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MIT Makes Ink That Changes 3D Printed Objects’ Color

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New research from MIT has created a method for recoloring 3D printed objects after they’ve been printed. The method, called ColorFab, combines software, hardware and special 3D ink, according to CNN.

The new tech aims to reduce waste in manufacturing — preventing the need to re-print something to change the color.

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“Manufacturers and designers spend significant amounts of time, energy and money re-printing designs when they don’t come out exactly right the first time,” Stefanie Mueller, coauthor of the paper and professor at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, told CNN Tech. “This sort of technology could help minimize the amount of waste that is produced from updating products.”

By using special 3D printable ink, the color is changed when exposed to UV light. Currently, researchers can change the color of an object in 20 minutes, but believe the time will decrease in the future as methods improve. Efforts are focused on plastic 3D printed materials for now, but it will plans are underway for it to be used on a wide variety of other materials like metals in the future.

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4 Trends That Will Help Executives Create A Better World

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As we enter into the second month of 2018, everyone in the industry knows what industry 4.0, or the Fourth Industrial Revolution, is and what it means. More and more studies are showing that executives are jumping on board, believing artificial intelligence, machine learning and IoT are going to change the world for the better.

Forbes and Deloitte recently reported that of 1,600 executives surveyed, 87% said industry 4.0 would lead to more equality and stability.

Due to this, it’s predicted that in the future, executives will be expected to pay more attention to societal issues. While the need to achieve financial returns will never go away, four existing trends have been observed that can help companies drive social values:

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One

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Technology as a societal tool

Opportunities for using tech for problem-solving humanity’s greatest challenges exist across multiple industries. HSBC CEO John Flint points out that industry 4.0 has enabled the banking sector to create a better world, allowing it to serve previously undeserved communities, due to technology lowering operating costs.

Interested in learning more about smart banks?

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Two

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Financial Returns From Doing Good

Studies show that companies who focus on doing good reap financial benefits. According to Deloitte, the average sales growth for brands with a commitment to sustainability outperform brands without it, operating at a higher performance. Studies also show that a majority of consumers are willing to pay more for products and services offered by socially responsible companies.

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Three

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Millennials Adhere To A New Set of Values

It’s known by now that millenials have disrupted the market, often considering a company’s purpose when choosing what to buy or where to work. 64% of millenials won’t take a job from a company that doesn’t have strong corporate social responsibility practices, making it no longer an option.

Deloitte reported that six in ten millenials consider business leaders to be committed to helping improve society, and see business as a positive force that behaves in a responsible way.

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Four

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The Dawn Of A New Era

The 1980’s brought material excesses, 1990’s the dotcom bubble and 2008 the financial crisis — meaning we’re due for a reset of the social mood. The director of MIT Media Lab predicts that a societal awakening is underway, creating a new sensibility and nonlinear change in consumer behavior through a cultural transformation. Executives will be pushing companies in a more socially minded direction to compensate.

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U.S. Shale Breaks Records with Explosive Growth, Beating Saudi Arabia

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U.S. oil production has now surged above 10 million barrels a day for the first time in four decades, marking a profound shift in global crude markets, according to Industry Week.

This comes just weeks after the International Energy Agency said the U.S. is poised for “explosive growth” in oil output that would rival Saudi Arabia and Russia this year.

U.S. oil output hits 10 million barrels for the 1st time in decades https://t.co/VvnlqSKqtj pic.twitter.com/k55zB9M4YP

— Bloomberg (@business) January 31, 2018

New drilling and production techniques have opened up billions of barrels of recoverable U.S. oil in shale rock formations, reversing decades of declining output and turning the nation into a top exporter.

Nationwide output climbed to 10.038 million barrels a day in November, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday. That’s the highest level since November 1970 in monthly data collected by the U.S. agency since 1920.

Production from Texas contributed 3.89 million barrels a day to the November figure, the most of any state.

Forecasts predict U.S. production to have an average of 10.3 million barrels a day this year, and 10.9 million in 2019, beating Saudi Arabia’s production of just less than 10 million barrels.