The Science of Super Heroes

As it turns out, some super powers might not be as hard to come by as we think. As science and technology advance at blistering speed, super hero powers are increasingly falling into human hands and blurring the lines between sci-fi and sci-fact.

Generation X and beyond have literally become super heroes themselves, with the development of suction boots and gloves to make vertical wall climbs possible, Iron Man inspired propulsion jetpacks, and supersonic hearing devices to make even the boldest of super heroes feel sheepish. Not to mention the incredible advances in modern medicine that promise to make growing new organs or replacing defective joints and bones a standard daily norm.

Indeed, most things we completely take for granted today would likely have been considered a super power 50 years ago.

Super through science and engineering

The smartphone — which for many of us has become an extension of our own arms - gives people the ability to answer any question pretty much instantaneously. Computing performance is at an all-time high for an all-time low cost and portable form factor. We can 3D print functional tools and parts, and FaceTime our doctors. A time traveler from the 1960s or 1970s would be blown away - from consumer electronics alone, not to mention other fields of production.

Advances in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) is making Iron Man's famous exoskeleton suit a possibility, while new neurological research is bringing us closer to having Scarlet Witch's mind-control capability.

In addition, according to scientists like Dr. Harry E. Keller, president, chief science officer and founder of Smart Science Education, new materials like graphene mean exoskeletons and protective shields (á-la Marvel's Captain America: Civil War) can be incredibly lightweight and strong, while new "electrical muscles" makes operating them no longer dependent on motors or other servomechanisms. Even things like new battery technology such as metal-air batteries and supercapacitors means one can power an exoskeleton in the real world.

And while engineers haven't quite cracked x-ray vision (which would need an x-ray source on the other side of object), today it's possible to augment vision with both the Ultra Violet and Infrared, stretching our visible electromagnetic spectrum and allowing us to see much more. "Tools such as night-vision goggles will shrink and may become contact lenses that contain computing power as well as extended vision sensing to allow augmented reality right on your eyeball," said Keller, adding that seeing into the IR would even allow us to look through clothing, albeit fuzzily. Which is probably a good thing!

Super hero traits coming super-fast

Being super-fast has also long been a coveted super hero trait, and that, too, is becoming more and more of a standard in sports of all kinds.

Dave Readle, an Olympic performance psychologist who worked with Great Britain's cycling team, told us, "No stone was left unturned in the quest for the 1% improvements." Whether those improvements were to physiology, nutrition or equipment, all departments work as one in order to produce Olympic winning athletes and performances.

Of course, every sport comes with its individual challenges. Running fast, for example, requires two things: energy and bodily infrastructure. The latter means faster, stronger muscles along with stronger bones and joints. The former requires a more efficient cardiovascular system or an alternative.

"We can already make bones stronger with titanium implants," explained Keller. "Muscles can be genetically engineered to have more 'fast twitch' muscle cells so you can move faster. Joint repair can be upgraded to joint improvement. We could put the equivalent of a Teflon meniscus into our joints. The tendon-to-muscle attachment also has to be upgraded when those titanium bones are put into place, and artificial materials are available to make that work. We can even make blood more efficient and put heart boosters in place today."

In cycling, however, the biggest challenge is aerodynamic drag of the equipment, so all efforts are focused on making the bikes go faster. In order for this to happen, the component parts are broken down into their simplest form. Hypotheses are formed and experiments are conducted in order to ascertain if any marginal gains can be found.

Readle claims British Cycling employs a full team of experts to conduct their research and development projects. These consist of industry experts from Formula One, British Aerospace, garment scientists, PhD students and many more that make up what he calls the "Secret Squirrel Club."

Ironically, it's not necessarily the tech itself that represents the "superification" of sport, but the availability of information, which allows for the rapid acceleration of processes and equipment that is constantly being updated and improved at a rate never before seen in the history of performance sport.

Does a new era of tech-assisted super-sportsmen and women defeat the purpose of human achievement though? Readle doesn't think so. "I don't think it corrupts sport as such, because the whole ethos of sport is 'Stronger, Faster, Higher.' Since competitive sport began, people have always sought to gain an advantage no matter how dangerous or illegal that may be. As long as it is within the rules, I feel that it's a good thing as we are always looking to see people move forwards, not plateau."

