44 The PCB Magazine • January 2017
Perovskite Solar Cells Hit New World
Efficiency Record
They're flexible, cheap to produce and simple to
make, which is why perovskites are the hottest new
material in solar cell design. And now, engineers at
Australia's University of New South Wales in Syd-
ney have smashed the trendy new compound's
world efficiency record.
Printable Electronics
The next time you place your coffee order, imag-
ine slapping a sticker onto your to-go cup that acts
as an electronic decal, letting you know the pre-
cise temperature of your triple-venti no-foam latte.
£10M Award Creates Compound
Semiconductor Hub
A £10m award announced today puts Cardiff Uni-
versity at the forefront of research into cutting-
edge Compound Semiconductor (CS) technolo-
gies.
IDC Unveils its Top 10 Predictions for
Worldwide Robotics for 2017 and Beyond
IDC predicts 35% of leading organizations in lo-
gistics, health, utilities, and resources will explore
the use of robots to automate operations by 2019.
4G Smartphones to Surpass 1 Billion Mark
in Shipments for 2016
Worldwide smartphone shipments are expected
to reach 1.45 billion units with a year-over-year
growth rate of 0.6% in 2016, according to the
latest forecast from the International Data Corpo-
ration (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone
Tracker. Although growth remains positive, it
is down significantly from the 10.4% growth in
2015.
Nano Dimension Delivers 3D Printer
to a Fortune 100 Company
Nano Dimension Ltd, a leader in the field of 3D
printed electronics, announced that its wholly
owned subsidiary, Nano Dimension Technolo-
gies Ltd, has delivered a DragonFly 2020 3D
Printer to a Fortune 100 company for evaluation
purposes.
Scientists Use Graphene and Toy Silly Putty
to Make State-of-the-Art Sensors
Researchers in AMBER, the Science Foundation
Ireland-funded materials science research centre,
hosted in Trinity College Dublin, have used the
wonder material graphene to make the novelty
children's material silly putty (polysilicone) con-
duct electricity—creating extremely sensitive sen-
sors.
Strong Growth Expected for the
Wearable Technology Markets
The technology sector is constantly growing with
new innovations. According to the Scalar Market
Research report, "Wearable Technology Market"
the wearable technology market is worth $28.89
billion and expected to reach $71.23 billion by
2021, growing at a CAGR of 18.9%.
Rice and IBM Explore Watson-powered
Robot Designed to Aid Elderly and
Caregivers
IBM Research and Rice University have collabo-
rated to create the prototype IBM Multi-Purpose
Eldercare Robot Assistant (IBM MERA), a first-of-
its-kind Watson-enabled application designed to
aid the elderly and assist caregivers. Watson is a
question-answering computer system developed
by IBM.
Pioneering Nanotechnology Captures
Energy from People
The day of charging cellphones with finger swipes
and powering Bluetooth headsets simply by walk-
ing is now much closer.
Electronics Industry News
Market Highlights
