Amazing technology is an engineering marvel. The most unusual technologies in elevators The most unusual technologies

Technology

The world is improving every day, inventing and discovering something new, and without these achievements, we would not have made it that far.

Scientists, researchers, developers and designers from all over the world are trying to implement what will make our life easier and more interesting.

Here are some technologiesthe future that take our lives to a completely different level.

New technologies of the future


1. Biocoolers


A Russian designer has proposed the concept of a refrigerator called the "Bio Robot Refrigerator", which chills food using biopolymer gel... It has no shelves, compartments and doors - you just stick food into the gel.

The idea was proposed by Yuri Dmitriev for the competition Electrolux Design Lab. The refrigerator uses only 8 percent of the home's energy for the control panel and does not need any energy to actually cool.

Refrigerator biopolymer gel uses light generated at a cold temperature to preserve food. The gel itself is odorless and non-sticky, and the refrigerator can be wall or ceiling mounted.

2. Superfast 5G Internet from drones with solar panels


Google is working on solar-powered drones that serve up ultra-fast internet in a project called Project skybender... In theory drones will provide Internet services 40 times fasterthan 4G networks, allowing you to transfer gigabytes of data per second.

The project provides for the use of millimeter waves to provide service, since the existing spectrum for transmission mobile communication too full.

However, these waves have a shorter range than the 4G mobile signal. Google is working on this problem, and if all the technical problems can be solved, the Internet of unprecedented speed may soon appear.

3.5D drives for eternal storage of terabytes of data


Researchers have created a 5D disc that records data in 5 dimensions that persist for billions of years. He can store 360 terabytes of data and can withstand temperatures up to 1000 degrees.

The files on the disk are made of three layers of nanodots. The five dimensions of the disc refer to the size and orientation of the points, and their position within the three dimensions. When light passes through the disc, the dots change the polarization of the light, which is read by the microscope and polarizer.

The Southampton team that is developing the disc was able to burn the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Newton's Optics, Magna Carta and the Bible to the disc. In a few years, such a disk will no longer be an experiment, but will become the norm for data storage.

4. Injection of oxygen particles


Scientists at Boston Children's Hospital have developed oxygenated microparticles that can be injected into the bloodstreamallowing you to live even if you cannot breathe.

Microparticles are composed of a single layer of lipid capsules that surround a small oxygen bubble. The 2-4 micrometer capsules are suspended in a liquid that controls their size, as larger bubbles can be dangerous.

When injected, the capsules impinge on red blood cells and transmit oxygen. Thanks to this method, 70 percent of the oxygen was introduced into the blood.

5. Underwater transport tunnels


Norway plans to build the world's first underwater floating bridges at a depth of 30 meters under water with large pipes wide enough for two lanes.

Given the difficulties of moving around the terrain, Norway decided to work on the creation of underwater bridges. The project, which has already spent $ 25 billion, is expected to be completed in 2035.

There are other factors to consider, such as the effects of wind, waves and strong currents on the bridge.

6. Bioluminescent trees


The development team decided to create bioluminescent trees using an enzyme found in some jellyfish and fireflies.

These trees will be able to illuminate the streets and help passersby see better at night. A small version of the project has already been developed in the form of a plant glowing in the dark. The next step will be the trees that illuminate the streets.

7. Roll-up TVs


LG has developed a prototype a TV that can be rolled up like a roll of paper.

The TV uses polymer-based LED technology to reduce screen thickness.

Besides LG, other major electronics manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony and Mitsubishi are working to make screens more flexible and portable.

Future technology advances

8. Bionic lens for lightrxhuman vision


Canadian doctor is going to conduct clinical testing "bionic lenses" that improve 100% vision by 3 times with an 8 minute painless operation.

The new lens will be available by 2017, enhancing the natural lens of the eye. During the operation, a syringe inserts a lens with saline into the eye, and after 10 seconds, the folded lens is straightened and positioned over the natural lens, completely correcting vision.

9. Spray clothes


Spanish designer Manel Torres invented the world's first spray garment. You can apply spray to any part of the body and then remove it, rinse it off and wear it again.

The spray is made from special fibers mixed with polymers that give the fabrics elasticity and durability. This technology will allow designers to create unique garments with original designs.

10. Portraits derived from DNA


Student Heather Dewey-Hagborg creates 3D portraits from DNA found on cigarette butts and chewing gums on the street.

She enters the DNA sequences into a computer program that creates a human image from a sample. Usually in this process a 25-year-old version of the person is handed out. The model is then printed in full size 3D portraits.

11. Shopping in virtual reality


One of these stores was opened at a train station in South Korea, where you can make an order by taking a photo of the barcodeand your purchases will be delivered home.

