14 DAY TRIAL // As if having scientists develop robots powered by human muscles weren't enough to really freak out some folks, it looks like the day when planes are more like people than we could ever imagine them to be might soon be upon us.
Without further ado, here is what this piece of news is all about: researchers are now working on developing a so-called smart skin that they say could one day be used to enable aircraft to keep tabs on their own health.
As detailed in the infographic below, this smart skin would basically be a high-tech coating made up of thousands of teeny tiny sensors no bigger than a grain of sand. These sensors would be able to pick up on changes in temperature, movement, wind speed, and outside forces.
Based on this information, planes fitted with this smart skin would be able to identify any potential problems that might affect their flying skills and alert engineers. The latter would then step in and deal with these problems.
According to specialists Lydia Hyde with BAE Systems, a UK-based defense company, having planes sport one such smart coating would not only reduce the cost of maintenance, but would also make flying a tad safer than it currently is.
Besides, Lydia Hyde and fellow researchers maintain that the so-called smart skin they are currently working on developing would make flying a more pleasant experience by making it possible for planes to feel upcoming turbulence and ready themselves to deal with it.
“The more sensing we can put on [an aircraft] and the more we can understand how it's flying, or how the plane's doing, the better we can make the flight,” the BAE Systems scientist said in a statement, as cited by Live Science.
“Knowing about the health of a plane every step of the way could also save aerospace companies a lot of money by detecting potential problems before they become very expensive to fix,” the specialist went on to comment on the perks of coating aircraft with a smart skin.
It is believed that, at some point in the future, this smart skin could also be added to cars or and even commercial products. Its job would be the same as in the case of aircraft: pick up on any potential threats and problems, and alert specialists.
“The idea is to make [aircraft] platforms 'feel' using a skin of sensors in the same way humans or animals do. These smart skins could also be applied to other vehicles, including ships and cars,” Lydia Hyde wished to stress.
