The researching team at University of Maryland has successfully developed a cooling glass technology, which is designed to turn down the heat indoors without electricity. According to certain reports, the stated technology comes decked up with means to cut back on temperature by 3.5°C at noon, while simultaneously boasting an ability to reduce a mid-rise apartment building’s yearly carbon emissions by 10%. But how does the whole thing actually work? Well, the answer is neatly tucked in the glass’ coating that works in two ways. For starters, it reflects up to 99% of solar radiation to stop buildings from absorbing heat. Here, the glass emits heat in the form of longwave infrared radiation into the icy universe where the temperature is generally around -270°C, or just a few degrees above absolute zero. Another aspect of it talks to how the technology leverages “radiative cooling” to help the relevant space in acting as a heat sink for the buildings. By saying so, we mean that the mechanism uses new cooling glass design, alongside so-called atmospheric transparency window, a part of the electromagnetic spectrum that passes through the atmosphere without boosting its temperature, to effectively dump large amounts of heat into the infinite cold sky beyond. To give you some context, this is pretty much how the earth organically cools itself.

“It’s a game-changing technology that simplifies how we keep buildings cool and energy-efficient,” said Xinpeng Zhao, assistant research scientist and the first author of this study. “This could change the way we live and help us take better care of our home and our planet.”

Make no mistake; the University of Maryland’s latest brainchild isn’t the first ever cooling glass in history. However, in contrast to previous attempts at developing the technology, the latest iteration is understood to be much more environmentally stable. Such stability ensures it can stand firm against deterrents like water, ultraviolet radiation, dirt, and even flames. In case that wasn’t enough, you can also apply the cooling glass to a wide assortment of surfaces like tile, brick, and metal, thus offering a value proposition which is much more scalable and adoptable.

Talk about what orchestrated the breakthrough on a granular level, the researchers realized this feat through the integration of finely ground glass particles and their subsequent application as a binder. Now, it might not seem like that big of a detail, but this simple-looking decision ousted any role for more-pervasive but hardly-durable polymers. Furthermore, the team programmed the particle size to maximize emission of infrared heat and reflect sunlight all at the same time.

“The development of the cooling glass aligns with global efforts to cut energy consumption and fight climate change” said Liangbing Hu, a professor at the University of Maryland. He notably pointed to recent reports that this year’s Fourth of July fell on what may have been the hottest day globally in 125,000 years.

“This ‘cooling glass’ is more than a new material—it’s a key part of the solution to climate change,” said Hu. “By cutting down on air conditioning use, we’re taking big steps toward using less energy and reducing our carbon footprint. It shows how new technology can help us build a cooler, greener world.”

For the immediate future, the researching team plans on conducting further tests to better understand the technology. Next up, they are looking to introduce more practical applications of the brand-new cooling glass. Apart from that, the researchers also have one eye on commercializing the technology soon, an intention visible in the team’s decision to launch a startup company CeraCool, which will be responsible for scaling the concept.

The post Taking Inspiration from the Nature to Attack the Global Warming Trend appeared first on Enterprise Viewpoint.

The researching team at U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has reportedly discovered an intriguing cooperative behavior that occurs among complex mixtures of components across electrolytes in batteries. To give you some idea, electrolytes are basically materials that move charge-carrying particles known as ions between a battery’s two electrodes, thus converting stored chemical energy into electricity. Anyway, they got to know how combining two different types of anions (negatively charged ions) with cations (positively charged ions) can significantly improve the overall battery’s performance. This has birthed a belief that careful selection of ion mixtures can enable battery developers to precisely tailor their devices to produce desired performance characteristics. To understand the importance carried by such a development, we must acknowledge that lithium-ion batteries used today actually have a limited ability to provide performance attributes needed in critical applications like passenger electric vehicles and storing renewable energy on the grid. Given these limitations, researchers across the globe have started to deem multivalent batteries as a potentially better alternative. Multivalent batteries, in essence, use cations such as zinc, magnesium, and calcium that have a charge of +2 as opposed to +1 for lithium ions. Boasting a greater charge stock, multivalent batteries are able to store and release more energy. Apart from it, the stated technology use abundant elements supplied through stable, domestic supply chains, something which looks a lot better when you consider lithium is less abundant and has an expensive, volatile international supply chain. Such a setup not only makes multivalent batteries a more viable alternative for electric vehicles, but they also have a use case around grid storage.

