Future Tech: Almost Here, Round-the-corner Future Technology Podcast

Purple Platypus is the distribution company for advanced 3D printers, bench-top milling machines, & direct 3D modeling software. They market a wide range of 3D printers by Stratasys Ltd., from low-cost, desktop 3D Printers, to commcerial, 3D Production Systems for digital manufacturing. Purple Platypus also markets a full line of Roland milling machines that produce high quality parts with great feature resolution. And now, with the addition of SpaceClaim Engineer software, Purple Platypus offers 3D direct modeling solutions to help manufacturing and product design customers propel their new products to market quickly and more efficiently. If your business requires quick design cycles, and detailed, high quality 3D models, Purple Platypus can provide you with 3D printing solutions easily.

Local Motors engineers and designers are working around the clock to develop a 3D-printed car that exceeds FMVSS standards by 2017. There is nothing conventional about this car, the way it's made, or the company behind it. They have partnered with industry leading IoT companies to create a truly unique car ownership experience. From the retail lobby, to the factory floor, to the open road, they're making everything simpler and smarter. Sustainable vehicle development utilizing DDM manufacturing techniques, at small-footprint Micro factories, separates Local Motors from the competition. Matthew Gunson, Consumer Insights Manager at Local Motors talked in detail about this extremely interesting technology, including Ollie, a revolutionary new, 3D printed transport vehicle that can carry 11 passengers and solves many transportation problems. This is a must listen for all 3D printing and car enthusiasts. Subscribe, Listen and Rate this podcast.

Blacklane connects passengers with a vast network of licensed and insured drivers providing professional ground transportation at the most competitive rates around the globe in 50 countries. (soon to be more) Blacklane’s service combines multi-lingual, 24/7 customer care, real-time service control for tens of thousands of quality cars, and all- inclusive fares guaranteed at the time of booking. Passengers can schedule a pickup using Blacklane’s website, iOS app or Android app at the touch of a finger. Blacklane is competing with taxi giants like Uber and by offering professional services at competitive rates they have been able to capture healthy share in the industry. To learn more about Blacklane and its services, listen to this short and sweet interview with Adam Parken, Director of Communications and Public Relations at Blacklane. Make sure to subscribe, share and review the podcast.

The average prosthetic leg cost thirty thousand dollars, it takes several weeks to make and wears out in less than 5 years. TriFusion can make a custom prosthetic device in hours instead of weeks that fits better and costs far less than anything on the market today. They've developed a novel carbon nano-tube-coded printer filament and a microwave welding process to fuse 3D printed parts together making them super strong and durable. Combined with their advanced 3D scanning capabilities they can go from scan to device in less than 48 hours. Trifusion's micro world process is a disruptive technology due to an enormous competitive advantage in both price and production time. They can print prosthetics, orthotics, wearables, sporting equipment, protective devices and so much more all using their unique 3D printing materials and welding process. TriFusion serves the unmet needs of both amputees and prosthetics by simplifying and expediting the process of manufacturing a custom prosthetic device through their u

Fact vs. Fiction of 3D printing ... Join us as the Creative Manager at Aleph Objects, Inc., Ben Malouf, explains what is happening in the world of 3D printing. The media and TV shows tend to blow expectations out of proportion versus what is actually happening in the "real" world of this fascinating technology. But are we really that far off from printing human organs and other fascinating advancements? Listen as we explore the possibilities that 3D printing can and most likely will offer us all in the not so distant future.

New Valence Robotics® (NVBOTS) has a patented, unique ARM system that allows for a high throughput 3D printing operation. AJ Perez talks about NVBOTS: As each 3D printed object is complete, an automated system moves the finished part off the printing table, allowing for the next part to start printing. This simple, but revolutionary throughput method frees up 3D printing to become a high-volume operation instead of a slow, one-at-a-time, manual labor effort. NVBOTS’ first product was shipped in 2015. The NVPro – a 3D plastics printing solution – is Built to Share. It offers the industry’s only automated part removal, and it is also paired with NVCloud software allowing the users to print parts anytime, from any cloud-connected device. This unique mixture of abilities makes the NVPro exclusively suited for uninterrupted 24-7 operation in multi-user environments. Listen. Review. Subscribe. Future Technology is Here!

