How NTU-made technologies are changing our future
by Lester Kok / Illustrations and animations by Vivian Lim
Cool probiotics
Now
Shop for gut-friendly ice cubes at the supermarket. Developed by NTU’s food scientists, the ice contains probiotics similar to those found in yoghurt drinks, but without the calories, so you can have a chilled drink that boosts your gut health at the same time.
Future
Imagine these on supermarket shelves – frozen cake or yoghurt, ice cream and other iced products containing probiotic additives that help to promote good gut health.
A crystal ball for smart lighting
Now
A compact “crystal ball” that can efficiently harvest sunlight and relay it underground is being trialled on the NTU Smart Campus.
Taking inspiration from a magnifying glass, NTU researchers came up with the device that focuses sunlight onto a single point, and then transports it to a basement through a fibre-optic cable.
Their “solar concentrator” is smart enough to tilt and rotate to capture the strongest sunrays through satellite positioning, with the resulting underground illumination as bright as any bulb’s. At night, an LED bulb beside the fibre-optic cable continues to keep the space below lit up.
Future
If you work in a windowless environment, say “hello” to natural daylight “piped in” from outside with smart crystal balls mounted on top of street lamps that collect light in the day to illuminate any dark space and double up as LED lamps at night to keep streets safe.
You may see this energy-conserving solution in densely populated cities, where round-the-clock demand for lighting looks set to increase as more people live and work underground.
Hey bud, how’s it growing?
Now
NTU scientists have found a way to “communicate” with plants by sticking a gel-like device onto their stems. With this setup that transmits electrical signals at specific frequencies, they triggered a Venus flytrap to close its jaw-like leaves on demand via a smartphone app.
Future
With a device to help us understand the state our plants are in and to “control” them, the possibilities are limitless. Using thousands of these small devices, for example, farmers could monitor their crops for “distress signals” to prevent crop infestation. Advanced “plant-based robots” could pick up fragile objects that are too delicate for rigid, robotic arms.
This story was published in the Aug-Sep 2021 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.
