What will R/C be like in 20 years?
 

I was reading the blast from the past thread and started wondering what R/C might be like in 20 years. I like to daydream about things like that in those rare times that there is nothing else to do. :lol:

-Will they still make NiMH and NiCD batteries?
-Will everything be lipo, li-ion, or something we haven't even heard of yet that is 50C capable with capacity measured in Ah instead of mAh?
-Will anything use brushed motors anymore?
-What will the HV controller specs be like? 20s/200A? It seems there would need to be a limit on voltage at some point due to weight/size concerns, unless the new super-batteries are SHV in a small, light package.
-What will the top speed record be?
-Will nitro go the way of the do-do due to cost?

I'm not looking for crazy predictions, but what you can really picture it being like. Feel free to add to the list!

as my name says bl-is-future. With fuel costs and other things going on, i think nitro will not DIE but definitely be a rarity. With technology advancing so fast ic the shv esc sooner than you may think. that i can see in the next 5 years. Lipos im sure will advance to smaller but more powerful types. BL WILL PREVAIL :lol:

Hopefully fuel cells will be going strong... Silent, Electric power no recharge time

hopefully not only rc but our land and air vehicles will be perpetual motion where the engine feeds or charges the power supply


I still cant figure out why an electric motor in a car cant also spin a generator to feed the motor (perpetual motion)

perpetual motion does not exist as there is waste in any system...

Wikipeadia is a great resource

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_motion

I love these! They are so cool to watch..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crookes_radiometer

Well, presuming we still live in a world where R/C is still a viable luxury for a fair amount of the global population...

-Will they still make NiMH and NiCD batteries?

Yes: Unless they devise a better all-around solution that has all of the benefits and none of the drawbacks(including cost). I believe the supply will depend on the demand.

-Will everything be lipo, li-ion, or something we haven't even heard of yet that is 50C capable with capacity measured in Ah instead of mAh?

Perhaps: I believe the future of batteries may be in the exhotic supercaps being worked on. They will not be cheap, though, by any means.

-Will anything use brushed motors anymore?

Absolutely. For R/C application, I would have to say there would be no point in using commutators anymore as our mastery of the electron is certain to get a jolt within 20 year's time. We may be driving around photon powered vehicles for all I know...sometimes developmental processes progress exponentially, so I gotta account for that possibility. Still, there will be the die-hards that refuse to drop the comm.

-What will the HV controller specs be like? 20s/200A? It seems there would need to be a limit on voltage at some point due to weight/size concerns, unless the new super-batteries are SHV in a small, light package.

I am wondering if we'll even be using voltage and amps by that time. It may be some form of magnetic measurement. Remeber there are still forces we have yet to fully understand and one of which is the detailed behavior of magnetism.

-What will the top speed record be?

On the ground, I'd say it depends on scale. Full scale will certainly be capable of breaking the sound barrier presuming TX/RX range at that time is suficient(think an FPV Thrust SSC) or you could just be oldschool and chase the thing in a jet plane.

-Will nitro go the way of the do-do due to cost?

Not necessarily due to cost. I should hope we are able to find some other method for pepetuating an air pump using a gas piston by then that is more environmentally friendly.


I'm thinking that if we are able to weather all of our impending crises and are also able to maintain a relatively similar lifestyle to what we have now. Just look at how easily priorities changeas I am sure many of you have been into and out of this hobby if not once, multiple times...imagine a global catastrophe...you think the R/C companies are just gonna keep doin the same-ole same-ole?

Donning the rosey colored glasses, I am guessing that the R/C industry will greatly benefit from future transportation developments.
Wireless communication will be overhauled or equipment will just keep getting smaller, better, and more expensive.
You will be able to control your R/C via the ear-mounted omnicomm device that tracks head and eye movement(targeting) and also responds to voice command. It will have a semi-transparent LCD, reflection or projection(directly onto your retina) video feed capability.

Much of the R/C industry will have shifted to military applications, so expect a lot of that technology to get washed back into the retail market to bring more funding in for R&D while we're not fighting one of our bogus wars.

Anyways, I gotta jet, but I could dream about this kinda stuff all day long...then again, the distant future kinda freaks me out at the same time.

there will always be loss of energy even with recharging while operating. I dont see limitless energy but im sure between solar power and battery technology our 1:1 cars will be very energy efficient. Also i have always thought of wind power. You go down the road and wind is created around the vehicle so why not put a generator in that creates energy from a spinning fan from the wind. Between the wind, solar, and battery power you could go a long ways on one charge

It will or what will we do with our stockpile of Dilithium Crystals?