Store chain Homeplus installed six door screens with life-size images of shelves with goods that you would buy in a supermarket. Each item has a barcode underneath that can be scanned and sent using the app.

You can place an order at the station on your way to work and the goods will be delivered to your home in the evening.

12. Unmanned vehicles


Expected that by 2020 about 10 million self-driving cars will appear, which will reduce the number of deaths by 2,500 between 2014 and 2030.

Many car manufacturers have already started implementing some automatic driving features in their vehicles.

There are also many companies trying to develop technologies for self-driving cars, such as Google, which announced a prototype self-driving car. A fully autonomous vehicle is expected by 2019.

13. The city under the dome


Construction is underway in Dubai shopping center called "Mall of the World", covered with a retractable dome, which controls the climate inside and provides air conditioning.

The complex will occupy an area of \u200b\u200b4.46 km2 and will include major center beauty and health, cultural and entertainment area, hotels with 20 thousand rooms and much more. This will be the largest shopping center with an indoor theme park.

14. Artificial leaves that convert carbon dioxide and sunlight into fuel


Scientists have developed new solar cells that convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into fuel using the sun.

While there have been many attempts to convert carbon dioxide into something useful, a real method has been developed for the first time. Unlike other technologies that require precious metals such as silver, this method uses a tungsten-based material that is 20 times cheaper and 1,000 times faster.

These solar cells use carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to produce syngas, a mixture of hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide that can be directly burned or converted to hydrocarbon fuels.

Technologies of the near future

15. Plasma force field that protects cars from accidents and collisions


Boeing has patented a method to create a plasma field by rapidly heating air to quickly absorb shock waves.

The force field can be generated using lasers or microwave radiation. The created plasma is air heated to a higher temperature than the surrounding air, with a different density and composition. The company believes it will be able to reflect and absorb the energy generated by the explosion, protecting those inside the field.

If the technology can be implemented, it will be a revolutionary development in the military field.

16. Floating cities


A floating ecopolis named Lilypad was proposed by architect Vincent Callebaut for future climate refugees as a lasting solution to sea level rise. The city can accommodate 50,000 people using renewable energy sources.


Sometimes it seems that in recent decades the world seems to have frozen in place, and humanity does not invent anything but new smartphones. Fortunately, this is not so - there are many real technologies that are quite capable of surprising even the most whimsical critic. Some are meant for war, others for peace, but all one way or another move civilization into the future.


Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is a tiltrotor combining the functions of an airplane and a helicopter, the only serial one in the world. True, he made his first flight back in 1989, but he got into the series relatively recently, in 2005. Depending on the rotation of the propellers, this device is able to take off and land like a helicopter, and in the air switch to airplane mode, accelerating to 565 km / h.


Bionic prostheses are a natural evolution of artificial limb technology. In the 21st century, replacements for arms and legs are created from carbon fiber and titanium alloys, but most importantly, the latest developments allow them to be controlled with the help of reason. Such a leg was received, for example, by the Icelander Gudmundur Olafson, who was deprived of the opportunity to walk as a child. The bionic limb reads signals from living muscle tissue and reacts like a real one.


The invisible material from Dallas NanoTech is composed of carbon nanotubes, creating an effect similar to the mirage in the desert. So far, the technology is not sufficiently developed to be used for military purposes, since the material heats up quickly and strongly, but you cannot deny it spectacularity.


The electromagnetic railgun was presented at the Science and Technology Expo last February. It can fire at seven times the speed of sound, striking targets up to 177 kilometers away. This is only a sample, but a real weapon based on it is planned no later than 2028.


LaWS is a working laser weapon capable of not only dazzling, but also sinking enemy boats. An experimental prototype of this futuristic cannon was installed on the USS Ponce in August 2014 and successfully passed initial tests.


Ion engines are not the newest, but certainly a fantastic invention that has become a reality. Prototypes of the first functioning ion thrusters were installed on NASA's Deep Space 1 and Dawn probes back in 1959, and the technology has continued to evolve since then.


Bionic eyes are a technology that is on a par with bionic limbs. Last year, Britain performed the world's first bionic retina surgery on an 80-year-old man who suffers from dry macular degeneration and has completely lost his sight. Now, with the help of a new retina and special glasses, he again began to see the outlines of objects and people.


Homing bullets are a pretty daunting invention. Previously, it could only be found in movies or video games, but now it is gradually approaching reality. EXACTO, a prototype of a real .50 caliber homing bullet from the American agency DARPA, with the help of modern system guidance is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to two kilometers.