Having covered their advantages, we must also mention that most multivalent batteries taken under investigation by researchers have failed to perform well. This is because ions and electrodes tend to be unstable and degrade, turning it difficult for electrolytes to efficiently transport cations. The said problem eventually diminishes the battery’s ability to generate and store electricity. So, how does the new discovery helps the case of multivalent batteries? As zinc metal forms is among their main foundations, the researching team made an effort to characterize the interactions that occur— and the structures that form— when zinc cations are combined with two different types of anions in the electrolyte. This effort included designing a laboratory-scale battery system comprised of an electrolyte and zinc anode. The electrolyte initially contained zinc cations and an anion called TFSI. Here, they observed very weak attraction to the cations. Next up, they instilled chloride anions to the electrolyte. Going by the available details, chloride showed a much stronger attraction to zinc cations. However, that’s not where things ended. Researchers built upon their initial findings with three complementary techniques. In the first one, they used X-ray absorption spectroscopy, which was conducted at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source, a DOE Office of Science user facility. This one involved probing the electrolyte using synchrotron X-ray beams for the purpose of measuring the absorption of the X-rays. Then, there was Raman spectroscopy technique. Conducted at Argonne’s Electrochemical Discovery Laboratory, the said technique sprung to action by illuminating the electrolyte with laser light before evaluating the scattered light. Lastly, they put into practice Density functional theory at Argonne’s Laboratory Computing Resource Center where the team stimulated and calculated the structures formed by the interactions among the ions in the electrolyte.

“These techniques characterize different aspects of the ion interactions and structures,” said Mali Balasubramanian, a physicist on the research team and one of the study’s authors. “X-ray absorption spectroscopy probes how atoms are arranged in materials at very small scales. Raman spectroscopy characterizes the vibrations of the ions, atoms and molecules. We can use the data on atom arrangements and vibrations to determine whether ions are separated or move together in pairs or clusters. Density functional theory can corroborate these characterizations through powerful computation.”

Owing to their extensive investigation, the researchers were able to figure out that the presence of chloride induced TFSI anions to pair with zinc cations. This marked a significant point, as the pairing of anions with a cation can affect the rate at which the cation can be deposited as metal on the anode during charging. Not just that, it can also have a similar impact when the cation is being stripped back into an electrolyte during discharge. For the sake of re-confirming their findings, the researchers repeated these experiments with two other ion mixtures. In the first ion mixture, they swapped chloride for bromide ions, whereas the other one saw them picking iodide ions over chloride. The results included bromide and iodide’s success in inducing TFSI anions to pair with zinc cations.

“What was particularly exciting about this result is that we didn’t expect to see what we saw. The idea that we can use one anion to draw a second anion closer to a cation was very surprising,” said Justin Connell, a materials scientist on the research team and one of the study’s authors.

Although the study seems pretty significant as a whole, one area where the team placed a special emphasis talked to the cooperation which occurred among different types of ions in an electrolyte. In simple terms, it meant the presence of the weakly attracting anions reduced the amount of energy needed to pull zinc metal out of solution. On the other hand, the presence of strongly attracting anions reduced the amount of energy needed to put the zinc back in solution. Such a coordination mandated less energy to facilitate a constant flow of electrons.

“Our observations highlight the value of exploring the use of different anion mixtures in batteries to fine-tune and customize their interactions with cations,” said Connell. “With more precise control of these interactions, battery developers can enhance cation transport, increase electrode stability and activity, and enable faster, more efficient electricity generation and storage. Ultimately, we want to learn how to select the optimal combinations of ions to maximize battery performance.”

For the future, the plan is to investigate the potential of other multivalent cations like magnesium and calcium interacting with various anion mixtures. Beyond that, the researchers will also dabble with machine learning to rapidly calculate the interactions, structures and electrochemical activity that occur in and around many different ion combinations. The latter approach, if found feasible, should accelerate the selection of most promising combinations.

The post A Discovery with Potential to Re-energize the Entire Battery Landscape appeared first on Enterprise Viewpoint.

The researching team at US Department of Energy’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) has successfully developed a new light-sensitive, organic inorganic hybrid material that enables high-performance patternability by EUV lithography. To understand the significance of such a development, we must start by acknowledging how, with semiconductor feature sizes now approaching only a few nanometers; it has become enormously challenging to sustain this persistent device miniaturization. The stated challenge has got our semiconductor industry to adopt a relatively more powerful fabrication method i.e. extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. In case you are looking for some context, EUV lithography employs light that is only 13.5 nanometers in wavelength to form tiny circuit patterns in a photoresist, the light-sensitive material integral to the lithography process. This photoresist is essentially the template for forming the nanoscale circuit patterns in the silicon semiconductor.  However, as we continue our progression towards more advanced but complicated systems, scientists across the globe are now pitted against a challenge of identifying the most effective resist materials. Enter CFN’s latest brainchild. Made from hybrid materials, these new photoresists are composed of both organic materials (those that primarily contain carbon and oxygen atoms) and inorganic materials (those usually based on metallic elements). Furthermore, both parts of the hybrid host their own unique chemical, mechanical, optical, and electrical properties due to their unique chemistry and structures. Hence, upon combining such individually-substantial components, new hybrid organic-inorganic materials are born, materials that boast their own interesting properties. You, the result happens to be a material which is more sensitive to EUV light, meaning it doesn’t need to be exposed to as much EUV light during patterning. Such facility should make a sizeable cut back on process time. Not just that, the new hybrid material also has an improved mechanical and chemical resistance, thus offering a far better value proposition as templates for high-resolution etching.