ABRA is poised to be the world's first, currency-agnostic, digital, global wallet that lives on your smartphone. ABRA allows you to send money to any smartphone instantly, securely and privately - without needing a bank account - without paying Western Union or other middlemen exorbitant fees - without having to go to your bank, withdraw cash, then go to a money sender such as Western Union, without requiring the recipient to travel to pick up the money, and without 99% of the hassle. Note: ABRA a is currently available in US and Philippines only., but is poised to roll out globally in the future. The Abra smartphone app is a non-custodial Bitcoin wallet that lets you see the value of your funds in the currency of your choice (usually your home currency). You can choose how you want to deposit & the recipient can choose how they would like to withdraw, send, or spend the money. Abra uses peer to peer technology which means your money goes straight from you to your recipient, eliminating the middleman co

Brad Templeton, Chairman Emeritus of the EFF (electronic frontier foundation), (and other accolades and activities too numerous to mention) talks about where Autonomous Cars can really take us. He explains how engineers can empower the electric car, save the planet as well as millions of lives using near-term Artificial Intelligence to make cars and trucks deliver, park, recharge and drive themselves. The technology behind this is fascinating, but even more interesting are other questions that surround the robot car future. Brad talks in detail about what self driving cars can and cannot do, how we deal with the social and legal barriers and how autonomous cars will change energy, pollution, cities, transit, war, work, real estate and manufacturing -- and yes, cars themselves. Brad also share some striking possibilities like saving 50 billion hours of people's time with self-driving cars in US alone and a serious reduction in the urban land devoted to the 600 million parking spaces. With Autonomous Cars, t

John Hornick has been a partner at the Finnegan Intellectual Property law firm, based in Washington, DC, for over twenty years. John founded Finnegan’s 3D Printing Working Group which focuses on intellectual property, copyright and other legal issues as they relate to 3D printing. John is the author of the award-winning book, 3D Printing Will Rock the World. (available on Amazon and Kindle) John's a great speaker, easy to understand, and this interview will expand your mind when it comes to 3D printing issues few people talk about, such as the impact it will have on copyright, intellectual property, patent law, and more. John's concept of 3D printing "away from control" is central to understanding the future implications of 3D printing.

Z/Yen is a commercial think tank that spots, solves and works to: enhance reward, control risk and reduce volatility in business. We spoke to Michael Mainelli, Chairman of Z/Yen and an Emeritus Gresham Professor of Commerce at Gresham College in London, and founder of the Long Finance initiative. Michael talked about new disruptive technologies such as Bitcoin and Blockchain and how they are impacting the digital currency industry. Listen to the complete interview, and make sure to subscribe, share and review the podcast.

Using metal to print 3D objects has been somewhat out of reach - until now. Fabrisonic uses an advanced manufacturing technology called to 3D print an extensive variety of metals through their patented ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) process. Fabrisonic has a suite of in-house SonicLayer 3D printing machines to help customers with the Serialized Part Production, Materials R&D, Short-Run Part Production and Custom 3D Printing. Fabrisonic can provide true part production from tens to thousands of parts per month down to print short-run metal parts to bridge between concept and full scale production.

Lucy Beard, founder of Feetz.com, talks 3D printed shoes, for both men and women. This is a fun, fascinating, and applicable interview (if you possess a pair of feet, that is) to everyone on planet Earth. Lucy says, at Feetz, you aren't size X, you are size YOU... ...and Feetz' 3D printed sneakers / shoes are likely to fit you better and more closely and comfortably than any shoe you've ever worn previously in your life. Feetz' app requires 3 quick pictures of your feet to create a custom, 3D model that, when sent to Feetz, creates a pair of custom 3D-printed shoes you're going to love. Lucy discusses strange-shaped toes, wide feet, people with one foot bigger than the other, and why 20% of the world's population suffers from shoes that don't fit them nearly as well as they could. You are going to love this interview, as I did. Listen, review, and share this podcast.

Ethereum's blockchain isn't the only game in town when it comes to a programmable, Turing-Complete layer that allows smart contracts to be programmed. RSK.co is in the process of releasing it's latest update, named Turmeric, which allows developers to create smart contracts using bitcoin's blockchain. Watch out Ethereum - you have competition, but as Gabriel from RSK notes, everyone in the blockchain industry is striving for a decentralized, less corrupt, more inclusive world that may allow billions of unbanked people to participate in the world economy and rise out of poverty. This is an uplifting, exciting, and future-looking conversation that transcends blockchain and smart contracts and will get you excited about what's to come. Listen, subscribe and review this podcast.

