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Preview of Tomorrow

101 episodes - English - Latest episode: 12 months ago - ★★★★★ - 7 ratings

In this podcast series Michael Lake, President and CEO of Leading Cities, speaks with a variety of thought leaders from visionary companies providing actionable solutions to major issues plaguing cities today. These issues range from air pollution to cyber-attacks to infectious disease and more. Michael dives into the inspiration behind each company and how they see themselves evolving in the coming years. This series will equip you with a plethora of valuable knowledge, and if nothing else, enjoy Michael’s amazing Boston accent.

Technology Government "smart cities" technology entrepreneurship innovation govtech urban tech iot startup city social impact
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Episodes

Canceling Cannabis-Impaired Driving -IMMAD

April 16, 2023 04:00 - 18 minutes - 12.7 MB

On December 5th, 1933, the 21st amendment of The U.S. Constitution was ratified, effectively ending Prohibition in the United States. 90 years later, alcohol has become a well-studied substance with universally accepted quantities for what constitutes a single drink. But recently, there’s been a new player in town. Cannabis. Across the United States, widespread legalization of marijuana has hurtled our country into uncharted territory. In 2018, more than 12 million Americans admitted to driv...

Can AI Be Trusted to Take our 911 Calls? - Daupler

April 09, 2023 04:00 - 18 minutes - 12.9 MB

In the time it took you to brush your teeth this morning, there were over 900 calls placed to 911 emergency services in the United States alone. But would you believe that out of these 900 calls made, almost 300 of them were either non-emergencies or complete butt dials? Unfortunately, within the past couple years, the coronavirus pandemic has spurred an increase in call volume to emergency services, while simultaneously introducing a myriad of understaffing issues. In fact, 77% of public-sa...

How About Up? Welcome To The New Age of Farming - Verde Compacto

April 02, 2023 04:00 - 20 minutes - 14.4 MB

When was the last time you had a meal? Maybe it was a quick granola bar before work, or possibly you’re eating some lunch right now. Whatever the case may be, I bet you didn’t realize that you were consuming a resource that, in about 40 years, will be as precious as gold. It has been estimated that, in order to keep up with the current population growth, humans will need to produce more food in the next 40 years than in the previous 10,000 years combined. But here’s the kicker. If we increas...

Defeating the Drone Accessibility Gap - City Zeen

March 26, 2023 04:00 - 19 minutes - 13.6 MB

Just a few decades ago, the concept of unmanned aerial vehicles, or, as you may know them: drones, was a reality confined only to science fiction films and comic books. In fact, if you told someone just 30 years ago that there are over 900,000 drones registered in the United States, with over half of them being used for recreational use, they’d probably look at you like you were crazy. But the truth is, unmanned aerial vehicles are quickly becoming a close companion to the concept of smart c...

What To Do With Our Waste’s Waste - with Eagleridge Innovation

March 19, 2023 04:00 - 18 minutes - 12.8 MB

When it comes to our plumbing, we usually take an out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach. Once we don’t see it anymore, we don’t think about it anymore - but for the waste that we put in our drains and plumbing systems, the initial flush is only the beginning of its journey. After flowing through mazes of pipes below our cities, waste ends up at a sewage treatment site, where tanks and aerators process the waste into byproducts. But want to hear a dirty little secret? These byproducts can contai...

Making City Streets Smarter through Connected Car Data

March 12, 2023 05:00 - 19 minutes - 13.4 MB

Potholes: the modern car driver’s worst enemy. How many times have YOU hit a pothole just a little too hard, eyes darting to the dashboard, hoping and praying that you don’t see that flat tire light blink on? In the U.S alone, there are reportedly 220 million flat tires that happen every year on our roadways, posing a risk to the driver and everyone around them. Flat tires aren’t the only threat: heartbreakingly, traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for both Australians and Ameri...

Why has energy traceability become so important in the energy transition? -Enosi-

March 05, 2023 05:00 - 18 minutes - 12.5 MB

The first ever solar panel cell was created more than eighty years ago: and like many other innovations, it was created by pure accident. Yet since then, those signature rectangular structures can be spotted on the roofs of houses and buildings all over the world. In fact, the number of US solar panel installations is 23 times higher today than in 2014. While this is a clear win for environmental sustainability, it remains near impossible to measure and manage one’s clean energy consumption ...

