Monitoring Skin Breathing, The Torpedo Bat and My New Ride
April 17
This week we discover a new device that monitors the gases emitted by the skin. This helps us detect a range of health issues early. We examine the Torpedo Bat that was used by the New York Yankees in the US Major League opening round. The new bat contributed to a franchise record number of home runs. We investigate a robotic headless horse that one day might be my preferred choice of commuting. Finally we look into a just launched personal flying machine that does not require a pilot’s license to operate.
Monitoring how Skin Breathes
A team at NorthWestern University have developed a wearable device for measuring the gases emitted and absorbed by the skin. These gases can be monitored to provide data on skin health, wound healing, detecting skin infections, tracking hydration and identification of exposure to toxic chemicals.
The device incorporates a collection of sensors that precisely measures changes in temperature, water vapor, CO2 and volatile organic compounds. Each of these measures gives insights into various skin conditions and overall health.
The skin gases flow into a small chamber that hovers above the skin. The lack of contact is very useful for gathering information about fragile skin. The device is an evolution of the team’s products that analyze sweat. That approach required the use of drugs to stimulate the sweat glands (or exposure to a hot humid environment).
The device can be connected via Bluetooth to a smartphone or tablet. This allows real time and remote monitoring for speedier decisions for wound management and antibiotic administration.
The team is now working on refining the device’s capability to include a sensor that tracks changes in pH levels and gas sensors with increased chemical sensitivity to aid early detection of organ dysfunction and other diseases.
The Torpedo Bat
The baseball enthusiasts amongst you will have noticed that the New York Yankees have started the season with a barrage of home runs courtesy of a new shaped bat. Whilst there is a lot of debate about the legality of the new bat it does appear to work. The bat has been dubbed The Torpedo Bat.
Let’s start with which part of a baseball bat is used to hit a home run. The shortest distance to the fence in a Major League Ball Park is 302 feet at Fenway Park. To reach that distance the ball must come out of the sweet spot on the bat. Hit the ball with any other part of the bat and you are running. The sweet spot is typically 3 to 4 inches long.
In 1963 a Stanford physics professor wrote an article on the physics of hitting and he said “the mass should be where the collision is expected to occur”. The mass in a traditional bat is closer to the end of the bat. The new bat moved more mass to the sweet spot.
The mass of the bat being closer to the hands means that the swing weight (or moment of inertia) will be reduced. This likely increased the rotational velocity of the swing. The batter can accelerate from the initial position into the hitting zone more quickly, allowing just a fraction more time to swing. The bat will also be more maneuverable making it easier for a batter to alter their swing as they gather more information on the actual pitch location.
There is a lot more physics that can be examined to try and explain why the Torpedo bat is so successful. You can find some more detailed analysis here. As a result of being the only team in which some players used the Torpedo bat the Yankees hit 9 home runs in their first game of the season. This was a franchise record and only the third time in 149 years that a team hit at least 9 home runs in a game.
My New Ride
Kawasaki Heavy Industries from Japan have released the prototype of a hydrogen powered four legged robotic horse. Move over electric bikes, I have my new ride.
The headless horse is an all terrain alternative to conventional motorcycles. The CORLEO incorporates advanced robotics, eco friendly energy and motorcycle handling. There are four independent robotic legs as well as AI driven systems for balance and navigation (no word on self riding).
The rubber hooves provide traction on a range of surfaces such as grassland, rubble and rocky paths. It can no doubt also traverse the pot hole filled suburban roads of our cities for all the urban cowboys.
CORLEO is controlled via intuitive body movements. The AI continuously monitors the rider’s posture to maintain balance and deliver a responsive riding experience. The system also automatically adjusts according to the rider’s weight.
Unfortunately Kawasaki is not expecting to release the product to the market until 2050.
Personal Flying Machines
Whilst I wait for my headless robotic horse I might be able to improve my commute by using my own personal flying machine. Pivotal, a California based aviation company founded in 2009 have released the Helix. A personal aircraft that requires no pilots license.
The Helix is a single seat, all electric, cloud connected personal aircraft. The aircraft uses the company’s tilt takeoff and landing architecture. The entire aircraft tilts for vertical takeoff and landing. Most other similar aircraft rotate the thrusters to allow vertical take off. Tilting the aircraft reduces a critical point of failure.
The aircraft weighs approximately 160 kilos and is made from carbon fibre. In the US this classifies it as an ultra light vehicle meaning it can be flown in uncontrolled airspace without a pilots license. The aircraft features a joystick control, a flight panel for instruments and navigation and a forward hinging canopy that allows 270 degree view.
The aircraft is as noisy as an electric car. On a single charge it can travel 32 kilometers with a mandatory 20% reserve for emergency landing. Charging takes just 75 minutes. Cruise speed is just over 100 kph and maximum climb and decent is 500 feet per minute. The aircraft is only legally able to fly when it is not raining and between -10C and 33C. Maximum wind speeds allowed is 17 knots.
If you are ready to order Pivotal are now taking orders on their home page and prices start at US$190,000.
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 or provide a recommendation on Substack.