Robot Spiders, Sweaty Batteries, and Living Concrete: 8 Future Technologies That Already Exist
Miscellaneous / / July 25, 2023
1. Necroarachnobots
Video fragment: Rice University
Sometimes new technologies can be extremely intriguing and at the same time so creepy, as if everything is happening in a horror movie.
Rice University engineers have learned turn dead spiders into grabbing robots. The head of the project, Daniel Preston of the George Brown School of Engineering, found that even after death, spiders retain a body structure that is ideal for capturing various objects.
Spiders use hydraulics to move their limbs. In their cephalothorax (prosoma) there is a special chamber that either contracts or expands, which leads to blood transfusion (hemolymph). When the pressure is reduced, the legs are bent; when it is increased, they are unbent.
Scientists have managed to get a dead wolf spider to move its limbs by sticking a needle into its prosoma. "Necrorobot" successfully grabbed and moved things, including printed circuit boards and their relatives.
A dead spider lifted about 130% of its own weight, and sometimes much more.
At the same time, he successfully flexed and extended his limbs a thousand times in a row before they broke. Researchers bind it's dehydration of the joints. And they believe that it is possible to overcome the limitation if the legs are covered with durable polymers.
You may ask: why teach dead spiders to grab objects? Well, the prospects for "necrorobots" are great. They can do small jobs like assembling electronics, killing pests, or even being useful in medicine. Given that the spiders themselves are biodegradable, "necrorobotics" is also environmentally friendly.
Perhaps in the future it will turn out to turn into robots dead bodies larger than those spiders. Of course, all this is reminiscent of the plot of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but don't worry. In reality, the dead will not care.
2. sand batteries
Renewable energy is often criticized for the fact that the electricity it generates cannot be stored. Storing coal or gasoline is not difficult, unlike the energy that windmills and solar panels generate. Of course, there are batteries, but lithium is an expensive resource for them, and, in addition, toxic.
The development of Finnish engineers from Polar Night Energy can solve the problem. found a way to store energy literally in the sand. They took a 4×7m steel container and filled it with 100 tons of sand, then used wind and solar energy to heat it up.
The result is a thermal or, as it is also called, a thermoelectric battery.
The principle of its operation based on the thermoelectric effect, which occurs when the temperature difference in different layers of the working fluid of the battery. Sand or other similar coolant is heated to a high temperature, then the heat is transferred through thermoelectric modules containing semiconductor materials, which generate electric current.
Such batteries are a very efficient way to store excess electricity, and they are extremely cheap to manufacture. This will make it possible to use renewable energy sources more fully and solve the problem of its uneven production.
As you can see, technologies that can improve the future of humanity do not have to be complex. Some of them are quite simple, but very effective.
3. space catapult
Video snippet: SpinLaunch
While Elon Musk is trying to squeeze the best performance out of good old rocket engines, the folks at SpinLaunch decided go in a more original way and throw cargo into orbit using a space catapult. And they already have a working prototype that has been tested.
Instead of burning traditional chemical fuels, the SpinLaunch launches objects into space using kinetic energy. That is, it simply takes spins and throws the satellite into the white light like a pretty penny. Then he still has to use chemical engines to stabilize the orbit. But being able to get to space without having to build a huge rocket is still impressive.
SpinLaunch claims their system cuts fuel and infrastructure costs for launches by a factor of 10. You give available space in every yard.
True, in order to launch a satellite, it must be dispersed in centrifuge up to a speed of 8,000 km / h, and it experiences overloads of 10,000 G. Naturally, such a thing catapults a person into orbit only in a liquid state - it will literally splash passengers on the first space one. But it will cope with inanimate loads with a bang.
4. Sweaty supercapacitor
Aren't you tired of charging your phone, smartwatch, headphones and other gadgets all the time? Specialists from the James Watt School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow decided to deal with this problem once and for all. They have developed a new type of flexible supercapacitor in which the electrolyte from conventional batteries is replaced Then.
When the polyester cellulose fabric absorbs human body fluid, the positive and negative ions of sweat interact with the surface of the polymer covering it and cause an electrochemical reaction that generates energy. A smart textile supercapacitor can be fully charged by absorbing as little as 20 microliters of liquid. And it is quite capable of withstanding 4,000 charge and discharge cycles.
Imagine that you no longer need to take off your fitness bracelet to put it on charge - put it on and wear it.
