There is no secret that the field of tech is developing rapidly. Just a few decades ago, it was hard to imagine having a full-fledged and powerful computer fit inside your pocket or being able to get a 360 view of fictional and non-fictional locations with the help of VR glasses. Now, all these technological innovations are well-known around the world and widely used by regular consumers. And the progress doesn’t seem to stop there.
Every year, researchers and companies are coming up with new ideas. They come up with innovations that have the potential to change our world even more. And while some ideas gain wide publicity rather quickly, others remain unnoticed.
If you are studying these unnoticed innovations for academic purposes, you must know that this topic is incredibly broad and hard to research. So if that’s the case, consider using a reliable write my college paper service to delegate your assignments to pros and get a guaranteed high grade. But if you are a tech geek interested in new concepts and ideas, read on, and we will tell you about the top innovations that you might’ve not heard about yet!
DNA Data Storage for Technological Innovations
With the growing use of the internet and the abundance of information available out there, the data storage problem becomes even more real. According to studies, in 2019, the number of Instagram stories posted per minute crossed the point of 280,000. Today, this indicator is even larger. And all this information needs to be stored somewhere. Cloud data storage seemed to work fine enough for years. But now, there might be a chance to use DNA for this purpose.
According to the Inner Workings: DNA for Data Storage and Computing by Megan Scudellri, DNA helices are quite stable and, at the same time, easy to modify and amplify. They consist of four chemical compounds (guanine, thymine, cytosine, and adenine). And these chemical bases can be encoded into four pieces of information, rather than two as shown in standard binary silicon systems. That is, DNA can store more data than a classic silicon chip.
This brings us to the first major innovation – DNA data storage. Although it was named the best invention of 2019 by the Times, this technology is still unknown to the public. The first prototype – the DNA Data Writer is a tool that prints data on synthetic strands of DNA. It is already proven to store 16 GB of information on a single strand. And it’s targeted to store as many as 125 GB per day.
Solar Paint
The next innovation, you probably haven’t heard of yet, was introduced in 2017 by researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). The researchers thought about making the generation of renewable energy easier. To replace large and hard-to-install solar panels, they developed a special paint that can absorb solar energy, as well as moisture from the air to collect hydrogen.
This technology can have many perks. First of all, it’s much cheaper to manufacture than solar panels and much easier to use. Secondly, this paint will be efficient even in areas that don’t get enough solar energy to justify the installation of a full-fledged panel.
This concept is still being developed, so it might not commercialise soon. However, once it does, it can let nearly every family generate clean energy in a more efficient and less expensive way.
Bioprinting for Technological Innovations
While everyone has heard about 3D printers and their possible applications in engineering and construction, there is one innovation that’s much cooler and not as widely spread yet. In a nutshell, bioprinting means creating bio structures using the same 3D printers. For example, it allows scientists to take patients’ stem cells and print various elements of the human body, such as bones, skin, and even organs.
As you can guess, bioprinting is thought to become a real game-changer in the transplant sector. It can reduce the wait time for patients who need transplantation. And it can also reduce the rejection of transplanted organs. The main problem yet is the speed of printing.
Although many experts excelled at creating real-like structures, they still can’t print them fast enough before the cell dies. Nevertheless, this technology is still at the research stage and is getting more advanced every year. So it really has the potential to change the world soon.
Smart Clothing
Today, when fitness bands and smartwatches are present in nearly every household, wearable tech no longer seems a utopian fantasy. It’s becoming something we are used to. And this field is also advancing fast. Companies across the globe are investing heavily in the development of new wearable gadgets. And one Technological Innovations that not many know about yet is the concept of smart clothing.
One of the first prototypes of such tech was introduced by Google and Levi Strauss in 2015. The Computer x Jacquard Jacket can connect to your smartphone and help you control music, keep track of phone calls, and even aid navigation.
Newer concepts of smart clothing also can track the user’s health indicators as fitness bands or smartwatches do. At this point, this innovation still needs further research and development. However, there are already good chances that it will become a new big thing in the future.
Smart Food Labels
There is no secret that hunger is a real and pressing issue. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, nearly 25,000 people die from hunger every day. At the same time, according to the same organisation, around one-third of the food produced for human consumption is wasted every year.
One of the main issues occurs at the end of the supply chain. When food gets to the stores, the expiration dates are not too accurate and the state of the product is often not perfectly edible, which leads to waste. On top of that, there are viruses, bacteria, etc. Smart food labels are an innovation that strives to solve the problem. These labels can determine the freshness and readability of the product based on a variety of factors.
So these were some of the most exciting technological innovations that are not widely known yet. Hopefully, we will see all of them advance in the future to make our world a better place!