Crazy ceilings from 3D-printed sand – IMPRESSO #15

In this edition: crazy ceilings from 3D-printed sand, paper-based batteries powered by bacteria and fighting tuberculosis with your smartphone

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Crazy ceilings from 3D-printed sand

How many times a day do you look at a room’s ceiling? In the future, this might happen much more often! Swiss researchers from ETH currently develop a new type of concrete ceilings inspired by gothic architecture. They use 3D printed sand with binding polymers to produce what they call the “SmartSlab”. It will use much less material, will weigh only half the weight of current ceilings and is a truly innovative technique to build (actually program) structural elements that may revolutionize the way we build. Oh, and did I mention that it just looks really cool? Watch the video or Read more

 

Paper-based batteries powered by bacteria

A low battery status is a modern nightmare. But have you heard of “Papertronics”? A single-use paper-based battery that is practically powered by bacteria is currently developed at Binghampton University. They produce an electric current, while at the same time devouring the battery at the end of its life-cycle. This inexpensive, sustainable way of powering potentially billions of devices may not only power our cellphones in the future but more importantly the billions of future sensors driving the Internet of things. Bye bye low battery nightmare! Read more 

 

Fight tuberculosis with your smartphone

The fact that our smartphones are omnipresent in our lives can be annoying some times. But it can also be a real life saver: Tuberculosis is still one of the world’s deadliest diseases. Persons infected need to be carefully monitored for a duration of about 6 month. SureAdhere currently develops a mobile-phone technology that does exactly that and therefore, it will not only give patients more autonomy but the tech also promises global impact in our fight against tuberculosis. Read more