lab-grown wood - organs delivered by drone - fully autonomous small cargo planes & more. Innovations of the week.
Boundary Layer
This company has created a high-performance electric foiling personal watercraft called Valo. It will be able to carry a couple of passengers. Powered by a 108 hp electric motor, the craft can foil two feet above the surface of the water, at a top speed of 58 mph (50 knots), which will make it the world’s fastest production foiling craft. The company says the hydrofoils will be fully retractable, which would enable trailering on a conventional boat trailer. It will be fast, and agile all while being near silent and leaving zero wakes. It could become a completely new form of water-based mobility.
Unither bioelectronics
Researchers from Toronto have demonstrated the feasibility of using drones for human organ transplantation. As drone technology has become more reliable, engineers have begun to use them for more critical applications. The feasibility study modified a Chinese-made M600 Pro drone to carry donated organs on a regular basis. It also included a parachute, lights, several cameras, GPS trackers, and a recovery system. They removed the landing gear, replaced it with a container box, and made 400 test flights before they deemed their drone ready. A drone recently carried a donated lung to Toronto General Hospital, where it was safely implanted into a waiting patient.
https://www.unither.aero/en/home
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
A team of scientists at MIT created the first 3D-printed lab-grown wood. This could prevent deforestation and be used to make products like paper, wax, medicines, rubber, and furniture. The study authors created customizable wood from the cells of a flowering plant known as common zinnia. They claimed their novel approach allowed them to bio-print wooden pieces of any shape and size. This means that if you need a wooden table, you can directly produce a wooden table from the cells. This was achieved by treating common zinnia cells first with a liquid medium and then with a gel solution. The latter comprised hormones and nutrients. The team is now planning to 3D print timber in a lab from cells of trees like pine. Once this happens, deforestation would surely become a thing of the past.
https://news.mit.edu/2022/lab-timber-wood-0525
Dronamics
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A cargo drone. The "Black Swan," a drone approved to transport cargo in the European Union will make its debut early in 2023. With the support of approximately 3,000 airstrips located around Europe, the final product, which has about half the capacity of a U-Haul moving van, may provide consumers with quick and inexpensive cargo shipment Many of the airstrips are closer to consumers than the primary distribution centers, making them even more practical for same-day delivery. The Black Swan can also access remote places more easily than other drones due to its carrying capacity as well as its ability to land on short runways. The remotely piloted uncrewed aircraft will use a network of "drone ports" to connect major warehouses and distant communities.
