An inexpensive new process can increase the strength of metals such as steel by as much as 10 times, and make them much more resistant to corrosion – it is claimed.
If the modified metals pass field testing, the new process could go on to make bridges and other infrastructure last far longer; it could also make cars lighter and therefore more fuel-efficient.
In the near future, all new vehicles will be delivered with a rich array of built-in communications and semi-autonomous features. Many existing vehicles will be retrofitted with such systems.
Road-vehicle powertrains will increasingly consist of extended-distance electric drives and hybrid engines (petrol/electric). Hydrogen-powered cars will be produced in the near future, but lack of filling infrastructure will hold back wide-scale adoption. Internal combustion engines will continue to be used for road transport for the next 20 years, but new technologies such as laser fuel-ignition systems (replacing spark plaugs) will yield ever greater economy and fewer greenhouse has emissions.
What will the travel industry look like in 2030? The internet and other digital technologies have already caused significant disruption to the travel trade, but far more change is to come.
Shifts in the demographics of travellers and a slew of new technologies will, once again, change how people select travel, how they choose destinations and the activities they seek out.
Google’s recently uprated Translate now can now translate conversations between major languages in real time.
A few years ago such an achievement was thought to be decades away. The new app can also translate street signs and other signs important to travellers.
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