This is really far out: a team of researchers at University of Bristol’s Department of Computer Science has demonstrated a way to use ultrasound to create floating shapes that feel real to the touch!
They speculate that “The new technology could enable surgeons to explore a CT scan by enabling them to feel a disease, such as a tumour, using haptic feedback.”
When I saw this article over at Slate, it really struck a chord. “Endless Blood. How smart use of an old technology is saving women’s lives.” Dr. Chavi Eve Karkowsky writes about how protocols and communication between team members combine to save lives, in a way that expensive technology can fall short.
I’m a huge fan of technology. And I’m an even bigger fan of simplicity. I love the efficient, especially when it’s applied to life’s big problems.
Saving women’s lives after childbirth would qualify as one of those big problems that begs for huge, expensive solutions. But, Dr. Karkowsky demonstrates that sticking to tried and true, non-technical techniques gets wonderful results.
My work is in magazine publishing, admittedly not a life-and-death pursuit. Still, I think any project can benefit from the takeaway here. By setting aside time to coordinate efforts — to use what’s readily available, but in better, more efficient ways — we can accomplish great things. It’s not always necessary to invest in expensive hardware and software systems to get results. I’d go as far as to say that it’s a waste of resources to invest in any system if you’re not also exploring non-technical solutions to the problems your business faces.
By habitualizing the process of thinking through better processes, we may save some lives. Well, for most teams, at least we can save a project.
“When tech is fully adopted, it disappears” — Benedict Evans
I love Benedict Evans. Here’s the video where he says that: http://vimeo.com/110428014
