New TV screen technology, the longest flying VTOL and a rogue black hole.

March 2

This week we will investigate the next generation of TV screens. You guessed it, they are getting thinner, higher quality and cheaper to make. We also examine ASML Areo’s new electric VTOL which can travel 1,000 kilometers per charge using hydrogen. We look at SPIDAR a new flying robot that may change the way robotics are approached. Finally we speculate about the origins of a rogue black hole that is speeding across the universe at 5.6 million kilometers per hour.

The next Generation of TV screens

A team from ANU in Canberra, University of New South Wales in Sydney and Nottingham Trent University have developed a proof of concept for an electrically tunable array of nanoparticles that will enable TV screens to be thinner and more energy efficient with higher resolution.

The devices are called metasurfaces and have tunability and extraordinary light scattering properties. They do not require polarizers which are responsible for a large amount of wasted energy and light intensity in current displays. The metasurface is 100 times thinner than Liquid Crystal cells, have a tenfold increase in resolution and consume 50% less energy.

Additionally the light can be switched 20 times faster than human aversion response time by changing the temperature of the material. The electric programmability of the surface allows effective control. The pixels are made of silicon which is lower cost and longer life span than current materials used in displays.

ASML Aero

Australian based ASML Aero have demonstrated their Vertiia electric VTOL (Vertical TakeOff and Landing) aircraft. The craft can cruise at 300 kilometers per hour and can travel 250 kilometers using batteries or 1,000 kilometers using hydrogen. The company claims that it is the world’s most efficient eVTOL thanks to its unique aerodynamic and structural design. It travels further using less energy.

The aircraft can be refueled in 10 minutes and does not need a runway. It has a 2.1 meter wide doorway for easy access and uses a triple redundant system architecture for improved safety. The craft uses distributed electric propulsion that manages failures in a similar way to how a 747 manages aircraft failures.

The craft has been purpose built for areomedical and emergency services. It is also suitable for the passenger market. It is expected to be available for commercial use by 2026.

SPIDAR

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have demonstrated SPIDAR. A 15 kilogram quadruped that can fly. It uses dual rotors attached to each of its’ legs and achieves flight using these rotors due to its lightweight body. Each limb has two thrusters that can provide thrust in any direction.

SPIDAR stands for “Spherically vectorable and Distributed rotors assisted Air-ground amphibious quadruped Robot” (sometimes acronyms are better). The team has demonstrated its’ capabilities including flying and standing on its legs.

There are lots of flying robots now however they are mostly bipedal. It is very difficult to apply flight to a quadruped robot. The SPIDAR has been initially designed to pass through drainage and sewer systems that are too small for humans to traverse.

Rogue BlackHole racing across the Universe

A team from Yale University has discovered a mysterious streak of light that is suspected to be a black hole that is racing across the Universe with a chain of stars trailing in its’ wake. The discovery was made using the Hubble Space Telescope.

The trail of gas and stars is 200,000 light years long (about twice the width of the Milky Way). The suspected black hole is 20 million times bigger than our sun and is traveling at 5.6 million Kilometers per hour!

Most (if not all) galaxies have a supermassive black hole at their center. Active supermassive black holes often have jets of material being ejected which shows up as streaks of light. These streaks are called astrophysical jets.

The most likely explanation for this wandering black hole is that it was ejected from its’ host galaxy. The theory is that a three-body interaction happened a long time ago. This is when similar mass bodies, gravitationally interact (I think this cosmologist speak for crash). This interaction usually does not lead to a stable configuration but to the formation of a binary set of black holes (orbiting each other) and the ejection of the third body.

The team is speculating that a rare supermassive black hole binary system was merging (this is how gravitational waves in space are caused see here) and a third supermassive black hole collided with the system, flinging one of the two original occupants out of the system. If this black hole is 20 million times the size of the sun, how big was the black hole that kicked it out into space?

Ejected supermassive black holes have been predicted for more than 50 years however this is the first evidence that we have found that they exist. Some theorists think that there are many more out there. Further observation is required to confirm that it is a black hole at the tip of the mysterious streak of light.

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.