Technolgies useful for Indian problems

[sanman]

Some breakthroughs announced in battery technology:

https://thedriven.io/2023/04/21/worlds- ... y-density/

[sanman]

the Squad Solar:




I thought this small micro-car had quite a nice look to it, in addition to being solar-powered

top speed 45km/h and standard solar range is 20km

But at a price of 6250 Euro (or $6900 USD), I bet India could manufacture them cheaper

[Cyrano]

Didn't we have such a small car several years ago made in Bangalore called Reva?


Lots of such models exist.

They will be total death traps in case of an accident. Usage is limited to urban singles or at best a couple for local travel with nothing to transport besides a back pack and a purse.

I wonder what the real sales of this segment are...

[Vayutuvan]

Not for megalopolii. For semi urban and rural areas it might be a reasonable vehicle.

[Cyrano]

For rural usage it needs to be a mini pick up kind of model to haul some stuff and greater range. Which brings us back to e-rickshaw hauler
The matchbox 2 seater has no use in rural. Don't know what your remark was based on...

[Vayutuvan]

For rural usage it needs to be a mini pick up kind of model to haul some stuff and greater range. Which brings us back to e-rickshaw hauler
The matchbox 2 seater has no use in rural. Don't know what your remark was based on...

This technology can be repurposed as a mini pickup. You may remember Krishi. You know kids have to go some distance to get to a school. This is far safer than a mobike/scooter/moped - electric or not. Only your skin between you and other vehicles, road surface, ...

[Cyrano]

The usage trend I'm seeing in Europe is electric/hydrogen public transport for masses. Tiny e-cars for urban & semi-urban pay per use, for visiting technicians with some green washing logo slapped on etc. Renault Zoe/Nissan Leaf for ex has been around for a decade, which is Maruti Alto size and more versatile. But sales haven't taken off massively.

For the example you give, you expect kids to self drive these 2 seaters to school? And park where until end of day return trip home? Tiny e-cars have a tiny segment where they make sense. But if they are adopted massively in cities, they will also cause clogging all the same. Best solution for school kids remains school bus (or hanging like a bunch of grapes from a shared auto) or public transport for 10+ kids or parents live within walking distance to school else drive by drop.

[sanman]

Can this type of technology be useful for Indian navy, coast guard, or even para commandos?



Electric vessels are quieter, and have less heat signature, and thus are more stealthy. They're also more reliable with less maintenance needs.
They're also more environmentally friendly.

[vera_k]

Golf carts are increasingly being used as cheap electric vehicles to get around. Usually seen in country club communities, but usage is spreading. Not unusual to see a mom driving with a couple of kids standing behind on the board and another in the open air cabin. May be a good fit for Indian roads given generally lower speeds.

For instance -
City council to discuss allowing golf carts on roadways
Lithium powered golf cart

[sanman]

Even Indian rickshaws and tuk-tuks are undergoing a similar revolution

[Vayutuvan]

May be a good fit for Indian roads given generally lower speeds.

huh?!!! India is not California.

[ramana]

N^3 paper on Glitter Belt solution to Global Warming

https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1hTYP_6zgtK1kB

[Haresh]

Could this be the answer to India's increasing waste disposal problems ?

How a waste-to-energy plant works

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmtOuAed5nM

[Kanoji]

How India Is Using AI To Build The Internet For Local Languages

https://swarajyamag.com/science/how-ind ... -languages

An article explaining the programmes initiated by the GoI and other academic institutions to democratize the internet and make it accessible to non-English speakers.

[Cyrano]

IIT Guwahati develops new cost-effective device that can fast detect urinary tract infection


https://thespokes-person.blogspot.com/2 ... -cost.html

[sanman]

IIT Guwahati develops new cost-effective device that can fast detect urinary tract infection

https://thespokes-person.blogspot.com/2 ... -cost.html

Cranberry juice and herbs like Ajwain (Oregano) are also supposed to be very helpful for treating this.

Cranberry somehow undermines the ability of the bacteria to adhere to tissue walls, and the Ajwain/Oregano helps to kill the bacteria.

