Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Bookies Let You Place Your Bets On the Future!
Do you feel that you have a good idea of what will happen in the next decade (possibly as a result of reading certain future-oriented science and technology websites)? Have you wanted to profit from the time you spend reading and thinking about the future? Now's your chance.
Buzzfeed asked Alex Donohue, an oddsmaker at Ladbrokes, an English gaming house, to frame the bets and set the odds. Here are a couple, along with some articles to reference.
Google's Autonomous Car
(Google autonomous car)
The Bet: Part 1 Google’s self-driving car to be used legally within Europe/The US before 2025.
The Bet: Part 2To be the dominant form of automobile in Europe/The US before 2025.The Odds: 1/2; 25/1
“It looks to be a near-certainty that the self-driving car will be developed to the point of legal road use before 2025. It’s one of the surest tech bets around at the moment and we make no apology for offering short odds about it being implemented, due to the safety, insurance and potential climate implications, all of which look favourable. As for drivers actually being convinced to rewire their brains to appreciate and feel comfortable being driven by a computer, it seems like this will take longer. Therefore the odds suggest the traditional car will prevail for a long while yet.”
See also this article Calling Google's RoboTaxi and Google Self-Driving Car Now Commuter-Ready.
SpaceX Mars Program
(SpaceX Dragon First Private Craft To Dock With ISS)
The Bet: SpaceX to colonize Mars before 2020.The Odds: 250/1.
“This looks like an incredible longshot. Anyone brave enough to put money on this must be far more optimistic about the boundaries of space technology than we are. If we end up having to pay out on this bet, anyone who wins might scoop enough to go on a trip to Mars themselves.”
See if Elon Musk's private space venture has the space technology development curve to meet this goal. See SpaceX Grasshopper Rocket Lands On Its Tail, SpaceX Grasshopper Divert Video, SpaceX Dragon To Land On Any Planet.
See the other bets via Buzzfeed; here's the site where you can plunk your cash down Technology specials at Ladbrokes.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/18/2014)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...' - Clifford Simak,
Tentacled Robot Captures Space Debris
Preventing annoying space debris build-up.
Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
Elon Musk Wants Data Centers In Space
'Internally it’s made up of millions of components, but the most important ones are the thinking and memory parts of the Mind proper.' - Iain Banks, 1987.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Health Kiosk Has No Human Doctor
'The electronic body analyzer had been developed...'
Meta's Horizon Studio's Unique Avatars From Text Prompts
'Looks like she has bought the Avatar Construction Set and put together her own...'
VaMEx Biomimetic Mars Robot Inspired By Skink
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'
NEO Brain Computer Interface (BCI)
'The remains of the lace took on the rough shape of a brain...'
Did Frank Herbert Predict Bistable Displays Like E-Ink?
'A broken circle with arrows pointing to a right-hand flow appeared in the chalf.'
Monolith One Giant Industrial Metal 3D-printer
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.'
'Mooncrete' Lunar Regolith Concrete (LRC)
'And here they began to build...'
China's 'Magpie Drone' Ornithopter
'Midges have many capabilities. To the untrained eye, they look like sparrows.'
MAI-Voice-2 Microsoft Text-To-Speech
'I made disks of my own voice to the number of five hundred very carefully chosen words.'
Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...'
Tentacled Robot Captures Space Debris
Preventing annoying space debris build-up.
Prufrock-MB2 Ready In Nashville
'It sounds to me as though you had invented a kind of metal earthworm.'
DIY Robotic Content Farming
'The chief wheeled to the master machine and pressed a button.'
Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
The Amazing Lightfoot Electric Scooter With Solar Assist
'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.'
Fully Electric, Fully Automated Vegetable‑growing Agribots
'...then back to their work, though little enough it was on these automatic cultivators.'
