3D Printed Electronic Devices. (For more details refer jf.brandon@botfactory.co). New trends in materials and fabrication processes mean that it is easier to create viable
objects at a desktop-level directly from digital designs. Combining 3D printing, Ink-jetting and component assembly systems creates a viable path towards creating functional electronic devices directly from digital designs. There is a technical path to making unit quantities of up to 100,000/year.
Opportunities:
DLP/LCD and SLA Printers are the cheapest available means of 3D Printing. Huge variety of materials, including ceramics and high-performance plastics. 120 cm/hr (z movement) and 1.5 x 1 x 1 m build volumes are commonplace – opening up large scale manufacturing. Inkjet printing has become dramatically cheaper. State of the art conductive inks are 1.5 to 2x resistivity of bulk silver. Dispensing and Assembly systems are commonplace and inexpensive – there has been no integration into other processes like this
USB Key-Light: Single Layer Circuit with an LED and a 430 Ω SMT resistor. Printed traces conduct at 30 mΩ/square (between 1/3rd and 1/10th of copper). Plastic can withstand up to 190 C. Created a batch of 8 within 2 hours. At scale, this may be as fast as one per minute or less.
3D Printed Visor Vanity Mirror: Integrate electronics into the entire body of the device. Single machine to complete manufacturing (no hand assembly required). Current technological capability ideal for Rapid Prototyping – could be scaled to manufacturing.
Kernel: Mind-Reading Helmets: California Medical startup raises $110M and is shipping their first $50k
solution and needs a solution that is customizable and mass-manufacturable
Molex: Application-Specific Connectors: Molex is a major automotive/aerospace player and integrating electronics into connectors allows for precision, high-value items AM process has a lower environmental impact.
Martinrea + Motherson: Embedded Devices for the EV: Martinrea CTO Ganesh Iyer views 3D Electronics as a means to protect automotive industry and provide tools and means to improve value and increase margins. Motherson also feels strongly about ‘Smart Surfaces’ – requires a single device for fabricating the entire object.
Promethient Inc. Graphene-Enhanced Seat Warmer Technology that it says is more efficient and durable than similar available systems. The company has developed the Thermavance conductive heat transfer system, which uses conduction of heat as opposed to most of the other technologies that rely on transfer of heat through convection for the purpose of warming seats.
In the common case of convective seats, seats must be perforated so that the air can be moved through the seating surface. This makes the surface of the seats more prone to damage from wear-and-tear and from water. In the Thermavance heat transfer system, however, Promethient uses a solid-state thermoelectric module and graphene to transfer heat directly to the occupant of the seat instead of first either heating or cooling the surrounding air.
Promethient says the thermos electric module uses the flow of electrons to create the Peltier Effect within a semiconductor. The system is very user friendly and can be activated by a smartphone app. Depending on the polarity of the applied voltage, it creates a heating or cooling effect. Promethient explained that graphene can conduct heat to a higher extent than copper and offers the benefits of flexibility and light weight making it easy to adapt graphene for use on a variety of surfaces. Refer Graphene Seat Warmer Tech.
Volvo Advanced Air Cleaner Technology is equipped with a sensor that measures PM 2.5 levels inside a vehicle’s cabin, creating a feature it claims is not available in any other car currently on the market.
The company states that the feature, which also filters out fine particulate matter from the cabin, is available on all 60 and 90 series Volvo models based on the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). Cleaning is achieved with a synthetic fiber-based filter and ionization of the incoming air; which Volvo claims means up to 95% of all PM 2.5 particles are kept out of the cabin. The system can also be activated via Volvo’s On Call app prior to a journey.
The company even has a dedicated team of odor assessors, internally known as The Noses, which tests components individually as well as on a complete car level for odor emissions. Despite technological advances, this team remains indispensable for the odor control process because the human nose is much more sensitive than any analytical instrument. Refer Automotive Interiors.
BreezoMeter is location-specific, real-time global air pollution, pollen and active fires data provider, and provides an air quality map that highlights the best, and worst, parts of any city, helping drivers plan the most non-polluted route to keep them and their families protected. It can also be used to automatically activate the windows, sunroof, A/C, and filtration systems to keep the vehicle clear of pollutants. BreezoMeter is accurate to 5m, is updated hourly, has global coverage, and provides a four-day forecast. Refer https://breezometer.com/industry/smart-mobility.
MIT researchers have invented a way to integrate “breadboards” — flat platforms widely used for electronics prototyping — directly onto physical products. The aim is to provide a faster, easier way to test circuit functions and user interactions with products such as smart devices and flexible electronics. CurveBoards “preserve an object’s look and feel, while enabling designers to try out component configurations and test interactive scenarios during prototyping iterations. Refer MIT EDU
MaskForce product can be sanitized and re-used. Made of medical grade silicone and polypropylene, the final design is soft, comfortable, and provides a low-pressure facial seal. The MaskForce team tested hundreds of suitable materials and collaborated with multiple university labs, medical professionals and first responders before finalizing the production design. Refer MASKFORCE.
