Hardly anyone thinks that the world is changing by itself. But most are convinced that big companies or governments are behind the changes. The role of individuals who, with their talent, diligence and exceptional ability, propel us forward to the cherished dream of the future, is usually ignored. People who take on, it would seem, the most disastrous idea that no one wants to take on, and implement it. Or they come up with something really new. Do not ask where the world is heading, it is rolling where these people are driving it. We will tell you about them and their projects today.
Elon Musk - the second humanity on Mars and "solar" cars
Someone, but Elon Musk needs no introduction. Everything he does is in plain sight, and he himself is not averse to promoting himself. Musk is one of the main newsmakers of everything related to the future and innovation. It is difficult to add something new to everything that has been said about him, but we will try anyway.
Elon Musk
So, Elon Musk is the head of Tesla Motors, a company that produces not only the well-known Tesla electric vehicles, but also creates the infrastructure of charging stations around the world. In North America, Europe, and now in Russia, as well as in China, Japan and Australia. At the same time, Musk is betting on solar energy. In June, it was announced that Tesla Motors was acquiring SolarCity, a company founded by his cousins and of which Musk is on the board. Now, electric cars, batteries for them, and solar batteries for charging will be produced within the same company. Thus, Musk ties together the energy of the Sun and the energy of motion. Transforms one into another, directly. If his ideas come true, then in the future, a significant part of vehicles will be driven by solar energy. And if Musk does not refuse to provide free charging at his Supercharger filling stations and other manufacturers of electric vehicles follow a similar practice, then the future also promises free "refueling" of personal cars.
And Mars needs the Mask not only to insert a flag into the red sand of the fourth planet from the Sun. Its declared goal is the ramification of humanity. Colonizing Mars is a surefire way to save humanity. According to Musk, in the event of a global catastrophe on Earth, a colony on the Red Planet will help humanity survive. Even if the earthlings die, the Martian part of humanity will remain. Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, known as SpaceX, with its Falcon rockets and Dragon ships, is then only a tool to achieve these goals.
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Brogan Bembrogan and Sherwin Pishevar - the speed of being and the Silk Road of the future
A former SpaceX engineer and an Iranian-born venture capitalist have teamed up to cut distances and times. The Hyperloop One company they created, formerly called Hyperloop Technologies, is implementing the vacuum train project proposed by Elon Musk.
Brogan Bembrogan and Sherwin Pishevar
At first glance, the essence of the technology is simple. Capsules with passengers or cargo move through pipes under reduced pressure, the so-called forevacuum. The absence of air resistance should allow them to accelerate to significant speeds - from 480 to 1 220 kilometers per hour. If the developers manage to implement this idea (and there is no doubt about it, the only question is in time), then a new mass mode of transport will appear on Earth. The fifth type of transport. A full-fledged competitor to the old transport quartet - road, air, water and rail transport.
Do not think that Hyperloop will simply replace any one means of transportation, such as trains. Initially, the hyperloop was conceived as a competitor to the high-speed rail, which was supposed to connect the largest cities in California: San Francisco in the north and Los Angeles in the south of the state. High-speed passenger trains were supposed to carry passengers at a speed of "only" 322 kilometers per hour.
So far, the project is under development and testing. After the first tests in May this year, Brogan Bembrogan, who designed the second stage engine of the Falcon 1 rocket for SpaceX and worked on the heat shield of the Dragon spacecraft, said that the company would have built a closed test track by the end of the year.
And in June this year, his partner Sherwin Pishevar, who successfully invested in Uber at an early stage, announced his desire to build a new Silk Road through the territory of our country based on Hyperloop technology. The implementation of his idea will allow the delivery of goods from China to Europe in just one day. Another project that may be implemented in our country is the construction of a Hyperloop in Moscow. The high-speed vacuum line can be used to transport passengers between the airports of the Moscow air hub or to develop communication with New Moscow. Hyperloop can significantly improve the lives of 16 million people living in the Moscow region by dramatically reducing the time they spend on moving, Peshawar said.
High-speed train projects can be implemented elsewhere. Hyperloop may appear in Russia on the section from China to the port of Zarubino, and in Europe on the Vienna - Bratislava - Budapest line.
Jeff Bezos - shopping from the sky and rocket to space
The most successful person of the past year according to Forbes. In 1999 "Person of the Year" according to Time magazine. Founder of the world's leading online store Amazon.com. # 5 on Forbes Billionaire List this year. But it's one thing to make money for yourself (and last year, Bezos doubled his fortune), and quite another to change our planet.
Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos was made billionaire by the online store Amazon.com, created by him in 1994 and named after the largest and deepest river in the world. At first, it only sold books, but today it has everything. And today Amazon is the largest online retailer in the United States and the largest company in the world selling goods and services on the Internet. Amazon is the industry leader. Bezos's brainchild has been successful and is growing. At the same time, the volumes of online trade are growing. But, as they say, if it arrived somewhere, then somewhere it left. Online shopping is already changing the face of American cities. Shopping centers have practically ceased to open in the US. People prefer to shop online. Attendance at regular stores and shopping malls is falling. Many of them are closing. In their place are restaurants and leisure centers.
