Drilling for Energy, Robots based upon Elephant Trunks and detecting Heavy Metals in our sweat

February 9

This week we discover a company that is drilling deep into the Earth’s Crust to find heat for renewable energy. We investigate a way to generate electricity from railroads and we examine a simple test for heavy metals in our sweat. Finally we look at a new type of robot that is based upon the structure of an Elephant’s trunk.

Drilling for Energy

There are a large range of energy sources competing to be the replacement for fossil fuels. We have all seen solar and wind solutions which are rapidly being deployed. Other sources of energy include tidal, thermal, fusion and hydrogen. Quaise Energy is trying something different.

Quaise’s ultra-deep geothermal power plan is to use millimeter-wave beam technology to blast through previously undrillable rock far below the earth’s surface. The millimeter wave beam technology was developed for superheating plasma in fusion experiments. It will allow Quaise to drill bore holes far deeper than have ever been possible. The company believes it will be able to access rock temperatures of 500C. At that temperature water is heated past a supercritical state which boosts the efficiency of geothermal power extraction.

These bore holes will allow access to a virtually inexhaustible source of geothermal energy practically anywhere on the planet. Turbines connected to the energy source 24 hours a day. Most existing power stations can be converted to use the steam created by the bores. There is no need for batteries or storage.

Quaise will use a gyrotron powered energy beam to melt, fracture and vaporize the toughest rock over 100 days to deliver a bore hole 20 kilometers deep. Rock does not flow at this depth but the rock is still extremely hot. The depth is nowhere near the center of the earth (approximately 3,500 kilometers below the surface). Humans have only once drilled to 20 kilometers depth and that took over 20 years. This new Technology is vastly faster. 0.1% of the earth’s heat will provide enough energy to meet all our needs for the next two million years.

The skills and some equipment required for this type of energy source are found in the Oil and Gas industry. This source of energy will use less than 1% of the land and materials of other renewables. Quaise was recently spun out of MIT and has just raised a funding round. It hopes to have their pilot well operational in 2026. They plan to reopen their first coal fired power station powered by geothermal energy in 2028.

Harvesting Energy from moving Trains

Whilst we are talking about energy, a team from the Virginia Tech Center have a new kind of tie that will replace the conventional wooden tie on railroads. The tie is placed underneath the rail with a heavy metal bar mounted on a spring. This tie is equipped to generate power as the wheels of a train pass over the rail, the train’s weight pushes down on the bar which triggers a set of gears. The gears rotate a generator creating electricity which can be stored in a battery.

76% of the total rail lines in the US are in rural areas that lack the electricity required for operating smart rail systems. These systems include safety equipment, wireless communications and track health monitors. Solar panels are regularly stolen and fuel powered generators need regular servicing and refueling.

For every wheel that passes by the system harvests 15 to 20 watts of power. A long train with 200 wagons will generate 1.6 kilowatts. This is enough to power virtual sensors systems that keep railways safe.

Detecting Heavy Metals in Sweat

A team at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil have developed a tiny copper sensor that is able to detect the presence of heavy metals such as lead and cadmium in sweat.

Heavy metals can be present in batteries, cosmetics, food and many other parts of everyday life. When they accumulate in the body they become toxic and can cause a range of health problems. For example high cadmium levels can lead to fatalities from problems in the airways, liver and kidneys. Lead poisoning damages the central nervous system, causes cognitive impairment, fatigue, infertility and high blood pressure.

Humans eliminate heavy metals in sweat and urine. Analysis of these biofluids are currently carried out with expensive devices. This new solution uses a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with a conductive flexible copper adhesive tape attached. Essentially sticky tape with a sensor printed on it. The copper is then immersed in ferric chloride for 20 minutes and then washed with distilled water.

The device is connected to a potentiostat which is a portable piece of equipment that determines the concentration of each metal by measuring the differences in potential and current between electrodes. Results can be displayed on a smartphone (given the right software). This type of device may help with early identification of the build up of heavy metals in people in high risk locations or industries.

Continuum Robots

Conventional robots are based upon separate joints similar to the way our arms are built. This structure does not always perform well in complex real world tasks particularly those that require the dexterous manipulation of objects.

At team at Sun Yan-Sen University, Dalian University of Technology and London South Bank University have developed a continuum robot inspired by the trunks of elephants.

Other continuum robots are based upon cables or other deformable components and have no fixed joint structures. These types of robots still struggle to effectively navigate complex and unstructured environments. Additionally they always demonstrate circle shaped profiles after deformation. This prohibits them from performing optimally in varying curvature environments.

Elephant trunks are naturally divided into finite segments connected by pseudo joints. This allows the elephant to interact with unstructured environments more efficiently. Elephants can squeeze their trunks into narrow spaces or reach for higher branches. The stiffness of different segments of elephant trunks can be independently regulated and tuned to bend in different ways.

The team programmed a stiffness distribution into the continuum robot which allowed the robot to demonstrate a range of deformation patterns and to move through pipelines with varying curvatures. The robot is based on a class-3 tensegrity structure comprised of several elastic elements and others with different stiffness magnitudes. This also allows simplification of actuation and control systems.

The hope is that the continuum robot could automate real world tasks in unstructured environments which are difficult or impossible to tackle using conventional robots with rigid joint structures. The next is to develop smart strategies for stiffness regulation which will allow the robot to explore unpredictable and varying situations.

Paying it Forward

If you have a start-up or know of a start-up that has a product ready for market please let me know. I would be happy to have a look and feature the startup in this newsletter. Also if any startups need introductions please get in touch and I will help where I can.

If you have any questions or comments please comment below.

I would also appreciate it if you could forward this newsletter to anyone that you think might be interested.

Till next week.