New inventions change people's lives

Technology is always evolving to meet the needs of life. Here are some new inventions.

Top 5 new inventions that change lives

Robots to produce box noodles

To overcome the labor shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, at the recent Technology Expo in Tokyo (Japan), Japan's RT Technology Company (RTC) introduced a "robot worker" named Foodly. has the ability to automatically make boxed noodles, as proficient as a human.

According to RTC, Foodly is 1.5 meters tall, connected to an image recognition system capable of locating and observing the food in front of it. Foodly's hand is like a fork, moving smoothly and neatly.

Foodly also has the ability to accurately calculate the weight of noodles, picking up about 500g at a time to put in the box before moving on to the next packaging stage. The Foodly production line currently costs about 250,000 USD, which is very suitable for Japanese food production companies in the context of digitalisation and lack of human resources after COVID-19.

The type of pillow that helps the hugger reduce stress

A team of experts at the University of Bristol, UK (UoB) led by engineer Alice Haynes has developed and introduced the first five soft "breathing pillows" to help huggers reduce stress (stress) and comfort. The reason it is called a "breathing pillow" is because when hugging a pillow, people feel like they are breathing, anxiety and stress are reduced.

According to robotics engineer Alice Haynes, this pillow simulates the feeling of interacting with pets or other people, helping to recreate and regulate breathing and heart rate. The pillow has a soft microfiber outer shell, stuffed with polyester and has an additional airbag in the middle, which inflates and deflates rhythmically by means of an external pump that the user can't hear or see.

In a trial of 129 volunteers, the group that hugged a pillow and meditated had less anxiety than the control group that did nothing. Currently, the research team is continuing to research to find out the exact mechanism of breathing pillows to help people reduce stress, and at the same time complete improvements to soon be commercially available.

Effective dust removal method for solar cells

The new method uses electrostatic repulsion to effectively make dust particles separate from the battery surface.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has successfully developed a method of using electrostatic repulsion to clean dust for solar cells, overcoming the current limitation of cleaning batteries with water and brushes. According to MIT, because the large surface is in direct contact with the environment, solar cells are prone to dirt, reducing the efficiency of electricity generation. MIT estimates that today's battery cleaning requires about 10 billion gallons of water a year - enough to provide water for 2 million users.

MIT's method is waterless, using electrostatic repulsion to effectively force dust particles to separate from the battery's surface. An electrode in the form of a rod is guided across the surface of the battery, transferring an electrical charge to the dust particles. Then, another charge is placed on the panel itself, doing the job of pushing dust particles out.

The system can be operated automatically with a simple electric motor, and metal guides run along the sides of the battery. This technique can also be applied to the mirrors of thermal power plants.

According to MIT, this new cleaning technology will reduce costs, improve electricity production and reduce effort for investors or households. In addition, it also helps the solar industry to develop, install more works, even in places where water is scarce such as in desert areas.

The world's first infinity train

IT has the potential to be the world's most efficient battery-powered locomotive.

Infinity train (IT) is the term for a new type of train: "infinity train". This is a product of Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) Australia, the ship does not need to stop to refuel or charge the battery, so it is also called a zero emission train.

Scientists at FFI say that the mechanism of the infinity train is to use the gravitational energy generated on steeply loaded sections of railway tracks or giant railways to charge the energy battery system. of the vessel, eliminating the need for additional charging when returning with a load.

IT has the potential to be the world's most efficient battery-powered locomotive, generating electricity on downhill sections of roads will eliminate the need to install renewable energy production infrastructure, solve effective way to eliminate diesel and emissions in the railway industry of the future.

Technology "new hydroelectricity"

Austria's International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) has successfully developed a system called Electric Truck Hydropower, or ETH for short, which can be used in mountainous areas with steep slopes. running along rivers and streams. According to the research, this is an innovative hydroelectric technology for electric trucks, a flexible and clean solution to generate electricity in mountainous areas, with available water sources, and to replace hydropower in the future.

The working principle of ETH can be summarized as follows: Before going down the pass, people fill up rivers and streams with water into large tanks placed on electric vehicles (called charging points). Thanks to the slope of the road, the vehicle must brake continuously, the water increases the inertial mass of the vehicle. Thanks to the regenerative braking system, the downhill journey will generate electricity used to charge the vehicle's battery.

When it reaches the "discharge point" at the foot of the hill, the water in the tank is poured out, the vehicle's battery is disassembled to supply electricity to the local grid, and the vehicle with an empty tank is fitted with a replacement battery pack to recharge when to the charging point, starting a new power generation cycle.

Scientists estimate that if applied on a global scale, the ETH system can produce 1.2 petawatt hours of electricity per year, equivalent to 4% of the world's electricity consumption in 2019.

The benefit of ETH is that it does not require hydroelectric dams, reservoirs or tunnels, does not disrupt the natural flow of rivers and migratory fish and other adverse effects, only routes with available, charging and discharging stations similar to parking stations, battery packs connected to the electric grid, and trucks.