9 Aug 2022

Hyundai and Kia to Jointly Develop Mobile Robots for Space Exploration
Hyundai and Kia announced have signed joint research agreements with six Korean research institutes and formed a consultative body to develop mobility solutions to explore the surface of the moon. The announcement follows Korea's successful launch of a domestically produced rocket in June.
Update interview
19 Jul 2022

Denso — New Market Player in the Cobot Industry
Denso is well known for being a global automotive component manufacturer. It has a subsidiary, Denso Wave, that produces robots, automatic identification devices (barcode readers and related products), and programmable logic controllers. IDTechEx met Denso at Automatica 2022, where the company demonstrated its industrial robots and collaborative robots.
12 Jul 2022

NASA's Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet
Thousands of galaxies - including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared - have appeared in Webb's view for the first time. This slice of the vast universe covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm's length by someone on the ground.
Full profile interview
22 Jun 2022

DP Patterning
DP Patterning is an young but established Swedish company that has developed an innovative method of patterning the metal on flexible PCBs. Its 'Dry Phase Patterning' method aims to disrupt the established etching approach, offering substantial cost savings and sustainability benefits.
9 Jun 2022

Conversion Efficiency of 32.65% in Flexible, Lightweight Solar
Sharp Corporation has achieved a conversion efficiency of 32.65%, the world's highest, in a lightweight, flexible, practically sized solar module developed as part of the "Research and Development of Solar Cells for Use in Vehicles" project.
Full profile interview
8 Jun 2022

Smooth & Sharp (S&S) Corporation Teletento
Smooth & Sharp manufactures smart cards (typically contactless versions) and RFID products.
24 May 2022

Highest Efficiency 1-Sun Solar Cell
Researchers have created a solar cell with a record 39.5% efficiency under 1-sun global illumination. This is the highest efficiency solar cell of any type, measured using standard 1-sun conditions.
Background
23 May 2022

Magna International
Magna International, currently one of the largest automotive parts suppliers worldwide, offer a wide range of automotive solutions.
28 Apr 2022

Solar Beats Nuclear at Many Potential Settlement Sites on Mars
The high efficiency, light weight and flexibility of the latest solar cell technology means photovoltaics could provide all the power needed for an extended mission to Mars, or even a permanent settlement there, according to a new analysis by scientists.
18 Apr 2022

Joystick-Operated Robot Could Help Surgeons Treat Stroke Remotely
Engineers have developed a telerobotic system to help surgeons quickly and remotely treat patients experiencing a stroke or aneurysm. With a modified joystick, surgeons in one hospital may control a robotic arm at another location to safely operate on a patient during a critical window of time that could save the patient's life and preserve their brain function.
Update interview
4 Apr 2022

Jet Metal
Jet Metal is an established spray metallization company that has developed a method for patterning conductive traces on 3D surfaces. IDTechEx caught up with Jet Metal at the LOPEC 2022 conference.
External press release
18 Feb 2022

Quinly Automates Prusa in 11 Countries
Quinly for Prusa MK3S is autonomously running printers in 11 countries around the world, with an installed capacity of 1.2 million automated print hours per year. Quinly allows Prusa owners to queue as many prints as they wish at one time and walk away worry-free as Quinly prints jobs in the queue one-by-one, automatically removing parts, clearing the print bed, and starting the next print without human intervention.
8 Feb 2022

Laminating Organic Photovoltaics onto Curved Surfaces
Heat-shrinkable technology could allow solar cells and touch sensors to be attached to objects whose shapes make them challenging to laminate.
2 Feb 2022

Being a Motor Manufacturer in a Materials Crisis
The past two years have been extremely turbulent for many industries with production lines shutting down, chip shortages, and a host of general supply chain issues. Amongst the dismay, electric vehicles (EVs) have been a shining light. In 2021, sales of EVs globally grew by around 80% over 2020 which in turn was a growth of 44% over 2019.
External press release
24 Jan 2022

Optomec 60% Growth in Additive Electronics and Metal System Orders
Optomec Inc announced a sharp increase in bookings during fiscal year 2021, including nearly 60% growth in new orders for its proprietary Aerosol Jet and LENS industrial printers. The steep rise in recent sales puts business activity well ahead of pre-pandemic levels, where Optomec had already experienced 50% growth in 2019, and takes the total installed base to nearly 600 machines across more than 250 customers.
20 Dec 2021

Robots Use Fear to Fight Invasive Fish
The invasive mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) chews off the tails of freshwater fishes and tadpoles, leaving the native animals to perish while dining on other fishes' and amphibians' eggs. Researchers engineered a robot to scare mosquitofish away, revealing how fear alters its behavior, physiology, fertility—and may help turn the tide against invasive species.
17 Dec 2021

OPPO Introduces Air Glass Wearable Display
OPPO has unveiled the OPPO Air Glass. The assisted reality device - which is equipped with OPPO self-developed Spark Micro Projector, cutting-edge Micro LED, and a bespoke diffraction optical waveguide display - supports four different user interactions through touch, voice, head movement, and hand motion, allowing users to have faster and easier access to the information they need.
Full profile interview
16 Dec 2021

Uhnder: Digital Code Modulation Automotive Radar
Uhnder is a start up working on radar on chip technologies for automotive and other applications. Uhnder use a 28nm Silicon CMOS technology to construct a single chip with 192 virtual channels giving high imaging potential. Uhnder has also moved away from the widely frequency modulated continuous wave emission pattern in facour of digital code modulation, this brings increased performance and robustness to interference.