Review them on your blog. For example, what is each about, what about it is interesting, what about it is not interesting, what do you agree or disagree with, why should or shouldn’t someone study it, what questions does it leave you with, etc. (16 2/3 pts.)

In class, briefly summarize your review(s) orally. (We may or may not have time to do all three, we’ll just have to see.) (16 2/3 pts.)

• Cybernetics
  • In order to understand how to begin to build cybernetic technology, we need a deep understanding of how the brain works, and especially how our brains relate to our body image. VS Ramachandran is doing research into this topic, and this TED Talk video shows how little we really know about how it works.
  • An interesting look at the state of cybernetics can be viewed through the experiences of Aimee Mullins, an athlete and fashion model who—because of a genetic abnormality—had to have both legs amputated. In these TED Talks, she details the types of legs she has had.
  • A debate on the ethics of cybernetic implants is currently going on with the development of the Cochlear Implant. This device is not a hearing aid; instead, it directly stimulates auditory nerves leading to the brain. The question is, should they be implanted in children?
• What will the average human lifespan be in the US, in the year 2050?
  • Longevity Insurance: A Missing Market provides an overview of this insurance product which will be on the rise as the population greys.
  • Perhaps a future global shortage of food will entice people to adopt a Calorie-Restricted Diet, which will in turn increase longevity.
  • Ray Kurzweil is devoting a lot of resources to solving the longevity problem, including “a radical shift in diet, a heavy supplementation regimen (he takes 250 supplements a day), and regular checkups and rejuvenation treatments to slow the aging process as much as possible using today’s technology.”
• DNA database(s) of the future
  • 23andMe was one of the first public DNA testing companies. For $399 (originally $999), one can receive a kit to get their own genes assayed.
  • The Human Genome Project was the first program to successfully sequence an entire human genome.
  • Gene Therapy Clinical Trials from the US National Institutes for Health, list all the current US programs recruiting patients for cutting-edge clinical trials.

Apply TRIZ to your own topic. (10 pts) Pick a certain technology relevant to your topic. How could an implementation of it “branch out” and do other things? For example, pencils are a technology that “branched out” to also have erasers, storage bins for extra lead, clips for attaching it to a pocket, and so on. Cars now have air conditioners, play music, even have GPS devices for giving directions, etc. (40 pts) TRIZ also contains 40 principles for improving technologies. These are summarized in the course notes. Pick 10 and apply them to a technology relevant to your topic. What are 10 possible future advances you have discovered?

The topic of my research is the depiction of technology in popular entertainment, so in one sense, my topic is all about technology “branching out” and becoming more (especially how that is translated into popular fiction). For the purposes of this assignment, I would like to talk about driving. Not just cars, which are touched on in the prompt, but the experience of driving in general. For one, driving could branch out to become the destination instead of a journey: like we do with cruise ships, maybe we could have “cruise cars” which would provide most of the entertainment/accomodations in situ.

1. Prior Counteraction. Redirect traffic flow in response to changing travel conditions.
2. Rushing Through. On certain straightaways (such as Interstate 40 through the wastelands of Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona), speed could be vastly increased, resulting in shorter drive times for travelers.
3. Composite Materials. Both roads and tires could be changed to increase friction (which decreases energy required to push a car forward).
4. Homogeneity. When all cars (or sufficiently most) are made of the same parts, it will be cheaper to replace them. Maybe a nationalized car company could produce this car.
5. Continuity of Useful Action. How many times have you been in a rush of traffic, and all of a sudden the whole group has to stop to let one car cross traffic perpendicular to the main flow? This has been ameliorated somewhat by use of weight pads instead of strict timers for traffic lights, but the process could be “smarter” by allowing the large groups of traffic to continue using the energy efficiently (acceleration) instead of inefficiently (braking).
6. Self-Service. “Driving drives itself.” Full auto-pilot could be the most efficient of all.
7. Use Strong Oxidizers. Regarding internal combustion: one problem with using recycled oil for fuel is that it has to be sufficiently warm in order to be viscous enough to pass through the engine. By using a stronger oxidizer, namely gasoline, as an additional fuel source, we can use just enough gasoline to start the engine and heat the vegetable oil, then switch to different energy for propulsion.
8. Inexpensive Short Life. If the lifecycle of a car were an order of magnitude shorter than now, advances in technology (safety, fuel efficiency, etc) could reach more people quicker.
9. Equipotentiality. Driving should be sufficiently automated so that any position in the car (manned by a licensed driver) could take over the monitoring and intervention of the route, perhaps through an embedded touch-control or joystick system, or a wireless pad.
10. Combination. If multiple cars have the same route for a sufficient period of time, physically link the vehicles to take advantage of possible fuel savings due to drag reduction. Picture cars joining in a “V” formation similar to birds.