Purdue University

Passive Cooling System Could Benefit Off Grid Locations

As the world gets warmer, the use of power-hungry air conditioning systems is projected to increase significantly, putting a strain on existing power grids and bypassing many locations with little or no reliable electric power. Now, an innovative system offers a way to use passive cooling to preserve food crops and supplement conventional air conditioners in buildings, with no need for power and only a small need for water.

Spraying Robot Detects and Sprays Weeds in Crops

The new Solix Sprayer robot will provide autonomous and sustainable spot-spray applications on grower's fields. The spray robot is powered by four solar panels that control the drive system and the spray system while providing reports on crop populations, weed identification and densities, disease identification and thresholds, insect identification and thresholds, nutrient deficiency identification and densities, NDVI among other layers of maps for data analysis, and much more useful data to the grower virtually 24/7.

Smartwatch-Based Algorithm to Detect Early Signs of COVID-19

Researchers have announced the development of a viral detection algorithm for smartwatches. . The algorithm will be commercialized by physIQ, which develops solutions designed to improve health care outcomes by applying artificial intelligence to real-time physiological data from wearable sensors.

A New 3D Printing Frontier: Self Powered Wearable Devices

When most people think of wearable devices, they think of smart watches, smart glasses, fitness trackers, even smart clothing. These devices, part of a fast-growing market, have two things in common: They all need an external power source, and they all require exacting manufacturing processes. Until now.

New Passive Cooling for Buildings

With global warming kicking in and rising sea levels displacing millions to arid regions, there needs to be much more cooling of buildings. Two new passive options need to be welcomed that use readily available, non-toxic substances - metamaterials and unprecedentedly white paint reflecting maximum sunlight away from a building.

Tiny Robots Could Deliver Drugs Directly to Our Central Nervous System

A new study investigates tiny tumbling soft robots that can be controlled using rotating magnetic fields. The technology could be useful for delivering drugs to the nervous system. In this latest study, researchers put the robots through their paces and showed that they can climb slopes, tumble upstream against fluid flow and deliver substances at precise locations to neural tissue.

Tiny 'Manic' Robots Deliver Drugs Directly to Central Nervous System

One way to achieve targeted dosing is to use tiny robots to deliver drugs to specific locations. While this technology is still in its infancy, researchers have developed various types of micro- or millirobots that could fulfil this ostensibly far-fetched goal. However, the major problem lies in controlling their activity as they travel through tissues in the body, and few researchers have put their tumbling robots to the challenge by seeing how they handle moving across real tissues.

Thin, Stretchable Biosensors Could Make Surgery Safer

A research team have developed bio-inks for biosensors that could help localize critical regions in tissues and organs during surgical operations.

Future Washable Smart Clothes Powered by Wi-Fi will Monitor Health

Engineers have developed a method to transform existing cloth items into battery-free wearables resistant to laundry. These smart clothes are powered wirelessly through a flexible, silk-based coil sewn on the textile.

Fabric has Potential Cooling Effect for Smartwatch Wearers

As smartwatches become more powerful, they will generate more heat. To prevent burns or rashes, what if a material touching the skin could feel as cool as metal, but also be flexible enough to be worn on the wrist?

Carbice Corporation

Carbice Corporation produce advanced thermal interface materials based on CNTs. IDTechEx spoke with Dr Baratunde Cola (CEO) and their team.