Voter Education: Returning the Power to the People - Best Candidate

February 26, 2023 05:00 - 20 minutes - 14 MB

A recent study in Texas found that, in local governmental elections, the first name listed on the ballot earns an average of ten percentage points more than the last name on the ballot. This is no coincidence, as it turns out that many voters simply chose a random name if they’re unfamiliar with a particular election. With an average of only 19% of eligible voters casting a vote in their local elections at all, municipal governments rely that much more heavily on those who do vote. It has be...

Airborne Pathogens: The Invisible Intruder (Senzi.me)

February 19, 2023 05:00 - 18 minutes - 13.1 MB

Is your office building suffering from a cold? As strange as this sounds, Sick Building Syndrome is a serious and legitimate problem that can be found in buildings, like your very own corporate office. The culprit of this sickness? Tiny, invisible, airborne pathogens. These tiny villains cause infections, illnesses, and overall reduced productivity in the office. It’s not just your office that’s in danger though. In the hotel industry, a tiny bacteria called Legionella is commonly detected i...

Sustainable Planning Done Right

February 12, 2023 05:00 - 20 minutes - 13.9 MB

With more carbon dioxide in our atmosphere than at any time in human history, and sea levels rising faster than ever before, it is clear our world is facing a global climate crisis. Despite our urgency, did you know that over two thirds of businesses have reported having no plan for sustainability? With small businesses comprising over 99% of all businesses in both the US and UK, their participation is critical in making a significant environmental impact.  Corporate social responsibility ha...

When Counterfeit means Life or Death

February 05, 2023 05:00 - 20 minutes - 14.2 MB

Did you know that over 80% of Chinese medicine products suffer from severe quality control issues? with the Hong Kong market for Chinese medicines accounting for over 3.7 billion US dollars, we are in desperate need of a solution to standardize the Chinese pharmaceutical industry Support the show

A New Era of Food: Composite Protein Isolate

January 29, 2023 05:00 - 18 minutes - 13 MB

More than 10% of the world’s population goes to bed undernourished every single day. Unfortunately, with the threat of a complete climate crisis on our horizon, it is that same group of people who are at the highest risk of starvation. Support the show

Mapping The Road To Success

January 22, 2023 05:00 - 20 minutes - 13.8 MB

Did you know, for example, that 92% of the world's largest lower-middle income cities don’t have mapped public transit routes? And with over two billion people within these cities relying entirely on public transport, we desperately require a solution that will empower those in emerging-market cities to safely, confidently, and more accurately navigate their streets. Support the show

Lighting Our Way to a Smarter City, One Light Post at a Time”

January 15, 2023 05:00 - 17 minutes - 12 MB

As the sun dips and the city’s streets are plunged into darkness, you can almost always count on the glow of street lights to provide a sense of safety until your final destination. Yet with over 230 million street lights around the world in use every single night, the total energy consumption certainly adds up. In fact, roughly 40% of a city’s total energy costs can be traced back to its street lights. For this reason, street lights have become the entry point for smart city technology adop...

Following the Path of our Waste

December 18, 2022 05:00 - 18 minutes - 12.6 MB

Despite this massive number, less than 20 percent of the waste will be properly recycled. This is partially due to the complexity of the modern waste system, with material being moved locally, nationally and internationally with no true structure or transparency. Support the show

Accessible Transport from Start to Finish

December 12, 2022 14:00 - 17 minutes - 12 MB

Did you know that more than half of all public buses in the world don’t have space for a single wheelchair? For those with disabilities, transportation can become a daunting task, as even a short distance to travel can present a myriad of obstacles to the destination Support the show

Electric Vehicle Charging in the Palm of our Hands

December 04, 2022 05:00 - 19 minutes - 13.7 MB

A recent study found that 89% of people would be encouraged to purchase an electric vehicle if they could access a parking space with a charger. However, as of right now, public charging in many cities is unreliable and inconvenient, and is in desperate need of transformation. Support the show

When Sprinkler Systems Aren’t Enough

November 27, 2022 05:00 - 20 minutes - 14 MB

In 2021 alone, housefires and wildfires accounted for 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. We are in desperate need of technology that can more accurately identify and extinguish fires before it is too late Support the show

The End of Traffic As We Know It

November 20, 2022 05:00 - 19 minutes - 13.1 MB

In 2019 alone, 3.5 billion gallons of fuel were wasted due to traffic congestion in the US, leading to more than 36 million tons of excess greenhouse gasses. We now must ask ourselves how existing road infrastructure can be more efficiently used to avoid traffic congestion. Support the show

Planting The Way to Net Zero Emissions

November 13, 2022 05:00 - 20 minutes - 14.4 MB

The concept of urban forestry has become increasingly paramount, in fact, just one mature tree can sequester 22 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Today we present a solution to support the built greenery of our cities. Support the show

Shortening the Plastic Supply Chain!

