NEW YORK – Sept. 5, 2014 – While it doesn't look like flying cars will appear anytime soon, clients may soon park their normal cars beside homes and buildings of a very different sort. Popular culture blog Gizmodo identified seven new materials and techniques that could lead to everything from taller high-rises to wallpaper that charges a smartphone.
A company called uBeam is heading the phone-charging effort. Taking its cue from current wireless charging techniques, uBeam is working on using an ultrasonic sound transmitter to fill a room with inaudible energy. A receiver inside a wireless device can pick up the sound and convert it back to energy, letting owners charge their devices anywhere in the home – even in a pocket. The transmitters can be placed around a home to provide full coverage.
Also in the energy realm, researchers at Michigan State have created solar cells that should help to make energy collectors more pleasing to the eye – by vanishing. Everyone has seen the large black panels that sit on roofs, and some have seen photovoltaic panels on windows that shimmer with rainbows; but Michigan State's new solar concentrators are transparent. This material can be used in windows and doors to create solar power.
Building materials are also being upgraded. A team at MIT, for example, has studied bamboo's structural power and looked for ways to apply it to other materials. Even plywood could soon be stronger and cheaper and have less environmental impact, says Gizmodo writer Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan.
A company called Kite Bricks developed bricks reminiscent of Lego blocks that snap together, but the holes can serve as conduits for the home's wiring and plumbing, allowing easy access for repairs and upgrades.
Other developments identified by Gizmodo:
- A new plastic that lights up in the wind, with potential for both decorative and emergency applications
- Carbon fiber rope that could double the height of high-rises by allowing elevators to more securely reach new levels
- A new paint technique that can detect when structural fissures have developed in buildings – a big benefit in earthquake zones, but also a tool applicable to older buildings everywhere
Source: "7 New Materials That Could Change How Our Buildings Act," Gizmodo.com (August 25, 2014)
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