Organs grown in the laboratory to replace those that have fallen into disrepair have long been an unattainable dream for humanity. Now specialists from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland have been able to grow functioning mouse organs using stem cells. This technology is not yet suitable for people, but the experiments are not over.


ITER is an international experimental thermonuclear reactor, which has been under development since 1988. The project involves the EU countries, India, China, Russia, USA, Japan, Korea and Kazakhstan. Initially, the work was planned to be completed by 2016, but the deadline has shifted to 2025. Nevertheless, for the sake of thermonuclear energy, it is worth waiting an extra ten years.

Most of us from childhood know about the most common types of special equipment, such as: dump trucks, cranes, bulldozers, excavators, etc. Have you come across the most unusual special equipmentthat you rarely see in everyday life? Not!? Then I suggest you familiarize yourself with rare, strange, but amazing machines.

The most unusual and rare special equipment

Paving Slab Laying Machine

In urban areas, one can often observe such a picture that workers construction organizations they are shifting paving slabs, which have only recently been made. Because of her swelling or she "swam". This is due to the quality of the work performed and of course the human factor. The picture looks different when builders use unusual special equipment - a tile-laying machine called TIgerStone. The photo below shows a typical example of this technique.

With its miniature size, this unit easily bypasses a whole team of workers in terms of the volume of work performed in one work shift. For example: 1 brigade lays out from 70 to 120 m2 of sidewalk path, in turn this rare machine copes with at least 300 m2 of paving. So that's it.

The unit is used very simply, moving on a wide tracked platform, workers quickly spread the required tile pattern on a special inclined surface. On this surface, in turn, the tiled pattern is moved to a previously prepared part of the paving surface. The lateral guides of the unit during the production of work do not allow the pattern from paving slabs... Due to their weight, the bricks of the tiles are laid exactly without all kinds of gaps and defects, and most importantly, efficiently and quickly.

Tushevoz

Exist freight vehicles which transports other equipment on itself, there is special equipment that even transports large tanks, and there is also such an unusual special equipment that specializes in transporting animal carcasses called carcasses. The photo shows one of the types of special machines for transporting meat carcasses.


The engineering staff designing special freezing containers for a car designed for carcass transportation has to solve one very difficult task. Meat carcasses - cargo that must be transported suspended from the ceiling. This is not easy. The supporting frame of the roof, and with it the side walls of the freezing container, must be structurally made so as to take heavy loads, that is, to be very strong and reliable. Another pitfall - when transporting carcasses, they swing, which can lead to the danger of skidding on sharp turns.

It is difficult for a designer to ensure reliability, since often, due to the increased strength of the frame, the weight of the unit container suffers, which in turn affects the amount of payload transported. So they have to maneuver and I will say that they succeed and not bad.

Destroyers of buildings

If there is a special technique for construction, why not invent an unusual technique for destroying buildings, structures and more. Such machines already exist and are robotic technology. They are used to replace the already known dismantling equipment in the city with a high building density, in places where the structure is difficult to demolish, and often dangerous. The photo shows an example of a rare technique - a robot destroyer.


One of the smallest demolition units is a robot that weighs only 550 kg. It is very easy to drive through door openings and works mainly in small spaces. Most of such robotic equipment have a large set of detachable attachments such as: hydraulic breakers, hydraulic tongs, shredders (mulchers), buckets of different sizes, etc.

The main advantage of such a unique and rare technique is noiselessness, safety and complexity of the work performed. The latest examples of such equipment include anti-vandal 3D cameras and 3D positioning systems on the ground for more delicate work in hazardous areas.

Big Tree Transplanting Machine

The special technique is mainly intended to greatly simplify manual labor work force. But what if this work is done by human forces but is simply unrealistic? For example, replant a large adult tree? The engineers have thought of everything! Look at the photo shows a machine that can transplant mature trees.


Of course, the maximum length of the transplanted tree depends on the machine used and the length of its grasping knives. For the improvement of the city given view rare special equipment very useful and already used in the European Union and North America. IN Russian Federation there are such machines, but there are very few of them, mostly small-sized equipment.

Recycling of trees - shredder

The machine considered just above carefully transplants trees, improving the city, and there is a machine (more correctly, attachments for an excavator) that in a matter of minutes destroys them, turning them into a pile of sawdust. This unusual equipment for special-purpose machinery is one of the varieties of a mulcher - a shredder of woody and shrub vegetation (DKR). The photo below shows such equipment installed on an excavator.

The shredder is used to quickly dispose of large standing trees without the need for loggers. It is used to prepare glades for newly installed power lines, gas and oil pipelines, as well as for pre-preparation of a construction site in a forest area, where conventional equipment cannot pass.