Healing, regeneration... immortality?

Robin Farmanfarmaian, a futurist, healthcare technologist and author of "The Patient as CEO," believes we'll see the furthering of human achievement in regular people, as well as athletes.

"We'll be even more 'super-human' than we are now when we converge with machines," she said. The line between technology and humans, according to Farmanfarmaian, is already becoming blurred, with many examples of bionic humans already in existence. "Anyone with a pacemaker is already bionic - let alone what we're starting to see with brain-computer interfaces (BCI)."

BCIs are already being used to control robotic arms for amputees. "That is just the beginning" she said, adding that we should imagine using a BCI to control a robotic exoskeleton, a game changer for people with muscle weakening as a result of paralysis, stroke, age, autoimmune disease and other medical issues. They are also of profound interest to the military, as they would enable troops to lift, walk and carry more - Captain America, eat your heart out! "You could strap on an extra arm or two when you need, and control it by thinking. You could have an external robot you could control with your mind - doing all your errands," she explained.

Another application of BCI is to increase intelligence -- dramatically. And with AI and deep learning ramping up significantly, Farmanfarmaian believes 2016 could be an inflection point that changes humanity profoundly.

Even at an internal, microscopic level, we're finding ways to make ourselves more bulletproof.

In clinical trials, doctors are already using sensors inside blood vessels to provide a minute-by-minute report card on a patient's health, automatically syncing the results to a smartphone. Based on the results, swarms of micro-robots can then be automatically deployed inside the body to fix any "Error" on the cellular level before the patient even starts to exhibit symptoms.

Tissue engineering is another recent development being helped along by the 3D printing of organs, skin and bones. Farmanfarmaian notes that the Organ Preservation Alliance is already catalyzing breakthroughs in tissue engineering and cryopreservation, which would enable custom replacement on-demand of organs and skin. "At that point, anyone who has diabetes would just get new organs, and not be dependent on insulin injections."

Looking for an out-of-body super hero experience? You don't need to be a mutant like to pull of holographic projection anymore, either.

Virtual and augmented reality have you covered, and everything from bringing back dead musicians for holographic concerts (like Tupac at Coachella in 2012) to "in-person" meetings in different continents will soon be as easy as flicking a switch.

Engineering super heroes and super STEM

While it's sadly still true that some superpowers - like Ant-Man's ability to shrink to the size of a bug - are violations of the conservation of matter and just cannot happen; there are many more that are not only possible, but even becoming practical parts of daily life. "If it does not violate the laws of physics, then it's possible," said Keller. "You only have to look for violations of conservation laws, including finding enough energy to power your power, to see whether it ever could happen."

That's why for many engineers Tony Stark is something of a patron saint.

"He's my favorite Marvel super hero because he doesn't possess any unearthly super power at all. He's a genius that uses his inventiveness to make the world safer and a better place to live," said Marco Perry, a design consultant.

Ten-year-old Cadence Kraft, an attendee at this year's Comic Con in Silicon Valley agreed. "He is out of the ordinary. He's funny and uses his smarts and technology to do good in the world. He even made this super awesome suit that he could have used for evil, but instead he fights crime," she explains.

Like for many kids her age, it was Iron Man that got Kraft interested in pursuing more science projects at school. "He makes it seem so much cooler to make all this crazy stuff, like suits or other cool inventions," she said, adding that she herself wants to be a rocket scientist so she can build space shuttles that are safer for astronauts, or do computer programming, so she can create video games, "because playing games is fun, but I want to experience actually making them."

And isn't getting kids pumped for science, technology, engineering and math a "super" skill in its own right?

Love comics and love tech? Be sure to stay tuned for what Mouser will be doing in upcoming episodes of the Empowering Innovation Together program, along with celebrity engineer, former Mythbuster and longtime Mouser customer, Grant Imahara.

The launch of the Mouser Innovation Lab means having a space to build cutting-edge projects to push the boundaries of science in order to reach, inspire and engage engineers of all ages.

The first project, in fact, will be a partnership in which Mouser and Marvel create a real-life version of Captain America's returning shield and Iron Man's "Repulsor beam" — a dream in the making for engineers and would-be engineers alike.