Every year since 1988, PopSci staff have packed into the conference room to discuss the year’s most important innovations.As we weigh the merits of dazzling gadgets and record-breaking rockets, our hands get slices from a pile of pizza, reach for too much diet soda, and toss fun-sized candies across the room.In 2020, chatter, we are different.Amid the ongoing COVID-19 threat, editors and researchers don their best pajama bottoms, log into Google Hangouts (BYO Peanut Butter Cups), and evaluate thousands of products and projects from afar to pick the best New Things: 100 Breakthroughs Understanding what we know can be a window into a healthier, happier, and more hopeful future.
The result is a celebration of ingenuity that we can accomplish together when personal and global challenges arise.Consider this: In 2020, a pair of big tech rivals join forces to create something that could change the way we fight COVID and other public health threats we don’t even know about.(The duo also earned our top honors for it.)
In all 10 of our categories, the pandemic has done little to slow the flow of innovation into the world.This year gave us real dairy products (no cows needed), perfectly fitted jeans that only algorithms can create, airbags that keep passengers safer than ever, and an alternative source of gaming consoles that bring a new dimension to our much-needed distraction And of course, a rapid COVID test – a milestone we didn’t even know we needed a year ago.
We take our annual awards very seriously, but this list, our 33rd, is special.Even in the midst of a tumultuous few months, engineers, developers, and scientists persevered – and we’re honored to shine the spotlight on their work.We can’t wait to see what barriers they break next.
Who can access?It’s the question that drives every security measure and innovation that has popped up in PopSci’s annual compendium since we launched the category in 2008.Every year, the problem gets bigger and bigger.In 2020, the world was shaken by a global pandemic that claimed 1.4 million lives, the civil rights movement in the United States was reborn, and a spate of record-breaking wildfires forced evacuations across regions.And these are just new panics.Anxiety over ad trackers and app snooping has accumulated leading to major changes in hardware and software alike.It’s been a year of lessons, nuances and small revolutions that we’ve worked hard to match with our choices.
Of all the tools missing from the U.S. pandemic response, digital contact tracing — which maps the local spread of the virus through the movement and interactions of infected people — feels the most at hand.A handful of countries, including Taiwan and Ireland, have contained COVID-19 through apps that have been closely watched in this way.But privacy tradeoffs and stigma abound.So the two largest smartphone makers — and fierce rivals — came up with a solution.Google and Apple’s application programming interfaces are device-agnostic code that avoids Big Brother’s biggest concerns by directly warning anyone at risk of infection rather than storing an individual’s location in a central database.First adopted by European countries such as Switzerland and Austria, and now used in more than 20 U.S. states and territories, the exposure notification system sends a ping each time another phone’s Bluetooth signal is detected, usually within a 6-foot radius within the range.If someone you exchange beacons with reports a positive coronavirus test, you will be alerted so you can get tested yourself.User consent is required at every step of the process, and apps built on this interface prevent other devices from accessing your personal information.Getting people to self-report is a challenge, but with healthcare resources so scarce, it helps to have technology that reminds us to do our best during this public health crisis and the next.
At the heart of every modern office lives a virtual private network (VPN), a shared access point that connects computers to servers, employees to colleagues.Most of these cryptographic services rely on hundreds of thousands of lines of code, which can compromise security.Not WireGuard.Created by a single developer, this client requires less than 4,000 lines of code to initiate fast connections and defend against hackers.The procedure is so streamlined that a one-person crew can check it for vulnerabilities in an afternoon.Despite a 40% surge in VPN demand early in the pandemic, popular operating systems such as Linux, Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS and OpenBSD have snapped up the protocol over the past few months.
Every time you open an email, you risk becoming a marketing data point.By embedding invisible images called spy pixels in messages, senders can learn when you opened the message, where it was, what device you were using, and when you scrolled through the content.Subscribing to the email service Hey doesn’t just block these snoops, it also snoops on trackers and tells you exactly what type is being used for every message in your inbox.And, unlike leading platforms like Gmail, Hey doesn’t serve ads or mine and sell user data.
