University of Cambridge, Dept of Physics

3D Printed "Invisible" Fibres Sense Breath, Sound, Biological Cells

From capturing your breath to guiding biological cell movements, 3D printing of tiny, transparent conducting fibres could be used to make devices which can 'smell, hear and touch' - making it particularly useful for health monitoring, Internet of Things and biosensing applications.

AI and autonomy for chemistry and materials science (Part 2)

IDTechEx attended 2 leading conferences on the impact of AI and autonomy for chemistry and materials science, from both R&D to production.

AI and autonomy for chemistry and materials science (Part 1)

IDTechEx attended 2 leading conferences on the impact of AI and autonomy for chemistry and materials science, from both R&D to production.

Avalon AI

Founded in 2015, London-based Avalon AI claims that it uses ML to identify potential signs of brain degeneration from brain (MRI) scans.

Coffee Stains Inspire Optimal Printing Technique for Electronics

Using an alcohol mixture, researchers modified how ink droplets dry, enabling cheap industrial-scale printing of electronic devices at unprecedented scales.

Microsoft

Microsoft's Project InnerEye is an ongoing research project that uses ML techniques to build tools for the automatic, quantitative analysis of three-dimensional radiological images.

Jaguar Land Rover Develops Contactless Touchscreen to Fight Bacteria

New contactless touchscreen technology developed by Jaguar Land Rover and the University of Cambridge will help keep drivers' eyes on the road and reduce the spread of bacteria and virusesin a post COVID-19 world.

Tinted Solar Panels Could Boost Farm Incomes

Researchers have demonstrated the use of tinted, semi-transparent solar panels to generate electricity and produce nutritionally-superior crops simultaneously, bringing the prospect of higher incomes for farmers and maximising use of agricultural land.

Bringing Graphene and New Materials to Market

Remember the computer triode? Unless you're an early-tech enthusiast, it's unlikely. Used as switches in the first electronic computers, these vacuum tubes consumed a great deal of power. They were unreliable and upon the invention of silicon chips, were quickly replaced. A new material has the potential to shift entire industries. Here, Kari Hjelt, Head of Innovation of the Graphene Flagship explains how graphene is set to do the same.

Photo-Rechargable Zinc-Ion Devices Merge Solar Cell and Battery Tech

Scientists have made a battery that can be directly charged in sunlight without needing an external solar panel. Clever design of the battery electrodes facilitates photo-rechargeable zinc-ion batteries that could find applications as cheap devices for off-grid solar farms.

Robot Chef Trained to Make Omelettes

A team of engineers have trained a robot to prepare an omelette, all the way from cracking the eggs to plating the finished dish, and refined the 'chef's' culinary skills to produce a reliable dish that actually tastes good.

AI to Detect Tell-Tale Coronavirus Sounds in our Speech

A recording of a cough, the noise of a person's breathing or even the sound of their voice could be used to help diagnose patients with Covid-19 in the future.

3D Printed Corals Could Improve Bioenergy and Help Coral Reefs

Researchers have 3D printed coral-inspired structures that are capable of growing dense populations of microscopic algae. Their results open the door to new bio-inspired materials and their applications for coral conservation.

AI Techniques Used to Improve Battery Health and Safety

Researchers have designed a machine learning method that can predict battery health with 10x higher accuracy than current industry standard, which could aid in the development of safer and more reliable batteries for electric vehicles and consumer electronics.

World's First Artificial Pancreas app Licensed for Type 1 Diabetes

The world's first licensed, downloadable artificial pancreas app for people with type 1 diabetes has launched, based on over a decade of research by Professor Roman Hovorka at the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The CamAPS FX app works with an insulin pump and a glucose monitor to automatically deliver insulin to people living with the condition via a complex algorithm..

A Way Forward for Large Scale Storage of Renewable Energy

A technique based on the principles of MRI and NMR has allowed researchers to observe not only how next-generation batteries for large-scale energy storage work, but also how they fail, which will assist in the development of strategies to extend battery lifetimes in support of the transition to a zero-carbon future.

Designer Integrates 3D Printing and Future Fabrics for Bespoke Fashion

Kitty Yeung is a physicist, artist, maker, fashion designer and musician based in Silicon Valley, California. She currently manages the Bay Area Microsoft Garage, a program that drives a culture of innovation at Microsoft.

innoLAE 2020: Breakthrough Technologies and New Applications

The 6th Innovations in Large-Area Electronics Conference (innoLAE) returns to the Wellcome Genome Campus Conference Centre, Cambridge, UK on 21-22 January 2020, to deliver a programme highlighting the most innovative and exciting aspects of large-area electronics (LAE) - a new way of making electronics which includes printable, flexible, plastic, organic and bio- electronics.

'Messy' Production of Perovskite Material Increases Solar Efficiency

Discovery means simpler and cheaper manufacturing methods are actually beneficial for the material's use in next-generation solar cells or LED lighting.

Artificial Leaf Successfully Produces Clean Gas

A widely-used gas that is currently produced from fossil fuels can instead be made by an 'artificial leaf' that uses only sunlight, carbon dioxide and water, and which could eventually be used to develop a sustainable liquid fuel alternative to petrol.