7 Interesting Ideas and Improbable Innovations in Technology
Mind=Blown!! Remember all the discoveries in science fiction we thought were surreal and bizarre to even think about? Well let me tell you guys, the technology and science for that matter are advancing and going way ahead than we had ever imagined. I was just going through random articles on the internet because I am so into reading and exploring new things (tbh, I was just bored). Anyways, that’s when I had read an article which poked the lazy writer inside me to pen(type) an article! Here I am going to list out seven interesting ideas and improbable innovations which the world doesn’t know exists. So, grab a cup of coffee because I just grabbed your attention (and time!) to read this piece.
Number 1: SunBOT
Wish I could get to know you Sunflowers sometimes… I mean SunBOTs! Fake sunflowers or artificial sunflowers aka SUNBots mimic the sun-loving behaviour of plants to harvest solar energy. Inventor Xiaoshi Qian of the University of California and the team call the new polymer “SunBOT” because it stands for a sunflower-like biomimetic omnidirectional tracker. These are designed to bend to meet different angles of a beam of light and can shift position as the light moves which lets the devices capture more solar energy than stationary devices.
The research paper released in Nature Nanotechnology states: “This work may be useful for enhanced solar harvesters, adaptive signal receivers, smart windows, self-contained robotics, solar sails for spaceships, guided surgery, self-regulating optical devices, and intelligent energy generation (for example, solar cells and biofuels), as well as energetic emission detection and tracking with telescopes, radars and hydrophones.”
Science once again proves how nature inspires you.
Number 2: Silk Leaf
Is it just me or has anyone else ever pictured a scenario or a crisis in your head where we don’t get any more oxygen (thanks to climate change) to survive? Well good news people! Julian Melchiorri, a graduate of the Royal College of Art’s Innovation Design Engineering, in collaboration with Tufts University silk lab, have discovered a solution! He created a “Synthetic Leaf” that produces oxygen. The synthetic, biological leaf made by suspending chloroplasts in a silk protein matrix absorbs water and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen just like a plant and could enable long-distance space travel. “The material is extracted directly from the fibres of silk,” Melchiorri explains. “This material has an amazing property of stabilising molecules. I extracted chloroplasts from plant cells and placed them inside this silk protein. As an outcome, I have the first photosynthetic material that is living and breathing as a leaf does.”
I know, the sigh of relief is mutual.
Number 3: Car-Charging Roads
Vroom Vroom!! Technology is moving and growing too fast. Sweden opened a road that charges your electric car while you drive it. The road is embedded with an electric rail that can charge e-vehicle batteries as cars pass over it. A connection to the underneath of the vehicle is made by a movable arm, which automatically detects when the rail is near and lowers to begin charging. As the cars move down the road, 50-metre lengths of track are electrified to charge the vehicles. The amount of electricity used by each car is tracked and charged to the user or owner. Don’t worry, there’s no electricity on the surface of the road, so it’s safe to walk on. Hans Säll chairman of the eRoadArlanda says, “It will make it possible to have smaller instead of bigger batteries, which will lower battery cost and their negative impact from a sustainability point of view and it will also decrease the cost and space needed for stationary charging stations along our highways.” Sweden’s target of achieving independence from fossil fuel by 2030 requires a 70% reduction in the transport sector. Yes, similar to India’s old target of achieving independence from the British which required a reduction in the English influence back in those days (FREEDOM!!).
Well aside from that, in my opinion, the whole world must follow Sweden and adopt this sustainable method.
Watch this YouTube video for reference:
Number 4: Hydrogen-Powered Trains
I agree ‘Thomas and Friends’ was such a spectacular show. But were the trains Hydrogen-Powered? Germany launched the world’s first two hydrogen-powered passenger trains. These hydrogen-powered models are replacing diesel trains, which are prized for their cheap cost to run, as they can run on tracks that are not electrified. For those who like long Deutsch words, the introduction of these first two trains has been celebrated by the transport authorities of Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen and Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser in Bremervörde (you are not alone, even I had to google). A hydrogen fuel cell powers the train, emitting only steam and condensed water and the fuel cell generates power from a chemical reaction, combining the hydrogen fuel with oxygen. The generated energy is used by an electric drivetrain or traction motor, with a small capacity battery used to maintain consistent power levels and to store energy from regenerative braking. Due to the torque delivered by an electric motor, the energy needs of the train are cut by half when compared to diesel trains. Kudos to Indian Railways on planning to launch Hydrogen-powered train.