Vigilante violence has also increased in the country despite a historic march against racial injustice in the U.S. this year.To protect the identities of activists and other users on its messaging app, Signal has added an easy-to-use blur tool that automatically reads faces on images and pixelates them.It also includes a manual brush function in case it misses a spot or needs to wipe off other giveaways like street signs.If you take a photo through Signal, it doesn’t save the original version, so the blur magic is truly irreversible.
Earth’s oceans are littered with hundreds of thousands of untapped landmines dating back to the First World War.So aerospace company Thales has created a robotic sea bomb squad for the French and British navies that can detect, identify and destroy these explosives – all while keeping humans out of harm’s way.Sonar-equipped unmanned ships spot suspicious objects from different angles, and extended telescopic arms wield nail guns to attach explosives.Crews detonated explosives at portable operations centers up to 35 miles away, completely destroying the mines.
If you want to keep an eye on your home without generating a lot of video footage, now you can get a mesh router working to detect motion.Because the nodes in its Wi-Fi system are constantly emitting radio waves back and forth, Linksys Aware can detect changes in the strength of these waves caused by objects moving in the network coverage area—for the first time.Alarms ping the Linksys app, you can set the sensitivity level to avoid false alarms, for example, your dog chasing its tail in the kitchen.
This summer, two developers revealed that many iOS apps, including TikTok, Zillow and Twitter, were quietly accessing users’ clipboards, which temporarily store passwords and other sensitive information, without people’s knowledge or consent.Apple noticed and rolled out some changes in an iOS update that rolled out a few months later.Now, when an app or widget saves text from the clipboard, the phone will send a popup message to its owner.What’s more, the feature deters developers from spying in the first place: Apps like LinkedIn and Reddit have removed code taken from Apple users’ copy-pastes.
Even as wildfires get more intense each season, overburdened firefighters still rely on 1950s technology like walkie-talkies to stay connected.The Team Awareness Kit app, which became widely available on the Google Play Store last summer, uses GPS on Android phones to help first responders track team members without relying on the cellular network that sometimes breaks in the field.First used by firefighters at Grizzly Creek in August, the app features online and offline maps where users can mark and share their locations, files, photos and videos, while also communicating via chat or livestreaming.The Colorado Center of Excellence is now working with the U.S. Forest Service to develop a national real-time database of wildfires through the app.
The so-called Ripsaw, in its fifth generation, will be the U.S. Army’s first fully autonomous ground vehicle if it passes field tests within the next two years.In addition to its battery-powered silent acceleration in all terrains and conditions, it has a few other sneaky benefits: Nested robots can scout forward and neutralize improvised explosive devices, unmanned tethered aircraft can run on barely detectable heat But most impressive is the vehicle’s artificial intelligence sensing system, which is derived from FLIR’s self-driving car technology.An array of four cameras provides 360-degree image synthesis, while AI identifies objects around the vehicle – distinguishing attackers from civilians, and armed from unarmed threats.
Every year we demand more and more of our gadgets.We expect the new model to offer a boost in power, improved efficiency, and a bunch of fancy new features that look good on the spec sheet.These upgrades usually come with price hikes, but several of this year’s winners managed to offer exciting tech upgrades for far less money than their predecessors or competitors.But don’t worry – we’ve got some special splurges here too.
We’re used to computer hardware getting better and more expensive every year.In September, NVIDIA broke the cycle with its RTX 3080 graphics card.At $699, the 3080 is 30 percent cheaper than its $999 predecessor, but it more than doubles the power.This translates to high frame rate 4K gaming, enough to kill the most powerful graphics cards from a year ago.The new cards are tough enough to achieve 120 frames per second performance in VR headsets like the Valve Index, allowing for ultra-smooth motion in any task.It also reduces render times for 3D modeling or video projects by 20% or more.Nvidia achieved all the speed by completely redesigning the GPU’s architecture and shrinking the compute cores to accommodate more than twice as many.The company even had to overhaul the built-in cooling system, which features a dual-fan design and huge radiator fins to absorb heat as you go through its paces.In a nutshell: GPU bars have jumped in 2020 by more than generations.