Drag=bad.

Hardly.. I doubt we will ever see it. So many people have been working on it for years and years and nothing is really even that close.

Newton 3rd law - Everything has an equal a opposite reaction - Most likely all this will do is increase the drag on the car...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton's_laws_of_motion

WFRCC in 2028:
http://freespace.virgin.net/john.cop...ave%20copy.JPG

yeah but so much that it cant create more energy than the drag? See that is the only thing i see wrong, if there is more drag than energy than no go, but if you can even get 10% energy over drag than it is helpful is it not? Obviously you can not create 100% efficiency over the drag.

You're adding weight as well. Regenerative braking is about all you can really scavenge without dtrimentally affecting drive efficiency.

very true but technology grows every day and as it grows, it grows faster and faster..... maybe too fast

Maybe you could just use your fan when you want to slow down, assuming it would create more energy than the braking would.

Good thoughts, btw, keep them coming!

That is a good thought....^^^^^

So we have electric motors to power the car and solar panels to helps charge up the fuel cells at all times of DAY and little generators power by wind to help slow down and create energy to charge the fuel cells. You can have doors that automatically open when brakes are applied to allow wind to come through and power the fans and create drag. when brakes are disengaged the doors close to allow aerodynamics to take its course.

Mini nuclear reactors and controlled by brain wave activity

I can't wait to see the new Mamba Chernobyl Max!!

BTW I think we will make more use of solar power...

Which - if I recall properly from one of the CC threads the MMM has in it. Patrick was talking about the motor braking producing so much back current that there was no way the heatsink could dissipate it so the braking energy goes back into the battery.

i remember this as well.

As components become more efficient you will be able reduce the amount of energy wasted as heat.

Solar will never be able to power a RC racing rehicle (high speed, fast acceleration) nor a full speed car.
They could be used to suplement them though.
I was toying around a few years ago at taking two rc bodies (would have used my T4 for it) and putting a layer of solar cells between them. It would not create enough electricity to run the vehicle, but if you started with a fresh battery the solar cells would increase your runtime. The problem (with it being done inexpensively by an amature (non Elec Eng) would be that if you stop the car, but leave it in the sun you might overcharge the batteries.
In terms of power creation, with present technology I would not expect you could fit more then ~500ma (or less) at 7.2 volts. How much current draw does a stock (brushless) motor draw?

On the solar cell thing: it's really too bad solar cells are a max of around 15% efficient. If engineers could raise the efficiency, you would need fewer of them for the same output. And a lot of progress has been done on the cellophane style cells. These can be formed into whatever shape as opposed to the glass-backed one which are fragile and do not conform well.

I would like to see 1:1 cars with the shell made of solar cells that would supplement wall-charging, or perhaps able to solely recharge the car in 2 days or something. A lesser charge time is not reasonable yet with today's tech. Charging with solar takes a LOT of surface area and a really decent amount of direct sunlight as you go higher in voltage and/or current. Ever figure out how many cells you need for say 20v @ 1A? Try it, you'll be surprised how large (and don't use the OC V and CC A :wink:). But the sun is "free" so why not use it?

That is what i'm saying it may not "REPLACE" alternate fuel sources but it can definitely help recharge them. Like i said any energy you can get for "free" why not use it? It would have to be practical for the cost of the solar cells though.

Touch James Bond but I always thought the solar thermal route or geothermal was the way to go... Bunch of mirrors and lenses to create a super high power lazer than then use steam turbines...

Geothermal's even eaiser - just drill a hole...

I like the Nuclear Battery technology. I saw a few of them, but they were kind of big. Better materials that would allow us to run our brushless all day long without the worry that it'll burn. Do you guys remember when I asked Castle to make a program box that would allow the user to download any new firmware in the box and then transfer it to the ESC? Well, I told a couple other companies about it and it will be coming out soon. I'll let another idea go (It might have been thought about already), I would like to see everything wireless. What I mean is, the servo, ESC, transponder and other devices that plugs into the receiver be wireless.

Nuclear fusion (IE- the ITER reactor being built in France right now). Get a few of those bad boys to work and electricity production won't be a problem.:whip:

This year Nic Case wins once again with his streamliner powered by 4 Neu 6500 series motors and 40s lipo on each motor.:wink: "This run was only possible due to my built-in vacuum pump that creates the vacuum of space around the car that eliminates all drag." Maybe 1/5 scale brushless cars will be more mainstream, or maybe Mike could make a Baja 5b motor mount before that.:yes:

In 20 years, r/c will be dominated by goobers who play with tiny cars...