“To synthesize our new hybrid resist materials, organic polymer materials are infused with inorganic metal oxides by a specialized technique known as vapor-phase infiltration. This method is one of the key areas of materials synthesis expertise at CFN. Compared to conventional chemical synthesis, we can readily generate various compositions of hybrid materials and control their material properties by infusing gaseous inorganic precursors into a solid organic matrix,” said Chang-Yong Nam, a materials scientist at CFN who led the project.

An intriguing detail related to the said development is a change in precursor used for the metal. Rather than banking upon aluminum like they did during previous efforts, the team leveraged indium as an inorganic component. In practice, they made the new resist using a poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) organic thin film as the organic component and infiltrated it with inorganic indium oxide. By doing so, they were able to achieve improved uniformity in subsequent patterning.

That being said, EUV patterning remains a largely inaccessible commodity for now, and that is because of the costs involved.

“It’s currently really hard to do EUV patterning,” said Nam. “The actual patterning machine that industry is using is very, very expensive—the current version is more than $200 million per unit. There are only three to four companies in the world that can use it for actual chip manufacturing. There are a lot of researchers who want to study and develop new photoresist materials but can’t perform EUV patterning to evaluate them. This is one of the key challenges we hope to address.”

In terms of the researching team’s immediate plans with the technology, though, it has already started the work on other hybrid material compositions. The intention is to also make some headway around the processes involved in fabricating them, thus better positioning the industry to pattern smaller, more efficient, and sustainable semiconductor devices.

The post Setting a More Efficient Tone for the Evolving Semiconductor Industry appeared first on Enterprise Viewpoint.

Nextbase, the global leader in dash cam technology, has officially introduced its latest product in Nextbase IQ, which is one smart and fully connected dash cam designed for all vehicles. Understood to be the only cam offering up to 4K resolution and a built-in interior cabin camera together, Nextbase IQ comes decked up with AI-powered technology and 4G IoT connectivity for real-time access from anywhere at any time. Having both these technologies in play should also help customers when it comes to anticipating, preventing, and defending against incidents on the road and while their vehicle is parked. Talk about Nextbase IQ on a slightly deeper, we referred to its use case in parking, the dash cam builds upon that by leveraging its proximity sensing Spatial Awareness and G-Force Sensors to scan the area surrounding your vehicle. In case they detect any potential danger, the sensors immediately send to your smartphone a real-time notification that will include imagery and video relating to the source of concern. Complimenting the same is the cam’s Witness Mode, which can be activated using voice to instantly save a 30-minute block of video to the cloud and then push a notification to an emergency contact in real-time, The idea here is make sure that you don’t have to face a stressful situation alone, or at least, without evidence. Not just one emergency contact, the product also automatically alerts emergency services, in the event of an accident, with location and other potentially life-saving details. The dash cam even has the means to actively determine, on its own, the current status of a vehicle, meaning whether it is on the move or just happens to be parked. Boasting separate and dedicated responses for both the events, Nextbase IQ is able to scan for threats effectively, while simultaneously preserving battery for extended use.

“Nextbase iQ is unlike anything on the market today,” said Richard Browning, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer for Nextbase. “It sets a new benchmark for dash cams. But more than that, it creates a whole new category by extending high-end smart home-style connectivity into the car and making advanced connected-car technology – on par or even better than that offered on the most expensive, tech-forward new cars – available to everyone, regardless of the age, type or value of their vehicle.”

Despite the product still being new, Nextbase has already penciled in a set of features that will be integrated into its dash cam over the coming months. Among the upcoming features, there is a Guardian Mode. Guardian Mode will notify vehicle owners/parents based on specific customizable driving behavior triggers, such as speeding, erratic driving, and GPS boundaries, to keep you alerted when your vehicle is left with a valet, mechanic or family member. Next up., we must dig into a Push to Talk feature, which is meant to let you speak directly with occupants in the vehicle, as well as alert intruders to your presence. Moving on, Nextbase will be bringing a Roadwatch AI function that is going to bank upon Computer Vision (CV) chipset and better vision to track the speeds and trajectories of other vehicles around you, including cyclists, e-scooters, and pedestrians. Hold on, we are still not done. Nextbase has also partnered with T-Mobile to generate   IoT, real time footage and reports before seamlessly sharing them with authorities or insurance companies following any incident, thus protecting drivers and their vehicles. These encrypted reports will have synchronized data covering speed, G-Force, GPS and video.  Rounding up the highlights are AI-powered DMS and ADAS capabilities. The former will be responsible for monitoring and improving drivers’ situational awareness so to cut back on distracted driving, whereas the latter will focus on enhancing safe operation of the vehicle and enabling drivers to respond accordingly.