Trying to balance most iPad keyboard cases on your lap is an uncomfortable experience—not ideal for wobbly propping up an expensive tablet in an airport waiting area.Apple designed its Magic Keyboard with a cantilever arm that securely holds your iPad Pro or iPad Air at any angle, from upright to reclined, depending on your task or seating arrangement.The new scissor-style mechanism beneath each backlit key also provides a plush 1mm of travel for key operation – without suffering the durability issues of Apple’s ill-fated butterfly keys.Plus, the Magic Keyboard has a built-in USB-C port that connects to your iPad via the charger whenever you attach it via the magnetic stand.
While high-end TVs are only just beginning to venture into the world of 8K Ultra HD playback, Blackmagic’s cinema cameras are already pulling down 12K video at 12,288 x 6,480 per frame and nearly 80 megapixels per frame.Even if movie lovers wait for the screen to catch up, this clarity has its uses.For example, photographers can use all these pixels to shoot more detailed 4K or 8K footage, or record and crop at full resolution during post-production without compromising image quality.And thanks to Blackmagic’s new ultra-efficient compression algorithm, you don’t need a desktop computer more expensive than a family car to process footage: a high-end laptop can handle the clip just fine.
Asus teamed up with AMD to create the first laptop built with this year’s ultra-fast 4900HS chip.Paired with Nvidia’s RTX 2060 graphics card, the 3.5-pound Zephyrus has a level of computing power comparable to a gaming desktop.The 14″ screen features a 120 Hz display and NVMe solid state drive moves data without lag.Despite all its muscles, the Zephyrus still manages to deliver over 9 hours of battery life for everyday tasks, which puts it at the top of its class when it comes to balancing power and overall usability.
Wireless charging works best when you place your device directly on the induction coil.Apple makes sure the new iPhone 12 and its MagSafe connector look their best every time by using a ring of powerful magnets to perfectly line up chargers and cellular devices.The appeal is so strong that you don’t have to remove accessories like cases and compatible card wallets.The optimized alignment also reduces heat build-up and reduces charging time by up to 50% compared to typical wireless pads.
Some users, especially those with visual impairments or limited mobility, rely on voice commands for almost all tasks on their phones.Typically, this requires the operating system to assign numerical values to each element on the screen.But Android 11 can parse what’s happening on the display, allowing users to refer to apps by name without having to parse arbitrary numbers.This semantic parsing also allows software to identify and interact with individual elements of a web page, such as images and text fields, for easier navigation on the web.It already operates with impressive accuracy in a variety of applications, and its capabilities should expand over the next few generations.
The more frequently your phone’s screen refreshes, the smoother your swiping on your device will look.It’s easy on the eyes, but hard on the battery.Samsung’s Inverter Display debuted with the Galaxy Note 20 and can refresh the screen up to 120 times per second during motion-intensive activities like scrolling or gaming.(That’s twice as often as most phones.) However, if you’re viewing still images or reading text, it automatically drops to 10 refreshes per second, reducing battery usage by as much as 60 percent.Even without adjusting for smooth motion, the Smart OLED display promises an overall power saving of over 20% compared to a regular screen, meaning you can actually enjoy those buttery visuals without feeling tied to the power supply.
The black-and-white slow-refresh displays commonly found in e-readers rely on a technology called E Ink, which offers some advantages over typical screens.First, it’s more efficient in terms of battery life.Second, clear text is easier to read and won’t strain your eyes.But the biggest downside is the lack of color.That changed this year with E Ink’s Kaleido technology, which appears in a variety of e-readers in 2020 (including the one pictured above from PocketBook).The Kaleido screen is available in 4,096 colors thanks to an array of filters that sit above a typical ink layer and create different shades – similar to how many HDTVs work.The basic concept has been around for more than a decade, but this is the first time a color e-reader is ready to hit the market, not a disappointing novelty.