Just like us!:na:

-Will they still make NiMH and NiCD batteries?
Probbly not. Battery tech is (slowly) rising. WIth the new interest in Hybrid/Electric cars around the world, new battery technologies will undoubtedly arise tht beat out NIMH in every aspect. (weight/seize/capacity/price)
-Will everything be lipo, li-ion, or something we haven't even heard of yet that is 50C capable with capacity measured in Ah instead of mAh?
Probably something that we haven't heard of yet. NICD used to be the only real battery for RC, now we have NIMH and LiPo, so later on I think we will have some sort of better all around battery.
-Will anything use brushed motors anymore?
I doubt it.
-What will the HV controller specs be like? 20s/200A? It seems there would need to be a limit on voltage at some point due to weight/size concerns, unless the new super-batteries are SHV in a small, light package.
I don't the the voltage will increase too much, but I'm sure that the amps will. Reason is because once voltage gets high enough, it becomes extremely dangerous as electricity ill start conducting through many odd things... like your skin. (not good)
-What will the top speed record be?
I'm going to say, for 1/8th scale stuff, that it will be around 300 MPH
-Will nitro go the way of the do-do due to cost?
I don't think so, but I think that 2 strokes will completely die out because of polution. 4 strokes (or another sort of engine maybe?) will take over.


What I think is going to happen, is that our transmitters are actually going to be somewhat like mini laptops (the way computer tech is going..) and they will have a wireless link to our RC. The screen(s) on our transmitter will allow us to see temperatures, time, altitude, angle, speed, motor speed, amp draw, mah used/left (etc etc) and any broken or weak parts on the vehicle. It will also display the weather conditions and alert you if the weather is going to change so you should head in. It will have a link to the internet (or future equivalent) which means that it will have parts lists and the like. When a part is broken, the transmitter will know which one, and you can order it right there on the spot with your remote. You could also use the remote to wirelessly change the settings on the vehicle.

Haha. I just thought way too much about this.

Now THAT sounds cool! (and mostly realistic!)

Sign me up!

Actually, that would be the shock wave produced by "Nic's" 1:1 R/C breaking the sound barrier on the playa.

Have a ride:
http://img.youtube.com/vi/fr0KdxhYgfY/2.jpg
http://img.youtube.com/vi/LKQ-xj5C2m8/2.jpg
:whip:

I would have to agree. Essentially that was what I meant with the "omnicomm".
The PC is going to get much more personal and much more portable with alternative input/output methods.
We already have wireless video and full-on FPV with HUD, GPS I/O, RTB, LCD goggles, 3 mile-plus TX range and the lot. It's just going to be a matter of how we use that tech.

Like an "R/C bash" is going to be the new online gaming where you might drive somewhere and engage in some kind of activity, but you could all be hangin out in an air-conditioned room or whatever eating chips while also running your R/Cs outside.

While I like the whole sensors in all of the parts idea and ordering new ones online while you're doing a flair off the half-pipe with your s00-par-maxx, necessarily. I mean, there is such a thing as too much multitasking...this isn't like an AM/PM where you can never have too much good stuff in my opinion, but of course, to each their own and such. :)

I think at a certain point, it is better to keep the RC setup "simple" and clutter-free and also that parts that often break(will they even be breakable in the future, I wonder?) are also affordable. So, depending on the cost of the imbedded nano-sensors...maybe it won't be an issue either.

Remember "Robot Jox"? LOL

There was a similar one to this thread on URC, but it was foir 100 years from now.

I see the esc being different from what it is now, Most of the current and grunt work would be done by the motor, the current and voltage. The esc as we know it now, would be just a brain and black box. Batteries will still be there, but to start the process of the water based fuel cell in all electric rc's. I see pitstops for water for unlimited racing and bashing. Nitro will be different as well, As we get away from fuel based society, I see air powered rc's being popular. There is a 1:1 based one being tested in europe. With an optional HV pump, it could go longer, But most racers will not use them for weight and have a tank full of air for pitstops.

What i'd like to see is a plate based shock ssystem where the shock is replaced with a couple of magnetic plates that flip polarity to provide shock and spring action. The main problem would be those with pacemakers and track debris

Like this?
http://www.gizmag.com/pictures/hero/...3040740710.jpg

yeah, i seen that. But better output for racing and true fun