But if for Americans Amazon is primarily a large store on the Internet, then we will learn more about the company from the news and largely thanks to the Amazon Prime Air project, which assumes the delivery of purchases to customers using flying autonomous drones. And both home and anywhere you are - on the street, in the office or in the park for a walk. Are you relaxing in nature and the batteries in your player run out? Order them online and in a few minutes the air courier will deliver them to you. In the future, wherever you are, purchases will be delivered to you right in your hands and in the shortest possible time. But for this to be feasible, only technical progress in the development of drones is not enough. We need a new concept for the development of the airspace of settlements. Amazon is taking steps in this direction as well. According to the proposals of the company,the airspace of cities should be divided into zones. One of them (high-altitude) will be designed for high-speed transit flights. Others, located at low altitudes, only for takeoff, landing and local movements.
Bezos' other passion is space. Another brainchild of his is the aerospace company Blue Origin. Like Elon Musk's SpaсeX, the company relies on reusable rockets. In April this year, Blue Origin launched a rocket into space for the third time, which has already been there twice. SpaсeX has never been able to do this. However, unlike their missiles, Bezos's New Shepard is intended only for suborbital flights. The rocket is able to reach the Karman line and return, making a soft controlled landing. Its rocket will not be able to put a satellite into orbit, but this is quite enough for space tourism.
Robert Bigelow - breakfast in the room and Earth in the window
Even though space tourism is only a dream today, sooner or later fifteen-minute travels for space tourists will not be enough. In order to feel all the greatness of outer space and to admire the planet from the outside, you need to stay in orbit for at least a couple of days. So, meet: Robert Bigelow is the owner of hotels around the world (he owns the Budget Suites of America hotel chain), and now the owner of a small orbital "real estate" in space.
Robert Bigelow
But before the experimental inflatable housing module, owned by his company Bigelow Aerospace, was docked to the ISS, his name was not so well known. The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) was delivered to the International Space Station in April this year aboard the SpaceX Dragon freighter. With the help of the Kanadarm2 manipulator, it was taken out of the unpressurized compartment of the cargo ship and docked to the docking station of the Tranquility module. On May 29, it was completely filled with air and within the next two years it will have to undergo a test that will show how reliably it can protect the crew from space debris, solar radiation and extreme space temperatures.
This is the first private and first inflatable module on the ISS, and the first project of its kind to be implemented. But this is the reality of today. The company, which was founded in 1999, already has other, albeit small, achievements, and has ambitious plans. In addition to BEAM, Bigelow Aerospace has already managed to launch two prototypes of inflatable commercial modules Genesis I and Genesis II into orbit.
Bigelow Aerospace Space Station Project
In the future, the company plans to build its own commercial space station. Seven rockets are required to launch the station modules into space. And here at Bigelow Aerospace they rely on SpaceX with its Dragon ships and the still-in-design Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. But the ultimate goal of Robert Bigelow is to create a hotel chain in space.
By the way, BEAM is a continuation of the TransHab project, closed by NASA back in 2000. Bigelow Aerospace acquired NASA patents and continued development. Although the first projects of an inflatable space station appeared in the 60s of the last century. Apparently, now is the time to implement them.
Dean Kamen and Shane Chen - the new invention of the wheel
No, these two don't work together. But what each of them has done and is doing individually brings the future of personal vehicles closer. They do not deal with flying cars, high-speed trains or teleportation facilities. Their transport is more prosaic. Kamen described his invention as a cross between slippers and a bicycle. As comfortable as slippers, as mobile as a bicycle. We are talking about personal electric transport. Easy to operate, affordable and, as befits things of the coming future, moderately "smart".
Dean Kamen and his invention
Although Chen's inventions are more common, Dean Keiman is better known to the public. He is the inventor of the Segway. Segway, if anyone does not know, is a vehicle for one person, which is a platform with two wheels located on either side of the driver and a steering column with which turns are made. The difference from everything created earlier is that it is a self-balancing vehicle. Gyro sensors and processors maintain balance and prevent the apparatus from falling. And, of course, the segway runs on batteries. The American inventor spent about 10 years on its creation.
But Kamen could not cope with competitors from the Celestial Empire. After unsuccessful patent disputes, his company Segway Inc was sold to one of the competitors - China's Ninebot Inc. Which, in turn, belongs to the infamous Xiaomi. Such a merger was only beneficial. Not so long ago, the company introduced its first robot that moves in space using technologies originally implemented in segways.
Shane Chen
Segways on our streets, and not only ours, are still less common than their younger counterparts - gyroboards (aka hoverboards) and electric unicycle. There are countless numbers of such devices. Their inventor is the head of Inventist, an American of Chinese descent, Shane Chen. According to the inventor, over a billion copies of such devices have been produced. True, he gets nothing from this. Having a patent does not help him at all in his fight against thousands of Chinese entrepreneurs who manufacture hoverboards illegally.
Chen patented his hoverboard, named by the inventor Hovertrax in 2012. Monowheel earlier. During this time, their popularity has grown immeasurably. In the very near future, they will compete with bicycles, and somewhere cars.