Technology:
Your Next Broadband Provider Could Be NASA
NASA has just tested a new communications system. The simple description for it is space-broadband. It’s not your average broadband. This communication from space is at speeds that smash broadband speeds here on Earth.
The Lunar Atmosphere Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is currently in orbit around the moon. It’s collecting space dust and sending test results back to Earth. But instead of using traditional radio signals to send the data, LADEE has gone high-tech.
The new system is the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD). And LLCD is as every bit as cool as it sounds too.
What LLCD does is send data back to earth from lunar orbit. Now sending data from space isn’t anything new. The Voyager spacecraft sends data back to earth…and it’s gone inter-stellar.
LLCD is cutting edge not because of what it does, but how it does it. It uses an infrared laser that pulses hundreds of million times a second. And this laser is faster than the fibre optics we get in our homes.
LLCD blows home broadband away. NASA got download speeds of 622 Mbps.
Of course sending a laser from the moon’s orbit to Earth isn’t that easy. NASA says it’s hard to point the laser in the right direction. So hard in fact it’s like, ‘the equivalent of a golfer hitting a ‘hole-in-one’ from a distance of almost five miles.‘
I’m not sure how they calculated that. But it’s NASA…so I’m sure someone figured it out.
With this kind of technology on the LADEE mission, the future is bright for space communication. It means going forward there will be some brilliant live-feeds from space missions. NASA also said, ‘The goal of LLCD is to validate and build confidence in this technology so that future missions will consider using it,‘
This also has huge potential for use in commercial space exploration and travel. Imagine being on board Bigelow’s Space Hotel streaming Netflix? Perhaps you want to share your space experience back home to your family in real-time? With LLCD technology it’s going to be possible.
This technology reaffirms our belief that space will grow into a huge market opportunity over the decades to come. And that along with that will be opportunities to invest in some pioneering companies. If only NASA was listed…
Health:
Bionic is the New Human
It seems like every couple of years prosthetics get twice as advanced. Almost as though Moore’s Law is applicable to these technological marvels as well.
Not long ago prosthetic limbs were simply plastic molds. Now you can get an automated arm that’s controlled with nothing but the power of thought.
Some prosthetic feet even have built in actuators that simulate the movement and gait of a normal foot. It’s almost better than having a real foot. Except when the battery runs out.
In fact, prosthetics are getting so advanced they’re becoming better than the bits and pieces we’re born with.
It might sound a bit macabre but it does potentially lead to a world where people choose to have prosthetics instead of perfectly functioning ‘organic’ body parts.
Think about it. Imagine replacing a normal muscle with an artificial muscle’which could carry a weight 80 times its own while extending to five times its original length.‘That’s what scientists in Singapore have been able to do. Well they didn’t replace a human muscle, but they’ve built artificial ones.
No more hamstring tears, no more back problems. You’d be faster, stronger, able to work and live longer…it opens a world of potential. But it also opens a world of ethical questions too. And don’t even get me started on when this kind of technology infiltrates professional sports.
‘Performance enhancing’ aside, a new type of prosthetic just got a green light.
It’s a bioprosthetic heart. And the French health authority, ASNM, just gave the go ahead for human trials. Four patients in three hospitals will receive the artificial heart to replace their failing ones.
CARMAT SA [EPA: ALCAR] is the company that makes the artificial heart. Their CEO Mario Contivi said,
‘I would like to thank the ANSM, with which we have had very rewarding interactions, the clinicians involved in preparing the study and our shareholders, whose patience and support have been rewarded. We are touched and eager to be able to propose replacing a patient’s sick heart with a CARMAT heart.‘
If all goes well it’s a big step forward for saving the lives of people with end-stage heart failure. And a little step closer to world when living well past 150 is a real possibility.
Energy:
Waves Could Power Your Vacuum
The James Dyson Award is one of the design world’s most prestigious awards. Of course the award is in recognition of one of modern day’s greatest industrial designers. So you expect there to be some kudos in being a finalist and eventual winner.
We’re yet to find out who the winner is for 2013. The major announcement is on the 7th of December. But in the lead up to the big announcement one of the 20 finalists caught our attention. It’s particularly relevant when it comes to the topic of energy.
It’s ironic the potential winner of the Dyson Award could power the very invention that made Dyson a household name.
The project I’m talking about generates power from waves. Why we haven’t been able to harness the power of the surf until now is beyond my technical expertise. But from what I gather it’s something to do with the specific direction of the waves.
However this project seems to do away with that problem. The Renewable Wave Power (RWP) is specifically for the Orkneys, Scotland. And if it works it might just find its way to the best surf breaks around the world.
The RWP description says, ‘The design has the unique ability to absorb forces from the peaks and troughs of the North Atlantic waves in any given direction.‘
RWP will undergo more trials and development. And even if it doesn’t win the Award, I’m certain it’s technology that’s sure to take off.
Just like solar, wind, thermal and atomic power, RWP is another potential contributor of energy in a future world less reliant on fossil fuels.
Sam Volkering
Technology Analyst, Revolutionary Tech Investor
