IDTechEx

The AR, VR and MR Market Is Estimated to be Over $30Bn by 2030

New IDTechEx report on AR, VR and MR products by Technology Analyst Dr. Charlotte Coles discusses the technology, market, and players of the past, present and future. XR, or extended reality, products are at the forefront of technological change. Virtual reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality. With so many different XR products now available for a variety of use cases, it is important to understand how the different technologies are used, and companies which create them.

Thin Films with Tantalizing Properties

Scientists have created thin films made from barium zirconium sulfide and confirmed that the materials have alluring electronic and optical properties predicted by theorists.

Volkswagen Lets its Charging Robots Loose

Volkswagen provides a glimpse into the future in which the search for charging stations for electric cars comes to an end. Volkswagen Group Components' mobile charging robot takes over this task - and drives to the electric car completely autonomously.

Oakley Expands Adoption of HP's 3D Printing Prototyping Technology

HP has unveiled an expanded relationship with Oakley, helping to advance the brand's sports performance design process to meet the needs of the world's best athletes. With HP's Jet Fusion 3D printer, during the development stage, Oakley is reinventing how the brand prototypes and creates functional parts by leveraging the technology across Oakley's portfolio of sports accessories, equipment and lifestyle products.

Injecting 'Solar Cells' Into the Body to Regenerate Brain Cells

In contrast to optogenetics, which uses light to selectively control neurons by genetically modifying them, scientists have introduced a non-genetic, light-mediated method that can locally stimulate cells electrically.

Ahhm Radiant Systems LLC

Ahhm Radiant Systems LLC specialise in roll-bonded aluminium with integrated coolant channels for applications in residential buildings. In the last few years they have become involved in the automotive sector and have an interest in the thermal management of electric vehicles.

Extending Food Shelf Life with Nanomaterials

When was the last time you were tempted by luscious cherries at your supermarket or saw that your favourite brand of packaged bread was on sale and you greedily bought too much? You likely had to throw away most of them because they had gone off. What if the shelf lives of such products could be extended? The EU-funded NanoPack has done exactly that. Its nanotechnology-based packaging solution was successfully tested for several food items and the results were demonstrated at a conference.

First Long Duration, Liquid Air Energy Storage System in the US

Highview Power Storage and Encore Renewable Energy jointly announced plans to develop the United States' first long duration, liquid air energy storage system. This facility will be a minimum of 50MW, provide in excess of eight hours of storage and will be located in northern Vermont.

First Images of an 'Upgraded' CRISPR Tool

Scientists have captured the first images of a new gene editing tool that could improve upon existing CRISPR-based tools. The team developed the tool, called INTEGRATE, after discovering a unique "jumping gene" in Vibrio cholerae bacteria that could insert large genetic payloads in the genome without introducing DNA breaks.

Plenty

Plenty is an American start-up company aiming to tackle the world's growing food issues by growing crops indoors in vertical facilities. Since its founding in 2014, the company has found high profile backers, including Jeff Bezos. But can the company's dream of feeding the world through its high-tech facilities ever become a reality? IDTechEx Analyst Dr Michael Dent explores.

Rolls-Royce Unveils All-electric Plane Targeting the Record Books

Rolls-Royce's ambitions to build the world's fastest all-electric aircraft have taken an important step forward with the unveiling of the plane at Gloucestershire Airport. Work will now begin on integrating the ground-breaking electrical propulsion system to enable the zero-emissions plane to make a run for the record books with a target speed of 300+ MPH.

Improved 3D Nanoprinting Technique to Build Nanoskyscrapers

Nanowalls, nanobridges, nano "jungle gyms": it could seem the description of a Lilliputian village, but these are actual 3D-printed components with tremendous potential applications in nanoelectronics, smart materials and biomedical devices.

Plastic Biosensor Finds Sweet Success

An electronic biosensor powered using the glucose in bodily fluids has been developed by researchers. The device pairs an electron-transporting polymer with an enzyme that extracts electrons from its reaction with glucose to drive its circuitry. The plastic biosensor could act as a continuous monitor of key health indicators, such as blood sugar levels in diabetes patients.

3D Printing is Helping Doctors Further Personalize Care

3Today, 3D printing is being used for everything from jewelry creation to producing food.

Membrane Produces Electricity From Saltwater

Inspired by membranes in the body tissues of living organisms, scientists have combined aramid nanofibers used in Kevlar with boron nitride to construct a membrane for harvesting ocean energy that is both strong like bone and suited for ion transport like cartilage.

Growing Carbon Nanotubes with the Right Twist

Researchers have achieved the creation of a specific type of carbon nanotubes with a selectivity of 90%, and expanded the current theory that explains the synthesis of these promising nano-cylinders.

Mars 2020 Rover Completes Its First Drive

NASA's next Mars rover has passed its first driving test. A preliminary assessment of its activities found that the rover checked all the necessary boxes as it rolled forward and backward and pirouetted in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The next time the Mars 2020 rover drives, it will be rolling over Martian soil.

First of a Kind In-Vitro 3D Neural Tissue Model

Researchers have successfully used stem cells to engineer living biohybrid nerve tissue to develop 3D models of neural networks with the hopes of gaining a better understanding of how the brain and these networks work.

First Wind Turbine to Generate 262 MWh of Clean Energy in 24 Hours

Eneco, Future Wind and GE Renewable Energy today announced that Eneco will purchase all of the electricity generated by GE's Haliade-X 12 MW prototype. The prototype set a new world record by being the first wind turbine ever to generate 262 MWh of clean energy in 24 hours, enough energy to power 30,000 households in the region.

Program Targets 50 Percent Receycled Material in New Cells

Northvolt is making swift progress with its blueprint for sustainable battery manufacturing and is positioned to deliver lithium-ion cells to European markets with a minimal environmental footprint.