#Mindcandy are scenario prompts to help companies formulate strategy. Find out more here.
Scenario prompts 20 June 2025
The scenario prompt for today is talking mushrooms. Nature is incredibly smart. We should trust natural intelligence. Which is a lovely Segway to my book, titled you are the upgrade, augmented natural intelligence as the only way forward.
Here is the link to buy a copy https://www.ronimmink.com/product/a-book-about-books-about-ai/
The other prompts are sand batteries, myoelectric bionics, brain to computer interfaces, soft robotics (using light) and probiotic batteries.
If you want more details and the other prompts, you can visit my website or subscribe to my substack.
World’s biggest sand battery to heat Finnish town without fossil fuels
https://thenextweb.com/news/worlds-biggest-sand-battery-heat-finnish-town-fossil-fuels
A small town in Finland is about to ditch fossil fuels in its heating network thanks to a sand-filled energy storage tank the size of a house.
3D Printing a Myoelectric Bionic Prosthetic Hand
https://3dprint.com/318538/3d-printing-a-myoelectric-bionic-prosthetic-hand/
Upper-limb bionic prosthetics could cost anywhere from $15,500 to over $200,000. Worse still, traditional prosthetics often failed in real-world conditions, with repair times taking up to 2-3 months
First-of-its-kind technology helps man with ALS speak in real time
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-06-kind-technology-als-real.html
Translating neural activity into text, which is how our previous speech brain-computer interface works, is akin to text messaging. By comparison, this new real-time voice synthesis is more like a voice call.
Engineers create octopus-like soft robot arm powered entirely by light beams
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/robotic-arm-octopus-laser-beams
The team developed a convolutional neural network, a type of artificial intelligence used in image recognition. It was trained by showing various light patterns and the resulting arm movements.
Mushrooms communicate with each other using up to 50 ‘words’, scientist claims
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/apr/06/fungi-electrical-impulses-human-language-study
Professor theorises electrical impulses sent by mycological organisms could be similar to human language
Probiotics power a bioresorbable battery that can run from 4 to 100+ minutes
The battery is powered by a 15-strain probiotic blend, which is harmless to humans and the environment. It is constructed with biodegradable materials on a water-soluble paper substrate, allowing it to dissolve harmlessly when exposed to water.
