SilverNanoparticle
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Scientists replicate kitty whiskers to help robots 'feel'
Cat whiskers are tremendously sensitive, so much so that cats can navigate around our glassware without sending anything crashing to the floor. It's that sort of sensitivity that a team from the University of California, Berkeley, is trying to replicate to help robots of the future. Ultra-sensitive fibers, made with carbon nanotubes and silver nanoparticles are designed to respond to pressure, helping future hardware navigate difficult and low-visibility environments. Team leader Ali Javey believes that the material is 10 times as sensitive as your smartphone display, and could even be used to track your heartbeat -- so maybe we'll be seeing this stuff getting woven together to make the next generation of connected onesies.
EX1 prints circuits on paper, cloth, almost anything you can imagine
Printing a circuit isn't exactly a new idea. In fact, researchers have been putting down silver nano particles using a process similar to ink-jet printing for years. Heck, you can even hack your existing desktop unit to do the same thing with about $300 in components. Still, a retail-ready circuit printing machine has so far managed to elude us. That's where the EX¹ hopes to make its mark. With most of the early bird specials already gone, you'll have to pledge at least $1,499 to its Kickstarter campaign to get one, which puts it firmly in prosumer territory. (And that's just for the version that requires some assembly.) But there's no denying the allure. The EX¹ uses two different "ink" cartridges to lay down layers of material that will form lines of silver nano particles. And, thanks to its flatbed design, you can print your customized circuits on anything from standard PCBs, to cloth, wood or even paper. The company has even built a custom software suite that simplifies the printing process. You can simply import an image of a circuit and hit print (they're pretty easy to find with a Google Image Search). Or, if you're feeling more adventurous, you can sketch out the circuit yourself and take control of all the printing variables. The EX¹ has already doubled its funding goal with four weeks left in its campaign. If you're interested and have the cash hit up the source to pledge your support. But be advised, you'll need to be patient -- the estimated shipping date is currently July of 2014. (And we all know how good a track record Kickstarter campaigns have at meeting shipping targets.) Before you go, make sure to check out the video after the break.
Researchers use inkjet acumen to create wireless explosive sensor from paper
Meet Krishna Naishadham and Xiaojuan (Judy) Song. They're researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and those little devices they're holding may one day save you from an explosive device. This petite prototype is actually a paper-like wireless sensor that was printed using basic inkjet technology, developed by professor Manos Tentzeris. Its integrated lightweight antenna allows the sensor to link up with communication devices, while its functionalized carbon nanotubes enable it to pick up on even the slightest traces of ammonia -- an ingredient common to most IEDs. According to Tentzeris, the trick to such inkjet printing lies in the development of "inks" that can be deposited at relatively low temperatures. These inks, laced with silver nanoparticles, can then be uniformly distributed across paper-based components using a process called sonication. The result is a low-cost component that can adhere to just about any surface. The wireless sensor, meanwhile, requires comparatively low amounts of power, and could allow users to detect bombs from a safe distance. Naishadham says his team's device is geared toward military officials, humanitarian workers or any other bomb sniffers in hazardous situations, though there's no word yet on when it could enter the market. To find out more, careen past the break for the full PR.
