COLUMBIA, Mo. – Americans, on average, replace their mobile phones every 22 months, junking more than 150 million phones a year in the process. When it comes to recycling and processing all of this electronic waste, the World Health Organization reports that even low exposure to the electronic elements can cause significant health risks. Now, University of Missouri researchers are on the path to creating biodegradable electronics by using organic components in screen displays. The researchers’ advancements could one day help reduce electronic waste in the world’s landfills.(more…)
An international team led by Princeton University scientists has discovered an elusive massless particle theorized 85 years ago. The particle could give rise to faster and more efficient electronics because of its unusual ability to behave as matter and antimatter inside a crystal, according to new research.(more…)
As part of a major federal initiative, UCLA has been awarded $15M to create a wireless, implantable device that could restore memory to millions
UCLA has been tapped by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to spearhead an innovative project aimed at developing a wireless, implantable brain device that could help restore lost memory function in individuals who have suffered debilitating brain injuries and other disorders. (more…)
For years, researchers have developed thin films of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) – which converts heat into electricity or electricity to cooling – on top of gallium arsenide (GaAs) to create cooling devices for electronics. But while they knew it could be done, it was not clear how – because the atomic structures of those unlikely pair of materials do not appear to be compatible. Now researchers from North Carolina State University and RTI International have solved the mystery, opening the door to new research in the field.
“We’ve used state-of-the-art technology to solve a mystery that has been around for years,” says Dr. James LeBeau, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper on the research. “And now that we know what is going on, we can pursue research to fine-tune the interface of these materials to develop more efficient mechanisms for converting electricity to cooling or heat into electricity. Ultimately, this could have applications in a wide range of electronic devices.” (more…)
ARBURG selects IBM infrastructure to make better use of its data, stay ahead of the competition
Loßburg/Ehningen – 18 Dec 2012: IBM today announced that ARBURG GmbH + Co KG, a leading manufacturer of injection molding machines used to make plastic products, reduced its energy consumption for servers by 80 percent and for storage by 25 percent with its new IBM infrastructure.
ARBURG serves a broad range of customers across the automotive, electronics, packaging, medical equipment, and consumer goods sectors in some 100 countries worldwide. ARBURG’s IT environment grew along with its business, but was too complex and not able to support the manufacturer’s goals. (more…)
Can anyone argue that are modern world is moving forward at warp speed? Every day, there seem to be major improvements introduced around the world in various technologies. Automobiles have certainly become far more complex in the last two decades, mostly thanks to the electronics that control the engine, as well as the additional consumer friendly-features such as DVD players, docking ports for iPods or iPhones, navigation systems etc. Airplanes have also become far more sophisticated, with engine designed to maximise fuel-efficiency, and overall designs that maximise lift while also providing creature comforts for the passengers. In just about any type of industry, computers are helping to either design new products or control robots that create them, and they even monitor the entire process from design to final shipment to a client.(more…)
Using a novel method of integrating video technology and familiar control devices, a research team from Georgia Tech and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is developing a technique to simplify remote control of robotic devices.
The researchers’ aim is to enhance a human operator’s ability to perform precise tasks using a multi-jointed robotic device such as an articulated mechanical arm. The new approach has been shown to be easier and faster than older methods, especially when the robot is controlled by an operator who is watching it in a video monitor. (more…)
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Increasingly, U.S. firms are moving or considering moving their manufacturing operations back to domestic soil from overseas, finds a new study co-authored by a Michigan State University supply chain expert.
Fueling the trend are rising labor costs in emerging countries, high oil prices and increasing transportation costs, global risks such as political instability and other factors, said Tobias Schoenherr.
“Going overseas is not the panacea that it was thought of just a decade or so ago,” said Schoenherr, assistant professor in MSU’s top-ranked Department of Supply Chain Management. “Companies have realized the challenges and thus are moving back to the United States.” (more…)