If you stretched the curve of Samsung’s 49-inch-wide G9 display into a full circle, it would have a radius of three feet—measured at 1,000R.That’s much more solid than typical curved monitors, which typically clock around 1,800R.The design roughly matches the shape of your eyes, so the display fills your field of view naturally without straining you to see the edges.In addition to the form factor, the G9 promises quick 1-millisecond responsiveness and 5,120 x 1,440 resolution—enough to hold dozens of TweetDeck columns for maximum doom scrolling.
Lenovo has spent more than four years developing its foldable ThinkPad, which uses a bendable tablet screen to mimic the shape of a laptop’s hinge.OLED displays have been tested over 30,000 safety switches.Fully open, it can be used as a 13.3″ HD tablet.Or fold it in half and snap into the magnetic keyboard (which hides in the folded screen during transport) and you have a full-fledged Intel-powered laptop.The X1 Fold promises up to 8.5 hours of use on a single charge or regular use, and has been tested to the same rigorous strength standards as Lenovo’s other burly ThinkPad machines.
Most people probably don’t need a true 360-degree camera, but Insta360′s modular system does double duty with a more reasonable gadget for everyone.When clipped into the action camera module, it’s a fully functional 4K rig that’s waterproof up to 15 feet.Swap out the 360-degree mod for a pair of lenses that capture a 5.7K surround view that you can watch later with a VR headset or on VR apps like YouTube.Alternating between two getups is as easy as Lego blocks.
Despite the upheaval brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, uneasy times have also pointed the way for innovation.Pharmaceutical companies have turned to vaccine development, while biotech labs at major companies and universities have begun to focus on developing accurate testing equipment, including easy-to-use, fast, reliable, and extremely cheap COVID-19 tests; personal protective equipment such as reproducible Prototype N95 masks used; and technology to ensure people receive the best medical care in difficult times.Despite these difficult days, better treatments for existing challenges like myopia, migraines, sleep apnea and acne have prevailed, helping this year’s top health advancements offer a silver lining to us all.
Diagnostic tests to detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can take days to produce results.However, the time in between is crucial.Early detection of the novel virus can send infected people a signal to self-isolate and help contact tracers identify and notify anyone they have been in close contact with.Countless new products to assess infection rates in populations have made their way into clinics since March, but one stands out: Abbott’s BinaxNOW rapid test, which received emergency use authorization from the FDA in August.It can detect COVID in 15 minutes, costs about $5 per test, and doesn’t require specialized lab equipment.
To perform the test, paramedics open a card — about the size of a driver’s license — and add a few drops of fluids called reagents.The solution contains chemicals that react with the SARS-Cov-2 nucleocapsid antigen, the most abundant coronavirus protein in infectious individuals.The provider then takes a nasal sample using the included swab, inserts it into a card, and folds the paper.A positive result (shown as two pink lines on the outside of the card) will become apparent in about 15 minutes.The system correctly identified patients infected with the novel virus 97.1% of the time and provided accurate negative tests 98.5% of the time, making it a reliable and rapid assessment of COVID-19.
According to a 2013 study in the British Journal of Dermatology, acne vulgaris (meaning “common”) affects up to 85 percent of adolescents and young adults in the United States.A group of frequently used drugs called retinoids help relieve the condition by binding to retinoic acid receptors (RARs) on the surface of the skin, which stimulate and accelerate cell growth, causing old cells to quickly shed and give way to newer, Healthier cells. But this process often results in dry, irritated skin.The prescription Aklief Cream is the first new retinoid product in over 20 years that selectively targets RAR gamma, the most common retinoic acid receptor on the skin.By targeting only this narrow group, the product may reduce the likelihood of itching, which has historically caused many acne sufferers to avoid retinoids.
Myopia, or nearsightedness, occurs when a person’s eyeball protrudes too far out of the socket, which makes it difficult for incoming light to focus on the retina.The common condition gets progressively worse as a person ages and the elongation of the eyeball lengthens.According to a 2015 World Health Organization report, the disease could affect 52 percent of the world’s population by 2050.MiSight 1-Day Corrective Contact Lenses are the first contact lenses to slow the pace of children in the critical age group of 8 to 12 years, when myopia is commonly diagnosed and still relatively mild.Everyday lenses delay elongation by creating what’s called “myopia defocus”; light hitting the periphery of the retina is redirected in front of it, inhibiting growth that reduces vision over time.In the study, the lenses reduced myopia progression by 59 percent over three years.
