Power/Performance Bits: June 4


Flexible high-temp dielectric Researchers at Rice University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Cornell University developed a new high-temperature dielectric nanocomposite for flexible electronics, energy storage, and electric devices that combines one-dimensional polymer nanofibers and two-dimensional boron nitride nanosheets. The polymer nanofibers act as a structural reinforcement, w... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: April 30


Printed supercapacitors Researchers at Drexel University and Trinity College created ink for an inkjet printer from MXene, a highly conductive two-dimensional material, which could be used to print flexible energy storage components, such as supercapacitors, in any size or shape. The material shows promise as an ink thanks to its high conductivity and ability to apply easily to surfaces usi... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Oct. 9


Spray-on antenna Engineers at Drexel University developed a sprayable form of the 2D material MXene that can be used to create antennas on nearly any surface. The antennas perform as well or better than the ones currently used in mobile devices and RFID tags. The MXene titanium carbide can be dissolved in water to create an ink or paint. The exceptional conductivity of the material enables ... » read more

Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto


Internet of Things Amazon Web Services announced that Iridium Communications has joined the AWS Partner Network. AWS and Iridium have collaborated on development of Iridium CloudConnect, a service that enables worldwide coverage for Internet of Things applications through Iridium’s satellite network. AWS IoT is being paired with Iridium IoT services as a result. IHS Markit forecasts there wi... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Sept. 5


Energy-harvesting yarn Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas and Hanyang University in South Korea developed a carbon nanotube yarn that generates electricity when stretched or twisted. Possible applications for the so-called "twistron" yarns include harvesting energy from the motion of ocean waves or from temperature fluctuations. When sewn into a shirt, these yarns served as a sel... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Feb. 16


Energy storage on microchips After more than half a decade of speculation, fabrication, modeling and testing, an international team of researchers from Drexel University in Pennsylvania and Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, France, confirmed that their process for making carbon films and micro-supercapacitors will allow microchips and their power sources to become one and the same. Si... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Nov. 12


Knife-Wielding Robot Cornell University has taught a knife-wielding robot to work in a mock-supermarket checkout line. In doing so, researchers have modified a Baxter robot from Rethink Robotics. In the experiment, the robot coactively learns and makes adjustments while an action is in progress. But when performing tasks at a checkout line, the robot’s problem is to identify the appropria... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Sept. 10


Rock Around The Clock National Institute of Standards and Technology’s two experimental atomic clocks have set a new record for stability. Resembling a pendulum or metronome, NIST’s atomic clocks can swing back and forth with perfect timing for a period comparable to the age of the universe. The clocks are based on ytterbium atoms. The clock ticks are stable to within less than two part... » read more

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