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Printable electronics

Stickers store temperatures No less than four companies from Norway, South Africa and the USA are pooling their innovations under the leadership of Thin Film Electronics ASA in order to develop a printable, battery-powered sensor for the first time that will be able to store ambient temperature conditions. Researchers and developers have long been searching for an inexpensive method of printing electronic components onto products and objects as easily as stickers. The battery of the new memory sticker should supply energy for up to nine months, and a small display for viewing the data should ideally be printed directly in the same process. This sticker, for example, should be able to comprehensively and permanently document maintenance of the cold chain for perishable goods. Existing storage solutions are still too expensive to be used for relatively cheap products. (02/16/2012, Source: Technology Review)

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More efficient servers

New design saves energy and space The chip manufacturer Intel and the electronics producer Samsung, in cooperation with the start-up company SeaMicro, are setting out to significantly boost the efficiency of server farms. According to this start-up enterprise, around 2.5 percent of the overall electricity consumption of the USA is accounted for by computer servers; this incurs annual costs of four billion U.S. dollars for the operators. A state-of-the-art server can now immediately cut this consumption in half by means of newly developed chips. These more fuel-efficient chips, such as those used in smart phones and tablets, have not yet been suitable for the demanding requirements of server units; they were simply not powerful enough. The new design also dispenses with several previously common motherboard components, such as USB ports, LEDs, and fans, which further impaired efficiency. By this means, space will also be saved in addition to energy. (02/15/2012, Source: Technology Review)

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Modeled on the whale

Helicopter inspired by marine mammal In their search for ways of further improving the maneuverability and maximum speed of helicopters, researchers from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Göttingen have come across an unexpected role model from nature: the humpback whale, which is fast and agile under water despite its body weight of up to 30 tonnes. This is made possible by small dents on the whale’s pectoral fin, which provide it with greater buoyancy and prevent or delay vortex breakdown. The DLR researchers have transferred these dents to the rotor of a helicopter in the form of so-called “leading-edge vortex generators” of rubber and have already successfully carried out initial test flights with this configuration. Precise measurement methods will now be used to document the promising effects in more detail. A major advantage of this innovation is that it could be quickly and inexpensively incorporated even into old helicopters. (02/14/2012, Sources: New Scientist, scinexx)

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Real-time analysis

Radiolocation for soccer games With RedFIR, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) presented a radiolocation system at the CeBIT preview event for the real-time analysis of soccer matches. A transmitter weighing 15 grams is placed in the socks of the field players and goalkeepers as well as in the balls and training cones. The signals are radioed to a high-performance computer in the 2.4-gigahertz range, which can simultaneously monitor up to 144 transponders and evaluate 50,000 positions per second. The computer determines these positions with centimeter accuracy on the basis of the transit-time difference of the radio signals, and then generates a 3D image on the basis of these data. The system could replace the laborious analysis of video tapes and provide precise statistics on individual players. The system is currently undergoing tests at Nuremberg’s Frankenstadion. (02/06/2012, Source: Heise)

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Searching for a parking space?

An app can help San Francisco intends to put an end to parking problems with the aid of a mobile app. The SFpark software makes use of magnetic sensors in about 8,200 above-ground parking spaces. Further chips have been installed in underground garages in the center of San Francisco. Information on parking space availability is grouped together in a central system. Drivers looking for a parking space can then call up the availability and costs of spaces on a real-time basis via a smartphone app or Internet browser. Los Angeles, too, is now showing interest in the digital search for parking spaces and is currently installing sensors for about 7,000 on-street spaces; this should alleviate the parking and traffic situation in the Pacific metropolis. (02/03/2012, Sources: SFpark, Technology Review)    

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Miniature storage unit

1 bit in 12 atoms Researchers at IBM’s Almaden Research Center in California have discovered a new method of data storage, in which one bit of information can be stored using only twelve atoms. Conventional hard drives require about one million atoms for the same amount of memory. By means of so-called magnetic data storage, IBM intends to achieve one hundred times more storage capacity than is possible using today’s hard drives. The difficulty with this type of storage lies in the strong interaction between the individual bits. A denser configuration was only made possible by exploiting the inherent direction of spin of the atoms, without mutual interference between the bits. The twelve interconnected iron atoms were configured with the help of a scanning tunneling microscope, and the bit has been stored at a low temperature over a period of several hours. (02/02/2012, Source: Technology Review)

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Reduced emissions

Polymer absorbs CO2 from the air A team of chemists under the leadership of Nobel Laureate George A. Olah has found a both promising and cost-effective method of absorbing CO2 directly from the air. For this purpose, they used solids based on the polymer polyethyleneimine. When used directly at the source of the emissions (e.g. on the inner wall of a chimney), these substances were able to trap and bond unprecedented amounts of carbon dioxide from the exhaust air – even under realistic conditions with typical humidity levels. The material can release the carbon dioxide again just as easily and can also be recycled to capture further emissions with no compromise in efficiency. The researchers envisage future applications particularly for the exhaust systems of vehicles with an internal combustion engine, and for reducing CO2 emissions from domestic heating units. (01/25/2012, Sources: Popular Science, Science Daily)

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The zinc-air battery

A storage unit with a 30-year service life The U.S. startup company Eos Energy Storage has developed a new battery based on zinc and air that promises particularly high energy density and a service life of up to 30 years. Further advantages are the low material costs and increased safety in comparison with lithium-ion batteries, since the water-based battery chemistry is said to be even less flammable. A prototype of this battery has already been subjected to more than 2,700 charge cycles in the kilowatt range, with no discernible loss of performance. The company believes that as many as 10,000 cycles in the megawatt range are in fact attainable. This would even qualify the technology for use as a temporary storage medium in the electricity network, in order to save excess energy for peak load periods. A disadvantage is that its efficiency factor, at 60 percent, is currently a good third below that of lithium-ion batteries – a problem of rechargeable zinc-air batteries that is yet to be solved. (01/24/2012, Source: Heise)

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Accident prevention

MIT algorithm anticipates vehicles passing red lights A new algorithm devised by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, U.S. takes less than five milliseconds to predict the likely behavior of vehicles and their drivers at intersections. In 15,000 cases tested under realistic conditions the system was able to anticipate with 85 percent accuracy when a vehicle would fail to stop at a red light, for example; this represents a 15 to 20 percent increase in precision over computational models used to date. The new algorithm makes use of real-time data relating primarily to a vehicle's speed, its distance to the traffic lights, and the traffic light phase. The extremely rapid assessment of imminent breaches of traffic regulations allows the driver and other road users to be given a warning in good time – about two seconds before a possible collision. This provides sufficient reaction time for the driver and the relevant assistance systems to prevent a potential accident (01/23/2012, Sources: MIT News, Popular Science)

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Insects as a search party

Cyborg beetles Researchers from the University of Michigan intend to fit out insects with electronics packages, so that they can serve as helpers in hazardous areas. The power for the sensors, cameras, and microphones will be generated by the insects themselves. With around 50 wing beats per second, robust beetles are particularly suitable for these emergency operations and can charge the tiny batteries by means of their energy of movement. As a prototype, the scientists have now devised a spiral-shaped piezoelectric generator for maximum energy output. The generator was produced using minimal amounts of piezoelectric substrate. Only by this means can the beetles move normally despite the additional weight. (12/21/2011, Source: University of Michigan)

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