For the roughly 37 million Americans who suffer from migraines, severe headaches, light and sound sensitivity, and nausea require quick relief.Traditional treatments called triptans work in part by restricting blood flow, but this strategy comes with side effects, including neck pain, chest tightening, muscle cramps and dizziness.Ubrelvy, the first new FDA-approved migraine drug gepants, promises to relieve symptoms without serious side effects.These drugs try to control the activity of a pain-regulating molecule called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), the levels of which rise during attacks.Ubrelvy works by blocking the ability of CGRP to bind to the corresponding receptors in the body, effectively preventing migraine from occurring.
Many people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes rely on insulin to stabilize spikes in blood sugar after meals, and failing to control these glucose jumps increases the risk of other diseases, including heart disease, kidney failure and nerve damage.Traditional insulin injections have a fairly narrow window within which they work properly, but patients can take Lyumjev any time within 20 minutes of starting a meal.That’s because the new insulin formula contains a drug called treprostinil, which dilates blood vessels to speed up absorption, and sodium citrate, which reduces the time it takes for the drug to work to 13 minutes — less than others half of the drug.drug.
Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition in which the muscles that keep the airways open relax during sleep, narrowing or stopping airflow and causing periodic breathing gaps.Pulmonologists estimate that about 80 percent of moderate-to-severe apnea goes undiagnosed.Withings’ new ScanWatch is an early warning system that signals when it’s time to see a doctor for a comprehensive sleep study.The wearable, currently awaiting FDA approval, uses motion sensors, O2 sensors and heart rate monitors to detect breathing disturbances and oxygen saturation that can indicate disruptions in airflow at night.
At the start of the pandemic, there was a severe shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), forcing healthcare professionals to reuse vital items like N95 masks.Since there is no standardized way to reuse and clean PPE, the CDC recommends that essential workers rotate masks every five days and store them in breathable paper bags, reducing efficacy.Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital unveiled in July the design of a prototype face shield that could be as effective as the N95 but can be sterilized and reused.Called the Injection Molded Autoclavable, Expandable, Conformable (iMASC) system, the device is primarily constructed of durable silicone rubber and has slots for single or dual replaceable N95 filters.The researchers successfully tested sterilizing the masks with high-pressure steam and soaking in bleach and alcohol.The team plans to further refine their design to better accommodate a variety of face shapes, especially smaller ones, before bringing it to market.
Telemedicine has long had the potential to transform healthcare in rural areas or for those unable to see a doctor in person, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made it even more important.MedWand is a clinical-grade diagnostic kit that allows your doctor to collect information that would normally require an in-person visit.About the size of a small coffee cup, the USB-connected setup gives doctors real-time access to data from 10 examination tools, including a stethoscope, otoscope (for the ear), ophthalmoscope (for the back of the eye), and dermatoscope (for the back of the eye). damage to the skin)—as well as thermometers, pulse oximeters (used to monitor heart rate and blood oxygen levels), and electrocardiogram sensors.The device is awaiting FDA approval, and once approved, it should be ready for use.
Rapid use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) can increase a person’s chances of surviving cardiac arrest.Since 2004, stadiums and gyms have increasingly been outfitted with these smaller-than-hospital-grade devices, yet only about 20 percent of accidents have occurred in public spaces.HeartHero’s device, currently pending FDA and other regulatory approvals, is a wallet-sized, easy-to-use AED that weighs just 1.3 pounds and is designed to be stored in the homes of people at high risk of heart disease.Through a conductive pad on the person’s chest (as instructed by voice commands), the machine reads their heart rate to determine if the shock was correct; if so, it delivers the appropriate charge, then re-reads the rhythm to determine if more is needed try.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been dire for the commercial aviation industry, but that hasn’t stopped aerospace innovation from going all the way over the past year.The list below highlights a jumbo airliner with folding wingtips, a fighter drone using artificial intelligence, and even a nuclear-powered rover on its way to Mars.Did we mention that the US has successfully launched astronauts from homeland for the first time since 2011?continue reading.
