IDTechEx

Invisible "Keyhole" Made of Printed, Transparent Electronics

What initially looks like a simple transparent film conceals a whole new level of security. Invisible buttons are printed with conductive ink on the transparent carrier material, the position of which is known only to insiders. Such circuits can be connected to a door lock as an access code, for instance. If the buttons on the polymer film are pressed in the correct order, the door opens.

New Soft, Stretchable Biocompatible Artificial Skin

In the field of robotics, metals offer advantages like strength, durability, and electrical conductivity. But, they are heavy and rigid—properties that are undesirable in soft and flexible systems for wearable computing and human-machine interfaces.

Electromagnetic Fields Hinder Spread of Breast Cancer

Electricity may slow - and in some cases, stop - the speed at which breast cancer cells spread through the body, a new study indicates.

EHang to Build Eco-Sustainable Vertiport in Italy

EHang Holdings Limited and Giancarlo Zema Design Group have designed and will build an eco-sustainable vertiport in Italy. The vertiport will use green design and construction materials, and can generate energy to recharge the EH216 passenger-grade AAVs. Vertiports will play a significant role in the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market and the new era of flight. When integrated into the existing transportation infrastructure, vertiports can serve as aerial hubs for tourists.

Efficient Ocean Wave Energy Harvesting for "Blue Energy"

A research team has recently developed a water-tube-based triboelectric nanogenerator that can efficiently convert various irregular and low-frequency mechanical energies, including ocean wave energy, into electricity, providing a new avenue for the development of "blue energy".

Using Hydrogen Power to Decarbonise Construction Sites

Globally, the construction sector accounts for 38% of energy related emissions, and in London 14.5% of the most harmful emissions such as PM2.5 are from stationary diesel generators on construction sites.

Wearable Electronic Textiles for the Smart Dresser

An electronic textile with a large-area display that could have applications in communications, navigation and healthcare is described in Nature. The textile is flexible, breathable and durable, making it an ideal material for practical uses.

6G Communication Myths

6G Communications will become one of the largest technology investments. It is currently in the healthy first stage of promising everything to widely deploy some in 2030. Even at this early stage, some myths are emerging.

Inexpensive Tin Packs a Punch for Future Supercapacitors

A sustainable, powerful micro-supercapacitor may be on the horizon. Until now, the high-capacity, fast-charging energy storage devices have been limited by the composition of their electrodes — the connections responsible for managing the flow of electrons during charging and dispensing energy. Now, researchers have developed a better material to improve connectivity while maintaining recyclability and low cost.

New Bioink Brings 3D Printing of Human Organs Closer to Reality

Researchers have designed a new bioink which allows small human-sized airways to be 3D-bioprinted with the help of patient cells for the first time. The 3D-printed constructs are biocompatible and support new blood vessel growth into the transplanted material. This is an important first step towards 3D-printing organs.

Joby Aviation

Joby Aviation, headquartered in Santa Cruz, California are developing a tiltrotor electric vertical take-off and landing air taxi. They are one of the leading players in this emerging market and have attracted over $820 million in funding, with investors including Toyota, Uber and Baillie Gifford.

Companies Investing in eVTOL

Innovation roadmap for the report 'Air Taxis: Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing Aircraft 2021-2041'.

Pressure Sensors Ensure a Proper Helmet Fit to Protect the Brain

Many athletes, from football players to equestrians, rely on helmets to protect their heads from impacts or falls. However, a loose or improperly fitted helmet could leave them vulnerable to traumatic brain injuries. Now, researchers have developed a highly sensitive pressure sensor cap that, when worn under a helmet, could help reveal whether the headgear is a perfect fit.

Lab-Created Heart Valves Can Grow With The Recipient

A groundbreaking new study shows for the first time that lab-created heart valves implanted in young lambs for a year were capable of growth within the recipient. The valves also showed reduced calcification and improved blood flow function compared to animal-derived valves currently used when tested in the same growing lamb model.

800V Electric Vehicles Revisited

IDTechEx explores the trend towards high voltage vehicles from premium carmakers, and how this compares with Tesla's strategy.

Create Your Own Materials Market Forecast for Electric Vehicles

IDTechEx has released a new spreadsheet-based tool that lists our assumptions for several material intensities at a cell- and pack-level for battery-electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) batteries in the car market.

Audi

As part of the VW Group, Audi is also making a strong push towards electrification. Their first battery electric vehicles have been successful and many more models are expected by 2025.

Highlights from Edge Computing World: tinyML & Edge AI

IDTechEx attended "Edge Computing World Europe", an online event which took place from March 9th - 11th 2021. This article covers some of the key trends from the event, including application examples of how edge computing is being deployed, specific technology developments needed and case studies of players and markets.

Solar cells: Losses Made Visible on the Nanoscale

For the first time, a team has experimentally measured on an atomic level how leakage currents form and how they influence the solar cell performance.