Researchers from MIT Senseable City Lab and the the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions have unveiled plans for a fleet of autonomous boat serving as a bridge between Marineterrein Amsterdam and the city center of Amsterdam to reduce travel time from 10 to two minutes. Outfitted with cameras and LiDar technology, the units would travel in a continuous circles around the canal to pick up and drop off customers. “The Roboat units of Round Around will autonomously respond to and learn from the dynamics of this Amsterdam waterway,” said Senseable City Lab director Carlo Ratti in a press release. “As they operate, the system will become increasingly more intelligent and well equipped to be implemented in other parts of the city and other cities worldwide.” [MIT Senseable City Lab]
Plumen
London-based lighting manufacturer Plumen has created a biomorphic, biodegradable, and 3D printed lamp shade called Hive. Made of 90% recycled plastic, the shade can decompose within six months. Available in two sizes, the honeycomb-like shade comes in white, black, moss green, gold, orange, and blue colorways. [Plumen]
Tech giant Autodesk has released a structural precast extension for Revit 2020.1 to address automation for precast concrete workflows. The latest edition of Revit now offers the precast double wall in addition to the joining the solid wall, the solid slab, the hollow core slab, and the girder slab. [Autodesk]
London is welcoming a new café to its pop-up scene at the end of this month – from @facebook. The London outpost will be one of five Facebook Café’s popping up across the UK to help encourage Brits to run simple privacy check-ups https://t.co/DKFN2P2gn7 #cybersecurity
— London Tech Week (@LDNTechWeek) August 19, 2019
Social media platform Facebook is opening five pop-up cafés around the U.K. between Aug. 28 and Sept. 5 to help users complete privacy check-ups on their accounts. Visitors will be offered free drinks in exchange for completing the checks. [Evening Standard]
