Agricultural Drones Brain Mapping



10
Breakthrough
Technologies 2014


  • Introduction
  • Agricultural Drones
  • Ultraprivate Smartphones
  • Brain Mapping
  • Neuromorphic Chips
  • Genome Editing
  • Microscale 3-D Printing
  • Mobile Collaboration
  • Oculus Rift
  • Agile Robots
  • Smart Wind and Solar Power
  • Archive of Past Lists

Microscale 3-D Printing

Inks made from different types of materials, precisely applied, are greatly expanding the kinds of things that can be printed.

Breakthrough

3-D printing that uses multiple materials to create objects such as biological tissue with blood vessels.

Why It Matters

Making biological materials with desired functions could lead to artificial organs and novel cyborg parts.

Key Players

  • Jennifer Lewis, Harvard University
  • Michael McAlpine, Princeton University
  • Keith Martin, University of Cambridge

Despite the excitement that 3-D printing has generated, its capabilities remain rather limited. It can be used to make complex shapes, but most commonly only out of plastics. Even manufacturers using an advanced version of the technology known as additive manufacturing typically have expanded the material palette only to a few types of metal alloys. But what if 3-D printers could use a wide assortment of different materials, from living cells to semiconductors, mixing and matching the “inks” with precision?
Jennifer Lewis, a materials scientist at Harvard University, is developing the chemistry and machines to make that possible. She prints intricately shaped objects from “the ground up,” precisely adding materials that are useful for their mechanical properties, electrical conductivity, or optical traits. This means 3-D printing technology could make objects that sense and respond to their environment. “Integrating form and function,” she says, “is the next big thing that needs to happen in 3-D printing.”


10
Breakthrough
Technologies
2014


  • Introduction
  • Agricultural Drones
  • Ultraprivate Smartphones
  • Brain Mapping
  • Neuromorphic Chips
  • Genome Editing
  • Microscale 3-D Printing
  • Mobile Collaboration
  • Oculus Rift
  • Agile Robots
  • Smart Wind and Solar Power
  • Archive of Past Lists

Microscale 3-D Printing

Inks made from different types of materials, precisely applied, are greatly expanding the kinds of things that can be printed.

Breakthrough

3-D printing that uses multiple materials to create objects such as biological tissue with blood vessels.

Why It Matters

Making biological materials with desired functions could lead to artificial organs and novel cyborg parts.

 


Key Players

  • Jennifer Lewis, Harvard University
  • Michael McAlpine, Princeton University
  • Keith Martin, University of Cambridge. 

 

 


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