IDTechEx

Image Sensor Tech: Machine Vision Expansion Accelerates Adoption

Image sensing is an essential capability, utilized across multiple applications that range from webcams and smartphone cameras to autonomous vehicles and industrial inspection.

Democratic Republic of Congo $100M Solar-Hybrid Power Project

A consortium has signed three concession agreements with the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The agreements will see the consortium develop, build and operate three large scale, solar-hybrid, off grid utilities. The infrastructure will transform the lives and livelihoods of half a million people by providing power to three cities, Gemena, Bumba and Isiro in the north of the country. The three cities currently have no grid connection, and struggle to access reliable, affordable and clean power.

Contract to Develop Production Recipes for Metal Additive Repairs

The Air Force Sustainment Center at Tinker Air Force base has awarded Optomec a $500,000 process development contract for the Additive Repair of jet engine components used in the F-15 and F-16 fighters.

New IDTechEx Report Evaluates the Future of the Cultured Meat Industry

IDTechEx has recently released "Cultured Meat 2021-2041: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts", a market research report exploring the technical and market factors that are shaping the emerging industry around cultured meat. The cultured meat industry has received significant attention in recent months, following the world's first approval of a cultured meat product for commercial sale in Singapore in December 2020.

First End to End BVLOS Drone Delivery Trials in India

Months of planning, risk assessments, air traffic control integration, training, equipment preparation, and coordination culminated with ANRA's flight team launching its first sortie on June 16, 2021. For the next several weeks, the flight team will conduct BVLOS food and medical package deliveries in the Etah and Rupnagar districts using ANRA SmartSkies technology.

Henkel: microTIM and data centers

Dr James Edmondson from IDTechEx interviewed Wayne Eng, Global Head of Market Strategy, Data & Telecom to discuss Henkel's offerings in data centers with a focus on their new microTIM Durable Coating product family.

Ultrasound Neuromodulation: Integrating Medicine and Engineering

Neurological diseases associated with dysfunctions of neural circuits, including Alzheimer's disease depression and epilepsy, have become increasingly prevalent. To tackle these issues, artificial stimulation or regulation of specific neural circuits and nuclei are employed to alleviate or cure certain neurological diseases.

Connected Microgrids on 26 Maldivian Islands

The project sponsored by the Maldivian Ministry of Environment and the Climate Investment Funds aims to substantially decrease carbon emissions as well as the costs of energy generation on these remote islands. The solar energy capacity installed is about 2.65 megawatts, and the capacity of the battery storage systems used is around 3.2 megawatt hours.

Prototype Robotic Device Picks and Trims Button Mushrooms

Researchers have developed a robotic mechanism for mushroom picking and trimming and demonstrated its effectiveness for the automated harvesting of button mushrooms.

Technology Development to Drive Long-term EV Adoption

The resilience of global electric vehicle (EV) sales during 2020 provided some optimism as to the maturing state of the electric vehicle market. However, sales are still primarily underpinned by government policy, and improvements in cost and performance to Li-ion cells and packs, not to forget other aspects of the vehicle or grid infrastructure, are needed for widespread adoption.

Printing Flexible, Wearable Electronics for Smart Device Applications

The demand for flexible wearable electronics has spiked with the dramatic growth of smart devices that can exchange data with other devices over the internet with embedded sensors, software, and other technologies.

Jaguar Land Rover to Develop Hydrogen Powered Defender

Jaguar Land Rover is developing a prototype hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle based on the new Land Rover Defender, with testing scheduled to begin this year.

Sensel

Sensel is a relatively early-stage company that offers touch-sensing solutions incorporating force sensing, capacitive touch sensing, and haptic feedback in various configurations. It is targeting multiple application spaces, and with a touchpad utilizing its technology already used in a commercially available laptop.

Archer Unveils eVTOL Aircraft

Archer, a company designing and developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, has debuted its Maker aircraft.

Ocean Drones Brave Hurricanes to Make Coastal Communities Safer

Saildrone is announcing a new mission to deploy five uncrewed surface vehicles from the US Virgin Islands in August to gather key data throughout the 2021 Tropical Atlantic hurricane season. The USVs will be equipped with specially designed "hurricane wings" to enable them to operate in extreme conditions.

The Biodegradable Battery

The number of data-transmitting microdevices, for instance in packaging and transport logistics, will increase sharply in the coming years. All these devices need energy, but the amount of batteries would have a major impact on the environment. Researchers have developed a biodegradable mini-capacitor that can solve the problem. It consists of carbon, cellulose, glycerin and table salt. And it works reliably.

A Single Device can Wirelessly Power Multiple Wearables

A major pain point facing the use of wearables is the issue of keeping these devices properly and conveniently powered. As the number of wearables one uses increases, the need to charge multiple batteries rises in tandem, consuming huge amounts of electricity. Many users find it cumbersome to charge numerous devices every day, and inconvenient service disruptions occur when batteries run out.

Trends in Wind Inverters

In this article, IDTechEx explores the demand and current trends in wind inverters for onshore and offshore applications.

AI Enhances Efficacy of Sleep Disorder Treatments

An algorithm based on 20,000 nights of sleep that can improve the diagnosis, treatment and our overall understanding of sleep disorders has been developed at the University of Copenhagen.

Studying Wombat Burrows with Remote Controlled WomBot

Wombats reside and sleep in burrows and occupy a different burrow every four to ten days. Parasitic mites that cause sarcoptic mange, a serious disease affecting wombats, are thought to be transmitted when wombats occupy each other's burrows but it has not been clear whether conditions within burrows promote this transmission.