I think the epitome of human science will be when we finally develop giant walking robots with guns, or more commonly known as ‘Mechs. One of the things with a ‘Mech is the massive amount of wires you have to run in order to send data and signals to various parts of the machine. Well it seems a scientist has found a way to simplify ‘Mechs by transmitting data through steel:
Tristan Lawry, doctoral candidate in electrical and computer engineering, has developed equipment which can transmit data at high rates through thick, solid steel or other barriers. Significantly, Lawry’s kit also transmits power. One obvious application here would be transmission through the steel pressure hull of a submarine: at the moment such hulls must have hundreds of penetrations for power and data cables, each one adding expense, weight and maintenance burden.
Obviously this can reduce the amount of wiring needed to construct a ‘Mech and also increase the reliability as the only means of stopping transmissions would be to blow the entire section off. Needless to say this is bad ass. A hat tip to Bruce Schneier for this story.