IDTechEx

Robotaxi Sensor Suites: Leaders and Laggards

The robotaxi race is heating up! The top performers are reaching impressive levels of maturity and IDTechEx predicts that commercialisation of services will begin as early as 2023. For more information on the players and market forecasts see our update 'Autonomous Cars, Robotaxis & Sensors 2022-2042' report. In this premium article we round up the top players and share their sensor suites. This is followed by some analysis of all the sensor suites presented.

7-Fold Growth for the Ceramic 3D Printing Market by 2032

In their new report "3D Printing Ceramics 2022-2032: Technology and Market Outlook", IDTechEx forecasts the ceramic 3D printing industry to grow 7-fold to $400M by 2032. Given how young the market is, seven-fold growth in the next 10 years indicates a positive future for the industry.

Energy Harvesting Wooden Floors

Researchers from Switzerland are tapping into an unexpected energy source right under our feet: wooden floorings. Their nanogenerator enables wood to generate energy from our footfalls. They also improved the wood used in the their nanogenerator with a combination of a silicone coating and embedded nanocrystals, resulting in a device that was 80 times more efficient—enough to power LED lightbulbs and small electronics.

E-Skin Identifies Your Movements

Scientists have created a wearable motion sensor capable of identifying bending and twisting, and can be applied in healthcare and manufacturing.

Smart Wound Dressings with Built-In Healing Sensors

Researchers have developed smart wound dressings with built-in nanosensors that glow to alert patients when a wound is not healing properly. The multifunctional, antimicrobial dressings feature fluorescent sensors that glow brightly under UV light if infection starts to set in and can be used to monitor healing progress.

High Power Wireless Vehicle Charging Technology

The US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has licensed its wireless charging technology for electric vehicles to Brooklyn-based HEVO. The system could one day enable electric vehicles to be charged as they are driven at highway speeds.

Bionic Arm Restores Natural Behaviours in Upper Limb Amputations

Researchers have engineered a first-of-its-kind bionic arm for patients with upper-limb amputations that allows wearers to think, behave and function like a person without an amputation, according to new findings.

Dawn Aerospace Flight Testing Commences - Five Flights Complete

Dawn is creating reusable and sustainable space technologies - suborbital and orbital rocket-powered planes - that operate much like a fleet of aircraft, taking off and landing horizontally at airports.

Electric Gains in Battery Performance

A high-performance version of the zinc-ion battery will enable stationary energy storage that promises to be cheaper, safer and more environmentally friendly than lithium-ion batteries.

Class 6 Fuel Cell Electric Truck Powered by Hexagon Purus & Ballard

Hexagon Purus and Ballard Power Systems have formed a new collaboration to produce Class 6 & 7 Fuel Cell Electric Trucks powered by Hexagon Purus' turnkey electric drivetrain and hydrogen storage system solutions and Ballard's fuel cell module.

Largest Solar-plus-Storage Solution for Northern Africa Mining Site

The project is scheduled to be commissioned in the first half of 2022. It will cut the mine's diesel consumption by approximately 20 to 22 million liters per year and thus offset between 53,000 and 60,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. The solar-plus-storage micro-grid installation will enable Centamin to tangibly reduce its mine's electricity bills, as the operator will partially shift away from fuel, which is often volatile in price.

Implantable Stimulator Device Uses Body Power to Heal Tendons

Researchers have shown how the simple act of walking can power an implantable stimulator device to speed up treatment of musculoskeletal diseases.

AMPLY Power Integrates WattTime API

As pressure mounts for transportation fleets and their organizations to measure, reduce, and report total greenhouse gas emissions, AMPLY Power is tapping environmental technology nonprofit WattTime to provide its electric vehicle, bus, and truck customers with access to emission reductions data and the ability to automatically charge when GHG emissions from electricity generating plants are low.

Innovative Filter Media for Face Masks

A New Zealand company has developed and launched an innovative filter media for face masks and air filtration systems that kills bacteria and viruses, including the Human coronavirus 229E. Auckland based company NanoLayr, a deep tech manufacturer specialising in nanofibre production at scale, has added manuka oil to its patented nanofibre filter product FilterLayr, to create a N95 rated filter media.

Car Sales Will Peak in the Early 2030s

Innovation roadmap for the report 'Autonomous Cars, Robotaxis & Sensors 2022-2042'.

Levels of Automation in Cars

Innovation roadmap for the report 'Autonomous Cars, Robotaxis & Sensors 2022-2042'.

Why Driving Will be Outlawed by 2050

Autonomous cars will match or exceed human safety by 2024, after which they will grow rapidly at a CAGR of 30% finds IDTechEx's new report "Autonomous Cars, Robotaxis & Sensors 2022-2042". By the 2040s, they will be capable of fulfilling the world's mobility needs without a single collision. So why should humans be allowed to continue driving?

Join the Upcoming Webinar: Metamaterials Becoming Big Business

Thursday 16 September 2021 - Why are the most popular applications being added beyond today's popular microwave frequencies for deployed metamaterials? Why will sophisticated metasurfaces be essential for planned terahertz 6G communications, transforming your mobile phone and much more?

World First as 100% Hydrogen Glass Fired at Pilkington UK

In a world first, and just one week after the Government's Hydrogen Strategy was released, trials have started in the Liverpool City Region to produce float (sheet) glass using hydrogen. The natural gas fossil fuel, normally used in the manufacturing process, will be completely replaced with hydrogen - showing how industry can significantly cut carbon emissions and take a big step towards reaching net zero.

'Smart' Shirt Keeps Tabs on the Heart

There's no need to don uncomfortable smartwatches or chest straps to monitor your heart if your comfy shirt can do a better job. That's the idea behind "smart clothing" developed by a university lab, which employed its conductive nanotube thread to weave functionality into regular apparel.