Wisconsin Innovation Prize to UW Engineering Student ng
If you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list, please FReep Mail me.
Gotta hand it to the kid...
Engineers are one of my favorite groups of people. Their brains work in amazing ways that I can’t come close to.
“. Past winners include Matt Younkle, whose TurboTap is now used to pour beer in stadiums across the country”
Sniff. He makes me so proud.
It better come in colors other than white.
There have been some huge advances in prosthetic devices in recent years. While still at the “component” level, I expect eventually there is going to be a superior, unified system. Some things that stood out:
1) Rubber tubes of numerous sizes, wrapped in a strong net sheath, change shape when air is pumped into them, creating a very good simulation of smooth and gentle muscle movement. Since they are powered by air, they are lightweight and low energy consumption.
2) For strong, fast and hard muscle movement, a different group created the equivalent of a piston drive. A spray of concentrated hydrogen peroxide onto a catalyst powers the piston. This system can be stronger than human muscle, and the only pollution produced is a little water.
3) There have been some major breakthroughs in battery technology and direct brain/prosthetic interface.