Electronic Equipment
3D printers may signal personal electronics’ next revolution
November 17, 2011 5:19 am | News | CommentsInstead of sending grandma a holiday photo of the family for her fridge, imagine calling up the image on your computer monitor, clicking “print,” and producing a 3D plastic model ready for hanging on the holiday tree. According to a American Chemical Society editor, scenes like that are fast approaching reality.
Adding up photons with a transition edge sensor
November 14, 2011 5:24 am | News | CommentsScientists have demonstrated that a superconducting detector called a transition edge sensor (TES) is capable of counting the number of as many as 1,000 photons in a single pulse of light with an accuracy limited mainly by the quantum noise of the laser source.
Russian scientists struggle to save Mars moon probe
November 9, 2011 6:29 am | by Vladimir Ischenkov, Associated Press | News | CommentsA Martian probe designed to examine one of Mars’ tiny moons, Phobos, was imperiled just hours after a successful launch on Wednesday. Probable failure of the craft’s orientation system has left it stuck in Earth’s orbit and engineers have just days to reboot the system’s software before battery power fails and the 13.2-ton spacecraft full of toxic fuel falls to Earth.
Sound mapping ferrets out dead spots
November 8, 2011 4:17 am | News | CommentsDespite dramatic improvements in the sound quality of loudspeakers over the years, manufacturers still wrestle with the issue of “dead spots”. A new noninvasive method to visualize sound propagation may help sound engineers design out the deconstructive interferences that cancel sound waves.
Mask-bot: A robot with a human face
November 7, 2011 7:22 am | News | CommentsA prototype of a new robot face that teams in Germany and Japan have developed ingeniously solves the problem of how to make realistic human features from a variety of angles. A projector accurately beams a human face onto the back of the mask, changing the face on demand.
Tank robot drives itself up the wall
November 2, 2011 12:54 pm | News | CommentsResearchers in the U.K. have built a tank-like robot that has the ability to scale smooth walls. It gets its ability from tiny mushroom cap-shaped fibers on its treads that use van der Waals forces to adhere to flat surfaces. Inspired by the feet of geckos, the robot could find use in power plants or search and rescue.
Toyota shows machines to help sick, elderly move
November 1, 2011 11:13 am | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsOn Tuesday, the auto giant Toyota showcased experimental robots that can help disabled patients work, or even get up out of bed. The company intends to commercialize its walk-assist products sometime after 2013.
Paper-based wireless sensor could help detect explosive devices
October 27, 2011 5:01 am | News | CommentsResearchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a prototype wireless sensor capable of detecting trace amounts of a key ingredient found in many explosives. The device, which employs carbon nanotubes and is printed on paper or paper-like material using standard inkjet technology, could be deployed in large numbers to alert authorities to the presence of explosives, such as improvised explosive devices.
Mobile electrons multiplied in quantum dot films
October 17, 2011 6:22 am | News | CommentsResearchers of the Opto-electronic Materials section of Delft University of Technology and Toyota Europe have demonstrated that several mobile electrons can be produced by the absorption of a single light particle in films of coupled quantum dots. These multiple electrons can be harvested in solar cells with increased efficiency.
Kodak to license laser projection patents to Imax
October 17, 2011 4:54 am | by Bree Fowler, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsThe financially troubled 131-year-old photography Eastman Kodak Co. has made a deal with Imax to license thousands of patents. The deal, which includes laser-projection technologies, is reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars.
X-ray camera makes A-grade particle detector
October 11, 2011 12:25 pm | News | CommentsA group of nuclear physicists and molecular scientists from the Université Paris Sud and Hamamatsu Photonics have demonstrated a new type of detector that can, for the first time, perform equally well at detecting spatial location and energy of target molecules.
Steve Jobs told us what we needed before we knew
October 6, 2011 9:23 am | by Jordan Robertson, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsFrom the moment he saw Steve Wozniak’s homebuilt computer a pattern was set for Steve Jobs’ career. He moved technology from garages to pockets, took entertainment from discs to bytes and turned gadgets into extensions of the people who use them.