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Since the elevators were removed into shafts with blank walls and equipped with automatic doors, their design has become a mystery with seven seals. Especially for the curious eyes of children. But we adults know that an elevator is a simple machine: a cabin, a winch, a counterweight. And we do not know that in this area - the sphere of lifting and lowering citizens and cargo - various interesting technologies are being introduced.

Oleg Makarov

A simple example. We are accustomed to the fact that multi-storey buildings are usually crowned with rectangular turrets just above the stairwells: these are the engine rooms of elevators, and we cannot do without turrets - what to do with the winch, control cabinets? But, it turns out, it is quite possible to get by. And thereby save building materials and work timethat were usually spent on these "architectural excesses".

24 boxes

Ever since Elisha Graves Otis hacked the rope on which the wooden hoist was hanging with an ax, and the hoist did not fall, leaving the genius American inventor on it alive, an urban revolution has taken place in the world. A safe elevator that did not fall even if all the ropes that held it burst opened the way for the massive construction of high-rise buildings, and then of real skyscrapers. Otis demonstrated its experience back in 1854, and the company named after him is still operating and is one of the world's largest manufacturers of lifting machines. It is even more interesting that the Otis company has long been rooted in Russia, built its factories here and manufactures elevators with minimal use of imported components.


“PM” as part of a group of journalists was invited to the elevator manufacturing plant in St. Petersburg, where we were surprised to find that ... it was impossible to see an elevator at the elevator factory. The thing is that the machine is not delivered to the construction site ready-made - it is not technologically advanced. The elevator is mounted directly on the spot from units and parts delivered from the enterprise, packed in boxes (production workers say "in the form of cargo spaces"). How many of these cargo spaces will be depends on the manufacturer. Some factories pack the future elevator in six boxes. At the Otis plant, the elevator is distributed among 24 cargo spaces - they believe that this will be much more convenient for the installers.

Machine tools and barcodes

The company mainly works with sheet metal different thicknesses (up to 4 mm). The blanks are delivered to the plant in the form of "cards", that is, sheets that have the optimal dimensions for cutting out a particular part, thus reducing the amount of waste. Metal is cut, stamped, bent, while there is no terrible squeal and roar in the workshop: many operations are carried out in closed chambers with a modern CNC machine. Elevators are made in a conveyor method, and the main principle is this: one set after another is made. That is, if you need to produce a batch of 25 elevators, they do not first make 25 copies of one part, then 25 copies of another, etc. No, first all the parts for one elevator, then for the second, and so on 25 times. It seems unusual, but modern technology under the control of computers copes with such a task easily. For example, a bending machine, receiving a workpiece, scans the barcode and immediately loads the processing program. A workpiece with a different barcode will arrive - the machine will simply switch to another task. All machines are connected at one level by special tables such as roller tables, on which it is easy to roll even a massive metal part. The production is organized in such a way as to avoid welding and painting, which do not fit well into the conveyor process: non-welded one-piece joints and metal sheets with already applied paint or coatings are used. There are few people in the shop. According to trendy lean technologies, there should be no more than one worker per production operation.

The PULSE system continuously measures the electrical resistance of the steel ropes (cores) inside the polyurethane belt. If the cords begin to collapse for one reason or another, their resistance changes. This means it's time to put in a new belt.

With a belt it gets smaller

The illustration shows one version of a modern Otis elevator winch that uses belts instead of traditional twisted steel ropes. For belts, pulleys with smaller diameters are suitable, which leads to a reduction in the size of the winch itself.

Lighter and cleaner

The diagram shows the structure of the polyurethane belt used in new elevators. It uses thin steel ropes. The belt is not inferior in strength to a conventional rope, but it is lighter and does not require lubrication. Belts began to replace ropes in elevators from about the turn of the century.

In the end, all the nodes of the future elevator, as already mentioned, are laid out in boxes (the largest cargo space contains the load-bearing structure of the cabin and the ceiling) and sent to the customer.

For hotels and vandals

Actually, we were able to look at the elevator cabins only in the demonstration room of the enterprise. Interior design options for cabins largely depend on the customer. If the car is to be operated in a respectable hotel, then there is a designer control panel with beautiful luminous buttons, and an LCD display on which you can twist commercials with sound, and walls made of metal-plastic of interesting colors. But if the elevator lives in the harsh conditions of residential areas, the requirements for it are completely different. The first is anti-vandal buttons, which are extremely difficult to tear out of the sockets without a special tool and which, to the disappointment of young hooligans, are absolutely impossible to set on fire. True, they lack glamorous lighting. The second is the painted panels of the cab walls, which must also be resistant to mechanical stress. For cab lighting, the Otis standard is lED lamp... Yes, they are more expensive than gas-discharge ones, but they consume much less electricity, and most importantly, they are practically insensitive to the number of on-off cycles. The LEDs will light for the entire 25 years of the lift's lifespan, and every time the car is idle, the electric light will turn off. That is, if the elevator is not running, it will not consume electricity at all, which corresponds to the highly ecological energy efficiency class A.


