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Category: electronics

Illustration of an array of organic vortex lasers, each with a different spiral and therefore a different topological charge. Credit: Stellinga et al. ©2018 American Chemical Society Researchers have developed a new type of organic vortex laser, which is a laser that emits a helical beam of light. In the future, miniature arrays of these vortex lasers, each with a slightly different spiral shape, may be used in applications such as 3D TV displays, microscopy, and as information carriers for visible light communications. The researchers, led by Ifor D. W. Samuel at the University of St. Andr…

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By Jeffrey Dastin

SEATTLE (Reuters) — Amazon.com Inc will open its checkout-free grocery store to the public on Monday after more than a year of testing, the company said, moving forward on an experiment that could dramatically alter brick-and-mortar retail.

The Seattle store, known as Amazon Go, relies on cameras and sensors to track what shoppers remove from the shelves, and what they put back. Cash registers and checkout lines become superfluous — customers are billed after leaving the store using credit cards on file.

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With CES 2018 now in full swing, it’s time to explore what Intel, Samsung, Toyota, and other companies have in store for the future of consumer electronics.

The 2018 Consumer Electronics Show is now in full swing. Between now and Friday, January 12, all kinds of technology — both conceptual and practical — will be unveiled and trotted out in front of audiences. We’ve already written about what you can expect to see from CES 2018, but as day one draws to a close, it’s a good time to check-in on what’s already trending.

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Contact-free measurement of vital signs is already a reality, but with a few important limitations some of which researchers at Cornell University may be able to overcome. Currently used devices typically require the patient to be in close proximity to the sensor, and they’re only able to measure the breathing and heart rates, along with body movement.

Technology developed at Cornell involves tags worn on clothing, or just placed near the patient, that emit radio waves toward the lungs and heart to measure their activity accurately, while allowing the patient to move around. Additionally, blood pressure may also be measured this way, but more work will be required to validate the technology.

The new technique relies on so-called near-field coherent sensing, which allows each tag to have a unique radio signal. This permits many patients in the same facility to be monitored uniquely and without any interference.

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Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for directly printing metal circuits, creating flexible, stretchable electronics. The technique can use multiple metals and substrates and is compatible with existing manufacturing systems that employ direct printing technologies.

“Flexible electronics hold promise for use in many fields, but there are significant manufacturing costs involved — which poses a challenge in making them practical for commercial use,” says Jingyan Dong, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an associate professor in NC State’s Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering.

“Our approach should reduce cost and offer an efficient means of producing with high resolution, making them viable for integrating into commercial devices,” Dong says.

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New Zealand-built technology enabling an entirely new type of wearable

AUCKLAND, NOVEMBER 22, 2017 — StretchSense Ltd., New Zealand-based manufacturer of wearable sensing systems, today is proud to see the release of ZozoSuit by its client and investor Start Today Co., Ltd., owner of Japan’s largest online fashion retailer. The first consumer-ready wearable product built with StretchSense’s unique sensor technology, the ZozoSuit was developed in close collaboration between the two companies and provides precise measurement of body shape to solve the problem of fit when buying clothes online.

StretchSense’s mission is to go beyond wearables and towards “disappearables” — truly smart garments with unobtrusive sensors and electronics that feel invisible to the wearer. The ZozoSuit is a realization of that vision, blurring the line between clothing and technology with lightweight sensing elements, flexible cabling and miniaturized electronics all fully integrated into a skin-tight garment.

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