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The integration of information technology into textiles sounds cool but it does introduce a problem. Worn out textiles are commonly recycled into rags and eventually back to raw materials.

Are those processes easily adaptable to deal with information technology embedded in apparel? We have already seen the ill effects of electronics recycling in developing countries. Will IT integration worsen the problem? Will such items even be legal in Europe, where Germany requires a full-life-cycle accounting for a product including a reverse logistics plan?

This article in Ecouterre gives a good short overview of the problem: http://www.ecouterre.com/will-wearable-technology-intensify-our-e-waste-problem/

I might add that the same issue exists albeit probably in an easier-to-deal-with form in the furniture industry where the current styles are so simple that there is little left for designers to do than integrate technology into furniture.

Jon Evans raises an interesting point in “Droning On Towards A Date With Destiny?“.

Drones are useful for destroying targets remotely with greater accuracy than lobbing in shells or dropping bombs. They can be sent where the risk to soldiers is too great. They can hover out of sight for days until their operators see the right moment to strike, which is easier than keeping people hidden on the ground waiting for that opportunity. But what will we do when the bad guys have the same technology?

At one time, the cruise missile was the New Thing.  American use of them against Iraq was a great proof of concept and rivals have developed their own. American success in taking out targets in Pakistan and Yemen has opened the eyes of the World to the capabilities of drones.

It’s only a matter of time before rivals come up with their own versions but, unlike cruise missiles, drones can be made on the cheap with readily available material. That puts them in the range of hobbyists. So was this development inevitable?

A drone does not have to be as sophisticated as the Predator or Reaper to deliver its payload. The objective does not have to be to destroy the target. The weapon does not have to be explosive.  As was pointed out in The Science Behind the Drone Terrorism Attack, an intelligent person with nefarious intent could do worse better by setting his sights lower.

This all leads me to wonder what countermeasures are already being cooked up to deal with the eventual widespread availability of drones in the private sector.  Drone-killer drones?  Adapting EM-jamming to seek and interrupt control signals? And are the countermeasure practicable for widespread use?

Goya Self Portrait

One of the cool things about history is that it refuses to remain as “it was written”.  Modern technology continues to increase our understanding of the past, even the relatively recent past of things an “untechnological” as art.

In this example, x-rays reveal that the Spanish painter Goya changed a work-in-process, perhaps in response to the changing political situation in Spain: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15018174.

Goya had ties to the French, who occupied Spain for a few years before withdrawing in no small part to the Spanish technique of “little war”, guerilla as it is called. The discovery of the changed painting adds depth to his story of survival during that tumultuous time.

X-ray techniques have been used to reveal the stages of work of other masters, as well as to authenticate paintings.  Apparently Van Gogh painted over many of his own works.  In his case though it might have been to save money on canvas.

It’s inspiring to note that even the very best did not simply produced full-blown works of art the first time brush met canvas. They sketched things out, explored alternatives and revised.