The technological rush: the main inventions of 2024
Izvestia's editorial staff has collected 12 real technologies that were presented in 2024. Some of them can already be purchased for personal use, others are available only at specialized conferences and press shows, while others are limited to laboratory research. Among the bright discoveries are a nanorobot for capturing viruses, pants with an exoskeleton function and a domestic satellite for studying weather in space.
Robotic laborers in the U.S. and Russian Federation
In August, AI and robotics startup Figure unveiled Figure 02, a battery-powered humanoid robot. It is equipped with advanced cameras and sensors that allow it to navigate the world. In tests this year at BMW's South Carolina plant, Figure 02 successfully performed various tasks related to car assembly, such as inserting metal parts into assembly fixtures. The startup, which has partnered with OpenAI, Microsoft and Nvidia and has raised a $2.6 billion investment, aims to automate tasks in sectors such as manufacturing, logistics and warehousing. The 70-kilogram, second-generation robot is capable of performing physical tasks that a normal human cannot do.
Russia has created a similar solution - scientists at MIPT have developed a cyber storekeeper that can collect orders. This robot is able to communicate with visitors, issue parcels, scan order barcodes and bring them from the warehouse. Full-fledged tests of the anthropomorphic robot took place at the end of 2024, with commissioning expected in 2025.
Exoskeleton pants
Skip Innovations presented unusual pants called MO/GO. Their key feature is a hybrid exoskeleton that helps a person when walking and increases leg strength by 40%. According to the idea of the developers, servos in the knee joints support the muscles, thereby reducing fatigue and noticeably reducing the expenditure of energy when climbing uphill. MO/GO look like ordinary pants and will be available for sale in 2025.
The manufacturer promises a built-in battery for three hours of autonomous operation and the function of energy recovery - with its help the device is partially recharged on descents. In addition to the possibility to buy the device for permanent use Skip Innovations will make a rental function for $80 per day, expecting thereby to interest those who are not ready to pay the full price of $5.5 thousand.
Transparent OLED displays
LG has introduced OLED T technology, a line of new 77-inch TVs with fully transparent panels that remove the familiar black bezels that viewers are accustomed to. When turned off, these TVs resemble glass panels, but when turned on, they give the effect of levitating in the air image. In this case, the TV user can see in the smallest detail all that is usually behind the TV screen. An important feature of the "immersiveness" of this technology was the Zero Connect Box system, which allows you to connect to the network without the use of wires and cables.
Hydrogen-powered vessel
In October, the first Russian hydrogen-powered vessel "Ecobalt" was tested in the Russian Federation. It was created by the Krylov State Research Center (KGSC) jointly with Ak Bars Holding."Ecobalt is a pleasure boat for 12 people with an electrochemical generator powered by hydrogen fuel.
Hydrogen-powered vessel "Ecobalt"
Currently, the development has no analogues in the Russian Federation. According to the representative of KSCC, the key feature is that the entire design of the vessel, its components, including the generator, are considered to be fully import substituted. The first boat launched this year was built at the Gorky Shipyard in Zelenodolsk under the design of the Baltsudoproekt Central Design Bureau.
Elastocaloric materials
The technology of elastocaloric materials represents special heat pumps that help to radically, i.e. several times, reduce the energy required for heating and cooling. These materials release heat when mechanically acted upon and cool down when stress is released, literally working in a continuous cycle of relaxation and tension.
Electrocaloric heat pump technology has been actively developed in the U.S. through 2024, and studies by the U.S. Department of Energy have highlighted it as a critical alternative for existing cooling methods and systems. It can help with climate control objectives, such as providing additional cooling options in regions with limited electricity supply.
Drones for microplastic removal
Researchers at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology have created a floating drone capable of removing microplastics underwater. Current methods of cleaning open bodies of water (rivers, lakes and oceans) are not effective enough, so the drone is designed to clean and recycle microplastics through special hydrophilic "teeth" that ensure adhesion of plastic particles to these teeth. As reported by representatives of the Institute, the drones during the first tests were able to extract more than 80% of types of microplastics - among them polyethylene, polypropylene and foamed polystyrene.