November 06, 2022 04:00 - 20 minutes - 14.3 MB

Did you know that upwards of 75% of the emissions associated with plastic waste don’t even come from plastic at all? Today we met a circularity-as-a-solution platform that effectively transforms plastic waste into new products without long-distance supply chains or high-energy manufacturing.  Support the show

Giving a Voice to the Voiceless

October 30, 2022 04:00 - 18 minutes - 12.7 MB

In the chaos of wartime, much of the world is left disconnected from the crisis, unsure of what is needed or how they can help. Today we will explore a mobile application developed in the wake of the Ukrainian refugee crisis to provide visibility, transportation and immediate relief Support the show

Safe Navigation is a Human Right!

October 23, 2022 04:00 - 19 minutes - 13.1 MB

Current wayfinding methods are mostly static and not accessible to people who are blind or have low vision - something that is becoming more and more important to building owners and managers  Support the show

How to Build a Better City

October 16, 2022 14:00 - 18 minutes - 13 MB

Human-induced climate change has spurred a sequence of widespread adverse weather patterns and our world’s cities get pummeled with increasingly violent disasters. How can we invest in infrastructure better equipped to handle such events? Support the show

Save Money & Earth with Sustainable Living

October 09, 2022 14:00 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MB

In a recent poll 48% admit that they could be making more of an effort to do so. Enter Greenerguide, a solution that solves these issues by mapping out user’s energy consumption to plan a more sustainable lifestyle. Support the show

Save Money & Earth with Sustainable Living

October 09, 2022 14:00 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MB

In a recent poll 48% admit that they could be making more of an effort to do so. Enter Greenerguide, a solution that solves these issues by mapping out user’s energy consumption to plan a more sustainable lifestyle. Support the show

The Cement that Eats Carbon

October 02, 2022 04:00 - 17 minutes - 12.2 MB

Carbon Limit As the key building material of most tower blocks, car parks, bridges and dams, concrete has enabled great advancements in our citys’ infrastructure throughout the years. It’s the most widely used man-made material in existence, but it comes with a heavy price. Did you know that for every 1 ton of cement created, an equivalent 1 ton of carbon dioxide is produced? In fact, the cement industry has been so busy that, if it were a country, it would be the third largest emitter in th...

Protection from Storm Damages

September 25, 2022 14:00 - 20 minutes - 13.9 MB

Stormseal Severe weather patterns and climate-related disasters have jumped 83% since the year 2000, causing an estimated 3 trillion dollars in damage. And while homeowners with insurance are eventually able to repair these damages, in the time it takes to finalize a claim, the average temporary tarp malfunctions anywhere from 5 to 13 times. This begs the question that, if another disaster strikes, how in the world will the average tarp protect a home from further damage? Support the show

Technology to eliminate food waste

September 18, 2022 15:00 - 21 minutes - 15.1 MB

SAVRpak 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted every single year. This translates into about 2.6 Trillion dollars that are lost yearly, simply due to irresponsible food consumption. This, however, isn’t just a money problem; as 8% of the world’s greenhouse gasses are a direct result of food waste. How can we end this trend?  Support the show

Virtual Farming for Social Justice and Food

September 11, 2022 04:00 - 19 minutes - 13.6 MB

Siembra Co. With 10 years left to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #1, No Poverty, more than 730 million people remain below the global poverty line. And of this astounding number, over two-thirds of them work in agriculture. Is this a coincidence or an injustice? How can we solve it? Support the show

Virtual Farming for Social Justice and Food

September 11, 2022 04:00 - 19 minutes - 13.6 MB

Siembra Co. With 10 years left to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #1, No Poverty, more than 730 million people remain below the global poverty line. And of this astounding number, over two-thirds of them work in agriculture. Is this a coincidence or an injustice? How can we solve it? Support the show

Stopping your car shouldn't be deadly

September 04, 2022 04:00 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MB

Cocoon Technologies The consequences of traffic stops. A New York Times investigation in 2021 examined why traffic stops for minor offenses sometimes escalate into deadly encounters. Policing is risky for all parties involved, let's make it safer. Support the show

Stoping your car shouldn't be deadly

September 04, 2022 04:00 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MB

The consequences of traffic stops. A New York Times investigation in 2021 examined why traffic stops for minor offenses sometimes escalate into deadly encounters. Policing is risky for all part involved, let's make it safer. Support the show

The Circular Revolution is here!

