University of California

Finalists Announced for 2019 R&D 100 Awards

Finalists for the venerable R&D 100 Awards have been announced by R&D World magazine and its new parent company, WTWH Media, LLC.

Growing Strained Crystals Could Improve Performance of Perovskites

A new method could enable researchers to fabricate more efficient and longer lasting perovskite solar cells, LEDs and photodetectors. By growing thin perovskite films on substrates with different compositions, engineers have invented a way of fabricating perovskite single crystals with precisely deformed, or strained, structures.

Solid-state automotive lidar: commercializing photonic beam steering

What does it take to commercialize photonic beam steering?

Polluted Wastewater in the Forecast? Try a Solar Umbrella

Researchers have demonstrated a way to double the rate of evaporation by using solar energy and taking advantage of water's inherent properties.

Award-Winning Glove is First Affordable All-Day Wireless VR/AR Haptic

BeBop Sensors will announce the first VR haptic glove integrated and exclusively designed for Oculus Quest, Oculus Link, Oculus Rift S, Microsoft Windows Mixed Reality, HTC Vive Cosmos, HTC Vive Pro, HTC Focus Plus, and Varjo VR headset technology.

Improved Inorganic Thin Film Batteries

In a research result that potentially could expand the market for tiny energy-storage units in medical implantable, injectable and wearable solutions, CEA-Leti has fabricated all-solid, inorganic thin-film batteries that demonstrate better performance than existing devices.

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.

KiwiBot

KiwiBot was established in 2017 in San Francisco. It has raised $2M since.

Biosensor Glasses for Testing Blood Glucose Levels

A pioneering pair of glasses fitted with a biosensor could provide an alternative way to test blood glucose levels for people with diabetes.

New Chip Wakes Up Small Wireless Devices, Could Extend Battery Life

A new power saving chip developed by engineers could significantly reduce or eliminate the need to replace batteries in Internet of Things devices and wearables. The so-called wake-up receiver wakes up a device only when it needs to communicate and perform its function. It allows the device to stay dormant the rest of the time and reduce power use.

Machine Learning Algorithms Help Predict Traffic Headaches

Urban traffic roughly follows a periodic pattern associated with the typical "9 to 5" work schedule. However, when an accident happens, traffic patterns are disrupted. Designing accurate traffic flow models, for use during accidents, is a major challenge for traffic engineers, who must adapt to unforeseen traffic scenarios in real time.

Longer-Lasting Catalysts to Improve Fuel Cells

Materials scientists have made a major leap in understanding the long-term effectiveness of fuel cells by integrating experiments with computer simulation studies. The result reveals a new mechanism in understanding how fuel cell catalysts can be made more durable.

A Closer Look at Biosensor Technology at Sensors USA 2019

A key focus of the Sensors USA part of the IDTechEx Show! will be Point-of-Care Biosensors. Biosensor devices provide information associated with a specific health condition or disease. The general trend in biosensors is a move from testing in centralized hospitals, to the patents with point-of-care devices.

DNA as Tool to Build Graphene Circuits

Graphene is a groundbreaking material in the nanotechnology field, but it has characteristics that limit its potential applications. A research team is investigating ways to incorporate DNA nanotechnology as a construction tool to assemble graphene in new ways that could make the material more useful in electronic devices, among other applications.

ExRobotics and Yokogawa collaborate to accelerate adoption of robotics

ExRobotics and Yokogawa Electric Corporation announce the signing of a licensing agreement that will enable Yokogawa to sell and deploy ExRobotics' inspection robot hardware and software platforms worldwide.

BeBop Sensors announces world's first haptic glove for Oculus Quest

BeBop Sensors announced that it has integrated the exclusively designed BeBop Sensors Forte Data Glove affordable all-day wireless VR/AR product with the Oculus Quest for the world's first all-in-one VR enterprise training and design system.

New soft actuators could make soft robots less bulky

Engineers have developed a way to build soft robots that are compact, portable and multifunctional. The advance was made possible by creating soft, tubular actuators whose movements are electrically controlled, which makes them easy to integrate with small electronic components.

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.

Using machine learning to understand climate change

Every three years, an international group of climate scientists called the Global Carbon Project updates what is known as the methane budget. The methane budget reflects the current state of understanding of the inputs and outputs in the global methane cycle. It was last updated in 2016.

Stretchable and flexible biofuel cell that runs on sweat

A unique new flexible and stretchable device, worn against the skin and capable of producing electrical energy by transforming the compounds present in sweat, was recently developed. This cell is already capable of continuously lighting an LED, opening new avenues for the development of wearable electronics powered by autonomous and environmentally friendly biodevices.