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2022

Scientists Contemplate Launching Tiny Lifeforms into Space

No longer solely in the realm of science fiction, the possibility of interstellar travel has appeared, tantalizingly, on the horizon. Although we may not see it in our lifetimes — at least not some real version of the fictional warp-speeding, hyperdriving, space-folding sort — we are having early conversations of how life could escape the tether of our solar system, using technology that is within reach.

2021

Researchers Are First to Create Sterile Male Mosquitoes Using CRISPR

Mosquitoes are one of humanity's greatest nemeses, estimated to spread infections to nearly 700 million people per year and cause more than one million deaths.

Robotic Seafloor Survey Completed

An expedition led by UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography mapped more than 36,000 acres of seafloor between Santa Catalina Island and the Los Angeles coast in a region previously found to contain high levels of the toxic chemical DDT in sediments and the ecosystem. The survey identified an excess of 27,000 targets with high confidence to be classified as a barrel, and an excess of 100,000 total debris objects on the seafloor.

3D Printing Polymers

Researchers have developed the first 3D-printable "bottlebrush" elastomer. The new material results in printed objects that have unusual softness and elasticity — mechanical properties that closely resemble those of human tissue.

6G Communications Market, Devices, Materials 2021-2041

IDTechEx Report: Dr James Edmondson

2020

A Defect-resistant Superalloy for 3D Printing

In recent years, it has become possible to use laser beams and electron beams to "print" engineering objects that have complex shapes that could not be achieved by conventional manufacturing routes. The additive manufacturing process, known widely as 3D printing, for metallic materials involves melting and fusing fine-scale powder particles — each about ten times finer than a grain of local beach sand — in sub-millimeter-scale "pools" created by focusing a laser or electron beam on the material.

Fluoropolymer Markets in Electrics, Electronics 2021-2041

IDTechEx Report: Dr James Edmondson

Solid-State Automotive Lidar: Commercializing Photonic Beam Steering?

What does it take to commercialize photonic beam steering?

Solid-state automotive lidar: commercializing photonic beam steering

What does it take to commercialize photonic beam steering?

2019

Material for Safer Football Helmets May Reduce Head Injuries

Scientists have developed elastic microlattice pads that can withstand both single hits and a series of impacts better than existing state-of-the-art foams used in football helmets. Their research suggests that the material may pave the way for helmets that better protect football players and other athletes from brain injuries caused by repeated head hits.

Computer vision helping track and protect great white sharks

In the last few years, the combination of increasing compute power, big data and improved algorithms have catapulted artificial intelligence from research labs to enabling a multitude of innovative, practical applications.

Alibaba unveils its own AI chip

Alibaba Group plans to launch its first self-developed AI inference chip, which has potential for use in autonomous driving, smart cities and smart logistics. In addition to this, the Academy will boost its R&D in AI chips for training on the cloud and for IOT applications.

2017

3D printing high strength aluminium

A breakthrough in metallurgy with the announcement that researchers have developed a technique for successfully 3D printing high-strength aluminum alloys—including types Al7075 and Al6061—that opens the door to additive manufacturing of engineering-relevant alloys.

Accelerating rendering with AI

Researchers have developed a new technology based on artificial intelligence and deep learning that eliminates this noise and thereby enables production-quality rendering at much faster speeds.

A robotic gripper for cleaning up space debris

Right now, about 500,000 pieces of human-made debris are whizzing around space, orbiting our planet at speeds up to 17,500 miles per hour.

Improving next-gen materials for solar cells

New findings by an engineer outline new advances in solar cell technology and point to the incredible potential of the material used to fabricate the cell — gallium nitride.

Sensor-filled glove could help doctors

Researchers have developed new wearable sensors and robotics technology that could be used to accurately measure muscle stiffness during physical exams.

BioSolar Inc

BioSolar's target is to design Si-Alloy materials with a capacity density of 1000 mAh/cm3 and a cell level volumetric energy density of 1000 Wh/L

The little bacterium that could

Researchers replace membrane proteins in bacteria with a molecule they created and gain control over their ability to produce electricity

2015

BioSolar files patent for super battery technology

BioSolar, Inc has announced that it has jointly filed a patent application with the University of California, Santa Barbara.