Amidst the climate crisis, the demand for decarbonisation across transport industries has grown and this is just one product for the same.
Watch this video on YouTube for reference:
Number 5: Video Recording Contact Lenses
Okay, so I am pretty sure the video recording contact lenses are paving the way to the real invention of the famous world-class EDITH created by our own Tony Stark. Sony got the patent for a contact lens that can record video when Google was still working on the Google Glass. The data storage and image capture technology are in the iris of the lens, and there is even a generator that powers the device using the movements of the eye. The lens isn’t practical just yet, but Sony is working on it. The lens should be able to: Zoom in and out readily, record video and data, take and store photographs, organic, an electro-luminescent display screen can be controlled by blinking and lens can also playback recorded material in-lens.
Studies say that liars often do not keep eye-contact when they speak while lovers do the exact opposite. Just saying this because I was just pondering about the future possibilities by using these lenses.
Number 6: Cockroach Farming
Ewwww!! One of the common ‘pets’ in each household of India, Cockroaches, outnumbering maybe even humans on the planet are disgusting but produces a “healing potion” consumed by millions of patients in China, according to the government. Cockroach farms became big business in China in 2019. According to South China Morning Post, the world’s largest cockroach farm is breeding 6 billion adult cockroaches a year and using artificial intelligence to manage a colony larger than the world’s human population — all for medicinal use. Other than being used in the medicinal industry, on a cockroach farm in Jinan, China, one billion cockroaches eat through 45 tonnes of food waste a day that would otherwise be landfilled. The cockroaches are ground up and used as a food source for livestock. “Cockroaches are a bio-technological pathway for the converting and processing of kitchen waste,” said Liu Yusheng, president of Shandong Insect Industry Association. Cockroaches are also a good source of protein for pigs and other livestock. “It’s like turning trash into resources,” said Shandong Qiaobin chairwoman Li Hongyi.
Asked about the chance of the cockroaches escaping, Wen Jianguo, manager of Gooddoctor’s cockroach facility said that would be worthy of a disaster movie but that he has taken precautions. “We have a moat filled with water and fish,” he said. “If the cockroaches escape, they will fall into the moat and the fish will eat them all.” Researchers are also looking into using cockroach extract in beauty masks, diet pills and even hair-loss treatments.
Oh God, what’s with ‘C’hina and the letter ‘C’?!
Number 7: Drone Reforestation
I began with an invention inspired by nature, and now I am here dedicating this last one to mother nature to help her with her very essential existence. Planting a tree takes a lot longer than cutting one down which is a relatively slow and expensive process. However, fortunately, BioCarbon Engineering, the brainchild of former NASA engineer Lauren Fletcher, has proposed a solution: Industrial reforestation with robot drones. The drones would plant an estimated 1 billion trees a year. First, a drone scans the terrain and develops a 3-D map of the area. Then, using the data from this “smart map,” the team develops an algorithm for a unique planting pattern. A “firing drone” uses the algorithm to carry out the planting strategy. The drone flies about six feet above the ground, firing germinated seed pods at a speed that will get them under the soil. One drone operator can manage six drones. They will also perform plant audits to monitor the ecosystem over time. The entire process is called “precision planting.”
Fighting against climate change will really require the sequestration of carbon emissions, but the technologies for the same are expensive. Luckily, trees can do the job at a fraction of the cost. Drone-powered reforestation is treating the symptoms, not the problem hence it may be better to reduce large-scale deforestation first.
Watch this video on YouTube for reference:
Conclusion
Yes, you read them all right! These are just a few stars visible on the sky that I chose to show you all. I wish all the terrific technologists, stupendous scientists, incredible innovators, excellent entrepreneurs, resolute researchers and others to come up with more ideas and innovations to shape the world into a better place to live in. So, heap up your knowledge, skills, talents, qualities, capabilities and resources to fill the sky with more visible stars and to be a star below the sky.