[sanman]

This looks like a good use of drone technology:

[sanman]

[Haresh]

From WION Tech it Out

https://www.thinkerbelllabs.com/

https://www.neomotion.in/

https://www.genrobotics.org/

varuna drones
sagar defence engineering

ZPod minus zero
https://www.minuszero.in/

agnilet
agnikul cosmos
https://agnikul.in/#/

agatsa medical

https://www.agatsa.com/

[NRao]

[sanman]

An interesting idea for portable power generation having high energy density:



https://twitter.com/ToughSf/status/1721573161148297665

Lightcell power:
Burn carbon-free fuels with sodium illuminant to produce 3 MW/m^2 monochromatic light inside an optical cavity.
It's tuned to 2.1eV PV cells for maximum efficiency.
@DanielleFong
targets >5 kW/kg at 5-10x current battery energy density.
https://lightcellenergy.com

Here, Sodium is energised by heating it with the flame of a burning fuel, with thermal recuperation to keep the Sodium hot and emitting and PV used to capture the narrow band emissions for power generation. Big gotchas appear to be:
- How to retain the Sodium whilst injecting more fuel and oxygen and removing reaction products
- How to prevent fouling of the combustion cavity with reaction products (or deposited Sodium)
- Whether narrowband PV can achieve the required efficiencies for this to be a better option than a direction conversion fuel cell (for H2 in particular)

The trick is that this is not a heat engine, which makes for more packaging options than (e.g.) a Sterling cycle engine or motor-generator.

[sanman]

LIT Motors C-1 vehicle is a 2-wheeler with gyroscopic flywheels to always keep it standing upright

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1ObLDWsMVo

[tandav]

LIT Motors C-1 vehicle is a 2-wheeler with gyroscopic flywheels to always keep it standing upright

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1ObLDWsMVo

Similar self balancing 2 wheeler from Liger Mobility India



https://youtu.be/2omauJEUhao?si=pnA3ojcF9zvlB6yC

[sanman]

Similar self balancing 2 wheeler from Liger Mobility India



https://youtu.be/2omauJEUhao?si=pnA3ojcF9zvlB6yC

Did you mean this?

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6tQXXwvyWkg

They should still make it covered, so that it can be all-weather

[Haresh]

Just one small little nitpick, not being pedantic.

"Technolgies" is spelt wrong, it should be "Technologies"

[Haresh]

"We transform carbon dioxide into sustainable aviation fuel"

https://www.dimensionalenergy.com/

[bala]

"We transform carbon dioxide into sustainable aviation fuel"

This is very interesting tech, Haresh ji, 1000+ barrels a day in California! India can use this tech and garner carbon credits to drive the costs further downwards. Each Indian coal plant in the nation can feed their CO2 and produce aviation fuel (kerosene).

[sanman]

Breakthrough Supercritical Turbine Breaks Records

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3qxMqClpuM

[sanman]

Heat pump technology is trending up for heating & cooling homes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKnNLp3ptDQ

Google summary

This video talks about heat pumps and how a new generation of heat pumps can make a real difference in energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.

The video argues that civilization needs shelter and residential heating plays an important role. Traditional residential heating uses gas and oil, releasing a significant amount of carbon dioxide emissions. Heat pumps are a more energy-efficient alternative that move heat from one place to another. The efficiency of heat pumps depends on how you power them, but they can be two to three times more efficient than fossil fuel heating.

There are three major types of heat pumps that use air, water reservoir, or underground air as heat sources. Heat pumps have limitations on the maximum temperature they can reach, making them less ideal for places with very cold winters. They work well with floor heating systems that use lower temperatures. However, retrofitting old houses to improve insulation can be expensive.

New generation heat pumps use a refrigerant called r290 which is a type of propane. This new refrigerant increases heat pump efficiency and reportedly reach temperatures up to 70° C, comparable to traditional oil or gas heating. Additionally, r290 doesn't damage the ozone layer.

The video concludes that these new heat pumps have the potential to save a significant amount of carbon emissions and make a real difference. However, the cost and flammability of r290 are mentioned as potential drawbacks.

[sanman]

A very interesting nut - I wonder if it can be grown in India?

