New technologies for life

Photovoltaic cells, taxis, self-propelled marine vessels . are groundbreaking inventions that promise to bring about many changes in people's lives. Most of these inventions are not new, but in 2018 and the following years will start to come to life, better serving people and increasing the earth's environmental protection.

Revolution, social robots

If you want to have your home installed but don't want to lose the aesthetics or structure of your house, don't worry, many companies are developing technology, allowing homeowners to integrate cells. photoelectric right into the current architecture of the house.

Tesla, the creator of electric cars, has successfully produced, looking like normal roofing panels on the house. This technology has been installed for about 10 houses, including the home of the company's founder - he. Orders for this technology promise to increase sharply in 2018.

House with tile is solar battery.

Meanwhile, a group of researchers at Michigan State University have invented transparent solar cells that can capture the wavelengths of sunlight, meaning they can be attached as door glass. book for solar energy collection.

Scientists estimate that there are nearly 7,000km² of windows in the US if replaced by this new battery, which can increase 40% of US electricity production. Not only do solar batteries be mounted on rooftops or windows, but a group of Australian researchers have also invented solar-based paint.

It works by attracting water vapor from the air and then using energy from sunlight to separate water vapor into oxygen and hydrogen gas. Hydrogen collected is used in fuel cells.

These technologies will take time to lower costs. Solar energy is not commercially viable in the short term, but will become increasingly a source of practical energy.

In Norway, Yara International plans to transport fertilizer with an electric boat along the Fjord sea route in Trondheim. The ship is expected to pilot a remote control in 2019 and will be fully automated by 2020.

This year, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Rolls-Royce will also test self- propelled vessels . In Boston, Massachusetts (USA), Sea Machines Robotics Company is testing a cargo ship transporting goods to the North Atlantic without a manager.

Supporters say that self-propelled ships have many advantages compared to conventional manned vessels, less prone to error, more difficult to pirate and can be designed with greater transport capacity. In addition, this is also a solution to the shortage of skilled maritime workers. However, automating the transportation will mean that workers do not have to spend weeks or months floating on the sea, instead the sailor's life will shift to another job.

Traditionally, robots are tasked with performing dangerous, dirty jobs. But a new generation of robots is emerging to meet the complex psychological needs, which is friendship.

Social robots, like ElliQ, are built by Israel, helping owners plan appointments and keep in touch with friends and family. ElliQ helps connect seniors with social media, video chat and Facebook messenger. It can learn owner's interests, provide suggestions for owners about books, entertainment and outdoor activities. The device is set up for mass sale in 2018.

Social robots in the form of pets.

There are social robots like Jibo ($ 899) on the market that can recognize the faces of family members and chat with them. Paro robots ($ 5,000) function to improve the mood of mental patients and increase their chances of communicating with family members. As the number of people with dementia increases in aging population communities around the world, researchers believe that social robots are very useful. The Institute of Advanced Science and Technology in Tokyo created Paro to behave like a pet. With 12 sensors in its faux fur and beard, Paro can express emotions when rubbed.

Technology to protect wild animals

Face recognition systems have been used for everything from stadium security to unlocking phones. But humans are not the only creature that needs identification. US researchers have developed a reliable system that can distinguish the face of the red belly lemur with primates.

The system is called LemurFaceID , which can enhance wildlife conservation efforts by allowing biologists to identify and track animals found only in the wilds of Madagascar, but not need to use tranquilizers to tag them. Scientists have also used the face recognition of fish. In 2016, the FishFace project of Nature Conservancy received a $ 750,000 prize from Google to develop a smartphone application that can be used on fishing vessels worldwide. This technology can provide low-cost fisheries management, allowing more accurate monitoring of fish species and declining species.

Around the world, farmers are increasingly exploiting new technologies to increase productivity. Space and satellite stations provide infrared images that measure plant photosynthetic rates. Sensors are used to monitor crop moisture and allow farmers to control irrigation pumps from smartphones.

Even high-tech water cans have been used: Wireless rainwater collection WatchDog uses accurate temperature and precipitation measurements, turning farmers into meteorologists. All this data can be aggregated to help growers choose the timing, location of seeding, fertilizer application and pesticide spraying. Technology monitoring will reduce both labor costs and environmental waste.

American farmers use high technology.

Smart city and taxi flying

Mosaic is part of a trend that is expected to grow in the future - interactive television. This is a $ 20 million project initiated by Steven Soderbergh in 2017. Two Netflix children's programs - Puss in Book: Epic Tale and Buddy Thunderstruck - give children different choices to track .

Future cities will be equipped with sensors that allow people to track everything from traffic to noise and air quality. The roads will be full of self-driving vehicles such as taxis and trucks. Trash can be taken away in vacuum tubes underground. That is the vision of many urban planners today. In October, Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Alphabet, which owns Google, announced it pledged to spend $ 50 million to redesign 4.8 hectares of rivers in Toronto, Canada into a "smart city."

The Quayside area will be 'carpeted sensor' ; Road design will prioritize pedestrians, cyclists and self-driving cars, the construction will use many prefabricated structures made of eco-friendly wood and plastic. If all goes well, the company will expand the project to nearly 324ha.

Billionaire Bill Gates is participating in the smart city movement. The founder of Microsoft plans to invest $ 80 million in a smart city of 10.117ha in the west of Phoenix, Arizona, USA, called Belmont, consisting of 80,000 houses.

Belmont Partners, a real estate investment group, said: The community has infrastructure and communication infrastructure including advanced technology, designed around high-speed digital networks, hubs. Data centers, new production technologies and distribution models, self-driving cars, self-propelled logistics centers are being designed. Another future city will soon receive more attention when the Winter Olympics opens in PyeongChang, South Korea, in February. This 607ha area is built on reclaimed land farther away from the Yellow Sea. 70km southwest of Seoul, with energy-saving building features, electric vehicle charging station and compressed air treatment system.

Uber trading company said it will test taxi services in Los Angeles and Dallas in 2020, targeting the first commercial taxi flights in 2023.

The company plans to exploit thousands of flights a day in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Uber envisions a fleet of electric aircraft equipped with many rotors that can take off and down vertically and reach speeds of about 320km / hour. Uber has partnered with a real estate investment company to develop 20 rooftop stations in Los Angeles. However, the demand for flying taxis poses a huge challenge on air traffic. Therefore, Uber signed a contract with NASA to help develop an air traffic management system.