At launch, Nextbase has made available three different iterations of Nextbase IQ. Firstly, there is 1k, a model with 1080p resolution available at $499.99. The second model, 2K, will hold 1440p worth resolution while costing $599.99. The last model, 4k, will be the one offering 4k resolution for $699.99.

All these models are also supported by a versatile set of subscription packages, where the free package will get you an access to the iQ app, voice control, and real time notifications. The next plan, priced at $9.99 monthly, will be given everything the previous package had, alongside smart sense parking, witness mode, Roadwatch AI, guardian mode, remote alarm, and a cloud storage good for 30 days. The last plan, of course, has all the stated features, but it set itself apart by offering cloud storage that is good for 180 days, an option to have multiple user accounts, emergency SOS, automated incident back-up, and extended warranty.

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The University of Cambridge has formally proposed a brand-new 4R e-textile design concept, which includes repair, recycle, replace, and reduce, alongside innovations in materials selection and biofabrication-inspired processing, to produce biomaterials, devices, cells and tissues. In order to understand the significance of such a development, we must get into the ultimate problem statement here. You see, owing to our recent advancements and the emergence of embedded electronic components, the world has reached on the prospect of electronic textiles (e-textiles), which allows us to store and harvest energy, sense, display, actuate and compute. However, despite the clear incentives, there remain two major challenges to the future growth of e-textiles. Firstly, it’s the high cost conundrum, a limitation severely affecting their wider consumer adoption. Secondly, it’s the high environmental costs associated with mass production. Here, the main issue concerns microplastic water pollution. But how will the new proposal help us in overcoming these challenges? Well, if it proves to be viable, the idea is going to facilitate for the world sustainable growth and balance economic returns with “environmental consciousness”. Talk about the proposal on a deeper level, we begin from repair. The researchers’ plan for this step is to rope in fiber level repairs, such as re-sewing, re-weaving, re-knitting, and self-healing of electronic fibers. For scalability reasons, they will also include bulk “fabric-level” repairs, such as recoating, reprinting and re-spraying of active materials. Furthermore, they are banking upon a modular approach to switch out faulty components easily and rejuvenate the electronic functionalities of the system.

Next up, we have recycling, which will be conceived through categorizing and separating e-textiles components into the base textile and the electronic modules. You see, e-textile recycling has traditionally been a little complex, given the fabrics contain functionalized electronic fibers with electrical conductivity and sensing capabilities. With extraction also being a time-consuming and costly alternative, the approach of just separating the two elements instantly presents us a more viable option.

“Machine washing of e-textiles has, to date, contributed to an increase in microplastic pollution in the water stream. The challenge here is to reinforce the functional longevity of e-textiles, while minimizing the number of microparticles released. Strategies for this include the decoupling of transient/single-use components or designing ‘dry’ or ‘vapor-based’ cleaning protocols that consume less water,” said Dr. Harvey Shi, co-lead author on the study.

Then, there is replacing. Just like the term might suggest, this one preaches the induction of a whole new materials design that utilizes earth-abundant elements and can accelerate e-textile commercialization, while simultaneously making them more cost-effective for the average consumer. Another detail worth a mention around replacing would be the researchers’ support of alternative bio-derived material options for electronic fiber encapsulation to create non-irritating and skin-compatible e-textile surfaces. To put it into context, material options in the stated discipline, at present, are mostly synthetic and non-biodegradable.

Lastly, the proposal brings to us the prospect of reducing that is divided into two different use cases. On one hand, the researchers hope to apply it for reducing the total emissions and energy consumption during e-textile production and deployment, whereas on the other hand, they will reduce the total amount of material used in e-textiles to achieve and maintain a specified function.

The future of 4R-integrated e-textiles is, in its own right, segregated across different timelines. For instance, over the more immediate future, the researching team plans on standardizing e-textiles platforms to integrate a variety of electronic modules, leading to innovative processing technologies that will bring affordable e-textiles to a broader consumer base. The practical developments in short-term are likely to include automated assembly processes; a database of functional ink formations for e-textiles developers to use; and a standardized component decoupling mechanism based on longevity ratings.

“Adopting this standardization approach in the near term can enable developers to create a customized array of cross-compatible functional components; reinforce user safety and public interests in the personalized health care and customized non-invasive therapeutics market (i.e., product certification); and can lead to designated cleaning protocols,” said Yifei Pan, Ph.D. student in the Biointerface Research Group at Cambridge University.

In the mid-term, the primary intention talks to employing user-centric design strategies and innovative processing technologies to offer a broader range of e-textiles to the public, textiles that will be comfortable and customizable. The ultimate long-term vision, though, is creating sustainable and “living” e-textiles, like  engineered robotic skin, that are complimented by fiber-on-demand and biofabrication technologies to ensure self-clean up, self-repair, and eventually, self-regeneration.

