The era of the economy of impressions is already near. Technologies of the future in everyday life

    Everyone is probably interested to know how we will live in the future. For example, what happens if the world runs out of water? What remains to be done when the balance between man and the animal world is disturbed? How much space is enough for growing crops? What rumors go around a decline in the bee population? And when will it be possible to drive a car not manually?

    Similar questions arise in a person for a reason. Digital technologies are beginning to exert an intense impact on all spheres of human life. Today we will cover the topic of clean water, affordable food and unmanned vehicles.

    And so, let's go in order:

    New wave of water treatment


    Many people know that our drinking water is extracted from running water, groundwater and underground artesian sources. Every day we need a colossal amount of water for personal consumption, which cannot affect the sources of water themselves. In addition, because of the growing population of the earth, more water is needed than now.

    For this reason, the "used" water again comes to us after a thorough cleaning. But in densely populated cities such sewage treatment plants require space, money and special care. Because of what the question arises of finding a more profitable and economical way to obtain clean water.



    Craig Kridle and Bill Mitch, environmental engineers at Stanford, claim they are already addressing this issue and are looking for sustainable ways to treat wastewater. They came to the conclusion that it is worth using anaerobic processing again - by the principle of operation it is similar to biogas production.

    At the moment, such an enterprise is already being built in California. This is a joint project of several municipalities that see in this project a positive result and huge benefits in the future.

    Nano processing

    There is another technology that is only at the beginning of development, but has great potential in the future - this is a nanoparticle filtration system. The Indian Institute of Technology in Madras is developing a low-cost, pollution-free biological filtration method. This method will kill germs and remove deadly pollutants such as lead and arsenic. This technology uses cheap materials (one of them is shell chitin shell chitin) and uses small amounts of energy. It is likely that in the future we will see it in action in large-scale production.

    Water is everywhere, but is it possible to drink it?

    You all know that two-thirds of the planet is covered in water, but it is not possible to use it all. We are talking about ocean water where there is a high concentration of salt. Scientists have long been interested in the method of processing saline for human consumption.

    There is already a simple way of boiling ocean water in which deadly salt is removed, but in the long run this method is very cumbersome, costly and energy intensive.
    Recent developments have already designed a special graphene-based membrane filter that can remove sea salt. In the long run, this method can be revolutionary in resolving the issue of desalination of seawater into potable water.

    But even if humanity finds a compromise with water, what about the territory for planting and driving livestock? A solution has already been found to this question - skyscrapers-greenhouses!

    Greenhouse skyscrapers and robotic bees: is this the future of food?




    Have you really thought about the fact that you will not always eat cheese sandwiches and beef steaks?

    Human pressure on the animal and plant world becomes stronger every year due to population growth. Only here the population growth does not keep up with the birth rate of new people. For this reason, the question has ripened on how to approach this issue for the sake of everyone.
    Scientists have discovered that the discovery of effective new foods can help get around the road leading to hunger. They came to the conclusion that only radical transformations can lead humanity to the food revolution.

    Modified seeds show a "thirst for speed"

    As you know, the climate changes every year, sometimes not for the better for plants in different regions. This explains that only sustainable crops can become the key to a full future. By accelerating the growth and reproduction cycle of crops, scientists and breeders will be able to create plants that will be more nutritious, resistant to climate and disease.

    NASA has already introduced the concept of “quick selection” in which artificially optimized lighting, nutrition and water supply will help accelerate plant growth. Crops of the "long day": wheat, barley and chickpeas are subjected to continuous exposure to LED lamps for 22 hours a day.

    Such a method will allow breeders to increase the growth of generations per year up to six times. In addition, such methods contribute to the study and modernization of crops.

    Greenhouse skyscrapers

    Based on the experience with working with crops described above, the question arises of the area of ​​planting, which is required in large quantities. And an interesting solution was invented for this problem.

    Scientists decided that the farm should not grow in breadth, but up. This will help to save a large amount of territory for other needs of mankind. The founders of greenhouses - plantagons - want to combine vertical farming with residential or business spaces in symbiosis with municipal infrastructure (cooling, heating, biogas and water).


    The plantagons have even designed a production line, when certain crops rotate around the room, can be moved to the upper and lower floors to double growth. A similar method will help to prepare the crop for a certain period.
    On the financial side, such farming in urban areas will help accelerate the path of plants from the place of production to the consumer's table. Also, renting free space in such skyscrapers will help farmers conduct their business more efficiently.

    Farm inside a freight container

    This is a similar option with greenhouse skyscrapers, only in a more capacious format. Cargo Farms provides a mobile personal farm service that uses hydroponics and automated climate control to grow fresh produce 24/7 at any time of the year. The approximate yield is 1000 heads of lettuce per week. This is enough to run your own business.

    And yes, Freight Farms is a SOLIDWORKS customer. Thanks to our software, the Green Machine was developed and designed. The company team was able to move from the concept development stage to rapid prototyping and validation of the project. And it is worth noting that it was not required to create a single physical prototype. SOLIDWORKS has simplified the creation of production documentation and images of marketing materials.