NASA has spent decades studying the red planet’s geology and chemistry, and now with its Mars 2020 mission, it’s tackling a major biological question head-on: Did life ever have life on this planet?On July 30, NASA launched a rocket carrying the one-ton nuclear-powered Perseverance rover.After landing in February 2021, it will be the first rover specifically designed to search for direct evidence of creatures past or present.The machine may be very similar to its predecessor, Curiosity, but it brings new capabilities to Mars exploration.The SHERLOC spectrometer’s powerful laser will scan the rock, looking for the one-in-a-millionth biomolecular twinkle.The researchers will combine this information with sharp images and other data from the PIXL imaging system in the search for the holy grail — molecular groups that indicate life, such as amino acids or lipids (at least as far as we know).If we can bring the Martian debris back to Earth for further study, the evidence could become conclusive.Perseverance will also help here, as it’s the first space robot designed to store samples for recovery on future missions.
When astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken blasted off from Cape Canaveral on May 30 during the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission, it marked a historic lift-off — the first time in nine years that humans have been lifted from The continental United States launched into space and sent humans into space for the first time.Only the fifth manned spacecraft ever built by the United States.Hurley and Behnken aboard the Crew Dragon, SpaceX’s 21st-century spaceflight system with a large touchscreen and the ability to reach the International Space Station without pilot input.And, for the first time, NASA handed over mission control to a private company.SpaceX employees in Hawthorne, Calif., run the show while the Houston operator keeps an eye on it.When the astronauts splashed down on Aug. 2, a SpaceX controller predicted the future of commercial spaceflight, saying, “Welcome back to Earth and thank you for flying SpaceX.”
In February, the European Space Agency stuffed a solar lab into a rocket and flung it toward the sun.NASA’s Parker Solar Probe eschews sun-facing cameras and other bulky, delicate equipment so that it can oscillate closer to our nearest star, while ESA’s orbiter makes a compromise: It stays at Farther away, but full of instruments.As the first probe to have a camera that can look directly at the Sun at close range, the spacecraft is designed to sense localized breezes in the solar wind and trace them back to surface eruptions that may have caused them.The machine’s ten instruments are hidden behind a state-of-the-art heat shield that will help them brave the blazing rays.
Fuel is the lifeblood of a satellite: its end means the end of the mission.Or at least it did, until the first Mission Expansion Vehicle (MEV-1) brought a sick geostationary satellite back from the brink of death.In February, MEV-1 approached the Intelsat 901 communications satellite, which were both speeding through space at about 7,000 mph.Three sensors, including a lidar rangefinder, act as the eyes of the MEV-1, which catches the Intelsat 901 through the engine and clamps it with millimeter precision.As the MEV-1′s electric thrusters replace the chemical thrusters used by aging satellites, the hardware could extend the life of the vehicle by another five years.The system is designed to dock with about 80 percent of the more than 400 satellites in geosynchronous orbit, and launched its second mission, MEV-2, on August 15.Separate and rescue new targets.
On a helicopter, the large rotor at the top is responsible for lifting, while the tail rotor acts as an anti-torque device.If that tail rotor (mechanically connected internally to the main rotor via physical components such as drive shafts and gearboxes) is not present, the helicopter will spin in circles.But Bell’s fascinating Electrical Distributed Anti-Torque (EDAT) demonstrator does something different: Instead of a mechanical connection, an electrical system does the work.A generator connected to the main rotor gearbox produces juice, which then runs four shrouded fans in the tail.The result is a quieter-than-usual, but potentially safer cyclone bird.When parked on the ground, the aircraft’s main rotor can rotate with the tail fan turned off, eliminating a lethal danger to ground personnel.This is not possible on a normal helicopter.