“As we drive towards future sustainable e-textile manufacturing, there could be a paradigm shift from a centralized mass production strategy with one principal facility to a more widespread additive manufacturing/3D printing platform—ultimately creating and repairing e-textiles on-site,” said Shery Huang, a professor from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering and co-lead author on the study.

The post Uncovering a More Viable Manufacturing Ideology for E-Textiles appeared first on Enterprise Viewpoint.

Google has officially launched a series of updates, alongside various expanded AI tools, to help us reduce tailpipe emissions and better predict floods, wildfires, and extreme heat. According to certain reports, the stated updates flurry begins from the way Google will display search results related to EV. You see, from here onwards, anyone who wishes to inquire more about EVs before buying one will be able to, for starters, access details like possible government incentives, translating to the federal EV tax credit in the US. Such information can educate people regarding any potential discounts that their preferred vehicle might have on the offer. Next up, the new and improved search results will tell users all what they need to know regarding how they can drive on a single charge, while simultaneously allowing them to customize routes based on elevation changes and speed limits. This customization ability should help when it comes to gauging the amount of charging stops one might need along their journey. To get you the stated information, Google is reportedly tapping into Knowledge Graph, the company’s database of billions of facts about people, places, and things. Apart from that, the search engine giant is also banking upon load data from the EPA, which captures factors such as rolling friction, aerodynamics, and mechanical friction. Complementing the EV proposition is a dedicated fuel cost calculator and fuel-efficient routing feature. The former hands you an ability to compare your per-mile costs, thus helping you gain a better idea about your savings when switching from gas to electric powertrains. As for the fuel-efficient routing feature, it leverages AI to suggest routes with fewer hills, less traffic, and constant speeds, routes that either allow same or at least a similar ETA.

Moving on to another update, this one focuses on cycling routes in Google Maps. Owing to the latest update, the search engine will now collaborate with local governments across the globe to install hundreds of kilometers of new bike lanes to its navigation tools. This further solidifies Google’s longstanding bid to introduce better multimodal directions for people who want to use multiple sustainable modes of transportation, like cycling, transit, and walking. However, the company isn’t just aiming to improve sustainability on roads, considering it also has an aviation-related update, which marks the expansion of its effort to cut back on harmful contrails left behind by airplanes. In case you aren’t aware, earlier this year, Google announced a partnership with American Airlines and Bill Gates’ climate investment fund, Breakthrough Energy, to conceive routes where the risk of contrails is at its lowest.

Talk about building upon a previously introduced initiative, the tech behemoth also took this opportunity to widen the footprint of its Project Green Light. First launched back in 2021, the stated project vows to take on the problem of stop-and-go traffic which tends to produce greater pollution than normal. You see, according to studies, the emission rates at a place like intersection is almost 29% higher than on open roads. Google’s Project Green Light presents a solution by using AI to let traffic engineers tweak traffic lights so cars and trucks can move more smoothly. The whole system expected to be used here is also very simplistic, as one can implement and activate it in about 5 minutes. Going by the performance seen so far, the project has managed to bring down stops by a sizeable 30%.

Hold on, there is more. As a part of the runner, Google is also bringing the prospect of efficient energy consumption to your house. Hence, whenever people search about home heating and cooling systems like “boilers” or “air conditioning,” they’ll see information about other sustainable options, including their capabilities, their energy efficiency, and associated financial government incentives. This data is supplemented by EPA’s Energy Star and energy.gov in the US. Moving on, we now must get into Google’s decision to update Google Earth and make it easier for planners to reach on the best building designs and solar options across urban areas. The purpose of such a move is to enhance planners’ understanding related to solar reflectivity of different surface areas. Making this understanding even stronger are certain insights that Google will provide to help cities in identifying neighborhoods that would benefit the most from an investment. To deliver on its promise here, the company will depend on its “Cool Roofs” tool, which again is rooted in artificial intelligence, alongside aerial imagery.

Another Google update talks to expanding the availability of its Flood Hub tool, which is designed to help us better predict floods. Already serving over 80 countries, the tool will now cover 800 riverside locations across US and Canada. Within the context of natural disaster, the company is also improving its fire spread model, which it launched in 2020 to inform users on wildfire boundaries in near real time. Lastly, Google will enable 2,000 new cities to access its tree canopy tool, a tool well-versed in mapping out where trees are needed the most so to keep residents cool.

The post A Multi-focus Punch to Ease Our Escalating Environmental Concerns appeared first on Enterprise Viewpoint.

The researching teams at Princeton University and Microsoft Research have successfully developed a fast and accurate way to determine fruit quality. According to certain reports, the technology banks upon wireless signals in the sub-terahertz band to deliver on its value proposition. On a more practical note, when a sub-terahertz pulse impinges on a piece of fruit, its rays go more than skin deep. Now, while some of these frequencies get absorbed, others get reflected back. Notably enough, a lot of frequencies do a little of both with varying intensity. Anyway, the reflection created by such a mechanism creates its own signal across a range of frequencies, and that signal has a detailed and specific shape, something we can loosely translate to a signature. In the context of this development, the researchers would model the physics of these interactions, backing it up with substantial data, to ensure we can see through the stated signature and gain a clear idea about the fruit’s ripeness status.

