IDTechEx

Service Robots Set to Revolutionize Various Industries

The service robotics industry has grown quickly in recent years, spurred on by advances in robotics technology and artificial intelligence (AI), and maybe set to help alleviate some of the labor issues across multiple industries.

ADAS Sensors 2022

This premium article looks into ADAS Sensors 2022, held virtually from 12th-14th April 2022. The event this year was heavily focused on radar and LiDAR, two key sensors for ADAS technologies and both with lots of recent innovation and progress. This premium article will cover presentations from a selection of both radar and LiDAR start-ups, with key points from additional keynote speeches and presentations.

Successful Terrestrial Microwave Power Beaming Demonstration

Researchers have demonstrated the feasibility of terrestrial microwave power beaming by transmitting 1.6 kilowatts of power over 1 kilometer, the most significant power beaming demonstration in nearly 50 years.

UK's First Full-Size Autonomous Passenger Bus Takes to the Road

The UK's first full-sized autonomous bus will take to the roads of Scotland for the first time this week as live testing begins for project CAVForth. Stagecoach, in partnership with Fusion Processing, Alexander Dennis and Transport Scotland, will be carrying out on-road testing of the autonomous bus over the next two weeks in preparation for the launch of the CAVForth pilot service in late summer.

Launcher's 3D-Printed E-2 Rocket Engine Achieves Full Thrust

Launcher's E-2 liquid rocket engine successfully demonstrated nominal thrust, pressure and oxidizer/fuel mixture ratio for the first time in a test fire at NASA Stennis Space Center. E-2 is a closed cycle 3D-printed, high-performance liquid rocket engine in development for the Launcher Light launch vehicle (inaugural launch scheduled for 2024). A single E-2 engine will boost Launcher Light to low Earth orbit with 150 kg of payload.

New Miniature Heart Could Help Speed Heart Disease Cures

An interdisciplinary team of engineers, biologists, and geneticists has developed a new way of studying the heart: they've built a miniature replica of a heart chamber from a combination of nanoengineered parts and human heart tissue. There are no springs or external power sources—like the real thing, it just beats by itself, driven by the live heart tissue grown from stem cells.

E Ink Gallery 3 Color ePaper for Sustainable Digital Reading

E Ink has announced the launch of E Ink Gallery 3, a next generation of color ePaper for the eReader and eNote markets. E Ink Gallery 3 is based on the E Ink ACeP Advanced Color ePaper platform. In this platform, a full-color gamut is achieved through a four particle ink system: cyan, magenta, yellow and white, which allows a full color gamut at each pixel.

High Voltage EV Cables: Aluminium & 800V Trends

This IDTechEx premium article discusses the rising interest in aluminium-core high voltage cabling for electric vehicles, detailing cable manufacturer offerings, a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages, new advancements and market adoption, and a market outlook versus copper through 2040. The article also discusses how the trend for 800V platforms may impact uptake.

Schott AG: Augmented/Mixed Reality Operations

SCHOTT AG is a large multinational company whose core is in specialty glassmaking. SCHOTT's product range encompasses virtually every area where glass is used, from telescope mirror materials to historical glazing for building restoration — this profile, however, focuses on its activities around augmented reality (AR), particularly in optical waveguide substrates. SCHOTT's head office is in Mainz, Germany.

Flexible Printable Electrical Patches for Accelerated Wound Healing

Existing therapies for healing wounds include dressings, negative pressure bandages, growth factor-based and anti-inflammatory drugs, debridement, and ultrasound treatments. But even under the best conditions, the average time for complete wound closure is 12 weeks using these methods.

Lithium's Narrow Paths Limit Batteries

If you could shrink enough for a fantastic voyage across a lithium battery electrode, you'd see the level of charge at every scale is highly uneven. This is not good for the battery's health. Researchers who recognize the problem worked to view in great detail how the various particles in an electrode interact with lithium during use.

Tanvas — Haptics to Simulate Surface Texture

Tanvas, headquartered in Chicago, is currently focused on implementing haptic feedback on touchscreens. Unlike vibration, we have seen much on smartphones; Tanvas uses electrostatics to control friction, simulate the surface texture, and create virtual touch.

Cheaper Solar Cells Could be on the Way

New solar cell devices that are cheaper and easier to make could soon make their way to market thanks to materials. Traditional solar cells are made from silicon, which has good efficiency and stability, but is relatively expensive to make and can only be manufactured in stiff panels. Perovskite solar cells offer an intriguing alternative; they can be printed from inks, making them low cost, high efficiency, thin, lightweight and flexible.

Innovative 3D Printing Technology for Glass Microstructures

Researchers have developed a new way to 3D-print glass microstructures that is faster and produces objects with higher optical quality, design flexibility and strength, according to a new study.

Eve and Thales Enter Partnership to Develop eVTOL Aircraft

Eve UAM LLC and Thales have teamed up to support the development of Eve's electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft in Brazil. The strategic partnership involves a series of joint studies over a twelve-month period on the technical, economical, and adaptable feasibility of a 100% electrically powered aircraft.

A New Kind of 3D Printing

While 3D printing techniques have advanced significantly in the last decade, the technology continues to face a fundamental limitation: objects must be built up layer by layer. But what if they didn't have to be?

A Tandem to Fast-track Photovoltaics' Advance

The future certainly looks sunny for solar cells equipped with two electricity-generating semiconductors. With good reason - their potential efficiency is far higher than that of conventional single solar cells. They can also be lighter and more flexible, depending on their component materials.

Researchers Take Step Toward Developing 'Electric Eye'

Researchers have successfully designed a new type of artificial vision device that incorporates a novel vertical stacking architecture and allows for greater depth of color recognition and scalability on a micro-level.

Inkron

Inkron is a Nagase Group company which develops and manufactures siloxane resins and formulations, primarily for optical devices and packaging. It also produces materials for printed electronics and provides a growing range of OEM services. Inkron has considerable expertise in materials for wafer-level optics, such as the nanoimprint lithography resin required for many optical waveguides. Inkron provides wafer-level optics process development, process optimization, and piloting services. The company is headquartered in Espoo, Finland.

Natufia

Natufia is a Saudi Arabia-based company providing customers with turnkey solutions to smart indoor gardening, having been founded in 2014 by Gregory Lu. IDTechEx analyst Brendan Beh spoke with Natufia's Marketing Director, Anastassia Taylor, on 14th April 2022.