University of Michigan

Printed Electronics for EVs - The money floods in

Printed electronics is now seeing a surge in transactions in the form of orders, government and industry-funded development programs, acquisitions and company fund raising.

More efficient conversion of waste heat into electricity

The right material wrapped around your car's exhaust system could one day scavenge heat that would otherwise be wasted, turning it into energy to warm the cabin or recharge the battery. Engineers and physicists at the University of Michigan have taken a step toward improving the efficiency of a promising candidate for this burgeoning power source.

Solar powered unmanned aircraft awarded three world records

Tracking pirates in the Gulf of Aden, detecting bush fires in Australia and improving battlefield communications and surveillance in Afghanistan are all potential uses for the solar powered unmanned aircraft, Zephyr, which has now officially been awarded three World Records.

AeroVironment receives $46.2m order for UAS and digital retrofit kits

AeroVironment announced that it received an order valued at $46,226,984 under an existing contract with the U.S. Army. The order comprises 123 new digital Raven® small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and initial spares packages as well as 186 digital retrofit kits for the U.S. Marine Corps.

Beamed-power flight sets records

LaserMotive keeps unmanned copter aloft more than 12 hours

Electric vehicle centric energy systems

The idea of electric vehicles donating power to a planned supergrid brings a wan smile to the faces of those struggling to get batteries to provide adequate range without unpredictable parasitic drainage of power at the behest of a third party.

Aurora Flight Sciences rolls out Orion UAS

Aurora Flight Sciences has unveiled the Orion unmanned aerial system, a flight vehicle demonstrator that will stay aloft for up to five days. Orion was selected by the US Air Force Research Laboratory in late August to meet the objectives of the Medium Altitude Global ISR and Communications (MAGIC) Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD).

Energy Express Focus Issue: Thin-film photovoltaic materials & devices

Developing renewable energy sources has never been more important, and solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies show great potential in this field.

1st Energy Harvesting Network: part 2

The afternoon session of the Human Power Workshop part of the 1st Energy Harvesting Network as discussed in Part 1 of this article, focused on Human Powering of Devices Outside of the Body.

Nanostructuring technologies energy efficient & ultra-small displays

University of Michigan scientists using AFOSR-funding have created the smallest pixels available that will enable LED, projected and wearable displays to be more energy efficient with more light manipulation possible and all on a display that may eventually be as small as a postage stamp.

Sakti3 Third generation batteries backed

Earlier this year, the University of Michigan traction battery spinoff Sakti3, inc. announced $7 million in second round of venture funding led by capital firm Beringea, in addition to Khosla. Now G.M. Ventures has invested $3.2 Million in the company. Vloet/University of Michigan Professor Ann Marie Sastry of the University of Michigan is chief executive of Sakti3.

Piezoelectric fabric that can detect and produce sound

For the past decade, Yoel Fink, an associate professor of materials science and principal investigator at MIT's Research Lab of Electronics, has been working to develop fibers with ever more sophisticated properties, to enable fabrics that can interact with their environment.

Mini generators make energy from random ambient vibrations

Tiny generators developed at the University of Michigan could produce enough electricity from random, ambient vibrations to power a wristwatch, pacemaker or wireless sensor.

The memristor

The memristor "the missing link of electronics" was finally built in 2008, using nothing more than titanium dioxide and metal electrodes in thin films. In 2009 NIST printed them on plastic film. Now a new version involving silicon and silver thin film seems to have advantages.

Electric Avenue: Electric cars on a two-way street?

Think of it as the end of cars' slacker days: No more sitting idle for hours in parking lots or garages racking up payments, but instead earning their keep by helping store power for the electricity grid.

Power-harvesting prosthetic foot

An artificial foot that recycles energy otherwise wasted in between steps could make it easier for amputees to walk, its developers say.

Millimeter-scale, energy-harvesting sensor system developed

A 9-cubic millimeter solar-powered sensor system developed at the University of Michigan is the smallest that can harvest energy from its surroundings to operate nearly perpetually. The U-M system's processor, solar cells, and battery are all contained in its tiny frame, which measures 2.5 by 3.5 by 1 millimeters. It is 1,000 times smaller than comparable commercial counterparts.

Carbon nanotube ink turns cloth into a battery

Ordinary textiles could be transformed into batteries that hold up to three times more energy than a mobile phone battery, by simply dipping them into nanoparticle-infused ink.

Carbon nanotubes detect toxins in drinking water

Scientists at Michigan University may soon be able to detect harmful toxins in drinking water, quickly and cheaply with the development of a new biosensor, using a strip of paper infused with carbon nanotubes.