March 27, 2022 13:00 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MB

Better Than Recycling Plastic-- Let's Eliminate It. Roughly one-third of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste, and when we say waste, we don’t just mean it doesn’t get eaten. Even after it is discarded food waste is not composted. Instead, it is more often than not, disposed of in ways that are actually harmful to the environment. Now while this is certainly a double whammy when it comes to wastefulness, at least food waste eventually biodegrades, unlike other materials. Pl...

Protecting our forest from wildfires

March 20, 2022 13:00 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MB

Detecting Wildfires Before It's Too Late Wildfires—an ever-growing problem for our ever-growing populations. As the world adds another 1 billion people in the next 15 years, most of them will be living in areas designated as “wildland-urban interfaces”. With more human activities near forests, wildfire risks will increase. The 2020 California wildfires burnt over ten thousand homes, leaving areas of the state in destruction and fear of future catastrophe. We are in dire need of tools to com...

Building Meaningful Community Engagement

March 13, 2022 14:00 - 18 minutes - 13 MB

Putting the People in "We are the People" In the United States alone there are more than  89,000 local governments, and less than 1% of these have populations over one million. Despite this, in the US and throughout the rest of the world, there seems to be a disconnect between most local governments and their communities. In this episode,  we will discuss with ITsimple how community engagement can be reinforced through technology providing meaningful interaction, for both the private and th...

Building Meaningful Community Engagement

March 13, 2022 14:00 - 18 minutes - 13 MB

Putting the People in "We are the People" In the United States alone there are more than  89,000 local governments, and less than 1% of these have populations over one million. Despite this, in the US and throughout the rest of the world, there seems to be a disconnect between most local governments and their communities. In this episode,  we will discuss with ITsimple how community engagement can be reinforced through technology providing meaningful interaction, for both the private and th...

Accessible Transport for All

March 10, 2022 14:00 - 18 minutes - 12.7 MB

Safer than a taxi, cheaper than an ambulance Mobility is our ability to move from one place to another—to go about our daily activities, moving from one to the next. It is something many of us take for granted. But for others, the lack of specialized transportation options, the expense of those options, and the difficulty accessing them can severely limit their mobility—and their quality of life. Sadly, 80% of non-drivers who have a disability and 40 percent of all older adults cannot do th...

Accessible Transport for all

March 10, 2022 14:00 - 18 minutes - 12.7 MB

Creating convenient transportation Services for the disabled, elderly vulnerable people, and non-emergency patients Support the show (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=JPH4UA3TJ423L)

Cost of Shipping is Bigger Thank You Think

February 28, 2022 18:00 - 25 minutes - 17.3 MB

No more lost packages or excessive carbon emissions Astonishingly, up to 30% of industrial wood is consumed for the production of shipping pallets & crates! Now, this is a serious issue as it is predicted that if we continue our current rate of deforestation, the Earth will be completely barren of trees in just over 300 years. Ponera modules easily reduce wood consumption, transport weight, and CO2 emissions. Support the show

When Waiting for a Train Means Life or Death

February 21, 2022 03:00 - 22 minutes - 15.2 MB

Avoid Getting Stuck at Railroad Crossings Trains often stop traffic at railroad crossings for longer than 5 minutes. When that traffic includes an ambulance, the wait for a train to pass reduces the patient's survival rate by 50% or more. Prevent traffic delays and collisions at rail crossings with predictive rail crossing blockage information. TRAINFO predicts rail crossing blockages to prevent traffic delays and collisions. Support the show

