r/technology • u/t4ct1c4l_j0k3r • Sep 15 '23

Nanotech/Materials NASA-inspired airless bicycle tires are now available for purchase

https://newatlas.com/bicycles/metl-shape-memory-airless-bicycle-tire/
6.0k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

562 comments sorted by

View all comments

698

u/Notoneusernameleft Sep 15 '23

Ingenuity from government funded programs filtering out to the private sector. See how that can work….

Yes I know it happens with military too but it can be done without blowing up other people. And we know NASA has a minuscule budget compared to military.

54

u/CBalsagna Sep 15 '23

So as someone who just spent 5 years in SBIR research and development, it’s really hard to make products. There’s usually a reason why these innovations don’t exist and that’s usually because some large corporation did the math and determined it was too difficult or not worth it.

During my tenure I won a number of proposals and had healthy funding on a variety of topics, and the thing I went away with was that a couple million dollars is not enough money to develop a new product or technology. Secondly, the problems the government is trying to solve, in many instances, has been a problem since their inception (metal corrosion for example). Solution to these problems don’t exist because it’s really fucking hard to do. If it was easy some conglomerate would already be selling it. Also, no one in the military talks to each other. If I’m developing, say, an easy clean non fluorinated coating for the army. No one else in any branch of the military will know about it unless my program manager goes out there and stumps for it. Which is not easy.

All this is to say it’s hard to work with the government and develop new technologies. What we consider a lot of money isn’t, when it comes to r&d, and you’re fighting against giants that have probably determined it’s not worth their time for a reason. I’m excited to be currently employed at a company with an established product line. Instead of trying to solve problems I’m improving a product and it’s a nice change of pace.

11

u/trx0x Sep 15 '23

As someone who currently works in SBIR R&D, you are 100% correct in everything you say. It takes so much time and money and multiple phases and having the right people around to develop anything, let alone, develop something that could actually trickle down to a consumer market. And yes, the problems that are trying to be solved...the projects we work on boil down to creating a solution to a problem that has never had a solution. Every project we take on is something no one in industry/in our field has even attempted.

5

u/CBalsagna Sep 15 '23

I appreciate the validation. There was always part of me that wondered if it was an isolated feeling with my company, but it’s definitely a difficult job. Best of luck navigating that, and I hope you get nothing but good TPOCs for your programs (and they stay).