System Bits: July 10


Foldable electronic switches and sensors Using inexpensive materials, UC Berkeley engineers have created a method to fabricate foldable electronic switches and sensors directly onto paper, along with prototype generators, supercapacitors and other electronic devices for what they said is a range of applications. Besides the fact that it is readily available and low cost, the team pointed ou... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: July 10


Heating up EV batteries Researchers from Pennsylvania State University developed a self-heating battery that can charge rapidly in cold conditions, a step they hope could spread adoption of electric vehicles. "Electric vehicles are popular on the west coast because the weather is conducive," said Xiao-Guang Yang, assistant research professor in mechanical engineering, Penn State. "Once you ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: July 3


X-ray holography Using a technique called X-ray holography, a group of researchers have uncovered the phase transitions of vanadium dioxide. X-ray holography is a promising high-resolution metrology technique. Vanadium dioxide is one of many materials that can exhibit metal or insulator properties depending on the temperature. Vanadium dioxide can switch from an insulating to a metallic pha... » read more

System Bits: July 3


Machine learning network for personalized autism therapy MIT Media Lab researchers have developed a personalized deep learning network for therapy use with children with autism spectrum conditions. They reminded these children often have trouble recognizing the emotional states of people around them, such as distinguishing a happy face from a fearful face. To help with this, some therapists... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: July 3


Graphene foam devices Scientists at Rice University developed a method for building conductive, three-dimensional objects out of graphene foam, which they say could offer new possibilities for energy storage and flexible electronic sensor applications. The same lab initially created laser-induced graphene, or LIG, in 2014. The process involves heating inexpensive polyimide plastic sheets wi... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: June 26


Gummy bear chips The Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Forschungszentrum Jülich have developed a 3D inkjet printing technique to print electrodes on several soft substrates, including gummy bears. The main application is to develop a new class of sensor-based implants for life sciences. For this application, electrodes or microelectrode arrays (MEAs) are developed and printed on sof... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: June 26


Organic pigment for optoelectronics Researchers at Oregon State University are investigating xylindein, an organic pigment produced by fungi, to find low-cost, sustainable alternatives to silicon in electronic or optoelectronic applications where the high-performance capabilities of silicon aren't required. Xylindien is secreted by two wood-eating fungi in the Chlorociboria genus. Any wood ... » read more

System Bits: June 26


I’m enjoying a very busy Design Automation Conference this week in San Francisco, and on the lookout for interesting research topics here. In the meantime, enjoy a few interesting items from around the globe. AI platform diagnoses Zika and other pathogens University of Campinas (UNICAMP) researchers in Brazil have developed an AI platform that can diagnose several diseases with a high deg... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: June 19


Cellulose nanopaper The Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China has developed a new type of cellulose nanopaper (CNP). CNP is a renewable material with good mechanical and optical properties. Potentially, CNP could be used in several applications, such as electronic devices, visual display substrates, batteries and barrie... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: June 19


Tandem solar reaches 25.2% efficiency In the push for ever-more efficient solar panels, researchers are turning to tandem, or double-junction, photovoltaics. Tandem solar panels use two different types of solar cell capable of absorbing different wavelengths of light stacked on top of each other to maximize the conversion of light rays into electrical power. Recently, two groups have reache... » read more

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