I've never heard of creating 3D Printed designs using a virtual reality interface - have you? Roland Manyai, an innovative thinker in the virtual reality and 3D printing space has created exactly that, and you're going to be happily surprised at what's coming in the near future when it comes to both design of 3D printed objects and the results. Traditionally using VR, creating 3D objects and 3D printing required knowledge of and the ability to use a variety of "hi-tech" of software.  Leopoly has made creating and printing 3d objects as easy as taking a photograph.  At leoply.com/start-from-scratch you can choose forms, shapes, or objects, use their virtual tools (brushes, pens, etc.) to create/customize anything, save it, order it or 3D print it yourself!   makers.leopoly.com  is their first website created  to introduce 3D design and printing to schools.  More recently Leopoly has also teamed up with zSpace to bring VR and 3D modeling into the classroom. 3D scanning and printing is currently used for indus

We may not yet be at the point where robots are taking all of our jobs ... But why not pass off some of the workload at least to machine learning artificial intelligence software that sets the stage for users to employ its contract analysis and helps attorneys in their due diligence. The Director of Marketing of Kira Systems explains how it works and who it works for. Listen to the complete interview to find out how Kira works. Make sure to subscribe, share and review the podcast.

Sweep, developed by Scanse.io, is a sensor that detects and avoids obstacles using LiDAR - (Light Detection and Ranging). LiDAR is a surveying method that measures distance to a target by illuminating the target with a laser light. LiDAR is used in meteorology, mapping, surveying, and guidance with military, construction and transportation applications. In the air or on land, it is essential for robotic vehicles to navigate safely - Tyson and the co-founder of Scanse could not find a LiDAR scanner that was powerful enough and easy to use for under $1000, so they made it their mission to develop one. Scanse began raising money on Kickstarter to manufacture the Sweep, a scanning LiDAR sensor with 360 degree sensing capabilities. Drones and ground robots use Sweep for sense and avoidance as well as navigation and mapping. Its powerful sensing modality and low cost LiDAR is being used in developing autonomous wheelchairs to bring mobility and independence to persons who do not have the ability to operate a mech

Optomec sells industrial-grade 3D Printers that use two, patented, unique technologies: * Lens - uses powdered metal with high powered laser to produce new metal parts from a CAD model; rapid prototyping of parts; and/or repair or coat broken metal parts. Metals included stainless steel, titanium, alloys, etc. * Aerosol Jet - used for electronic materials - conductive ink, semiconductor materials, dielectric materials, materials used by consumer electronic manufacturers to make consumer electronics. - Aerosol Jet can also print electrical and biological components onto 2D & 3D surfaces - eg electronic circuitry into a cell phone case. Optomec provides training, service and customized support for their machines and technlogies. They also maintain and update the software, provide remote application support, as well as web based support and preventive maintenance

Factom, based in Austin, Texas, is a distributed, decentralized protocol layer running on top of Bitcoin that allows data of any kind to be memorialized, anchored, time-stamped, and cryptographically secured using Bitcoin's blockchain and tremendous network hashrate. In addition to these benefits, Factom allows the storage of data extremely efficiently, due to its use of Merkle Trees. Brian Deery, Factom's Chief Scientist, discusses the motivation and mission of Factom, according to Brian, Paul Snow, and others involved in the company. Brian's wealth of knowledge about blockchain technology and the Bitcoin Blockchain can be overwhelming, even to experienced listeners, but this interview is well worth listening to, if you want to further your knowledge in this industry.

Justin's background as a dental technician and the owner of his own clinic, led to Arfona and 3D printed dentures. Dentures made in traditional dental labs are a time consuming and expensive process, but no longer, because of 3D printing. Flexible polymers have been used by dental professionals for years. The advancements in 3D printing have created an entirely new way to fabricate partial dentures and full dentures. Arfona produces 3D flexible partials through an additive manufacturing process using their r.Pod dual extrusion printer. These flexible partials are combined with custom milled denture teeth for a functional product that looks great. CAD/CAM dentures have been available for several years, but not widely used due to cost limitations. Arfona offers dental labs several options for producing digital full dentures. Justin's father, also a dentist, invented Valplast, the material used in making dental prosthetics; he also started Master Touch Dental Lab. Valplast is the material used in the r.Pod for

Stratasys has been at the forefront of 3D printing and innovation for more than 25 years. Because they are the largest 3D Printing Solutions Company, they are able to imagine, design, iterate and replicate freely by offering a complete range of additive manufacturing (aka 3D printing) materials; From clear plastic to rubber like bio-compatible polymers to high performance thermoplastics. They provide the shortest path from idea to solid object and can consult with businesses on the best way to meet their needs cost effectively. A fascinating type of 3D printing Stratasys has pioneered is to create an accurate dimension replica (for instance) of someone's hand or head, or body part, which can be used by a surgeon to "practice" an upcoming surgery on. The 3D printed pre-surgical model will soon contain different tissues with varying elasticity, color, and physical characteristics to truly simulate how living tissue will react in an actual surgery. Definitely listen, review, and share this podcast.