Deep roots

At the entrance to the enterprise building, two devices are on display for inspection. One of them is an elevator winch, which was installed at one of the St. Petersburg sugar factories in 1903 and served faithfully for 80 years. Yes, Otis was in Russia at that time and even equipped the Winter Palace with lifting devices. The old winch is black and bulky. It used a gearbox in the form of a worm gear. Nearby is a modern winch. It is much more compact, and there is no gearbox. The winch is driven by an electric motor with a frequency converter, which allows smooth control of the shaft rotation speed without any gearboxes. These are the ones used in modern elevators.


Our trip to St. Petersburg was timed to coincide with the start of production in Russia of an elevator called GeN2, which embodied all the latest "green" innovations in the field of lifting devices. Anyone who has not looked into elevator shafts for a long time would probably be very surprised to learn that GeN2 moves, being suspended using not traditional steel wire ropes, but flat belts, which consist of a series of thin steel ropes surrounded by a polyurethane sheath. Such a belt is not inferior in strength to a traditional twisted rope, but has two important advantages. First, it does not require lubrication, and lubrication is an environmental pollution factor. It stains the room, dirt sticks to it. Secondly, a thick twisted rope has significant restrictions on the bending radius - the pulley on which it is wound must have a diameter of at least several tens of centimeters, otherwise the rope will start to fray itself. The belt is much more flexible, it can be wound on a pulley with a diameter of approximately 6.5 cm. And this, along with the absence of a gearbox, is one of the factors that made it possible to miniaturize the winch, so that a special engine room is no longer required to place it. All equipment can be placed directly in the mine. Therefore, today Otis is producing two versions of Gen2 in our country - with and without a machine room.

Electricity - in warmth!

An empty cab is half its payload lighter than the counterweight. Thus, in the operation of the elevator, the force of gravity is used and the engine works only with the imbalance of two objects. When a fully loaded car goes down or an empty car goes up, the elevator does not need additional energy. On the contrary, its engine acts as a generator. Previously, the energy generated by it was dissipated using powerful resistors.

There is no extra energy

The Otis GeN2 elevators use the ReGen regenerative drive. With the help of power electronics, the electrical energy generated by the engine is converted to standard voltage and frequency and is returned to the building's electrical network. Regenerative mode of the lift is indicated by indicators in the car.

Power station elevator

By the way, the design of the belts plays a role in improving the safety of the entire elevator. The metal cores of the belts are connected to the PULSE electronic control system. At the beginning of operation, the system measures the electrical resistance of all ropes, and then does this every subsequent 3 s. If the device detects a change in the resistance of at least one of the cores, the elevator will receive a command to stop at the nearest floor. And after disembarking the passengers, the cabin will be locked until work is done to replace the belt showing signs of wear.

The lift has a car and a counterweight consisting of a frame filled with concrete and cast iron elements. The weight of the counterweight is usually equal to the weight of the cab plus half its capacity. Thus, the winch motor does not have to pull up the entire weight of the elevator, it only works with the imbalance that occurs between the two objects. If the empty car moves downward, this requires energy from the outside, otherwise it will never overcome the heavier counterweight. In this case, the motor turns the winch. But if an empty cabin goes up, then it does not need additional energy, on the contrary, the winch pulley spins the shaft of the electric motor, and it starts to work as a generator. The question of what to do with the energy generated in this way was traditionally solved with the help of powerful resistors, which actually converted electricity into heat and dissipated it. The Gen2 elevator puts an end to this waste. The system operates a regenerative drive ReGen, which transfers the energy generated by the electric motor back to the building's power grid, giving the current a standard voltage (380 V) and a standard frequency (50 Hz). An indicator in the cab shows passengers what exactly the elevator is doing at the moment - consuming or generating electricity.


It is impossible to open the elevator shaft door if there is no car behind it, since the outer doors are locked. The motor with a frequency converter provides the GeN2 car with a smooth and precise “docking” to the floor (in older generations there were only two fixed speeds, switching between which was done with a gearbox). Then the so-called movable cab outlet engages with the external door lock mechanism. And these doors do not open by themselves, but only by the drive of the cab doors. In general, as you can see, new technologies in the field of materials science and energy saving make it possible to improve the elevator and make it more and more “smart”.

 

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