[csaurabh]

"We transform carbon dioxide into sustainable aviation fuel"

This is very interesting tech, Haresh ji, 1000+ barrels a day in California! India can use this tech and garner carbon credits to drive the costs further downwards. Each Indian coal plant in the nation can feed their CO2 and produce aviation fuel (kerosene).

This is not feasible. It will take more energy to transform CO2 into fuel that what is generated by turning fuel into CO2.
Thermodynamically it would not make any sense, otherwise you would have an infinite supply of fuel (and thus energy).

Concept of 'creating' a fuel is there for green hydrogen - where renewable energy is converted into hydrogen through electrolysis and the hydrogen can be used as a fuel ( either through fuel cells or burning ). But note that it's a very inefficient process - only 20-30% of the initial electric energy is utilized at the end.

[tandav]

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/09/chin ... index.html

China's answer to Starlink. India needs to become a leader in this space and provide a viable alternative.

What Huawei and other Chinese Network System solution providers was to Mobile telephony the Chinese SSST and US based Starlink is to Space InfoComm. India cannot be in technology servitude to the above Duopoly

[sanman]

New breakthroughs mean Iron-Air Batteries are finally becoming a thing:




Note that previous attempts to develop Metal-Air batteries were plagued by low cycle life, due to formation of tiny metallic branch-like structures called dendrites, which could cause short-circuits inside the battery layers. New breakthroughs have found a way to mitigate that problem, thus improving the cycle life of the batteries (ie. repeated discharge & recharge) and paving the way for their use.

Iron-Air batteries are heavy, but they can usher in a new technological revolution that will pave the way for other lighter metal-air batteries making use of lighter metals.

[sanman]

Unprecedentedly lightweight E-copter automatically flies a pre-set flight path, rather than being piloted from within.

[sanjaykumar]

Critical technology tracker: two decades of data show rewards of long-term research investment

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/criti ... nvestment/

Our results show India is also emerging as a key centre of global research innovation and excellence, establishing its position as a science and technology power. India now ranks in the top five countries for 45 of 64 technologies (an increase from 37 last year) and has displaced the US as the second-ranked country in two new technologies (biological manufacturing and distributed ledgers) to rank second in seven of 64 technologies.

Seems an unduly optimistic assessment.

[Vayutuvan]

Yes, it is unduely optimistic as the "Distributed Ledgers" is not a new technology. Principles behind it are mathematical and fraily simple at that. Open source libraries are widely available on which one can build applications. It is simply operational management of a software product company. It is not easy but it is not all that innovative as far as technology goes.

[sanjaykumar]

With respect to biotechnology, the Covid vaccine was not Indian intellectual property but it was upscaled in production in India.
Biosimilars are again produced in India. I am not sure if there is even an alteration of humanised monoclonal antibody sequences or whether it is only the production pathway that is tweaked to satisfy Indian patent regulations.

Certainly they’re economic and in fact geostrategic significances to Indian biosimilars. By an estimate Indian pharmaceuticals have saved the American consumer over $1 trillion over the past ten years! One hopes there will be new products in the pipeline. I did come across one for a putatively novel cellular regulatory pathway some time ago. But nothing about it since. The more impressive achievement is of course fundamental discovery and ab initio drug development.

[Vayutuvan]

The more impressive achievement is of course fundamental discovery and ab initio drug development.

I didn't read that part of the article. If they really did that then that is something. Could yo please summarize what they did?

[sanjaykumar]

That was my observation. There has been no such innovation that I am aware of in India.

[Cyrano]

This is very interesting tech, Haresh ji, 1000+ barrels a day in California! India can use this tech and garner carbon credits to drive the costs further downwards. Each Indian coal plant in the nation can feed their CO2 and produce aviation fuel (kerosene).

This is not feasible. It will take more energy to transform CO2 into fuel that what is generated by turning fuel into CO2.
Thermodynamically it would not make any sense, otherwise you would have an infinite supply of fuel (and thus energy).

Concept of 'creating' a fuel is there for green hydrogen - where renewable energy is converted into hydrogen through electrolysis and the hydrogen can be used as a fuel ( either through fuel cells or burning ). But note that it's a very inefficient process - only 20-30% of the initial electric energy is utilized at the end.

Exactly ! This CO2 and climate change madness is making even the sharpest minds set aside reason and fall for such scams.