With intelligent systems and new-age transit networks, life in the big cities will likely be happier and more efficient.

After all, more than 60 percent of the world's population is expected to live in cities by 2050, according to a UN report. The answer to making these cities more livable for so many people lies in creating "smart" cities. These cities will use 5G networks and the "internet of things" (IoT) to make everyday life safer and more convenient. Some cities are already using smart technology to improve the lives of residents.

But what exactly does a smart city do? In the United States cities of Boston and Baltimore, smart trash cans can sense how full they are inform cleaning workers when they need to be emptied. In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, traffic flow and energy usage are monitored and adjusted according to real-time data gathered from sensors(传感器)around the city. And in Copenhagen, Denmark, a smart bike system allows riders to check on air quality and traffic condition as they ride.

Smart cities will be interactive, allowing their residents to feel like they're truly shaping their environment, instead of merely existing in it. "One of the most important reasons to have a smart city is that we can actually communicate with our environment in a way that we never have in the past," said Mrinalini Ingram, head of a telecom company.

Smart cities will also allow us to save resources. By using sensors and 5G networks to monitor the use of water, gas and electricity, city managers can figure out how to distribute and save these resources more efficiently. Emissions of carbon dioxide and other air pollutants can be more closely monitored in smart cities as well.

Of course, it will take time and money to turn our current cities into the smart cities of the future. But as we've already seen, more cities around the world are already adopting smart technology in small ways. China, for instance, is making investments in big cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou to make them “smarter” It won't be long until even more cities start to develop their own smart infrastructure(基础设施).

In Kenya, two university students from rural villages came up with a system to recharge a cellphone battery using energy generated from a bicycle. They took most of the items from a junkyard. Innovation and leadership strategist Navi Radjou thinks that such frugal(节俭的) innovation enables socially and environmentally responsible economic development through products and services that combine four qualities: affordability, accessibility, sustainability, and quality. He advises that we should use what is rich to handle what is scarce.

It’s an approach that is having a huge impact. Among things becoming rich in developing countries are connectivity and smartphones. A great example of frugal innovation is Peek Retina, a small adapter(适配器) for a smartphone that lets people perform eye exams without any of the fancy equipment you stare into at your optometrist’s. Another great frugal innovation is Foldscope, a microscope that costs 50 cents to make but can do serious diagnoses(诊断). With the wide use of the microscope, people can be easily tested instead of traveling long distances to see a doctor and a real hands-on science education can be provided for all remote health workers.

Frugal Innovation is a new trendy term for something that has been around for a while; in the 1980s it was MacGyver; in the 1970s it was Adhocism. Basically it involves using an available system or dealing with an existing situation in a new way to solve a problem quickly and effectively. It is a method of creation relying particularly on resources which are already at hand. By getting back to basics, frugal innovation allows low-income populations to play a major part in their own progress.

It may be the same as it ever was under a new name, but there are new tools and new ways of sharing. The new smartphone technology and the speed of communication and spread of information really make this a new age of Frugal Innovation. And it’s not just in the developing world, it can work anywhere. So welcome to the new buzzword(流行词), Frugal Innovation.

How can humans become immortal(永生的)? You might have only seen the idea of uploading the human brain to a digital cloud in science fiction movies. Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, has already done so. The secret was revealed when a question posted on Twitter caught his attention.

“If you could upload your brain to the cloud, and talk to a virtual version of yourself, would you be buddies?” Musk replied on July 19, “Already did it.” The reply indicated that Musk’s brain-computer interface(接口)company, Neuralink, had already realized the technology, according to Xinhua.

Neuralink was founded by Musk in 2016. The company focuses on brain-computer interface technology which is used to connect the brain to a digital network. It is developing devices for the treatment of patients with neurological disorders(神经障碍). In other words, the company aims to create links between mind and machine, according to Psychology Today.

So how do brain-computer interfaces work? Computers designed to learn the patterns of neural activity are used to take out information from human brains. For example, if a person imagines picking up a book, the computer would then learn to identify how the brain gives that command. Next, the computer would send the signal to the machine, which would then move a robotic arm to reach for the book.

Uploading a brain is only part of Musk’s plan. He revealed to Insider that his goal is to download human mindset into robots. Just like how our memories are stored in mobile phones through pictures and videos, Musk imagines that our brains—not only how we think, but also our personalities and habits—can be diverted into robots. In this way, even after our bodies decay(腐朽), our brains are preserved. Some experts believe that this could be achievable one day, but the timeline is unclear, “The most wildly optimistic predictions place mind uploading within a few decades, but I would not be surprised if it took centuries,” wrote Michael S. A. Graziano, a professor at Princeton University, in a Wall Street Journal essay.