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AUGUST 2024 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 75 called AI Fine Match, which uses machine learning. You feed it a batch of good and bad images to learn from. ose are a couple of examples of how we are using AI in our tech- nology. We're also exploring other tools for future development. One area we are inter- ested in is generating code so that you can get your program written easier and faster. That would be a significant time saver. Absolutely. We plan to include some addi- tional AI tools in our next generation of machine automation controllers. It's one of those areas where they don't know what they don't know, and those are opportunities for discovery. When you design a demo like this, how do you approach the project? We figure out our core messaging and the pur- pose of the demo. ere is a technical design phase where we need to figure out exactly what it will do. ere is the cosmetic design where we need to figure out what it will look like. ese important aspects contribute to the overall look and feel of the machine. en, we figure out how to promote whatever topic we're trying to get out there. Mark, of everything you do, what is the most exciting? Building solutions, for sure. I designed the one we are looking at. It's nice to see all your ideas on paper or in your head come together into something physical that you can show and share with others. That sounds like a fun and exciting role. You are helping fabricators and manufacturers achieve more automation and better pro- cess control for consistent product quality and higher yields. That is a very good thing for our industry. Thank you for your time. You're welcome. I enjoy talking about it. PCB007 Researchers have developed soft, stretchable 'jelly batteries' that could be used for wearable devices or soft robotics, or even implanted in the brain to deliver drugs or treat conditions such as epilepsy. The researchers, from the University of Cam- bridge, took their inspiration from electric eels, which stun their prey with modified muscle cells called electrocytes. Like electrocytes, the jelly-like materials devel- oped by the Cambridge researchers have a lay- ered structure, like sticky Lego, that makes them capable of delivering an electric current. The self-healing jelly batteries can stretch to over 10 times their original length without affecting their conductivity—the first time that such stretchability and conductivity has been combined in a single material. The results are reported in the journal Science Advances. The jelly batteries are made from hydrogels: 3D networks of polymers that contain over 60% water. The polymers are held together by revers- ible on/off interactions that control the jelly's mechanical properties. The ability to precisely control mechani- cal properties and mimic the characteristics of human tissue makes hydrogels ideal candidates for soft robotics and bioelectronics; however, they need to be both conductive and stretchy for such applications. "It's difficult to design a material that is both highly stretchable and highly conductive, since those two properties are normally at odds with one another," said first author Stephen O'Neill, from Cambridge's Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry. "Typically, conductivity decreases when a material is stretched." (Source: University of Cambridge) Soft, Stretchy 'Jelly Batteries' Inspired by Electric Eels