What keeps the liquid from penetrating into this wood? An invisible coat of nano thin Liquid Glass.

A Germany company is determined to coat your life in a thin layer of Liquid Glass. Also known as SiO2 in ultra thin layering, this transparent film of material is only 100 nm thick (1/500 the width of a human hair) but it can repel water, deter bacteria and fungus growth, protect against wear, and still allow the surface underneath to breathe. Developed by Nanopool, Liquid Glass seems almost too good to be true. Spray it on statues and graffiti won’t stick. Cover your kitchen counter in it, and it can stay clean and sterile for months. Don’t want fungus growing on your plants – you can cover them with Liquid Glass and they’ll be protected, and still able to live. A 30 minute application can last for a full year. The descriptions of what this substance can do are just insane and I wouldn’t believe most of them if we didn’t have visual evidence in their favor. Check out some promo videos from Nanopool after the break. This stuff is going to be everywhere.

According to a news release, the presence of Liquid Glass is already spreading. It helps to protect the surfaces of the Ataturk’s Mausoleum in Ankara, it is in trial use in hospitals in the UK, and its regularly used on trains and luxury furniture. Germany has approved it for open distribution, and the UK is likely to do so in 2010. Nanopool believes that the applications for its product are nearly endless. It could revolutionize household cleaning: one application would help keep every surface sterile for a year and only require light rinsing with warm water. It may change agriculture: coatings on seeds could protect them from infection while they germinate. Liquid Glass is going to change fabrics (no stains, waterproof), buildings and cars (UV, water, and corrosion protection), and electronics (waterproof, scratch resistant). Any one of these applications would be revolutionary and hugely profitable. Taken together…if more countries approve it, a nano layer of glass could encapsulate your entire life.

Unlike other nanotech coatings, Liquid Glass isn’t based on any new or complex nanoparticles. It is simply Si02 molecules extracted from quartz sand (silica). These molecules are then added to water or ethanol (depending on the eventual surface they will coat). While Nanopool won’t discuss anymore of the production process beyond those two facts, they do say that the molecules of glass are held together by quantum bonds, and don’t need extraneous nanoparticles to give them their unique properties. That’s good news for humans and the environment. Silica is inert and harmless (it’s even in some foods) and has no specific ecological impact (its the most abundant mineral on Earth’s surface). There is danger of illness (silicosis) when you inhale large quantities of silica dust, but I’m uncertain if the Liquid Glass would create such dust as it degrades.

I wish there were peer reviewed papers analyzing the efficacy of SiO2 in ultra thin layering, or that there was a bevy of third party scrutiny of Nanopool’s methodology. I would love a comprehensive study on the long term health effects of exposure to Liquid Glass as it degrades. None of these are available. If they were, I would be on the first plane to Germany to somehow become involved with Nanopool. This substance really does appear to be that amazing. A little more proof, and I would go completely crazy promoting this stuff.

As is, I have to be cautiously optimistic. A physiologically harmless, food safe, breathable nanoscale layer that protects almost any surface…how could you not want that to be true? Did you see the ease in which paint could be removed from stone and brick? Think of what that would mean for monuments the world over. The hydrophobic properties are equally impressive. Imagine spilling wine on your white shirt and it simply flowing right off. C’mon, this stuff is mind blowing! And it’s really the most basic form of nanotechnology – an ultra-thin layer of common material. Wait till more advanced nanotech comes to your door in the shape of superconductors, energy generators, and nanobots. Sometimes I’m excited about what technology is coming down the pipeline. With Liquid Glass I’m giddy about the technology that’s already here. I really hope this isn’t some giant hoax or a scientific con job. Even if it is, don’t tell me. I just want to enjoy the possibilities for a while.

[screen capture and video credit: Nanopool]

The added projector will allow the Surface to layer one screen over another, so a satellite overlay could be projected onto a city map, or a render of a completed building over a set of blueprints, and so on.

In addition to the second projector, Surface 2 will also have higher definition cameras and infrared sensors that can interpret gestures, so you may not even have to touch the table at all.

The biggest inhibitor to more widespread success, interest, and applications of Microsoft Surface seems to be its $10,000 price tag.   As soon as Microsoft or a competitor gets the price down to $1,000 or less (without sacrificing quality) we could see an explosion of these types of devices all around us, enriching our opportunities for learning and collaboration.  BBC recently did an interview that shows the technology.  Not much new here, but neat to see if you haven’t see Surface before:

First up we have a video of  MIT’s David Merrill demonstrating a technology called Siftables at the 2009 TED conference.  Siftables are cookie-sized, computerized blocks you can stack and shuffle in your hands.  By arranging them in different configurations or tilting them at different angles you can do math, play music, spell worlds, pour virtual paint, and more.  The implications for hands on learning and manipulation of data are fantastic!  We have not seen any word on how/when this technology will be commercialized, but we hope it will be soon!

Next we have a technology for making music called Reactables.  By arranging and manipulating computerized blocks on a special table, musicians are presented with a completely new way of creating and interacting with music.  As seen in the previous video, Siftables are also capable of music composition, but reactables are unique in their singular focus on doing only music.  Whereas the siftables can perform many functions, the reactables are specialized for one task only, and in the coming years we can expect them to far outstrip the ability of Siftables when it comes to music.  Orginally created by Music Technology Group at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona Spain, Reactables have recently been spun off into a private company that is hard at work commercializing this exciting product.  For those that are really interested in this technology, there is a competing effort from Sony that may be of interest:

Kommerz from Austria brings us the mixed reality interface.  Using representative objects in the real world a person is able to manipulate objects in 3D space on a computer screen.  The possibilities for a new gaming interface look especially promising with this technology.  Check it out:

Thanks to Andreas for the above video.

This next demo from Sony has been around for many years, yet it is still very cool.  Why isn’t this technology finding a commercial market after all these years?  We have no idea.

Jeff Han from NYU demonstrates the capabilities of a multitouch interface at the TED conference in 2006.  Since then he has started a company around the technology called perceptive pixel.  This technology was recently used on CNN for presidential election coverage.

Speaking of multitouch interfaces, Microsoft has a technology called Microsoft Surface that is similar to Jeff Han’s technology, but in typical Microsoft fashion the company just doesn’t seem to get it.  Check out first a video from Microsoft that showcases the technology, followed by a hilarious parody from sarcastic gamer that shows how misguided Microsoft’s vision is:

The Khronos Projector is an interactive-art installation allowing people to explore pre-recorded movie content in an entirely new way. From the official site: “by touching the projection screen, the user is able to send parts of the image forward or backwards in time. By actually touching a deformable projection screen, shaking it or curling it, separate “islands of time” as well as “temporal waves” are created within the visible frame. This is done by interactively reshaping a two-dimensional spatio-temporal surface that “cuts” the spatio-temporal volume of data generated by a movie.”

Sixthsense from MIT is a technology that we have already covered in depth previously. Check out our detailed review for more information:

The world of interactive technology is literally exploding.  There must be several technologies we have overlooked in this review.  If you know of any that we missed, please let us know in the comments and we will try to add your suggestion to this post in an update.