Three millenniums ago, the commodities of trade, that European markets were limited to importing from Asia and Africa, were non-perishable items - spices, textiles, and precious metals, including copper. A lot has changed in the era of technology that gave us a window to the whole world, but despite of that, we still value some of the old ancient traditions, such as socializing at the local markets, bakeries and coffee shops.
Another big unchangeable way, we inherited from the old days, is carrying merchandise by ocean and sea. The only difference is the merchandise, which does not represent a specific culture anymore. For instance, during Antiquity, silk was supplied from China. A bizarre phenomenon of the modern trade is, that now China makes cowboy hats for the U.S.
The modern trade has changed our perception and expectations about where and how we can access products. For instance, there's been a noticeable tendency among the consumers to believe that if an American product is manufactured in China, it is also sold in China. American companies design their products, and have a full control of the manufacturing. Manufacturers outside the United States are solely responsible for making the products, and shipping them to those American companies, who own the merchandise, and who has a strategic plan in place for selling it out of the United States.
Some manufacturing deals include exporting of raw, or prefabricated materials from the U.S to use in the manufacturing process. In other cases the prefabricated materials are prepared by the manufacturers to be finished back in the U.S.
For instance, the very popular cleaning, non-scratchy sponge Scrub Daddy starts its journey in Germany. This new innovative product has been increasing in sales rapidly, and available in big retail stores, such as Walmart, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Amazon. The thermochromic foam that it is made of, in other words, artificial foam, can only be manufactured in Germany. This material makes the sponge react to the change of temperature, - when it's cold, the sponge gets firm, and soft if you apply heat to it.
The progress of the humankind has led us to the fastest mechanisms, but our curiosity did not stop there. With one mission in mind, Amazon, Google, and Wal-Mart envision the future of free and eco-friendly deliveries through drones. The 2 co-founders of Skype, Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, have a more "down-to-earth" approach to turning that idea into the reality. Based in Estonia with the team of 28 engineers, they launched a company, called Starship Technologies, to create intelligent driverless robots.
In 2016, Starship Technologies will be launching tests on their robotic invention that in a way reminds of the first vacuum cleaner - Dickinson Electric Broom. Anyway, the self-driving robot will be conquering the sidewalks of London, and be tested on short distance residential deliveries within a 3 mile (5 km) radius. Its average speed is at 4 mph, which is slightly slower than the average speed of walking (5 mph). As you can imagine, if you saw one of these on the streets, you'd be passing it.
This friendly automated device is equipped with video cameras, can detect obstacles, cross streets, and can hold up to 2 grocery bags in its cargo bay. In any given circumstance, the monitoring operators can take control of the device at any time, and even talk to people. The cargo bay remains locked throughout the journey, and can only be unlocked with the recipient;s smartphone. Another awesome feature is, the tracking system, also done through a smartphone.
Danit Peleg, a 27-year old college graduate of engineering and design, took a different swing at creative thinking. After spending 2,000 hours, she introduced her fashion collection of clothing, entirely made, using 3D printers. Tiredless experimenting led her to discover a new filament - FilaFlex that offered its strong, but flexible texture. Her ultimate vision was for people to be able to download clothing from the internet.
These amazing technologies give us a hope to have more control of what we can access, when, and where.
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