TECHNOLOGY AND MODERN LIFE

28.04.2014

TECHNOLOGY AND MODERN LIFE

Dr. S. N. Chakravarty

President

Elastomer Technology Development Society

C/o. Polym Consultants 812, Devika Tower , 6 Nehru Place ,

New Delhi 110019, E-mail: polymcon@gmail.com

12 Technologies that can be Game Changers in 2014

Technologies that have been knocking at our doors and are all ready to storm the market. Together, these will disrupt industries worth $10-20 trillion over the decade.

1.         IT and Computing SMAC :

As the most disruptive force ever in the industry of the IT industry, the unique power of SMAC ( social, mobile, analytics and cloud) comes from the way it combines different technologies. Individual SMAC technologies have developed well over the last few years, and the combination is now ripe for causing big shifts. Mobile phones are selling in large numbers, and networks have matured. Cloud computing is package that is powerful.

2.         Life Sciences and Healthcare - Whole Genome Sequencing :

The complete deconstruction of a human being’s DNA is the most rapidly developing technology ever. It is now also ready for large-scale commercial use, as the cost has come down to a few thousand dollars per genome. A whole genome can now be sequenced in two weeks, and will soon be the basis of prevention and treatment of many diseases. It will be a life-saver for cancer patients, who can hope to get the correct drug based on the genetic basis of the tumor. At some point, whole genome sequencing will be as common as vaccinations for newborns.

3.         Energy / Transport: Electric Car :

Driven by the Tesla Model S, electric cars had a good 2013 in the US. Next year, Tesla will expand to other countries, and other companies – Honda, BMW, GM, Volkswagen – are expected to launch new models. Electric cars are predicted to grow steadily till 2020, and dominate after that. In 2014, gear boxes will disappear in some cars, batteries will shrink and range on a single charge will increase. Charging time will shrink too, though still not to the ideal.

4.         Manufacturing : Internet of Things 

Internet of things, or M2M, is jargon for a network of machines. It is actually a set of sensors and motors connected to each other, one for feeding information and the other to act upon this information. Often a hyped technology, Internet of Things will begin to become real next year. Its impact will be left most in the manufacturing sector, as it improves productivity by bringing an exquisite sense of timing to global supply chains.  

5.         IT and Computing : Cognitive Computing

Cognitive Computing is a process by which computers learn as they do their tasks and engage with humans like humans. This term was coined by IBM to distinguish it from the more popular term artificial intelligence, and to stress the fact that there is nothing artificial about cognitive computing. IBM’s Watson is the most advanced cognitive computing platform, but few others are also being developed, mostly by startups. Some advances that have long-term significance are likely.

6.         Life Sciences and Healthcare: Wearable Devices

Personal health monitoring is growing in developed markets and even in India, as people monitor their sleep, exercise impact, heart, and progress of pregnancy. The next year will make a significant advance as these devices begin to be connected to hospitals. A wearable devices network can be considered an Internet of Things, and will be influenced by SMAC, and is thus a good illustration how cutting-edge technologies reinforce each other. Wearable device are not just for health monitoring. Watch out for Google Glass.

7.         Energy and Transport : New Batteries

Battery breakthroughs are essential for renewable energy to take off, and the world has waited for long. We need better batteries in electric cars, in solar farms to provide steady power. Now, there are a few candidates that could make a difference to the world of renewable. Some are ready for commercialization, some are early prototypes, some are just proof of concepts. There is a good chance now that one of them could prove to be a winner.

8.         Manufacturing : 3D Printing

3D Printing had an inventing year. As technology has advanced rapidly, gun models for printing were downloaded over 100,000 tomes. 3D printing is set to revolutionize manufacturing, as big players around the world announce their intention to switch to the technique in a big way. Companies doing 3D printing have good revenues and profits, and their stocks are riding high. It is even coming to life sciences, as biotech forms are working printing body parts.

9.         IT computing: Graphene chip

Graphene a single layer of carbon atoms. It was discovered only 2004, but has since shown extraordinary properties in the lab. It is the thinnest and the strongest material that we know, and is also very good conductor of heat and electricity. These properties make it great for computing. Computing needs a breakthrough soon: the copper wiring inside the chip cannot be shrunk for too long. An all-graphene chip would be a great development, as MIT and IBM have already shown that the idea can work, in photo-detectors to begin with. Definitely in the wish list for 2014.

10.       Life Science and healthcare:

Nano-medicine is the application of nanotechnology manipulation of matter at the smallest scale-to medicine. As an area of research is not new, but there have been no game-changing commercial applications yet for nanomedicine. Experts believe that there will be one soon, at some point the next few years. Drug delivery using nanoparticles is one of the most promising areas of nanomedicine. Next year could see some important results in the clinical tails currently going on using nanoparticles for delivery. Watch out for some of them in India too.

11.       Energy: Perovskites

Perovskites are a kind of mineral made of calcium titanium oxide discovered in the 19^th century. They have now become a hot research material for solar cells because they are cheap and abundant. Perovskites now work at 15% efficiency in the lab. Efficiencies of 25% are not impossible at some point, considering the pace at which research is advancing. It still has some barriers to cross. For example, perovskite cells contain lead, are toxic to the environment if let lose. But it is certainly one the materials to watch materials for in 2014. 

