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Mechanical Engineering Magazine Advisory Board Harry Armen; Leroy S Mechanical Technology that moves the world THE MAGAZINE OF ASME No. 11 138 Go ahead, i'm listening... Artificial intelligence and voice recognition will change how we design everything. TRADING ENERGY FOR WATER PAGE 38 THE NANOSCALE FRONTIER PAGE 44 A CELEBRATION OF ENGINEERING PAGE 49 ASME.ORG NOVEMBER 2016 Advertisement LOG ON ASME.ORG MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 01 | NOVEMBER 2016 | P. For these articles and other content, visit asme.org. Tomorrow’s Taller turbine Towers Today’s on-shore wind turbines are no taller than 262 feet due to transportation limitations. But taller towers can harvest more wind. Now Iowa State University researchers have FROM TRACTOR- developed a modular concrete construction TRAILERS TO method to help them reach for the sky. SELF-DRIVING MACHINES Innovations and Efficiencies CALIFORNIA-BASED STARTUP, founded by self-driving experts, is develop- in Nuclear Technologies ing a $30,000 kit to convert recently built long-haul trailer trucks into Westinghouse executives Mark self-driving vehicles. Ottomotto LLC, which goes by the name Otto, has Fecteau and Matt Dryden talk about changing already bought and outfitted four trucks and is testing the technology on demographics in the nuclear power market, public highways. The trucks where Asia continues to lead in growth. areA equipped with hardware—such as cameras and sensors—and sophis- ticated, customized software. Otto is getting ready to put out a call for truckers to provide feedback on which routes they would like to see served NEXT MONTH ON ASME.ORG and to volunteer to test the system on their own trucks. GRID-SCALE ENERGY STORAGE PROJECT USES TRAINS, NOT WATER A 50 MW energy storage project in Nevada draws on the principles of a pumped- 3-D Printing Robots storage hydroelectric project. But it moves on Demand trains—not water—up and down hill. The Researchers at MIT have electricity generated from the trains will come up with a new way be fed into the grid in California. to automatically 3-D print a dynamic robot in a ENGINEERING RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR HAITI single step. It can almost With sunlight and cellphones, engineering walk itself right out of students at Georgia Tech are bringing des- the printer—no assembly perately needed, inexpensive solar power required. to a remote village in Haiti, connecting them to the outside world. TABLE OF CONTENTS 11 The Water Trade 138 We are exchanging energy 38 for clean water to meet the needs of thirsty billions. FEATURES BY MICHAEL E. WEBBER Mechanical Technology that moves the world THE MAGAZINE OF ASME G No. 11 138 Go ahead, i'm listening... Artificial intelligence and voice recognition will change how we design everything. Trading Energy for Water PAGE 38 The Nanoscale Frontier PAGE 44 A Celebration of Engineering PAGE 49 ASME.ORG NOVEMBER 2016 ON THE COVER 32 TALK TO ME Artificial intelligence and voice recognition will change how we design everything. BY ALAN S. BROWN DEpartments 11 TAXIS WITH NO CABBIES Two cities offer a vision 18 of the future. ONE-On-ONE Manufacturing guru Dean Bartles on the next factory. BY CHITRA SETHI MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | NOVEMBER 2016 | P.03 The Nanoscale 44 Frontier Nanotechnology is too big to ignore. And at ME, we have watched it grow. BY JEFFREY WINTERS celebrate engineering 49 ASME 2016 HONORS 9/27/16 1:10 PM A special Honors 2016 FOUR.indd 43 supplement celebrates the highest achievements in engineering. New Hydro 6 Editorial 30 8 Letters from 10 Tech Buzz OLd Dams 16 Workforce Uprating nonpowered 24 Hot Labs dams could add giga- 28 Vault watts to the grid. 63 Software BY JEFFREY WINTERS 66 Hardware 68 Positions Open HIGH-IMPACT 77 Ad Index INVENTION 80 78 ASME News A young engineer turns an injury into opportunity. BY JEFF O'HEIR MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | NOVEMBER 2016 | P.04 Editor in Chief Publisher John G. Falcioni Nicholas J. Ferrari Senior Editors President K. Keith Roe Integrated Media Dan Ferber, Jeffrey Winters President-Nominee Charla K. Wise Sales Manager Associate Editor Past President Julio C. Guerrero Greg Valero Alan S. Brown Circulation Coordinator Governors Art and Production Designer Marni Rice Bryan A. Erler; Urmila Ghia; Wayne McLean John E. Goossen; Caecilia Gotama; Advertising & Sponsorship Contributing Writers Mahantesh S. Hiremath; Karen J. Ohland; Sales Representative James Pero Michael Abrams, Benedict Bahner, Mark Crawford, Sriram Somasundaram; John M. 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Stevenson [email protected] Senior Editor p. 845.987.8128 c. 646.220.2645 John Kosowatz Two Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Mechanical Engineering magazine Advisory Board Harry Armen; Leroy S. Fletcher; Associate Executive Director Richard J. Goldstein Southeast Bob Doran Engineering [email protected] p. 770.587.9421 f. 678.623.0276 Michael S. Ireland ASME offices 8740 Glen Ferry Drive, Alpharetta, GA 30022 Headquarters Contact Mechanical Engineering Central Thomas McNulty Two Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016 [email protected] Mechanical Engineering p. 212.591.7722 f. 212.591.7674 p. 847.842.9429 f. 847.842.9583 [email protected] P.O. 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