Top TechTop Tech #124: Elecrtic Surfboard, Nano-Chemistry Metal, Mouth Meter
Important innovations in science and technology
By Paul Worthington
Thursday’s Top Tech:
• No waves required
• Metal molded with nano-chemistry
• Mouth meter detects vital signs
No waves required
An electric “jet board” lets you surf at a high speed over wave-free water.
Onean says its “powerful electric jet is environmentally friendly, and really intuitive to use.” The propulsion unit will herald a “new sport” the company adds.
Such a design “was impossible,” reports Digital Trends, “but now that batteries and electric motors are smaller than ever before, surf startups all over the globe are building self-propelled boards that you can ride anywhere.” The $3,870 faster model can go about 20 minutes at full thrust; the $4,090 slower board travels 8 kilometers an hour for two hours.
Metal molded with nano-chemistry
“A revolutionary new class of nanolaminated materials will change design and manufacturing forever,” developer Modumetal claims, “by dramatically improving the structural, corrosion and high temperature performance of coatings, bulk materials and parts.”
The company says it “grows” metal using low-cost electrochemistry, “controlling material interfaces at the nanoscale.”
The seven-year-old Seattle company’s metals “can withstand the ocean’s corrosive power for up to eight times longer than conventional materials,” it says in an article on Fortune. The financial site reports the company raised $33.5 million in funding.
Mouth meter detects vital signs
Vital sign monitors in hospitals are bulky, restrictive and capture limited information. Now Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine reports a professor there “has designed a battery-powered, hand-held, 3-D printed device that acts as a “check-engine light” for people.”
The MouthLab uses mouthpiece and thumb pad sensors to quickly test your blood pressure, breathing, blood oxygen, heart rate and heartbeat pattern. It can be used by people without special training at home or in the field, and may be able to detect early signs of medical emergencies.
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