Applied Materials

Inkjet Printing Shows Promise As New Strategy For Making E-Textiles

In a new study researchers have demonstrated they could print layers of electrically conductive ink on polyester fabric to make an e-textile that could be used in the design of future wearable devices.

Bruisable Artificial Skin Could Help Prosthetics, Robots Sense Injury

When someone bumps their elbow against a wall, they not only feel pain but also might experience bruising. Robots and prosthetic limbs don't have these warning signs, which could lead to further injury. Now, researchers have developed an artificial skin that senses force through ionic signals and also changes color from yellow to a bruise-like purple, providing a visual cue that damage has occurred.

3D Printing Technique Keeps Brittle Tungsten Crack-Free

Tungsten has many excellent properties. It resists corrosion, and its melting point of 3422 °C is the highest of all metals, making it an ideal material for components that operate at extreme temperatures. There is a problem, though: it is highly brittle at room temperature, which means it is hard to process using conventional techniques.

Uncrackable Combination of Invisible Ink and Artificial Intelligence

Coded messages in invisible ink sound like something only found in espionage books, but in real life, they can have important security purposes. Yet, they can be cracked if their encryption is predictable. Now, researchers have printed complexly encoded data with normal ink and a carbon nanoparticle-based invisible ink, requiring both UV light and a computer that has been taught the code to reveal the correct messages.

More Than 14 Million Euros for Flexible Battery Research

For batteries to fit into narrow and crooked spaces and to store more energy for e.g. electric mobility, flexibly adaptable cells are required. So far, however, lithium-ion battery cells have been produced in standardized formats and rigid systems.

Electronic Textiles Made With new Cellulose Thread

Electronic textiles offer revolutionary new opportunities in various fields, in particular healthcare. But to be sustainable, they need to be made of renewable materials. A research team now presents a thread made of conductive cellulose, which offers fascinating and practical possibilities for electronic textiles.

Lasers Create Miniature Robots from Bubbles

Robots are widely used to build cars, paint airplanes and sew clothing in factories, but the assembly of microscopic components, such as those for biomedical applications, has not yet been automated. Lasers could be the solution.

3D Printed Smart Gel Changes Shape When Exposed to Light

Inspired by the color-changing skin of cuttlefish, octopuses and squids, engineers have created a 3D printed smart gel that changes shape when exposed to light, becomes "artificial muscle" and may lead to new military camouflage, soft robotics and flexible displays.

Lumiode, Inc.

Lumiode is a semiconductor technology spin-out company from Columbia University. It is based in NYC. The company mainly works on next generation micro-displays for AR application.

3D Printing the First Ever Biomimetic Tongue Surface

Scientists have created synthetic soft surfaces with tongue-like textures for the first time using 3D printing - opening new possibilities for testing oral processing properties of food, nutritional technologies, pharmaceutics and dry mouth therapies.

Engineers Print Wearable Sensors Directly on Skin Without Heat

Wearable sensors are evolving from watches and electrodes to bendable devices that provide far more precise biometric measurements and comfort for users. Now, an international team of researchers has taken the evolution one step further by printing sensors directly on human skin without the use of heat.

Microbots to Kill and Clean Biofilms

Biofilms -- microbial communities that form slimy layers on surfaces -- are difficult to treat and remove, often because the microbes release molecules that block the entry of antibiotics and other therapies. Now, researchers have made magnetically propelled microbots derived from tea buds, which they call "T-Budbots," that can dislodge biofilms, release an antibiotic to kill bacteria, and clean away the debris.

New Fabric Could Help Keep you Cool in the Summer

Researchers have developed a material that cools the wearer without using any electricity. The fabric transfers heat, allows moisture to evaporate from the skin and repels water.

3D Printed Latex Rubber Breakthrough

Researchers have discovered a novel process to 3D print latex rubber, unlocking the ability to print a variety of elastic materials with complex geometric shapes.

Researchers Print, Tune Graphene Sensors to Monitor Food Freshness

Researchers dipped their new, printed sensors into tuna broth and watched the readings. It turned out the sensors - printed with high-resolution aerosol jet printers on a flexible polymer film and tuned to test for histamine, an allergen and indicator of spoiled fish and meat - can detect histamine down to 3.41 parts per million.

Making 4D Printing More Practical

Soft robots and biomedical implants that reconfigure themselves upon demand are closer to reality with a new way to print shapeshifting materials.