    Grow shrimp in your own garden.

    Each of you at least once in your life ate seafood, and someone eats them regularly. Many people know that aquaculture provides more than half of the seafood consumed by mankind. And you will be right, but still there remains the need to grow them artificially. This is due to environmental difficulties.

    Shrimp cultivation mainly occurs in tropical regions. Unfortunately, this process led to the destruction of sensitive ecological systems of coastal areas. Also, due to the cultivation of shrimp and fish, one fifth of the world's mangroves were destroyed.

    Now imagine that you could grow shrimp anywhere in the world? With Biofloc technology, this will soon be possible. Such a technology will ensure agriculture in artificial reservoirs, where microclimate is used under full control and microorganisms are used to detoxify water and remove shrimp waste. Also, these microorganisms are consumed by zooplankton, and it becomes food for shrimp. In this regard, the need for shrimp for food is partially satisfied.




    Biofloc Ponds in Japan (Photo: taniorganik.com)


    Cultured Shrimps (Photo: youtube.com)

    Rural robots increase productivity

    Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute is launching a project to use drones and autonomous robots. They will help farmers grow food faster and take on the bulk of the hard work.

    The team has already developed an autonomous ground-based robot that is capable of conducting a visual inspection of the fields in order to predict the expected fruit yield in the current season. It can also thin out fruits and cut leaves to maintain the perfect balance between the volume of foliage and fruits.

    Such a robot is a good representative of auxiliary robots, but the development does not stop there. There is one project that uses an analogue of living bees, the so-called "RoboBee". Have you heard about this?


    Rumors about robot bees.

    You may have heard that in recent years colonies of bees around the world begin to die. This is an extremely serious problem. Bees pollinate about a third of the crops, and if they become smaller, the number of strawberries, sunflower seeds, Brussels sprouts and many other crops will decrease significantly.

    Several strategies are already being developed to save honey bees from total destruction. Harvard University is working on insurance in case of death of bees. They are developing the so-called robot bees. In their structure, they will be microbots that have wings and sensors (similar to the antennas of real bees), which allow the "robotic bee" to feel and respond to the environment. It is thanks to these functions that they will be able to pollinate crops for ten years.



    An interesting fact is that the robot bee is an unmanned device that, with the help of analyzers, will navigate in the outside world. The same thing is happening now in the development of cars without a driver. Let's cover this topic in more detail.

    High technology on the highway


    Now let's touch on the topic of digital technologies in transport management. At the moment, any car produced is a storehouse of opportunities. Think of the special parking assistants, collision avoidance system, GPS and other useful features. Now you can start the car using the application on the phone, use wireless headsets and connect your smartphone to control the periphery of the car.

    But the unresolved issue remains. When will the car be able to move without a driver?



    Where we go we don't need drivers

    Automated cars that use their own network and process data flows in a millisecond? Able to provide a safe train from point A to point B without a driver? It all sounds like a fantasy. But in reality this is not so, just imagine that GPS is the child’s first step in overcoming an obstacle and everything will fall into place.

    Currently, the British engineering company RDM group (RDM group) is testing a number of vehicles of the type Low-Speed ​​Autonomous Transport System (L-SATS). These vehicles look like small streamlined gondolas that move at low speed and move people or goods.



    These driverless gondolas adapt to the environment thanks to a network of lasers that are located at specific points on the car chassis. On-board computers carry out calculations to navigate in the surrounding area for a millisecond.
    The RDM group used SOLIDWORKS 3D to work out ideas, manage the design stages and simulate how her creations will move and behave in the real world.

    But all this will be a dream until the infrastructure of the city where such cars can be connected is sufficiently developed. The Smart City system will help.

    "Smart city"



    The Smart Cities Council is a global initiative that seeks to promote a sustainable living space that harnesses the power of digital technology.

    The Council of Smart Cities takes into account synergetic systems that will help create an automated transport network. Such a network will be able to instantly focus on any interference and difficulties in the city, help to choose the optimal path and route the movement of autonomous cars without a driver. Under this system, each unmanned vehicle will transmit the latest data to the infrastructure and vice versa.

    And these are not myths from the future. Investments have already begun in the production of such vehicles. Toyota and Microsoft are promoting cutting-edge driving technologies that are based on data analysis and mobile programs. Ford, Audi and Mercedes are also paving their own way in developing such a niche.



    Conclusion


    As you have already noticed, the development of digital technologies now directly affects our whole life. Smart bees, cars without a driver, water for everyone and always, food from a petri dish is not a fairy tale and not fantastic stories. Research in such areas is no longer on paper, but completely in digital space, when development can be tested without resorting to the creation of a physical prototype.

    The tandem of water, food and transport for humans becomes sufficiently strong and powerful. These three key links are the launching pad for the development of larger and smaller research in other areas. We emphasized them because this is our future, in which such systems are necessary for a comfortable life and for providing living space on the planet.


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