We as humans have come a long from the earliest days of our existence. We no longer live in caves, nor hunt with primitive tools and communicate by grunting and physical gestures. We have transformed our lives with our ability to create new things that make our lives better. Inventions are part of human history and there have been many great ones throughout our existence.
When we think about the greatest inventions in history, most of us almost always talk about the wheel or electricity, as those did arguably leave the greatest impact on our lives. But other than those, there have been many great inventions that are used almost daily that we know nothing about.
However, nowadays, it might seem like there’s nothing new and exciting going on and it feels like we haven’t had a revolutionizing idea in quite some time now. However, that’s not true. When we think about revolutionizing the way we live, we always compare ourselves to people that lived hundreds or thousands of years ago. That’s not right. The world didn’t magically change overnight when the alternating current was made public. It takes time for these great inventions to change our lives. Therefore, it’s not true that nothing’s going on and that there are no new, great inventions coming our way – we just haven’t felt their impact just yet.
To prove what we’re saying, we’re going to tell you about a few of the potentially revolutionizing inventions and ideas that are on the brink of changing the world. Let’s check them out.
1. Super Bricks
When you hear the term “super brick” you’re probably thinking about some magical, non-destructive bricks that lay themselves when building a house. However, that’s not what they’re about. The bricks in question are the product of a Washington University research team, which has developed a way to turn bricks into “super-capacitors” and have them store energy. Come to think of it, we may need to find another name for power-bricks pretty soon.
This method allows for something as simple and cheap as a brick, to serve as a source of power. Truth be told, the research is still in the early stages, but it does show a lot of promise. The researchers on this project claim that a wall of these bricks could store enough energy to one day power a house without any need for an outside power source. Also, the researchers claim that the bricks will have the ability to recharge themselves “hundreds of thousands of times within an hour”.
Bricks can be turned into these power-storage devices by being coated in a special conducting coating called PEDOT. Now, how soon can we expect these bricks to be commercially available – we don’t know. How expensive will they be? Will they work together with a solar panel for a free source of energy? We don’t know. What we do know and what the experts from Invent Help agree with us on is that if this invention ever sees the light of day and becomes available to everyone – it is more than certain to change the world for the better.
2. Theia
Theia is a robotic guide dog, named after the Titan goddess of sight, which will help visually impaired that are unable to take care of a real, guide animal, get around. This idea has been brought to life by a student at Loughborough University, Anthony Camu, whose goal was to create a robot that would mimic the real guide dog.
What he came up with is a handheld device that is capable of analysing the real-time, environment data, thus guiding the person in the same way a guide dog would. It is able to do so with the help of a special control moment gyroscope, which moves the users’ hand and ‘leads’ them in the right direction. It will also be able to analyse online data such as traffic and weather conditions to ensure the safe getting around in every environment.
3. Living Concrete
Concrete is the second most-consumed material on our planet, trailing only the water. When something is so popular, there is always a need for an alternative, in case the resources get scarce for the main thing. With that and many other things in mind, scientists have developed a better, improved version of concrete, using sand, gel, and bacteria.
Scientists claim that this material will have the same load-bearing capabilities as the regular concrete, with a few additional perks, which you’ll see, are more than just perks. They claim that this material is capable of regenerating or self-healing and is numerous times more “green” than concrete. The researchers working on this project believe that with enough resources and research, this material will one day replace the concrete and be the key ingredient for self-healing structures of the future. They are envisioning a world where a bridge would heal its cracks, feast on environmental toxins and maybe, someday in the future, even glow in the dark.
4. Cancer Detecting Needles
Scientists in the UK have developed a new, smart needle, which should be able to significantly speed up cancer detection and diagnostic process. The researchers on this project believe they have a product on their hands that will greatly impact the patients’ lives, by cutting down on a lengthy diagnostic process and in that way reduce the patients’ anxiety while waiting for the results. Also, a quicker diagnosis leaves more time on the table for treatment, which can improve the outcome with some patients.
How this needle works, is by analysing the molecular changes associated with a particular disease in certain tissues and cells. This is accomplished with a new technique, Raman spectroscopy, which makes it possible to identify warning signs and concerns in a matter of seconds. Granted, you will need to access the tissue you want to inspect with the tip of a needle, nevertheless, this one is one of those inventions that should be able to revolutionize the field of diagnostic medicine in a significant way. It’s safe to assume that this invention will encourage other researchers and scientists to invent and develop new diagnostic tools and devices for all different kinds of diseases in the future.
Of course, many other great inventions are coming our way aside from these four. However, we felt like these ones, in general, are the ones that can make the greatest impact on the world as we know it. Also, some of them are pretty close to being a finished product, which is also what we wanted to pay attention to when it came to this list. We could’ve talked about the outrageous ideas that are always present, but we’re nowhere near technologically advanced for some of those, so we wanted to stay grounded, as much as possible. Hopefully, you enjoyed reading about these marvelous inventions that are certain to change our lives sometime soon.