Sometimes the point of a technology is not its direct utility but to
carry forth or promote an idea.
Because of what's happening with climate, pollution and e-waste, the
future is modular. Modular phones, computers, cars and even nuclear
reactors.
Having this kind of thing in schools helps kids get used to the idea
that technology is configurable at the physical level without
electronics skills.
Strong interoperability legislation should be a part of technology
going forward. Industry will welcome and adapt to it because it's
ultimately a better compromise than tougher regulation and export
controls.
> Because of what's happening with climate, pollution and e-waste, the future is modular. Modular phones, computers, cars and even nuclear reactors.
Sounds cool, but the reality is that in order to get the best efficiency, you often want a purpose-built, specialized design. In the case of electric cars, you need your car to be very light and to have a very integrated design in order to maximize energy efficiency. I'm not sure what you mean by a modular car design, but you definitely can't fit any motors with any battery in any frame, that will just make for a car with terrible performance.
That being said, we should be designing things to maximize lifetime, and we should probably ban certain materials or construction techniques that make recycling difficult. Maybe we need to ban or heavily tax non-recyclable materials. We could also do more to build a legal framework around right to repair.
> Having this kind of thing in schools helps kids get used to the idea that technology is configurable at the physical level without electronics skills.
Kids is probably the best use case. As someone who makes things I look at this product and I think it's necessarily going to be more expensive and less flexible compared to alternatives. For kids though, this can be a gateway to make electronics less scary.
> Strong interoperability legislation should be a part of technology going forward. Industry will welcome and adapt to it because it's ultimately a better compromise than tougher regulation and export controls.
I agree. We should be strongly promoting (and maybe legally mandating) open, documented standards for everything.
> I'm not sure what you mean by a modular car design, but you definitely can't fit any motors with any battery in any frame, that will just make for a car with terrible performance.
Not any in any, but some in some is already possible, some Renault cars share parts for example with Dacia. But other companies tweak their design each yer, they change how the head lights look, shapes change, then some other inside parts shape needs to change so you got people having to redesign, re-test each year new filters and piping/hosing (this is the ones I am familiar with), Other shitty thing that happens is patents, some company gets a patent for some pretty obvious thing, now if you want to make spare parts for those cars you need to work around dose patents - a lot of work and expenses to be able to offer a different choice to the consumer.
The reason the engines and other parts can't be share is design and recently DRM, for sure you won't be able to install unofficial wheels on your fancy car without breaking some DRM protection(but is for your safety /s).
The alternative is a Raspberry Pi with a USB webcam and sensors you can buy on AliExpress for a few dollars a piece. You can get your hands on that now.
Because of what's happening with climate, pollution and e-waste, the future is modular. Modular phones, computers, cars and even nuclear reactors.
Having this kind of thing in schools helps kids get used to the idea that technology is configurable at the physical level without electronics skills.
Strong interoperability legislation should be a part of technology going forward. Industry will welcome and adapt to it because it's ultimately a better compromise than tougher regulation and export controls.