Apr 24, 2021 15:00:00

5 'Technologies for Connecting Things' That Changed the World, such as Instant Adhesives and USB

Andras Pade , CEO of marketing tool developer Outfunnel, explains the world-changing 'five technologies that connect things,' such as superglue and USB.

Keep On Connecting: 5 Connectors That Changed The World --Outfunnel
https://outfunnel.com/connectors-that-changed-the-world/

◆ Velcro (hook-and-loop fastener)
Velcro , used in children's shoes and wallets, was developed by Swiss engineer George de Mestral in the 1940s.

While enjoying climbing the Alps with his dog, Mestral noticed that his dog had wild burdock nuts on it. As a result of Mr. Mestral bringing back the burdock fruit and observing it in detail, he discovered that the outer skin of the burdock fruit was shaped like a hook. Mr. Mestral developed Velcro based on the shape of this burdock fruit and marketed Velcro technology to several manufacturers. For some time, Velcro wasn't able to make big sales, but it became famous when it was adopted by NASA as 'a technology to keep objects safe in spacecraft.'

Today, Velcro is used in a variety of situations, such as children's shoes and fashionable clothing.

◆ Instant adhesive
Known as

superglue, 'cyanoacrylate' was accidentally invented by Goodrich Corporation during the development of gun sights in the 1940s. 'Instant adhesives, like many other inventions, happened to be invented during the military development race during World War II,' said Pade.

In the 1950s, Kodak focused on the characteristic of cyanoacrylate to 'adhere to all substances' and developed the world's first instant adhesive 'Eastman # 910'. Since then, Kodak has sold cyanoacrylate licenses to companies around the world, and instant adhesives such as Aron Alpha and Super Glue are now used around the world.

'Although superglues help the lives of millions of people, the ability to glue everything is also a nuisance. The fact that superglues are clear liquids makes people look like eye drops. It can lead to accidental mistakes in superglue. '

An accident occurred in which the contact lens stuck to the eyes when the adhesive was mistaken for eye drops. --GIGAZINE

◆ Automatic coupler
In the United States, 'pin-link type couplers' were used as

vehicle couplers for railways in the early stages of development. According to Mr. Pade, the operation method of the pin-link type coupler was complicated and it took a long time to train the workers. In addition, since there were many accidents that injured workers, there was a need to develop a coupler that was safe and easy to operate.

In the late 1800s, the 'automatic coupler' that is still in use today was developed. Automatic couplers are widely accepted in the railway industry because they are automatically coupled when the couplers are brought into contact with each other and can be disconnected simply by moving the release lever.

Mr. Pade pointed out that the epoch-making point of the automatic coupler is not only its mechanism but also ' the construction of a standardized' fifth wheel system 'that can be used all over the world.' The Fifth Wheel System has made it possible to connect vehicles of different types and vehicles in different operating areas, which has led to the construction of a transportation network that extends all over the world.

'With the advent of world-class standards such as the Fifth wheel system and containers , it has become possible to transport daily necessities such as automobiles, computers, and clothes to the world,' said Mr. Pade. Emphasizes importance.

◆ USB
Prior to the development of USB , computer peripherals were connected with a variety of connectors. As a result, users had to add new types of inserts to their computers each time they introduced new peripherals. Also, according to Mr. Pade, the connector at that time had a slow data transfer rate and could not cope with the increase in storage capacity.

USB is a connection standard developed in 1994 by companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Intel, and NEC to solve the connector situation in such computers. USB has achieved transfer speeds that far exceed traditional connection methods, and has rapidly become widespread since it was officially supported by Windows 98.

However, although USB was developed with the goal of unifying the shape of the connector, in 2021, more than 20 years after its development, the shape of the connector is diverse. In this regard, Pade said, 'Technological advances have made USB transfer rates much faster, but they are confusing to users. We have reached the ideals we sought in the 90s. No. '

◆ API
API is an abbreviation for Application Programming Interface, and has the role of specifying the types and names of parameters to be handled when calling functions between software.

In 2000, Salesforce published the world's first web API. Pade describes Salesforce's API publishing as 'the Internet has transformed from static to dynamic.'

After that, APIs that make people's lives convenient, such as the API of the photo sharing service Flickr, were announced one after another. 'Most of the digital products we use today are designed based on some API. The maps used in apps such as Uber use the Google Maps API , and the weather. The Yahoo Weather API is used in the forecasting app, 'he says, claiming that the API is an integral part of everyday life.