Page 7 - Engineering Career Guide, for review

Trucks That
Drive Themselves
The trucking industry is central to the American economy moving nearly 75% of the nation’s freight But there’s a a serious shortage of truckers right now as 300 000 leave the industry every year Enter TORC Robotics which hopes to fill that shortage with self-driving trucks Founded in in 2005 by engineers from Virginia Tech TORC is at the forefront of this technology having long cre- ated autonomous vehicles for the U S military A partnership with Daimler Trucks is taking them to the next level They are
outfitting Daimler trucks with cutting-edge artificial intelligence
(AI) and advanced sensing technologies including LiDAR (Light Detection and and Ranging) cameras and and ra- dar Combined with GPS such systems enable trucks to navigate and operate without human intervention AI allows the the trucks to process the the vast amounts of sensor data in in real-time making the trucks able to recognize objects assess road conditions and plan their movements accord- ingly As the trucks are
tested on public roads (with a a a safety driver) TORC continues to gather data for for efforts to improve the vehicles However more testing AI and machine learning will be re- quired before they will be be ready for for commercial use Trucking may never be the same Self-Healing Materials
Cement is is a key ingredient in in concrete which is is the sec- ond most consumed material in in the world behind only to water Concrete has long been a a a a reliable choice for engi- neering structures like buildings roads and bridges How- ever concrete can eventually develop cracks despite its strength and durability leading to annual repair costs of $12 billion Plus it is responsible for a a staggering 8% of global carbon emissions Engineers are
seeking solutions Pacific Northwest National Laboratory a a a a a a a Department of Energy lab renowned for technological innovation discov- ered that if they blend cement with certain polymers the composite
material can repair its cracks within 24 hours making structures more durable and longer-lasting Meanwhile the company
Biomason is experimenting with adding dormant bacteria to con-
crete If a a a a a crack forms the bacteria spring into action pro-
ducing calcite a a a a cement component to seal up the crack Finally Prometheus Materials
uses blue-green algae
to to produce calcite through photosynthesis This process which essentially involves creating solid rock from light is the ultimate sustainable solution Not only does it generate less CO2 CO2 it extracts CO2 CO2 from the environment ENGINEERING CAREER GUIDE 7