Ioonos

Europe, the unstoppable inventor

The European space agency (ESA*) has a transfer of technology program that encourages new applications and the exchange of knowledge between member countries. The program is based at the ESTEC in the Netherlands. The experiments that are selected to be developed and marketed if they are successful concern all aspects of our lives. From the environment to leisure, health and safety, huge amounts of research are carried out: new textiles, green cars, high-performance scanners…there’s always something in the pipeline!

Everything is by remote control

Imagine that you touch a button drawn on the wall to turn on a light or listen to an mp3 player… Thanks to a procedure developed by the ESA for its satellites and Ariane 5* (using Reversys technology), you may soon be able to ditch your keyboard and remote controls and type your emails directly on the table! This science fiction technology works by memorising the sound waves that pass through an object when you touch it.
In simple terms, each point of an object that is touched has a unique wave signature. If one then associates this with an action to be carried out, then any chair, table, wall or window can become a control board. So you can have “buttons” all over the house, without an actual button anywhere!

From astronaut skeletons to fossils

Space medicine developed the XtremeCT scanner in order to study astronauts’ loss of bone mass. This space scanner can analyse an individual’s bone structure extremely accurately, and without taking a sample.
The scanner has enabled the analysis of two million year old fossils, without damaging them. By comparing the density and structure of the jawbones of two Australopithecus skulls from South Africa, it was possible to place these species in our genealogical tree!
The scanner could open up new possibilities for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, which causes numerous fractures every year and affects one in two women.

The cars of the future

Techniques developed for space are adapted to racing cars before being used on the production lines of car companies. We can look forward to super-light titanium fuel tanks, insulation inspired by Ariane’s engines and significant reductions in fuel consumption.
The prototype of the green car gives us an idea of what to expect. It runs on LPG and is lubricated with sunflower oil. In total, it uses four space program technologies to improve safety and reduce risks associated with fire and its effects. However, that does not stop it reaching 315 km/h. A V-box uses the EGNOS signal (the first European satellite navigation service, in preparation for Galileo" >Galileo*) to determine the car's speed, acceleration and position in real time.
As for Nuna, the solar car, its structure is strengthened with materials developed to make satellites resistant to meteorites. It is also covered with photovoltaic cells that are identical to those used on satellites. Such inventions offer great hope for the future!