The first 1TB SD card:

        I still remember when the first 1TB USB flash drives were coming out—it wasn’t so many years ago. The fact that we can now stuff that same storage capacity in a tiny SD card is truly mind-boggling. We don’t quite know the price yet, but it won’t be cheap.

      The SanDisk 512MB SD card currently goes for $345, so expect it to be significantly more than that. Storage capacity is one of those categories that is just constantly innovating and pushing forward with more and more storage in smaller packages for cheaper prices.

First Amazon package delivered by drone

  

      Here’s the first on the list of previously announced tech that is actually coming to life for the first time. Amazon first introduced the idea of completely autonomous drone delivery back in 2013 with a cutesy video that seemed straight out of a science fiction novel.

       But now, Amazon has announced that it’s actually completed its first delivery through its Prime Air service. From “click to delivery” it was a total of 13 minutes, which is crazy fast. You can check the video out above yourself, but the fast delivery speed was made possible thanks to Amazon’s autonomous drones and a nearby warehouse just outside of town.

 A breakthrough in lithium-metal batteries could double efficiency

       Based out of MIT, a SolidEnergy Systems has developed a “anode-free” lithium metal battery that could change the game in terms of battery efficiency. Researchers have known that these kinds of batteries are more efficient, but their tendency to explode kept them at bay. These new batteries are twice as energy dense, meaning you get the same amount of juice from a battery that’s half the size—and SolidEnergy even figured out that exploding problem.

          The immediate implications for devices like smartphones and smartwatches are a no-brainer. SolidEnergy demonstrated this last year with its working prototype in an iPhone 6 that was half the size as the standard lithium-ion battery, but provided even more power. The company is now using them in drones, which will be the precursor to its move into smartphones and eventually electric cars.

Hyperloop one begins actual high speed test

       Hyperloop is Elon Musk’s dream to see high-speed transportation transformed in America. The idea, originally published Musk’s white paper, is for a mag-lev train going from Los Angeles to San Francisco that could take you there in just 35 minutes.

     Up until this Spring, the company had laid some tracks, but never actually done something in real life with the technology. While this test they did was nowhere near 750mph, it did demonstrate some of the capabilities of the open-air propulsion system, sending a test sled 100 yards down a track at 2.5Gs of acceleration. The company wants it to be passenger-ready by 2021, which still feels incredibly ambitious less than five years from today.

Carbon nanotube transistors outperform silicon for the first time

     The tech industry runs on silicon semiconductors. They call it Silicon Valley for a reason. While carbon nanotube transistors have always been seen as the next major step in computational technology, until now it has always significantly underperformed compared to its silicon semiconductor competitors.

 Dust-sized sensors that can be implanted within the body

        This might sound really creepy at first, but the technology made possible through it is endless. Engineers from Berkeley have created these sensors, which they call “neural dust.” Both commercial and medical implications of such a small sensor are exciting.

    Essentially, these micro-sized sensors require no power and can be implanted directly onto a nerve or muscle fiber. The technology could power the health-monitoring Fitbits of the future, or even help treat diseases such as epilepsy and internal inflammation by “stimulating” nerves and muscles.

SolarCity opens Buffalo facility, Tesla opens Gigafactory 1

      
       Elon Musk is a man with a plan. No really—he calls it the “The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan,” which just happens to include saving us from our dependence on “mine and burn” energy. He’s the man behind both SolarCity and Tesla (which have now officially come together under the Telsa roof as of August) and is now opening two major production facilities under the banner of each company.

       First is the Buffalo SolarCity facility, which will become the biggest producer of solar panels in this hemisphere and completed construction this year. Second is the Gigafactory 1 opening up in Nevada, which is responsible for producing lithium-ion batteries, as well as Telsa motors. The significant thing is that Musk practices what the preaches: both facilities are powered by renewable energy sources with the goal of achieving net-zero energy. These facilities will not only power the all-important companies that they serve, but could also be the future of what American production looks like.