The future is now. We live in a time of amazing technological advances, and just when we thought technology couldn’t get any more innovative, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (aka MIT) premieres more of their signature incredible inventions.
An Extremely Fashionable Space Suit
This suit is not only functional and optimized for safety, speed, and flexibility, but it looks incredibly cool and futuristic. Believe it or not, it’s very difficult to design something as delicate as a space suit on Earth. It’s impossible to perfectly replicate the conditions of space and perform your tests. Scientists have gone to great measures to check out the specifications of their experiments, from submerging test subjects underwater to launching suited-up teddy bears far out into space. The design for the suit originated with research about how best to equip people traveling to Mars. The suit is much easier to move around in than the gas-filled suits of the past. It is made of elastic fabric that can handle all of the extreme situations of space travel. Even the tiniest tear in the older suits could endanger the astronauts wearing them. The new and improved space suit manages to withstand much more damage. While the ultimate goal is space travel, the researchers are using technology from this invention to create other improvements in various fields. For instance, the suit may be used to help children with various illnesses, from brain damage to cerebral palsy. It could also help people who have suffered from a stroke or others who could use the assisted mobility of the super-sleek space suit outfitted with actuators and sensors to help them move.Another amazing aspect of the suit is that it is created individually for each wearer. The person who eventually dons the suit will be scanned with lasers for an incredibly custom fit. The suit is expanded before it’s worn, and then the wearer links up to a power source and the suit essentially shrinks to fit their body perfectly. It took a very special material to get this exactly right. There are plenty of shape-changing materials out there, but the best fit was a nickel-titanium shape-memory alloy. The alloy is wound into tight coils. These coils expand under heat to ultimately stretch into new and varying shapes.Metapianos
Researchers took apart and completely reassembled two old pianos into unique and strange musical experiences. A number of people were invited to participate in the project. They came from a wide variety of backgrounds and combined their various skills to create two incredibly interesting new inventions.[9]The first invention rearranged the many intricate parts of the piano into a brand new musical instrument capable of performing electroacoustic feedback, a purposeful sound loop to assist musicians. On top of its general helpfulness, it also just sounds really cool.The second invention was a complex, intricate, musical pinball machine. Not the kind of thing you see every day!
A Totally Unassuming Robot Servant
This anthropomorphic giant robot will do just about anything you tell it to do, within reason of course! It can remember information that you told it before and even do simple tasks, like handing you a box of Cheez-Its. The robot combines declarative memory and semantic memory, meaning it can remember very general information as well as very specific events and memories. This allows it to learn new skills and complete harder and harder tasks over time.[7]The future of intelligent robots and interactive AI is definitely here and has been for a while. Pretty soon you may be relying on digital personalities to assist you in all of your everyday tasks!
4.Heat-Spying Automobiles
These cars drive around with radiometric cameras strapped to their roofs. Those, along with near-infrared cameras, are able to pick up heat images. In addition, the cars use LiDAR to capture the shape of buildings that are being examined. In the process, these cars can quickly assess whether homes are losing heat with simple thermal imaging. This technology also works on businesses and other infrastructure. The images produced by these mobile heat-seekers are astonishing.[6]Once all of the data is collected, software gathers the information, combines the images, and removes unnecessary details. In just a single day, more than three terabytes of data can be accessed. In addition, the inventors were able to tackle a huge hurdle to the technology. The necessary cameras normally cost a whopping $40,000. They were able to replace these with a new, low-cost camera that only cost $1,000. The cameras can be easily removed and reattached to avoid damage. Still, a lot of changes were needed to make the cameras work in various temperatures and to keep the GPS accurate in the elements.
