Next stop, the past

Image: Video still from method article video in the journal Frontiers in Psychology

This week in Around the World, ‘time travel’ is enabling people to rethink bad life choices; India on track to meet knowledge economy targets and talking cars the future of US road safety.

22.08.14

USA: once fine-tuned, the US Transport Department will require all new cars to be fitted with a technology that allows cars to talk to each other. They envision a not-too-distant future in which vehicles are in constant, harmonious communication with one another and their surroundings to help prevent collisions. (New York Times)

India: the Prime Minister’s view of a digital India, where all rural areas have access to education and health services through broadband at multi-service centres, took a leap in the right direction this week with the Cabinet passing the promising Digital India initiative. (Economic Times)

Israel: a study coming out of Israelhas made (the illusion of) time travel possible through the use of virtual reality. Head researcher, Dr Friedman Doron, says: “It’s the best thing we can do for time travel until the physicists do their job and come up with a time machine.” (BBC)

South Africa: the rollout of the Sun-e-light, a solar-powered lamp which also functions as a mobile phone charger and a wi-fi hotspot, aims to open up the digital world to people in rural areas. (South Africa Info)

And in other news…

Canada: this week HitchBOT the hitch-hiking robot completed its 6,000km trip across Canada – an experiment that aimed to test human-robot interaction. (NBC)