“There is no systematic way of determining the ripeness status of fruits and vegetables,” said Yasaman Ghasempour, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Princeton University and one of the study’s principal investigators. “It is mostly random visual inspection, where you check one fruit out of the box on distribution lines and estimate its quality through physical contact or color change.”

The importance connected to a technology of this sort crystallizes itself once you consider how, as per Environmental Protection Agency, nearly one-third of all food produced in the United States gets tossed each year due to inedible quality. On a global scale, the estimations suggest that literally half of all fruits and vegetables go to waste for the same reason. Mind you, it’s not say we don’t already have technological tools at our disposal that can judge the quality of these fruits and vegetables, but given the little headway made around them, they remain too broad, time-consuming, and expensive to get implemented at a larger scale.

In order to test their latest brainchild, the researchers pitted the technology against fruits bearing a softer skin, including persimmons, avocados, and apples. This was because soft skin fruits are easiest to measure, and going by the available details, the results were encouraging. However, the wider belief is that, with enough data, the device can be applied to other fruit and vegetable types as well. Beyond that, the team also has a vision where they will just use different kinds of physiological markers to make the technology cover other foods such as meats, beverages, and more.

“When we look at the global challenges around food security, nutrition and environmental sustainability, the issue of food waste plays a major role,” said Ranveer Chandra, the Managing Director of Research for Industry and CTO of Agri-Food at Microsoft. He said the amount of food wasted each year could feed more than a billion people. And that food waste accounts for nearly 6% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. “If we could reduce food waste, it would help feed the population, reduce malnutrition, and help mitigate the impact of climate change,”

Although new high-frequency bands like terahertz and sub-terahertz signals come decked up with an unending amount of potential use cases, the researchers behind this food ripeness detector can claim to be the first ones to apply the technology for smart food sensing.

The post An Answer for the Raging Food Wastage Epidemic appeared first on Enterprise Viewpoint.

With each new project breaking ground, thought leaders emerge to shape the construction industry’s future by introducing fresh perspectives, pioneering technologies, and fostering collaboration. The construction industry, a vital pillar of global development, is undergoing a profound transformation driven by technological advancements, changing demographics, environmental concerns, and shifting market demands.  This article looks into the pillars of thought leadership that are driving modern construction forward in profound ways.

1. Establish Innovation as the Cornerstone:

Thought leaders in modern construction recognize that innovation is the bedrock upon which the industry stands. From implementing advanced building materials to leveraging cutting-edge construction techniques, these visionaries push the boundaries of what is possible. Whether it’s the integration of augmented reality for enhanced project visualization or the adoption of 3D printing for rapid prototyping, innovation is the key to unlocking efficiencies and delivering projects that were once deemed impossible.

2. See Sustainable Construction as a Guiding Principle:

As environmental concerns take center stage, thought leaders in modern construction champion sustainability as a non-negotiable pillar. They advocate for eco-friendly practices that reduce the industry’s carbon footprint while ensuring long-term resilience. These leaders emphasize the use of renewable materials, energy-efficient designs, and waste reduction strategies. By prioritizing sustainable practices, they not only mitigate the impact of construction on the environment but also set a precedent for future projects to follow suit.

3. Value Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing:

In an industry as multifaceted as construction, collaboration is a linchpin of success. Thought leaders foster a culture of knowledge sharing, recognizing that by pooling expertise, breakthroughs can be accelerated. They actively engage with professionals across disciplines, forging partnerships that bring together architects, engineers, contractors, and technologists. This collaborative approach paves the way for holistic project solutions and ensures that best practices are disseminated industry-wide.

4. Advocacy for Digital Transformation:

Thought leaders spearhead the digital transformation that is reshaping construction. Embracing Building Information Modeling (BIM), data analytics, and project management software, they streamline processes and enhance decision-making. By advocating for the integration of technology, they not only increase project efficiency but also drive a shift towards data-driven insights, which lead to more informed and impactful choices.

5. Use Thought-Provoking Dialogue:

True thought leadership extends beyond practical implementation—it sparks meaningful conversations. Leaders in modern construction contribute to industry discourse through articles, seminars, webinars, and conferences. By sharing insights and challenging established norms, they stimulate critical thinking and inspire others to question and evolve conventional practices.

6. Value Mentorship and Education:

Recognizing the importance of nurturing the next generation, thought leaders in modern construction will engage in mentorship and educational initiatives. By imparting their experiences and wisdom, they equip aspiring professionals with the tools needed to shape the industry’s trajectory. This mentorship creates a ripple effect, ensuring a continuous cycle of innovation and progress.

