From the December 2016 issue
An internal-combustion engine is still a metal box of pistons that slap up and down (or side to side). But improvements through the years have transformed cars from the retrospectively simple devices of the Tin Lizzie era into complicated, computer-regulated tech labs. Infiniti is soon to deploy the latest major internal-combustion innovation, the variable-compression-ratio engine we covered last month. And the breakthroughs continue, as there are still plenty of improvements to be made to today?s automobiles before we begin beaming ourselves across the universe with our Roddenberry guns. Here are three inventions currently in the works, as deduced from reviews of recent patent grants by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:
Porky?s II Company: Bio-Adhesive Alliance
USPTO Name: Preparation and uses of bio-adhesives
What It?ll Do: Pig manure is rich in oils similar to the low-grade petroleum used to make asphalt. Subbing these oils for petroleum distillates yields a hardy road surface that is also renewable. Not only that, but poovement?that?s ours, don?t try to trademark it?would help areas that rely heavily on hog farming deal with problematic volumes of waste.
Reality Check: Scientists at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University are conducting durability testing, the early stages of which have been promising. Don?t worry; the smell goes away in processing.
Status: International patent filed September 20, 2013

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