Forward thinking
Our Prospective Lab decrypts trends, analyzes new initiatives and detects weak signals announcing ruptures.
Generative design: when AI designs our living spaces
What if tomorrow, our living spaces were designed to precisely match our needs based on the best possible layout—one created by a computer?
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Climate change could reduce the productivity of agricultural land in Africa
by a third in the next 60 years.
And if tomorrow the blockchain “disintermediated” the construction sector?
Originally developed in finance, blockchain is a technological innovation filled with promise that arouses the interest of many players in various sectors. And especially the construction industry! Focus on the blockchain in the sector of construction.
What if, in the future, facial recognition was used in our towns ?
What if, in the future, facial recognition technologies went into general use in our towns and buildings? In China where this is already happening, the increasing use of such technology in both public and private spaces raises the spectre of mass surveillance and the risk of new attacks on privacy. While the number of experiments is increasing around the world and certain American towns are already taking the lead in preventing its use, the debate is beginning to take shape in Europe.
Growing algae on façades: it works!
What if, tomorrow, we grew algae on building façades to produce food supplements, fuel and a number of other things? In France and in Germany, life-size experiments are yielding interesting results.
What if work sites were directly managed by thought in the future?
Operate your smartphone through thought; send a message or post a photo online without making any movement: are these practices worthy of a science fiction book in the process of becoming reality? In the future, will we have alternatives to the body for communicating with the outside world? This is the dream of the giants of the digital world who have thrown themselves enthusiastically into the field of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs).
What are the challenges for a floating city?
What if tomorrow we lived in cities that floated on the sea? It’s an idea that is gaining ground through a UN-supported initiative. But is it a maritime pipe dream?
When 3D printing meets plastic recycling …
Today, 300 million tons of plastic are produced each and every year worldwide, including more than 60 in Europe, where packaging accounts for the vast majority of single use plastic. Where does it go and how can it be used in 3D printing?