12.       Manufacturing : Printed Electronics

Printed electronics is certain rewrite industries. The only question is when. A beginning could be made next year with printed solar cells, as several novel techniques have been shown to work in the labs this year. Soon, as costs drop, printed could be everywhere on food packets, on newspapers and magazines, manufactured goods and so on. One day, this newspaper could have a video that could cut food waste, generate cheap electricity, power medical devices in our bodies, and so on. And that could spring a surprise next year. 

 5 Wonder Materials that Could Change the World

The history of materials is a history of mistakes, says Mark Miodownik, a materials scientist at University College, London. But the chance discovery of useful materials might not carry on for much longer. Scientists are now turning to computers to design materials and work out their properties before going anywhere near a laboratory or workshop.

Wonder Materials and their possible use

Material	Property	Possible use
Graphene	Immensely, strong, flexible, transparent and conductive	In next generation electronic devices, sewn into our clothing, slapped on drinks bottles and cans of food or rolled and tucked in our pockets
Metamaterials	Can – to some extent – bend light around an onject, rendering that object invisible	Cloaking devices
Shrilk	Without water the materials stiff, but with water the coating becomes very flexible	Boidegradable trash bags
Stanene	Insulator on the inside, and a conductor on the outside	Natural successor to copper interconnects in computers
Spider Silk	Exquisite material, immensely extensible	Yet to be worked out. But is definitely an inspiration to make better materials

Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov at Manchestter University were playing around with Scotch tape and lump of graphite tape when they found they could make sheets of carbon one atom thick. That was in 2004. They have since shared the Nobel Prize, become Sirs and been reward with a £61m National Graphene Institute.

Spider Silk could be the perfect material from which to manufacture bulletproof vests. The application was found around after researchers teased out the silk’s molecular structure and from that came to understand its strength and flexibility.

Enormously competitive microchip industry, has refined manufacturing at the nano scale. Metamaterials are made with the same technology, but their design is so precise that scientists can control how electrons inside the materials respond when light – or other electromagnetic waves – strike them. This makes it possible to manipulate radiation like never before. And says, metaterials can – to some extent – bend light around object invisible.

Shrilk was inspired by research into the tough skins of insects. The coating made from layers of a material called chitin and a protein called fibroin. Simple tweaks to the material changed its behavior dramatically. Without water the material is stiff, but with water the coating becomes very flexible. Shrilk is an environmentally friendly alternative to plastics.

Stanene ( material designed on a computer ) is an insulator on the inside, and a conductor on the outside.

Brighetning Moon to Save Electricity ?

A Sweden-based  company has proposed a bizarre new method to eliminate the need for streetlights – brighten the surface of the Moon. The idea is to use materials already on the Moon to lighten its surface. The goal is to reflect slightly more sunlight onto Earth, making the night sky brighter.

A brighter night sky would mean less need for streetlights, which could potentially translate into less electricity usages and thus fewer globe warming carbon emission.

New Tyre Concept

Things to come in future - AIRLESS TYRES, it was developed for the military. Amazing new tires. Michelin Tires presented absolutely scary looking tyres

Those are 'spoke' like connections to the inner part of the tire from the outside tread 'wrap!' The picture shows how odd it looks in motion.

These tires are airless and are scheduled to be out on the market very soon.

Just think of the impact on existing technology:

a)         No more air valves.

b)         No more air compressors at gas stations.

c)         No more repair kits.

d)         No more flats.

Trelleborg's Brawler OTR Tire

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"Brawler is particularly suited to the waste and recycling industries, where many customers are switching from either pneumatics or foam-filled pneumatics to solid tires on large applications," and require tires that last longer, need little maintenance and deliver the best total cost of ownership over their whole life.

Goodyear's Atlanta tire is a game-changer

The new tire Goodyear is providing for upcoming races at Atlanta Motor Speedway represents one of the most significant advancements in the construction of racing tires in the company's history. The inboard shoulder of the tire, roughly the inner third, and the area that receives the most stress at an oval such as Atlanta, features a firmer, more heat-tolerant compound. The outer portion of the tire features a softer tread designed to provide more grip.

Renewable tires could be here by 2020

 Continental A.G. is predicting car tires could be made of 100 percent renewable raw materials by 2020, but at the same time cautioned that finding acceptable substitutes for materials used widely today is a "rocky road."

The non-oil-based materials content of modern-day tires already is at about 45 percent, but increasing that to 100 percent is not a straight-forward process. "Not all raw materials in tires can simply be replaced by renewable materials," he said.

Bridgestone eyes 100% sustainable tires by 2050

Bridgestone Corp. is committing itself to develop tires made with 100-percent sustainable raw materials by 2050..  Initiatives are natural rubber alternatives Guayule and Russian dandelion, processes to develop synthetic rubber, carbon black and rubber compounding agents from biomass materials and practical application of new cellulose fibers to produce yarns that would substitute for petroleum-derived polyester and nylon., butadiene—used in SBR synthetic rubber—produced from bioethanol and has developed carbon black from intermediate materials created from biomass materials. ,

Bridgestone fuel-efficient tire debuts   

Latest development in the fuel-efficiency  is the "large and narrow"" concept tire to operate at higher air pressure. The tire maker claims the large/narrow design, coupled with the use of the "most appropriate" materials, yields a roughly 30-percent reduction in the rolling-resistance coefficient .Making tires narrower also reduces air resistance,.