And if such a polymer is woven into a sweatshirt, then it will be possible to jogging also power your smartphone. But such batteries have a more important application - they can be used in pacemakers, sensors vital sign tracking and other wearable medical devices that require continuous nutrition.
Human sweat as a working body of a battery is also promising because it is environmentally friendly. Unlike the same toxic lithium, you can spill it on yourself as much as you like.
5. "Living" concrete
In principle, self-healing concrete is not a new technology. There are materials that can repair microscopic cracks, preventing their expansion and preventing the penetration of moisture and the impact of aggressive environments. Usually, microcapsules with repair agents or fibers are added to the composition of self-healing concrete, which harden upon contact with water.
But scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder decided to go further and created literally "living building materials" (living building materials, LBM). It is made of hydrogel and sand, which have been supplemented with photosynthetic cyanobacteria Synechococcus. When cracks appear in the structure of this material, cyanobacteria begin the process of biomineralization, literally healing the damage.
Scientists believe that their "concrete with bacteria"will allow you to create structures that can not only "heal" cracks on their own, but also absorb dangerous toxins from the air and even glow on command. How do you like the prospect of settling in a "living" house?
6. carbon remover
At the moment, the vital task of reducing CO2 in the atmosphere of the planet, our green friends, trees, perform with the help of photosynthesis technology proven over billions of years. New developments can make their difficult mission easier by absorbing more carbon dioxide and occupying a smaller area.
Swiss company Climeworks launched in Iceland, Orca is the world's largest carbon capture and storage plant, using a technology called DAC (Direct Air Capture). The principle is extremely simple: the plant sucks in the air around it, and then filters it. Just like home air conditioner, just huge.
Construction of the Orca began in May 2020 and was completed in less than 15 months thanks to its simple modular design. At the same time, it is able to annually remove 4,000 tons of CO from the atmosphere.2.
The carbon dioxide captured by the plant is mixed with water and sent deep into the earth. Within a few years this CO2 reacts with natural basalt and turns into solid carbonate minerals. In addition, the collected carbon dioxide can be processed and used to create synthetic fuel.
7. 3D printing of bones and organs
3D printing is an extremely promising industry that can provide humanity with anything from cheap houses to space engines. But one of the most intriguing applications of this technology is the creation of bones and internal organs on 3D printers.
Ossiform Company creates individual prostheses of various bones made of bioceramics and tricalcium phosphate - materials whose properties are similar to those of bone tissue in the human body. Doctors perform an MRI to obtain information about the bone being replaced, which is then transmitted to Ossiform. Based on this information, the company creates a 3D model of the implant, which is specially designed for each individual patient and accurately mimics the anatomical shape and structure of real bones. The surgeon checks the design, and once the implant is 3D printed, it can be used during surgery.
In addition to implantation in the human body, Ossiform products are also suitable for training surgeons.
Another promising use for 3D printers in medicine is printing human organs. The technology is based on the use of biologically compatible materials, such as biopolymers and cells taken from a donor, often from the patient himself.
Special printer layers these materials, following a strict order, to create a three-dimensional structure of the organ. Then the cells embedded in the material grow and absorb the polymer, forming on it, as on a frame, tissues, organs, and sometimes entire parts of the body.
For example, in this way one day printed nose. They attached it to the patient's forearm, it took root there for a couple of months, and then it was transplanted to the face.
And even the human retina can be 3D printed using stem cells. This technology developed scientists from the US National Eye Institute in 2022.
8. Eco friendly mushroom funeral
Overpopulation of the planet is a serious problem, not only because billions of people need something to feed, but also because they all still need to be buried somewhere. The lands used for cemeteries will not soon be suitable for any other use, because the products of cadaveric decay do not allow growing useful plants on them.
Cremation is also not an option, since a lot of energy is spent on burning bodies. In addition, the atmosphere thrown out a lot of carbon dioxide, and even harmful mercury - during the evaporation of dental fillings.
But the original technology of "green" funerals, which is already being used in the United States and Great Britain, makes it possible to dispose of bodies without any damage to nature. Deceased placed into a special container where controlled decomposition takes place under the influence of specially selected fungi and microorganisms. Molds and fungi of the genus Agaricus feed on organic material, including remains. They decompose proteins, carbohydrates and fats, turning them into humus and nutrients.
As a result of this process, mushroom compost is formed, which can be used for fertilizer. Not only does composting reduce the harmful effects of decay products on the environment, it also contributes to the rapid restoration of soil fertility.
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