Satellites to study space weather
The Ionozond space system was developed by VNIIEM by order of the State Corporation in the interests of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Roshydromet. Its task is to solve scientific and applied tasks to obtain fundamental knowledge of the Earth's ionosphere, as well as to obtain the possibility of continuous monitoring of near-Earth space. In simple words, this system will study space weather.
Heliogeophysical spacecraft Ionosphere-M
Ionosphere-M heliogeophysical spacecraft No. 1 and No. 2 were launched in November 2024 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. They were sent into space by a Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with a Fregat upper stage with an associated payload. In the future plans of the authors of the system include the launch in April of two more vehicles and space probe "Zond-M", which will be put into orbit after 2025.
Stations on high-altitude platforms
High Altitude Platform Stations, also known as HAPS, will become widespread in 2024 . They operate at stratospheric heights, i.e. about 20 km above the ground, and are shaped like balloons, airplanes or airships. The distinctive feature of the platforms is that they can operate continuously for months, being used as observation and communication points. Compared to conventional satellites, HAPS provide better coverage and connectivity conditions, and the final factor in their favor was better infrastructure compared to ground towers.
The first Russian atmospheric satellite Sova
The World Economic Forum (WEF) mentioned it in the short list of the ten most promising, emerging technologies of 2024. Experts note in the WEF report that HAPS as a technology will be able to provide access to expanded opportunities in education, healthcare and the economy.
Nanorobot to fight viruses
Scientists from the University of Illinois were able to create a specialized nanobot that consists of four bendable fingers and a palm. The tiny-sized apparatus is assembled from fragments of DNA and is suitable for a number of different tasks. In particular, the device, called NanoGripper, is able to recognize the cell surface, block individual particles and deliver drugs to the target. The authors chose DNA due to its structural properties. The main purpose of NanoGripper currently remains the capture of viruses for diagnosis and other forms of interaction. The nanobot's fingertips contain DNA aptamers tuned to find targets, and the opposite side provides attachment for a wide variety of surfaces.
Language model with simulated thinking
OpenAI introduced a new o1 language model that is trained to solve problems logically and has built-in reasoning ability. Its key feature is simulation of the human thought process. To do this, she breaks down complex tasks into simpler and more understandable stages, analyzing different approaches and correcting her own mistakes in a step-by-step, incremental approach.
A new learning algorithm was used for her - "chain of thoughts". o1 is able to improve itself by the reinforcement learning method, as it recognizes its own mistakes and tries different ways of solving problems. Through this method, the system improves its cognitive functions and gains reasoning ability, which means it can ponder answers to complex questions quite like normal people.
Smart toilet seat
Toi Labs TrueLoo, a manufacturer of smart devices, has developed a toilet seat with artificial intelligence functions. Externally, the device does not differ from a regular seat, but the key difference is a complex system of sensors that studies biomaterials. Based on the data during each visit to the restroom, the device analyzes physiological waste and determines the degree of compliance with the norm. The results are sent to the user's smartphone, and if the device exceeds the limits of acceptable indicators, it separately notifies the user of problematic values. The Smart Seat has been actively used in the USA and by the end of 2024 it will be used in more than 50 social institutions for the elderly.
Practical application of the neurochip
Neuralink, a neurotechnology company owned by the famous entrepreneur Ilon Musk, conducted two successful surgeries to implant a neurochip into living patients in 2024. The peculiarity of the implant is the functionality that allows paralyzed people to control devices with the power of thoughts. Users of the chip were able to play chess on a computer, moving the cursor without using their hands, and then tried their hand at more sophisticated software: the action game Counter-Strike 2 and the CAD Fusion 360 program for creating three-dimensional models.
According to Ilon Musk, the second patient with the chip performed well, with 400 electrodes working in his brain. Neuralink specifications currently support the use of 1024 electrodes.
