University of Toronto

Engineers Get Under the Skin of Ionic Skin

In the quest to build smart skin that mimics the sensing capabilities of natural skin, ionic skins have shown significant advantages. They're made of flexible, biocompatible hydrogels that use ions to carry an electrical charge. In contrast to smart skins made of plastics and metals, the hydrogels have the softness of natural skin. This offers a more natural feel to the prosthetic arm or robot hand they are mounted on, and makes them comfortable to wear.

CERT Systems

CERT Systems is a Canadian start-up developing electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to produce fuels and chemical feedstocks. In September 2021, IDTechEx technology analyst Dr Hydra Rodrigues spoke to CERT's Co-founder and Director of Partnerships, Dr Alex Ip.

OTI Lumionics

OTI Lumionics is an early-stage Canadian company that is developing advanced materials using simulations performed using a quantum-inspired computational approach. Its first product is a material that assists in the manufacture of transparent cathodes for OLED displays.

Two Sided Solar Cells to Collect Scattered Light

To increase the performance of solar panels, a team of researchers has created a bifacial, or two-sided, tandem solar cell, built by bringing together the best of the perovskite and silicon technologies.

Self-Driving Laboratories: A Reality Waiting to Happen

Imagine a situation where, given a request, a lab automatically chooses what experiments to do, robotically carries this out, tracks the reaction with integrated sensors, acquires and analyzes the results, and then decides what experiment to do next. This seems like science-fiction, but certain truths may be closer than you think.

Formation of New Alliance is Another Big Step in Materials Informatics

LG and Total become the latest major players to make a significant announcement for their materials informatics intentions.

Amber Molecular

Amber Molecular Inc. is an early stage Canadian company that is focusing on fluorescent materials for red and orange OLEDs. These are designed to be paired with TADF materials to increase the electrical efficiency, lower the manufacturing costs, and widen the color gamut, of OLED devices. The company's commercialization strategy applies their significant synthetic flexibility to value-added strategic partnerships with TADF companies and OLED manufacturers.

Phaseshift Technologies

Phaseshift Technologies are a materials company developing new amorphous alloys with a material informatics and computer modelling approach. IDTechEx spoke with Fazal Mahmood (co-founder and CEO).

McDonald's Deep Fryer Oil Turned into High-End 3D Printing Resin

Researchers have, for the first time, turned waste cooking oil - from the deep fryers of a local McDonald's - into a high-resolution, biodegradable 3D printing resin.

Handheld 3D Skin Printer for Accelerated Healing of Severe Burns

A new handheld 3D printer can deposit sheets of skin to cover large burn wounds - and its "bio ink" can accelerate the healing process.

Graphene Won't Crack Under Pressure

Graphene is a paradox: it is the thinnest material known to science, yet also one of the strongest. Now, research shows that graphene is also highly resistant to fatigue — able to withstand more than a billion cycles of high stress before it breaks.

Stretchy, Skin-Like Sensors Bring a Human Touch to Wearables

Researchers have developed a stretchy, transparent and self-powering sensor that records the complex sensations of human skin.

Proof-of-concept for a loss-free quantum battery

A blueprint for a loss-free quantum battery may be closer than we think, according to new research.

Soft robot programmed to move like an inchworm

Researchers have created a miniature robot that can crawl with inchworm-like motion. The underlying technology could one day transform industries from aviation to smart wearables.