Thought leadership stands as the driving force behind modern construction’s evolution. Through innovation, sustainability, collaboration, technology adoption, meaningful dialogue, and mentorship, thought leaders shape the industry’s present and future. The construction industry is navigating a dynamic landscape characterized by rapid technological advancement, heightened environmental awareness, and evolving market demands. As the industry adapts to these changes, it paves the way for innovative practices, sustainable solutions, and enhanced collaboration. By embracing these trends and leveraging emerging technologies, the construction sector is poised to build a more resilient, efficient, and forward-looking future.  Their influence extends far beyond individual projects, setting benchmarks that elevate the construction sector as a whole. As construction continues to reach new heights, these pillars of progress illuminate the path ahead, guiding us towards a future where innovation and thought leadership intertwine to create lasting impact. Will you and your company be the next “thought leader” to step up a make a difference in this industry moving forward?

Christopher Salem, BIO:

Chris Salem is an accomplished Business Acceleration Strategist, Certified Business Workplace Coach, Executive Coach. Professional Keynote Speaker, Award-Winning Author, Business Trainer, and Radio Show Host & Media Personality dedicated to empowering business leaders and their businesses with boosting their brands and business simultaneously from ordinary to extraordinary. His goal is straightforward – to help serious business leaders foster better workplace environments that lead to higher engagement and retention with their team while generating more clients, increasing customer experiences, and scaling their overall revenue and profits quickly and inexpensively.

Over the years, he has developed a keen understanding of the complex issues facing business leaders in the type of volatile economy we have today.  His experience has helped him develop skills to educate business owners quickly and effectively to successfully apply the right strategies in the correct order, allowing them to grow their business to its maximum capacity.

His book Master Your Inner Critic / Resolve the Root Cause – Create Prosperity went international best seller in 2016. He also co-authored the recent edition to Mastering the Art of Success; with Jack Canfield. His weekly radio shows, Sustainable Success is part of the Voice America Influencers Channel and Business Influencers with Tal Radio, part of the Touch-A-Life foundation.  He works with organizations such as such as JP Morgan – Chase, Ralph Lauren, GE Research, Oracle, UTC – Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon, Microchip Technologies, Anthem, US Census Bureau, United Healthcare, Laticrete Corporation, Hubbell Corporation, Conning & Company, Foxwoods Casino, the US Senate, and NYPD Forensics Department including universities such as University of Hartford, Westchester Community College, Bay Path University, Worcester State University, and spoke on overcoming limited beliefs for peak performance at Harvard University’s Faculty Club. Finally, he is part of the Faculty Facilitator team at the American Management Association.

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Recent Data-Driven Infrastructure Projects

Streetlight Priority Zones

In 2019, the City of Dallas’ Department of Transportation (DDOT) evaluated several cross-departmental priorities to drive where to invest in light-emitting diode (LED) streetlighting.  Whereas streetlights can affect crime rates, vehicular and pedestrian accidents, economic development, and quality of life, DDOT used data and geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis to overlay Racially and Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty (RECAP) Zones, market value analysis, housing reinvestment areas, and target area action grids (crime data) to create target locations for streetlight investments.

Streetlight Community Wireless High-Speed Internet (Wi-Fi) Pilot Projects

Evolving from the Streetlight Priority Zones, in 2020, multiple City of Dallas departments began evaluating how to address the digital divide or those households with low access to the internet.  Through GIS spatial analysis, City of Dallas teams identified ten neighborhoods that were in the streetlight priority zones, had low access to the internet, and were near City of Dallas facilities such as recreation centers or fire stations.  The City of Dallas cross-departmental team installed streetlights within the ten neighborhoods, installed Wi-Fi equipment on those streetlights, and installed telecommunications fiber from the adjacent City facilities to the Wi-Fi equipment on the streetlights.  The Streetlight Community Wi-Fi Pilot Projects not only addressed the needs included in the Streetlight Priority Zones but also provided community Wi-Fi to approximately 320 homes that data showed were lacking access to the internet.

Red Cloud Neighborhood Smart Cities Pilot Project

Building on the success of the Community Wi-Fi Pilot Projects, in late 2021, the City of Dallas took its lessons learned to another level with the Red Cloud Neighborhood Smart Cities Project.  Following the same data analysis used to identify Streetlight Priority Zones and lack of access to the internet, the City of Dallas team also evaluated the conditions of the infrastructure in the Red Cloud Neighborhood to develop a comprehensive project to reconstruct all of the neighborhood’s streets, alleys, and sidewalks, while installing new streetlights for community Wi-Fi, a number of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled cameras, and environmental monitors.  The Red Cloud Neighborhood Smart Cities Pilot Project, which won a Smart 50, Smart Cities award in 2023, used data to drive the infrastructure, lighting, and smart cities technology investments to bring community Wi-Fi to 190 homes and the quality of life for the residents of the Red Cloud Neighborhood.

