker) can detect a 3-5 centimeter per second change in gait, walk or stride. This information is then sent to caregivers in the form of a digital alert. The information sent by the sensors can help caregivers determine the best method of treatment for the senior. Treatment could include physical therapy, alterations to a sedative prescription, or tests for brain and nervous system health. By preventing falls through Predictive Analytics and accessories, seniors can avoid assisted living for up to four years. Nanobots Promote Health from the Inside, Out A post released by the World Economic Forum explores how nanobots are being used to fight cancer. Nanomachines, or nanobots, are robots made of organic,...

Born between 1981 and 1998, Millennials currently make up a third of the US workforce, but those numbers will need to rise exponentially in order to meet demand. According to the United Nations, the world’s advanced economies are experiencing a rapid decline in working-age population. The UN projects the available workforce to decrease by 5% within the next three years. That decrease is due primarily to aging of the current labor force, which creates an additional burden for country’s with wage-based entitlement programs like social security. As the number of recipients for these programs increase, the workforce contributions struggle to bridge the gap. In 1945, the ratio of workers to retirees was 41.9 to one. By 2010, that number had dropped to 2.9, with the number expected to drop to 2-to-1 by 2030. Ebbs and Flows As the Baby Boomer juggernaut moved from childhood to young adulthood, lower birthrates followed in their shadow. For years, there’s been growing concern over what would happen once the boomer generation hit retirement. The smaller Gen X demographic averaged a mere 3.4 million births per year – or 65 million total – not enough to supplement the 76 million boomers born between 1946 and 1964. Now it appears the tides are shifting. Sometime in April of last year, the U.S. population reached a significant milestone. For the first time in over fifty years, Baby Boomers no longer claimed the biggest portion of the country’s population. Hitting a high of 75.4 million, Millennials edged out the estimated 74.9 boomers to seize the crown. The Millennial population is expected to peak at 81.1 million by 2036 while the Boomers will shrink to 16.6 million by 2050. Shrinking Workforce With 83 million potential workers, the Millennials appear to be just what...

Expandable furniture helps micro-apartment inhabitants make the most out of limited square footage with the push of a button. Trundle beds and convertible couches may define making the most of a small living space, but what’s been lacking is automation and modernization. Enter Ori, robotic furniture that appears, and disappears, with the push of a button. Modular Momentum The brainchild of Hasier Larrea, Ori furniture takes the guesswork out of transformation, seamlessly morphing floor units and wall installations into beds and pop-out closets. Ori offers a full-scale bedroom with a retractable bed that can be changed into an office or a closet, along with a full media console/credenza. Other versions include a walk-in closet, couch and various flavors of storage space. All the systems can be integrated into new and existing floorplans, which allows the Ori system to fit comfortably into any new building development or retrofit. During her tenure as the leader of the Architectural Robotics research area at the MIT Media Lab, Larrea married her robotics tech with Yves Behar design. The final product involves modular, transformable furniture Larrea and her team hope will debut early next year. “Larson’s team at the Media Lab developed the technologies behind Ori as part of the CityHome research,” Larrea told Mashable in a recent interview. “Then we created some initial functional prototypes … and went to [designer] Yves Béhar to help us ‘transform’ this initial concept from a robot/machine to a customizable system that people would love to have in their homes.” Space on Demand Ori’s first piece available for purchase includes a trundle style bed that rolls out from the bottom of a large wall of shelves. Specially designed actuators, electronics and software created by researchers at MITs CityHome project allows Ori’s furniture  to almost...

There is one thing the Egyptian Pyramids, Rome’s Colosseum, India’s Taj Mahal, and the Great Wall of China have in common: masonry. All these astonishing architectural achievements, scattered all over the globe, share the same building technique chosen for its beauty, versatility, and durability. The level of complexity varies from simple masonry to ornate exteriors or high-rise buildings. After more than 6000 years, masonry is still used today. Just go down the street and look around at the office buildings, schools, houses, or patios and you’ll see some form of masonry. Traditional builders are convinced that regardless of the material used – whether it is brick, block, tile, terra-cotta, or stone – the skill and precision of the mason can never be replaced by machines. One Australian engineer presented a robot that wants to prove otherwise. Fastbrick Robotics has finished developing the robot named Hadrian (after the ancient Roman emperor Hadrian, who had a thing for construction and ordered the building of Great Britain’s famous Hadrian’s Wall). It took the engineers ten years and $7 million spent in research and development to bring Hadrian to life. Even though the robot is still in the prototype stage, Mike Pivac, an aeronautical and mechanical engineer, and the CEO of Fastbrick Robotics, hopes to bring the commercial machine onto the market within the next couple of years. Hadrian is able to handle, process, and lay 1,000 bricks an hour, work 24/7, and complete the shell of a brick house in just two days. This means 150 homes a year! Here is god to know that a standard house takes around 15,000 bricks to develop, and about six weeks to complete through the traditional method. The first step in putting Hadrian to work is creating the layout of...