Jim Rowan: – Cars are unused 85% of the time. Reflecting on this information from Mr. Rowan, I understood that the potential to build more as well as better carsharing solutions is large. – When a car rolls of a Volvo production line, a digital twin is developed. Everything that the car does can be tracked – including how used the battery is. – Volvo has stopped diesel.
Brian Kemp: Georgia in the USA is the 10th US state in terms of solar energy volume. The strong focus on creating more clean energy in Georgia helps to attract companies that want to produce in environmentally ways.
Hilde Merete Aasheim: – Norsk Hydro produces aluminum based on renewable energy. – The energy required to recycle aluminum is significantly less than the energy needed to produce aluminum from raw materials. Recycling aluminum involves melting down used aluminum products, such as cans, and reforming them into new products. This process, known as secondary production, consumes only about 5% of the energy required to produce aluminum from bauxite ore, which is the primary source of aluminum. Source. – Norsk Hydro partners with designers that work on designing cars to be easily recyclable.
Asking ChatGPT whether children play enough, this is the response I received:
Play is a crucial aspect of a child’s development as it promotes physical, cognitive, social, and emotional skills. Through play, children learn to explore their surroundings, solve problems, develop creativity, build relationships, and regulate their emotions. Play also helps in developing motor skills, coordination, and spatial awareness.
There has been a growing concern about the decrease in unstructured, child-driven playtime. Factors such as increased screen time, academic pressures, and structured extracurricular activities can limit the opportunities for children to engage in free play. Additionally, concerns about safety and changes in urban environments may also contribute to reduced outdoor play.
To the question what we can do to create urban environments that are more fit for play, this is what I learned from ChatGPT:
Design and allocate play spaces: Incorporate dedicated play spaces within urban areas, such as parks, playgrounds, and community centers. These spaces should be designed to accommodate a variety of age groups, include diverse play equipment, and prioritize safety while still allowing for risk-taking and exploration.
Promote walkability and connectivity: Design urban environments that are pedestrian-friendly, with safe sidewalks, crosswalks, and bike lanes. Ensure that neighborhoods and play areas are easily accessible, allowing children to independently navigate their communities.
Integrate green spaces and natural elements into urban environments: By integrating green spaces, trees, plants, and natural elements into urban environments, we will provide provide opportunities for imaginative play, exploration, and interaction with nature.
Engage the community: Involve the local community – including children, parents, educators, and urban planners – in the design and decision-making process. Seek their input to identify specific needs, preferences, and concerns related to play spaces and activities.
Support mixed-use development: Encourage mixed-use development that combines residential areas with shops, recreational facilities, and public spaces. This creates vibrant neighborhoods where children can access play areas within walking distance.
Safe routes to school: Establish safe walking and biking routes to schools, reducing the reliance on cars and encouraging physical activity. This can involve traffic calming measures, designated crossing points, and collaboration with transportation authorities.
Flexible and adaptable spaces: Design urban environments that can accommodate various types of play and activities. Incorporate flexible spaces that can be used for sports, games, performances, and community events.
Reduce traffic and noise: Implement traffic management strategies, such as speed limits, traffic calming measures, and restricted vehicle access in certain areas, to create safer and quieter play environments.
Address safety concerns: While ensuring safety is essential, it’s important to strike a balance between risk and benefit in play environments. Address safety concerns by providing appropriate supervision, clear signage, and regular maintenance of play equipment.
Advocate for supportive policies: Work with policymakers and local authorities to advocate for policies that prioritize play in urban planning and development. This can include zoning regulations, incentives for play space creation, and incorporating play requirements in building codes.
Earlier this week, I went from the South western part of Chennai to the South Eastern part of Chennai. My initial idea was to take the metro. As I discovered that the metro did not go that far where I wanted to go, I considered other means of transportation. A person, I talked to, mentioned that a useful way of going from A to B in and around Chennai is to use the Ola app.
A 25 year-old engineering student drove the car that picked me up. And he drove the car well. He said that some years ago, he had come to Chennai with his brother and mother from the very South of India. His brother was a medical student. During the trip, he explained that when he first came to Chennai with his brother and mother, he delivered newspapers in the morning and sold milk. I asked him about his father, and he explained that his father, who worked as a tailor, died of heart problems.
