5 familiar things that will look different in the future (11 photos)

This post will cover tubeless tires, bladeless wind turbines, laser weeding, composite railroad ties, and a new elevator system.





Michelin was a pioneer in the development of tubeless tires. And if at the beginning of the two thousandth this technology seemed futile and unnecessary, now Michelin engineers have achieved impressive results. Test drives have shown that tubeless tires have a number of advantages over wheels that use traditional tube tire technology. For example, a tubeless tire is not at risk of exploding (due to a puncture, high vehicle speed, or defect).



Tubeless tires improve vehicle handling. Wheels with such tires are not afraid of punctures and potholes on the road.





New tubeless tires no longer vibrate at high speeds and can withstand large vehicle weights, making them suitable for use on heavy construction equipment and heavy-duty vehicles.

Laser weeding



The use of robotic systems with laser weeding eliminates the use of herbicides in the fields. Spot removal of weeds allows not only to increase productivity, but also to reduce the risk of killing bees, since the use of herbicides is completely excluded from the agricultural cycle. The technology also has disadvantages: energy consumption, as well as the still high price for such robotic installations.



Composite railway sleepers



In 2021, Network Rail introduced new composite sleepers for railway tracks. Such sleepers are made from plastic waste and compare favorably with their wooden or concrete counterparts. Composite sleepers are several times lighter than concrete sleepers and more durable than wooden sleepers. Composite sleepers are not susceptible to the negative effects of fungi and are resistant to chemicals and oils. From July 2021, the use of wooden sleepers is prohibited in Britain. And de facto, it is composite sleepers that have become the only materials when repairing existing railways or constructing new railways.

Bladeless wind farms



Resonant wind generator concept.

Currently, several companies and engineering groups are working on creating bladeless wind turbines. Such power plants will be able to reduce noise levels near wind turbine fields and will also be safe for birds.



A feature of the new bladeless wind generators will be the direct conversion of kinetic wind energy into electrical energy, bypassing the stage of mechanical conversion. The first concept of a bladeless wind turbine was created at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands in 2013.

Elevators with ThyssenKrupp linear motors



Specialists from the German company ThyssenKrupp have already successfully tested an elevator system that operates not on cables, but on linear motors installed in rails located on the walls of the shaft. Such elevators can move not only up and down, but also horizontally. Such an elevator system has been tested in a special skyscraper in the German city of Rottweil since 2018.





What technology do you think will be implemented in the shortest possible time?