Corrosion: A Threat to Our Infrastructure

February 13, 2022 11:00 - 17 minutes - 12.3 MB

The Fountain of Youth for Infrastructure Corrosion, the silent killer, has plagued our infrastructure since the iron age. Today, it's costing us trillions, and preventing innovative technologies such as offshore wind turbines from becoming more widely implemented. AnCatt has produced anti-corrosion paints and coatings as the world’s first and only heavy-metal free and toxic free high-performance anti-corrosion coating product after 50-years of worldwide R&D efforts. Support the show

Home Heating Without the Guilt

February 07, 2022 16:00 - 20 minutes - 13.8 MB

Modern comforts come at a high price. Burning fossil fuels for electricity and heat is the largest single source of global greenhouse gas emissions. Fourdeg is a Service company for heating optimization. Service improves indoor comfort and saves in heating costs. It works automatically at room-level accuracy in any size old or new building with water-circulating radiators, including commercial, public and residential premises. Support the show

Taking the Waste Out of Recycling

January 31, 2022 03:00 - 20 minutes - 13.9 MB

Increasing Trash Sorting Accuracy to 92% As stated by the World Bank, in 2011, world cities generated about 1.3 billion tons of solid waste. This volume is expected to increase to 2.2 billion tones by 2025. Bin-e is a smart-bin, IOT device which sorts and compresses recyclables automatically. To do this, it combines unique AI-based object recognition, fill level control and data processing to make waste management convenient and efficient.   Support the show

Cybersecurity Using Quantum Blockchain

January 23, 2022 01:00 - 19 minutes - 13.5 MB

Taking Cybersecurity to a New Level As businesses, governments, and other systems migrate to smart ecosystems, hackers are watching. Infiltron is a proactive, real-time IoT cybersecurity solution that leverages technologies such as Ai, Blockchain, and Quantum to provide innovative cybersecurity protection.  Every system that integrates with Infiltron has a less reactive approach to protecting its data and devices in real time. This technology detects malicious attacks before they happen and...

From Plastic Waste to Innovative Construction Materials

January 18, 2022 21:00 - 19 minutes - 13.1 MB

Recycling Plastic with a Purpose. With humans digesting more than 40 pounds of plastic during their lives, this is a problem of more than just trash or pollution. Turning plastic into smart gravel solves both the challenges of plastic waste and better construction materials. Arqlite is a recycling technology company building the next generation of sustainable building materials. Our green technology is changing the plastic recycling industry with the capability to process up to 1 ton of non...

Reducing Traffic by Optimizing Green Lights

January 14, 2022 05:00 - 19 minutes - 13.7 MB

Cutting your commute time just got easier! Time is said to be life's most valuable commodity. Yet, we waste so much of it sitting in traffic-- reducing productivity, tipping the scales on work-life balance, not to mention spuing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Imagine the impact on your life if traffic signals were synchronized, allowing congestion to flow smoothly through cities.  TrafficGenius uses historical traffic signal patterns, crowdsourcing traffic data, and live HD-video traff...

Avoid Leaky Pipes in Aging Infrastructure

December 26, 2021 11:00 - 19 minutes - 13.4 MB

As pipeline infrastructure is aging, associated corrosion costs are skyrocketing, and our access to water is threatened. In this episode of Preview of Tomorrow,  Mike Lake talks with Solveig Parent & Tristan de Servins about how their company, Heuristech, is combating the devastating impacts of our aging infrastructure-- particularly corroding pipes that carry our much-needed water to our homes and businesses. Their technology is non-invasive and ideally suited to assess pipelines in citie...

Addressing E-Mobility Anxiety

December 19, 2021 11:00 - 19 minutes - 13.6 MB

Taking the edge off of EV charging station management. In this episode of Preview of Tomorrow, Mike Lake talks with Lyubov Artemenko about how her company, GO TO-U,  that serves as a platform for electric vehicle (EV) charging management and operations. Transition to new modes of transport requires reliable charging infrastructure. GO TO-U makes the experience of driving and charging an electric vehicle (EV) simpler, more comfortable, and more accessible by leverage big data and machine lea...

Desalinating More Water With Less Energy

December 12, 2021 11:00 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MB

While the water industry is a prime victim of climate change, it is also a source of global carbon emissions. In this episode of Preview of Tomorrow,  Mike Lake talks with Mike Dixon about how his company, Synauta, saves 20% of OPEX costs in desalination and water reuse plants, by using supervised machine learning to optimize energy and chemical use for specific conditions. Synauta applies machine learning to account for multiple input and output parameters in the reverse osmosis process, ...