Products of Tomorrow

3D Microwave Antenna

The future of wireless technology relies on the antennas that transmit electromagnetic waves becoming increasingly versatile, durable, and easy to manufacture. Researchers at Drexel University and the University of British Columbia believe kirigami, the ancient Japanese art of cutting and folding paper to create intricate three-dimensional designs, could provide a model for manufacturing the next generation of antennas. Research from the Drexel-UBC team has shown how kirigami can transform a single sheet of acetate coated with conductive MX-ene ink into a flexible 3D microwave antenna whose transmission frequency can be adjusted simply by pulling or squeezing to slightly shift its shape. The proof of concept is significant because it represents a new way to quickly and cost-effectively manufacture an antenna by simply coating aqueous MXene ink onto a clear elastic polymer substrate material. According to the team, these findings are the first step toward integrating the components on relevant structures and wireless devices.

Contact: Britt Faulstick
215-895-2617
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

AI-Trained CCTV

Smart CCTV systems trained to spot blockages in urban waterways could become an important future tool in flood prevention. Researchers at the University of Bath have shown that their AI-enabled detection software, ‘AI on The River’ trained to accurately detect natural debris, litter or waste blocking trash screens mounted in culverts, can be integrated to existing CCTV systems to provide an early warning of likely flooding. The machine learning process created by the team is already attracting attention from flood prevention organizations in countries including South Africa, where monitoring equipment is available but data that could be used to train an AI to do the same job is scarce or not collected. Using AI and machine learning to create early warning systems would allow local authorities in charge of keeping waterways flowing to focus resources where they are needed and respond to potential blockages quickly and in a focused way.

Contact: Will McManus
+44 (0)1225-385-798
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

LISA Prototype

NASA has revealed the first look at a full-scale prototype for six telescopes that will enable, in the next decade, the space-based detection of gravitational waves — ripples in space-time caused by merging black holes and other cosmic sources. The LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission is led by ESA (European Space Agency) in partnership with NASA to detect gravitational waves by using lasers to measure precise distances — down to picometers, or trillionths of a meter — between a trio of spacecraft distributed in a vast configuration larger than the Sun. Each side of the triangular array will measure nearly 1.6 million miles, or 2.5 million kilometers. Twin telescopes aboard each spacecraft will both transmit and receive infrared laser beams to track their companions, and NASA is supplying all six of them to the LISA mission,” said Ryan DeRosa, a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.