Going back some 20 years, civilians who were given a lot of money had a way to travel at supersonic speeds via Concorde.But since the iconic plane ceased flying in 2003, no one other than those in the military has been able to do supersonic trekking.However, in early October, a startup called Boom unveiled the XB-1, a vehicle that serves as a stepping stone to supersonic travel — such as from New York to London in 3.5 hours — becomes a reality.The 71-foot-long XB-1 has yet to fly, and is significantly smaller than a planned future passenger version called the Overture.But some elements of the prototype plane, such as the use of a camera system to help pilots see the runway when landing, should help inform Boom’s future journey to build the new Concorde jet.The XB-1 is expected to make its maiden flight in 2021.
Imagine how terrifying the passengers in a small plane would be if a pilot was incapacitated by a medical emergency such as a heart attack.Now, on some general aviation planes, those travelers will have a new option: They can simply push a button to land the plane.Autoland takes over from there – pick an airport, fly the plane yourself, and drop the landing gear at the right time – to land the vehicle safely.It broadcasts the situation over the radio and can even activate automatically if the pilot has not interacted with the aircraft for a set amount of time.It is now certified on three different types of aircraft, all small airliners: Piper M600, Daher TBM 940 and Cirrus Vision Jet.Garmin says it has completed more than 1,000 test landings with Autoland, but it has yet to be used in a true emergency — although the company estimates the system could prevent about three crashes in the United States each year.
We’re all very familiar with sitting side by side with our neighbors on a crowded plane.The Celera 500L prototype can only seat six passengers, and the team hopes to bring the cost and travel time of private flights down to commercial levels, so that even the average person can fly in a smaller, more comfortable aircraft.The craft’s soft-body shape and rear propeller are designed to create an aerodynamic phenomenon called laminar flow, in which air flows in smooth laminae over the craft.Since the plane is supposed to be more fuel efficient than its rivals—perhaps four times or more—fare should be kept low; first, lower planned maintenance costs and cheaper sticker prices should also help achieve this a goal.This way, we can fly in private comfort at smaller airports.
The 38-foot-long plane looks like a fighter jet and is designed to fly like one — but it doesn’t have a place for a pilot on it.The unmanned ship is designed to act as a kind of robotic team member, flying alongside or in front of conventional aircraft.Artificial intelligence will help the machines — part of a project called the Air Power Combination System — perform this complex task.The concept behind flying robots is that they can do things like venture into dangerous areas, or help protect their accompanying aircraft.Each jet has a fully detachable nose, allowing teams on the ground to quickly change the payload of the smaller craft as the mission dictates.
The XXL commercial aircraft made its maiden flight in January.What makes it unique is that it has a trick on the ends of its wings: the tips can be folded up and down.When they’re rolled up, the wingspan is just 213 feet — narrow enough to fit in the door’s allotted space.But before takeoff, they unfold down to form a span about 235 feet long.What is the purpose of all these folding actions?Long wings are more efficient in flight, but space is at a premium when it comes to airport parking.The massive craft is also equipped with the largest jet engines around, the GE9X, each with an 11-foot diameter fan.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made flying more stressful for everyone.But armchair pilots eager to climb into the cockpit got a new outlet this year, a new version of Microsoft Flight Simulator the size of a jumbo jet — the first of its kind since 2006.Artificial intelligence has helped create some of the game’s gorgeous graphics, like the shapes of buildings, and a new way of simulating flight makes the movement of planes through space more realistic than ever.Players can now sit in the cockpit of aircraft such as a Cessna 172 or even a Boeing Dreamliner – no flying lessons required.
Transferring fuel from tankers to fighter jets in the air, such as fighter jets, is a high-risk operation.Both planes whizzed through the sky, thousands of pounds of fuel flowing between them.Using a typical method, the operator lowers the long arm from the tanker to the top of the receiving aircraft.But Airbus has devised a way to automate this risky business at the touch of a button.A computer system uses cameras and other sensors under the tanker to monitor the position of the receiving aircraft, then moves the boom into position to allow the kerosene to flow.The result, Airbus says, is greater efficiency and safety, with less human workload.
Post time: Jan-19-2022
