Technology gets defined as “that which is changing fast.” If other things are not labeled as “technology,” we filter them out and we don’t even look at them. Some technologies are so pervasive that it’s hard to realize they began as an idea written on paper and then a patent application. There are instances of brilliant ideas that were transformed into essential items we now take for granted, such as aluminum foil, sticky bandages, the ballpoint pen, the computer mouse, and the microwave oven.
Here are some of the most out-of-this-world creations, not all people might be aware of:
- The P&P Waste Paper Processor
In order for a P&P Waste Paper Processor to function, an old waste paper must be fed into the feed slot. It is then squeezed, rolled, and drawn in before having a stick of graphite or pencil lead sandwiched in the middle. The final step is to assemble everything with a small amount of glue. A brand-new, pristine recycled paper pencil will be ejected from its side after a cycle is finished.
Although it is unclear exactly how much paper is needed for each pencil, it will undoubtedly allow you to save some money over the course of your lifetime on office supplies. This is undoubtedly a really cool invention that is also very environmentally friendly.
- Military Mind Control
The U.S. military’s helmet has seen significant alteration over time. The M1917/M1917A1 helmets sometimes referred to as “Doughboy” or “dishpan” helmets, provided head protection for American infantrymen during World War I. The M-1 “steel pot,” which served as the standard-issue helmet during World War II, the Korean War, and the entire Vietnam War, took its place in 1941. American military helmets had progressed by the 1980s to a one-piece design made of many layers of Kevlar 29 ballistic fiber.
However, the helmet of the near future might offer more than just additional defense against flying debris. A researcher at Arizona State University who is supported by a U.S. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is working to create a military helmet incorporating brain-control technologies. Transcranial pulsed ultrasound is the method used to target particular parts of the brain with high-frequency sound waves. These sound waves have an effect on neurons, causing them to send impulses to their targets and exercise control over them. This has a significant impact on the battlefield.
A soldier may use a controller to send out ultrasonic pulses to activate various parts of the brain. For instance, after being awake for a while, he or she might want to be more aware, or they might want to unwind before going to bed. The need for morphine and other opioids may potentially disappear if the soldier is able to reduce stress or lose awareness of pain.
- Perpetual Printing
Since the first computer was placed on a desktop, printing has advanced significantly. Daisy-wheel printers came first, followed by dot-matrix printers, inkjet printers, and laser printers. Of course, the issue with all of these output devices is that they demand pricey consumables, like toner, as well as a lot of paper. Why can’t someone create a printer that uses no ink or toner and lets the user recycle paper?
Inkless, tonerless, and rewritable printing technology is being offered by the Japanese company Sanwa Newtec. Its item, the PrePeat rewritable printer, uses plastic paper just like the Xerox method. But PrePeat creates an image using a different method. Leuco dyes, which change color with temperature—coloring while cool and becoming clear when hot—are inserted in every sheet of paper. The paper is then heated and cooled by the PrePeat printer in order to first erase an image and then substitute a fresh picture for it. A single sheet of paper can be used 1,000 times before it needs to be replaced, according to the manufacturer.
Why is there a catch? A box of 1,000 sheets of paper costs more than $3,300, whilst a single PrePeat printer costs close to $6,000. If your company relies heavily on printing, you might eventually make back your investment. However, it’s doubtful that the typical PC user would be eager to spend that much on a new printer.
- Insect Assailants
This nature-inspired micro-drone will soon take pictures with a camera attached to the device’s main hub. The longer-term objectives, however, are to arm Samarai or other comparable micro-drones and use them as armed attack vehicles that can murder a single person with little to no collateral damage.
- Robot That Devours Insects and Rodents
Robotic vacuum cleaners, singing androids, and mechanical pets are now a thing of the past. The Carnivorous Domestic Entertainment Robot, created by British inventors Jimmy Loizeau and James Auger, represents a revolutionary advance because it can track and eat mice and insects before digesting their corpses to generate its own power.
They have developed five distinct ideas, including the mousetrap coffee table robot that uses motion sensors to open a trap door on its surface to entice unwary rodents. The system would chemically disassemble caught rodents before feeding the parts to a microbial fuel cell. The owner would be informed via an LED on the side of the device how much energy was being created by the auto-extermination. Other designs include the Lampshade Robot, which would entice flies and moths to their destruction, the Cobweb Robot, which would deceive spiders into spinning webs so that it could extract them and feed them to its fuel cell, and the Flypaper Robotic Clock.