UCLA Bioengineers have designed a glove-like device that can translate American Sign Language into English speech in real time through a smartphone app. The system includes a pair of gloves with thin, stretchable sensors that run the length of each of the five fingers. These sensors, made from electrically conducting yarns, pick up hand motions and finger placements that stand for individual letters, numbers, words, and phrases. The device then turns the finger movements into electrical signals, which are sent to a dollar-coin–sized circuit board worn on the wrist. Refer UCLA GLOVE.
NC State Univ Engineering researchers have created ultrathin, stretchable electronic material that is gas permeable, allowing the material to “breathe.” The material was designed specifically for use in biomedical or wearable technologies, since the gas permeability allows sweat and volatile organic compounds to evaporate away from the skin, making it more comfortable for users – especially for long-term wear. The first prototype consisted of skin-mountable, dry electrodes for use as electrophysiologic sensors. These have multiple potential applications, such as measuring electrocardiography (ECG) and electromyography (EMG) signals. Refer Stretchable Electronic Material.
Smart devices that measure electrical signals from your skin have the potential to tell you about your stress levels, help your sports performances and allow you to track your emotions. An international team of researchers from Sweden and Lancaster University have developed an innovative way of interpreting biological signals produced by the conductance of our skin. Skin conductance is a measure of how much someone sweats, indicating their emotional reactions as well as physical reactions and is the basis for technologies such as lie detectors. Refer Biological Signals.
Researchers have created a textile coating that can not only repel liquids like blood and saliva but can also prevent viruses from adhering to the surface. What makes the coating unique is its ability to withstand ultrasonic washing, scrubbing, and scraping. With other similar coatings currently in use, washing or rubbing the surface of the textile will reduce or eliminate its repellent abilities. Team ran it through tens of ultrasonic washes, applying thousands of rotations with a scrubbing pad (not unlike what might be used to scour pots and pans), and even scraping it with a sharp razor blade. After each test, the coating remained just as effective. Refer Liquid-Repelling Substance
Okanagan Polymer Engineering Research have developed a coating that repels nearly all substances off a surface. And that new coating will make cleaning personal protective equipment a little bit easier for front-line health care workers. Surfaces that can repel a broad range of liquids are called omniphobic. Khatir has created a spray-on solution that can make any surface, including a face shield, omniphobic.
Not only does the coating repel countless substances, but even under harsh exposures like UV light, acids and high temperatures, the coating maintains its resistance qualities and if the coating does become damaged it can be easily and repeatedly repaired, fully restoring the omniphobic properties to their initial state. Refer Liquid-Repelling Substances.
Tufts University’s biomaterial-based inks that respond to and quantify chemicals released from the body (e.g. in sweat and potentially other biofluids) or in the surrounding environment by changing color. The inks can be screen printed onto textiles such as clothes, shoes, or even face masks in complex patterns and at high resolution, providing a detailed map of human response or exposure. The advance in wearable sensing, reported in Advanced Materials, could simultaneously detect and quantify a wide range of biological conditions, molecules and, possibly, pathogens over the surface of the body using conventional garments and uniforms. Refer Biomaterial-Based Inks.
Smart Fabrics with Bioactive Inks Monitor Health of the Wearer by Changing Color. A team of researchers at Tufts University’s School of Engineering have developed biomaterial-based inks that respond to chemicals released from the body in fluids like sweat as well as other environmental elements by changing color. The inks can be screen printed onto textiles such as clothes, shoes, or even face masks in complex patterns. Refer Smart Fabrics.
Researchers from Kepley BioSystems have invented the means to “permanently infuse” reusable substrates such as personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical garments with antimicrobial functional fullerenes that could withstand cleaning. Refer KEPLEY
The Ynvisible Segment Display is an electrochromic display. It is categorized as a reflective display – meaning that it reflects ambient light instead of using a backlight. All layers are screen printed on a plastic substrate. Refer YNVISIBLE
Car Air Purifier (Sterilizer) Cup Holder Type. Long hours of driving cause respiratory diseases, drowsiness, dizziness, and headaches as air in vehicles is mixed with pollutants coming from outside and harmful gases generated from the inside. Refer JW-3200.
CMG’s Healthy Seating Technology™ is ideal for automotive, commercial trucking and aerospace seating in years. With a focus on health, wellness and safety, the technology is an industry first, delivering scientifically proven benefits that make the time you spend in your car less harmful and more enjoyable. Refer CMG.
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