IDTechEx

New Printing Technique for Flexible Electronics

New technology that enables more efficient and effective transfer printing for electronic devices has been developed by researchers

DiDi

DiDi is a Chinese ride-hailing company that has been working on autonomous robotaxis.

Colourful, Seaweed-Based Ink for 3D Printing

Researchers have developed a colorful new ink for 2D and 3D art made of mica pigments in alginate, a sugar from seaweed that forms a stable gel without heat.

Neural Network Shows People with Autism Read Expressions Differently

People with autism spectrum disorder have difficulty interpreting facial expressions. Using a neural network model that reproduces the brain on a computer, a group of researchers have unraveled how this comes to be.

Solar-Powered Microbes to Feed the World?

An international research team has shown that using solar-panels to produce microbial protein - which is rich not just in proteins but also in other nutrients - is more sustainable, efficient and environmentally friendly than growing conventional crops. This method uses solar energy, land, nutrients, and carbon dioxide from the air.

UL and Hyundai to Advance Second Life Battery Safety, Performance

UL and Hyundai Motor Company have entered into an agreement to help further the safe deployment and use of second life battery energy storage systems.

A Dissolvable Smartwatch Makes for Easier Electronics Recycling

Small electronics, including smartwatches and fitness trackers, aren't easily dismantled and recycled. So when a new model comes out, most users send the old devices into hazardous waste streams. To simplify small electronics recycling, researchers have developed a two-metal nanocomposite for circuits that disintegrates when submerged in water. They demonstrated the circuits in a prototype transient device — a functional smartwatch that dissolved within 40 hours.

New Technology will Allow Important Metals to be Made More Efficiently

Researchers have invented a cheaper, safer, and simpler technology that will allow a "stubborn" group of metals and metal oxides to be made into thin films used in many electronics, computer components, and other applications.

Metawave

Metawave is a radar antenna specialist who has developed an analogue beam forming radar chip, offering high resolution and 250m range.

ADA Technologies: Aligned Carbon Fiber TIMs

At the Advancements in Thermal Management Conference (04/08/21-05/08/21) IDTechEx learnt more about ADA's QiFlo carbon fiber thermal interface materials (TIMs).

Ambiotex

IDTechEx interviewed Maximilian Weitzel, Data Scientist at Ambiotex. We discussed their latest progress commercialising their smart clothing platform with related software and apps within various market verticals, including recent moves towards approval as a medical device.

Exploring Human-Body Communications with Binaural Hearing Aids

Wearable technology seems all poised to take over next-generation electronics, yet most wireless communication techniques are not up to the task. To tackle this issue, scientists delved deep into human-body communications, in which human tissue is used as the transmission medium for electromagnetic signals. Their findings pave the way to more efficient and safer head-worn devices, such as binaural hearing aids and earphones.

Decades of Research Brings Quantum Dots to Brink of Widespread Use

Using modern colloidal chemistry, the dimensions and internal structure of quantum dots can be manipulated with near-atomic precision, which allows for highly accurate control of their physical properties and thereby behaviors in practical devices.

Xerox

Xerox provided an update on their progress in additive manufacturing and their proprietary liquid metal printing process. IDTechEx spoke with Tali Rosman (General Manager).

Electrically Conductive Adhesives to Impact the Electronics Industry

IDTechEx have recently launched "Electrically Conductive Adhesives (ECAs) 2022-2032", a market research report detailing the technology of ECAs, a form of conductive joining technology. Electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) are a growing competitor to lead-free solders and silver sintering technologies, and currently see use in several electronics applications, such as automotive electronics, consumer electronics, and display applications.

Electrification Will Take Mines Beyond Mining

Imagine mines with so much electricity production and storage that they do far more downstream processing. As reserves deplete, many will even transition to being zero-emission power stations and electricity storage for local communities and industry or even national grids. The cost of making-good becomes income from reinvention. That is the untold story of mining electrification, beyond the vital safety, greening, and cost reduction of electrics.

DHL Orders First All-Electric Cargo Planes from Eviation

DHL is the first to order 12 fully electric Alice eCargo planes from Eviation. Eviation expects to deliver the Alice electric aircraft to DHL Express in 2024.

Ecofriendly Solution to Converting Waste Heat into Energy

A team of scientists has demonstrated a high-performing thermoelectric material in a practical form that can be used in device development. The material — purified tin selenide in polycrystalline form — outperforms the single-crystal form in converting heat to electricity, making it the most efficient thermoelectric system on record.

Implant Shows Extreme Promise for Regenerating Bone

Researchers developed a biodegradable, nanofiber-based implant, or scaffold, whose design could better regenerate bone by effectively guiding the migration of recuperative cells to the injury site. When implanted in rats with bone defects, the cylindrical scaffold promoted the regeneration of bone that was denser, more voluminous and more like the surrounding tissue than that achieved by many other state-of-the-art designs.

Distal Reality

IDTechEx interviewed Mark Salada, Founder and CTO of Distal Reality. They are developing and launching a new haptics app as part of longer term ambitions in developing a variety of new haptics interfaces.