Printing houses on a 3D printer and 4 more engineering trends that will make our world a better place

Trend 1: Developing green fuels to help reduce your carbon footprint

The progressive world is seriously engaged in the transition to clean and renewable energy sources for transport. The roads are filled with electric vehicles, but this is not enough for engineers. They are working with might and main to improve hydrogen engines. Green hydrogen is already considered the main alternative to diesel fuel, and scientists have found a way to produce it in an environmentally friendly way. To do this, electrolysis of water is used, and the energy necessary for the reaction comes from a renewable source. The method allows you to get rid of 830 million tons harmful carbon dioxide emissions per year.

Many auto giants are already producing cars with hydrogen engines. Next up is aviation. Airbus is actively

working on the creation of "green" aircraft, and in the United States they plan to make the world's first manned helicopter on hydrogen fuel. However, experts they saythat “green” hydrogen will be able to compete with its non-environmentally friendly counterparts not earlier than in 10 years. At the same time, the EU, Australia, the USA and other countries are already started to develop hydrogen energy, and Japan made it a state priority back in 2017. In this industry, engineers will definitely have something to do.

Trend 2: food production optimization - vertical farms for vegetables and fruits

Once the construction of skyscrapers solved the problem of compaction of cities. Now engineers are transferring this idea to agriculture and suggest building farms not in breadth, but up - multi-story beds instead of kilometers of fields. A vertical agricultural farm is an automated complex with artificial lighting, air conditioning, heating and sterile air. There is usually a closed irrigation system: you can reuse the evaporated moisture and save up to 90% of water. Such an engineering miracle will allow farming even in the center of the city. And also in areas of arid climate and harsh conditions of the Far North.

Fruits and vegetables from such farms are no worse than from ordinary ones. And maybe even better: they do not contain pesticides and pests, because fertilizers and chemicals are not used in production. By experts' assessments, by 2025 vertical farms will become the norm for large cities in developed countries. Today, unusual farming is most active develops in the USA, Germany, China and Japan. Even the head of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, appreciated the technological trend and hurried invest in a startup that works with vertical farms.

Trend 3: development of modeling and computer engineering

Competition among manufacturers is growing at a breakneck pace, processes in enterprises are becoming more complex, costs and risks are rising. Computer engineering helps to keep up with progress and reduce costs. These systems allow you to design digital models of products and processes of the entire production cycle.

Such technologies turn out to be more economical than real prototypes - virtual models do not require materials, only calculations on a computer screen. In the production of goods, modeling reduces the percentage of product defects, because many errors are eliminated at the design stage. Today, these technologies are successfully used in mechanical engineering, metallurgy, biomedicine, architecture, design, and even in the aerospace industry. In October last year, Elon Musk opened the fourth Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin. It is planned to release 500 thousand cars a year. Of course, such volumes of production will be provided, among other things, by computer engineering. By the way, valuable specialists of this profile began Cook and in Russian universities.

Trend 4: building buildings with 3D printing

With the use of a 3D printer, it became possible to build houses in a matter of days. The largest building in the world "printed" in Dubai. This is the result of the work of a startup with Russian roots, which back in 2017 “built» on our own 3D printer a 38-meter house in Stupino near Moscow in just 24 hours. The building area in the UAE is 641 square meters, it horrible in the Guinness Book of Records and brought entrepreneurs a million dollars. According to the plans of the Dubai authorities, by 2030 a quarter of the city's buildings will be built using 3D printers.

Technology allows reduce construction costs by six times, as well as reduce waste at the construction site. In the field of 3D printing of buildings, another direction is also relevant for engineers - the creation of new materials. For example, the University of South Wales was able to come up withhow to repair 3D printed plastic using LED beams. Experiments have shown that the found method restores the material and, in addition, makes it stronger. A useful bonus of the discovery is concern for the environment, because the solution reduces the amount of plastic waste.

Trend 5: Making clothes with smart fabrics

Who would have thought that engineers would seriously engage in the production of materials for clothing. Fiber optics, metals, conductive polymers and other components have replaced traditional cotton and wool. For example, new synthetics can absorb sweat and not get heavy, and waterproof fabrics perfectly protect against bad weather - this will not surprise anyone.

Now there is an active development of special - smart - materials that are able to adapt to environmental changes. For example, change color, “turn on” water resistance, antibacterial and other properties. Smart clothes will help you not to freeze in the cold and not overheat in the heat. adaptive tissue came up with at the University of Maryland. It reacts to the temperature of the human body and decides whether to warm or cool the body. Smart fabrics can even make the work of doctors easier. Sensors and sensors in such materials allow monitor the health of patients and catch the symptoms of certain diseases.