Convergence of Data for Developing a 2024 Bond Program

Understanding how the City of Dallas has used data to drive infrastructure investments, City teams are currently working on how to infuse data in the development of an approximate $1B, 2024 Bond Program.  While there are approximately $16B in infrastructure and facility needs, City of Dallas teams have developed a data-driven framework to prioritize the $16B in needs to fit within the approximate $1B of available funding.

Priority GIS Overlays

Historically, for allocating street construction dollars, the City of Dallas has programmed capital construction projects in its bond programs through a combination of equal distribution for each City Council District and then an allotment based upon condition, or technical scoring, of the streets.  In the 2024 Bond Program development, City teams are evaluating not only technical scores of projects, but other project scoring priority variables or data including:

• Equity,
• High Crime Areas,
• Proximity to Transit Oriented Development,
• Market Value Analysis,
• 311 Customer Service Requests,
• Project Intersection with Another Project (to gain economies of scale in construction).

Using the project scoring variables listed above, the City of Dallas team has developed a grid map (shown below) to guide staff and stakeholders to the locations of the most-impactful projects.  Through GIS spatial analysis, projects are not only scored based upon technical scores (up to 80 points) but through additional points (up to 20) based upon the Priority GIS Overlays.

GIS Priority Overlay Map

(Darker Grids Indicate Higher Priority Areas Based Upon Overlapping Priority Variables; Red Lines/Points indicate water infrastructure projects)

Summary

As many municipalities are facing similar infrastructure needs, funding challenges, and competing priorities, leaders must use data to make objective infrastructure investment decisions.  While quantitative and GIS-based analysis may not lead to ultimate decisions for infrastructure investments, they are effective tools that can be used to narrow down vast amounts of data and identify priorities.  However, in a push to be a data-driven organization, recent and current examples highlighted in this article show how data drives infrastructure investment decisions in the City of Dallas.

Biography

Dr. Robert M. Perez serves as Assistant City Manager for the City of Dallas and has gained over 22 years of public sector experience while working for the City of San Antonio and the City of Dallas.  Prior to being appointed as Assistant City Manager, Robert served as the City of Dallas’ Director and Assistant Director of Public Works.  Before joining the City of Dallas, Robert worked for the City of San Antonio for 16 years in leadership positions and other capacities within the departments of Public Works, the Office of Management and Budget, the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, and Community Initiatives.

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AD is crucial for EVs, and vice versa

The symbiotic relationship between autonomous driving and electric vehicles (EVs) is profound. Due to the need of integrating state-of-the-art sensors and computing hardwares on vehicle, AD systems demand high power consumption and power efficiency. Traditional internal combustion engines, with their myriad of moving parts, don’t quite match the sleek electric powertrains in this domain. EVs, being inherently more efficient, responsive and predictable, cater to the exacting demands of AD systems.

Conversely, the proliferation of AD can accelerate the adoption of EVs. As AD technology becomes a mainstream choice, there will be a shift in the perception of vehicles from being purely utility- driven purchases to experience-focused ones. In such a scenario, the tangible benefits of EVs – like lower operating costs and reduced emissions – will make them the preferred choice for autonomous systems. Moreover, AD will make EVs not just a means of transportation, but more of a living space with enjoyable experiences.

AD is more than software and requires full-stack specialties

Many mistakenly believe that making a car autonomous is simply about layering sophisticated software over existing vehicle systems. In reality, achieving true autonomy requires deep integration across the full vehicle stack, from hardware to software.

The sensors that allow AD to perceive its environment, the algorithms that process this data, and the actuators that execute driving actions all need to work in perfect harmony. This mandates a seamless melding of various disciplines – mechanical engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, and more.

Moreover, ensuring safety in AD is paramount. Redundancies need to be considered into every sub- system, and these redundancies must be rigorously designed, validated and verified. The vehicle should be able to react appropriately even in the event of unforeseen failures, ensuring the safety of its occupants and other road users.

Automotive semiconductors are critical enablers for AD & EVs

The heart of the digital revolution in vehicles beats thanks to automotive semiconductors. As the driving force behind sensors, computation units, and electrical architectures, semiconductors play a pivotal role in making autonomous driving a reality.

Advanced sensors, from lidars to radars to cameras, rely on semiconductor components to function accurately and reliably. The data these sensors generate is immense. Processing this data in real- time requires powerful computation units, again enabled by advanced semiconductor technology.

Furthermore, the entire electrical and electronic (EE) architecture of a modern vehicle, which supports everything from infotainment to advanced driver assistance systems, is built upon semiconductors. As demands grow, with higher data rates and lower latencies, the role of automotive semiconductors will only become more significant.

In Conclusion

Autonomous driving, though still in its nascent stages, represents the pinnacle of what the automotive industry can achieve with digital transformation. It’s a testament to human ingenuity, showcasing how cutting-edge technology can redefine age-old industries. As we stand on the cusp of this revolution, it’s essential to recognize and appreciate the myriad of components and specialties that converge to make it possible. The road ahead is exciting, and the journey promises to be transformative.

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