The engineering student explained that he worked one day a week for Ola and one day a week for Uber. I asked him if he experienced any differences working for Ola and Uber respectively. The first thing I heard him say was that Ola provides free insurance for drivers, whereas Uber does not. The second thing I heard him mention was that Uber uses electronic payment solutions, whereas Ola does not. He said he likes that Ola provides free insurance for drivers. He also said that he prefers electronic payment solutions because that will make it possible for him not to carry change.
Asking the engineering student and part time driver what he thought about the Chennai metro, he said that he found the metro to be a very helpful initiative and a very good thing for Chennai. He said that he had read that the metro network will be built out significantly. In his view, that is very positive. In this regard, he said that he found the traffic in Chennai very challenging. We talked, for example, about differences regarding how people use the horn in Chennai and in Europe. In Chennai, people use the horn very often – thereby leading to a relatively high noise level. In Europe, the horn is used much less.
With the engineering student and part time driver, I also communicated about electric vehicles. He said he hoped that both electric vehicles and battery charging stations would become much more available and affordable for people to use. That will be good for Chennai, he said. We had a mutual understanding that we need to reduce pollution and do more to make the environment cleaner.
Around Perumbakkam, I recall it started to get a little greener than in the Western part of Chennai. There were both lakes, trees and plants there. People were feeding fish and planting vegetables. I asked what he thought about planting more trees and creating more green spaces in Chennai. He said that doing that would be very good for people and for the environment. He added that when people want to plant more trees and plants in and around Chennai, some owners of land are sometimes against it.
During a flight between Dubai and Chennai, I got into a conversation with a young medical student. These are extracts from the conversation I had with the student, i.e. my questions and his answers.
Question # 1: How was your time in Dubai? His answer: It was good. I have been visiting my parents who live there.
Question # 2: What do you do? His answer: I am a medical student. I am in the second year of my education.
Question # 3: How is your education going? His answer: It is very hard work. Exams are tough. I study 14-15 hours per day. Many students fail exams and have to repeat a year of their studies. A friend of mine, for example, failed exams and have to do a year all over again. It is difficult that my friend is not a part of the class community anymore.
Question # 4: What would you like to change? His answer: Indian parents put a lot of pressure on their children to a) study either engineering or medicine and b) do well on exams. The problem with this is that after finishing my education, I may not want to work as a doctor because the education has been forced upon me by my parents.
Question # 5: What do you need? His answer: I would like help to find and follow my purpose. I need freedom to try out things I want to do and learn at my speed and in ways that fit my way of life.
Testing Airbus A380 during an Emirates flight from Zürich to Dubai, i experienced several positive aspects. 12 examples + a few ideas to improve the user experience:
1. Good cabin air quality at all times during the journey.
2. Good legroom at each seat.
3. Big windows at each seat and the possibility to darken windows.
4. Flexible pull down table in bathrooms – facilitating the changing of diapers.
5. Good quality of aircraft speakers – enabling messages from the captain to come through clearly.
6. Several flight cameras on the outside of the plane. These cameras made it possible for each passenger to follow the journey live from each seat.
7. Open and free WLAN.
8. Charging stations at each seat for several kinds of charging devices.
9. Useful information about Dubai available on computer placed at each seat.
10. Healthy food – including CousCous salad, spinach, gnocchi and wonderful bread. Regarding the meal, I would like to also highlight the metal cutlery. It is my experience that eating with metal – compared with, for example, plastic or wood – significantly increases the user experience.
11. More than one entrance into the aircraft. I noticed that the availability of more aircraft entrances had a positive effect on the user experience and boarding time.
12. High cultural diversity of cabin crew. I understood that the more than 20 people in the cabin crew come from many different countries and speak several languages.
Ideastoimprovetheuserexperience: – What about a self service coffee machine, for example at the bathrooms? That could, perhaps, also facilitate communication among passengers. – What about increasing speed of WLAN? – What about making windows even bigger?
During this World Economic Forum session entitled “A brave new world” embedded below, Stuart Russell mentioned at 24:30 that with autonomous vehicles, the need for parking spaces and taxi drivers will be reduced.
Inspiration to create 