Low-cost electronic tablet proves worth in Indian classroom
October 4, 2011 4:21 am | News | CommentsThe U.S.- and Singapore-based creators of the low-cost I-slate electronic tablet are preparing for full-scale production now that a yearlong series of tests has shown that the device is an effective learning tool for Indian children.
Physicists play ping-pong with electrons
September 22, 2011 7:00 am | News | CommentsResearchers from Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory have moved an individual electron along a wire, batting it back and forth over 60 times, rather like the ball in a game of ping-pong. The technique helps retain coherence, and could be beneficial in the development of quantum computing.
3M, IBM to develop new types of adhesive to create 3D semiconductors
September 8, 2011 9:24 am | News | Comments3M and IBM announced that the two companies plan to jointly develop the first adhesives that can be used to package semiconductors into densely stacked silicon "towers." The companies are aiming to create a new class of materials, which will make it possible to build, for the first time, commercial microprocessors composed of layers of up to 100 separate chips.
Automation in the air dulls pilot skill
August 31, 2011 5:26 am | by Joan Lowy, Associated Press | News | CommentsPilots' "automation addiction" has eroded their flying skills to the point that they sometimes don't know how to recover from stalls and other mid-flight problems, say pilots and safety officials. The weakened skills have contributed to hundreds of deaths in airline crashes in the last five years.
Flexible electronics hold promise
August 29, 2011 6:44 am | News | CommentsPlastic-based flexible electronics, produced in large volume using roll-to-roll processing, inkjet printing or spray deposition, is the "electronics everywhere" trend of the future, says Oana Jurchescu, assistant professor of physics at Wake Forest University. And the key to success in this market will be the low-cost production of large molecular structures with excellent electronic performance.
Photon loops may be key to optical photonics
August 22, 2011 12:25 pm | News | CommentsFiber optic technology is well-established for long-distance data transmission, but efforts to use photons in microcircuits have been hampered the tendency for materials defects to deflect the signal. A new type of circuit component now allows photons to find their around these defects.
Reports: Hewlett-Packard to spin off PC business
August 18, 2011 11:07 am | News | CommentsHewlett-Packard plans to spin off its personal computer division into a separate business, according to unnamed sources in major news outlets. It marks a reversal from HP's previous stance, in March, when it denied this rumor.
Reliability issues uncovered for carbon nanotubes in future electronics
August 17, 2011 4:57 am | by Laura Ost | News | CommentsCarbon nanotubes offer big promise in a small package. For instance, these tiny cylinders of carbon molecules theoretically can carry 1,000 times more electric current than a metal conductor of the same size. It's easy to imagine carbon nanotubes replacing copper wiring in future nanoscale electronics. But—not so fast.
Researchers demo and deploy disaster communication system
August 16, 2011 9:31 am | News | CommentsIn the aftermath of most disasters—from the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to this year's earthquake in Japan—communication systems have been overwhelmed, leaving people without phones and Internet when they need these tools the most. Fortunately, Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing researchers have developed a possible solution.
Wanted: 2011's Top Technologies
August 15, 2011 6:12 am | Blogs | CommentsThe editors of R&D Magazine have opened the nominations for the 2012 R&D 100 Awards competition, which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the awards. If your organization introduced a new product this year, or is planning to, you can begin the entry process now.
High-definition and 3D recording, to go
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersThe Integrated Twin-Lens 3D Camera-Recorder, developed by Panasonic Corporation places high-definition 3D video recording a single consumer-level camera. It automatically compensates for visual disparities and capture 3D video without adjustments or external equipment.
e-readers Search for Just the Right Touch
August 11, 2011 6:08 am | by Hanvon Technology Co. Ltd | Articles | CommentsTouch display has become ubiquitous. New touch-enabled devices—including tablets, smartphones, and laptop computers—are now introduced on an almost daily basis.
Wearable, Wireless Sensors Beat Power Demands
August 11, 2011 5:58 am | by R&D Editors | Articles | CommentsWireless sensor nodes (WSN) have been used for decades to measure physical and environmental conditions. Small, low power, wearable sensors to monitor a patient's heart, muscle, or brain activity as they conducted their daily activities has been more challenging to develop. That is until now.
