3D printing shows potential to create wearable electronics

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Researchers at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (S&T) have started the project of creating stretchable electronics that can be elongated, compressed, or twisted to fit practically any surface.

Integrating the wide variety of materials needed to make such an electronic device with such components is proving to be challenging and researchers at Missouri S&T have decided to tackle this challenge using 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing has the benefit that it can easily change from one material to the another and integrate all the different materials together in one print.This process allows manufacturers to print highly conductive materials onto an elastomer surface layer by layer to create a stretchable electronic device.

At Missouri S&T, researchers are experimenting with a 3D printing approach called ‘direct aerosol printing’. The process involves spraying a conductive material and integrating with a stretchable substrate to develop sensors that can be placed on skin. A working prototype has been created of a stretchable electronic device that can adhere to the face. This project is still in the early phases, however it is believed the technology has a lot of potential, particularly in the biomedical engineering space, because of the soft and conformable nature of the device.

One of the most significant benefits of these electronics is that they can be completely wearable, and can form to any kind of motion, for example, being mounted on the face and detect any small motion from your face. Stretchable electronics could also be developed and installed in shoes and used to measure pressure and weights, the possible applications are extensive.

However, several challenges must be addressed before stretchable electronics become widely used as components in consumer electronics, medical devices and other fields. All the materials needed to make each stretchable electronic device needs to be printable, which means developing ink and printable materials that have all the necessary properties for each type of electronic device. In addition, there are also integration challenges, such as varying temperature requirements among different materials. It is also important to ensure that the stretchable electronics and the malleable surfaces they’re built upon perform and age well together.

One of the biggest research focuses right now is to develop an effective, long-lasting stretchable battery, as the energy device is a very critical component in order for stretchable electronics to be realistic.

Following the perfection of the technology, the products will also need to be scaled-up. 3D printing does make that process more streamlined as it can be easily moved to any location, however there are still a lot of unknown factors. The device itself will also need to be low-cost to create, and eventually biodegradable. Despite these hurdles, researchers are optimistic that stretchable electronics, made using 3D printing, will become more commonplace going forward.

If your company is using 3D printing, you may be eligible for the federal R&D Tax Credit.  Contact a Swanson Reed specialist to see if you qualify.

GE opens oil and gas R&D center in Oklahoma

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Two test wells drilled deep underground and a well simulation towering five stories above, highlight the advanced research capabilities of GE’s Oil and Gas Technology Center.

GE have opened their oil and gas technology center in Oklahoma City, which is expected to become the central hub for the company’s scientists and engineers to collaborate with the oil and gas industry on digital and hardware solutions and advancements. The center consists of five stories and 125,000 sq ft of lab and office space, suitable for 230 employees.

The facility is designed to advance technology throughout the oil and natural gas industry, and is the company’s 10th worldwide research center, however, the first to specialize in one area.

GE’s CEO, Lorenzo Simonelli, says the research focus at the center will span across all areas of oil and gas such as; production solutions and well construction systems, oilfield facilities and systems, and reservoir performers. Simonelli believes a strong commitment to R&D will help the oil and gas customers find new efficiencies to work through tough market conditions and lead to transformational opportunities for the industry to thrive long term.

“This is a unique center from a global perspective and the plan is to be at the forefront and take the industry forward through applied technology,” Simonelli said. “Unconventional oil and gas drilling is taking place in other parts of the world. There is an opportunity to bring them in here to study and learn with others in the industry. This is going to provide the ability for commercialization of new technology and a new approach at a faster pace.”

The new technology center will accelerate innovation, the center will enable the full power of digital solutions and technology from across GE’s industrial businesses to advance the oil and gas industry.

While the oil and natural gas industry has used improved technology over the past decade to unlock vast amounts of oil and natural gas, the industry remains inefficient, said Mike Ming, general manager of the research facility. The new technology outcomes from this center will solve this issue by utilizing reserves in cost-effective and environmentally friendly ways and subsequently attracting companies from across the nation and around the world.

An innovative creation which has already been developed at the technology center is ‘Raven’ the prototype drone, engineered to detect emissions precisely and cost-effectively. ‘Raven’ has already been successfully piloted and was able to detect emissions from oilfield equipment at well sites in Arkansas. ‘Raven’ is one of many exciting developments to be produced from Oklahoma’s new research center.

To find out whether your company could qualify for the Federal Research Credit, Contact a Swanson Reed specialist.

Silicon Valley Company Opens Seattle Office

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Snowflake Computing recently announced the opening of an engineering office in Bellevue, Seattle, expanding away from its Silicon Valley headquarters.

Run by former Microsoft executive Bob Muglia, Snowflake is a cloud-based data analytics platform that uses SQL to organize and analyze business data. The platform was ranked the number one cloud data warehouse by Gigaom Research, receiving an impressive score of 4.85 out of 5.

Snowflake plans to hire up to 15 engineers at its new Seattle office in 2017 and expects to eventually expand to around 100. Nationally, Seattle has become a central hub for cloud technology, with companies like Microsoft and Amazon placing headquarters there.

Snowflake illustrates how thinking long-term and investing in R&D is critical in the fast-moving tech sector. In 2015, the company raised $45 million in funding for R&D and business development. Muglia stated that data warehousing was, “Ripe for disruptive innovation, driven by the shift to cloud computing and the explosion of customer interest in data insights.” Snowflake’s vision was to, “Reimagine the data warehouse for the cloud era with a completely new product built from the cloud up that doesn’t require retooling and retraining.”

Companies like Snowflake are putting pressure on even the largest companies. They outperformed Google’s BigQuery and Microsoft’s Azure SQL for the title of Best Cloud Data Warehouse. They also price matched Amazon’s S3 cloud storage service, stating that price was a key consideration for technology officers. “All organizations are keen to harness the insights derived from more and more data… It all comes down to technology and the cost of storing that data.”

Today, many billions of dollars are being invested in R&D by technology companies in order to stay relevant. Alphabet Inc, Intel and Microsoft spent over $12 billion each on R&D in 2016 for projects like Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car technology. Just a decade ago, the list of highest R&D spending was dominated by automotive and healthcare companies.

Corporate spending on R&D in the US is at its highest ever. A study by Bloomberg found that large companies that spent more on R&D got the largest returns with faster market capitalization growth. It also discovered that older companies that invested in continuous innovation performed better over the long-term.

Want to benefit from the federal R&D tax credit? Contact Swanson Reed R&D Tax Specialists today for an eligibility assessment.

Which Texan City is Exceeding Tech Job Growth?

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From 2015 to 2016, tech jobs in Texas increased by 1.9%, producing 11,000 new jobs. Yet the standout city was Dallas, creating 2,978 jobs last year, mainly due to strong growth in computer systems design, telecommunications services and IT services.

With the exception of California, Texas hires more tech workers than any other state. Last year, 2,196 tech jobs were generated in Houston, 974 in Austin and 843 in San Antonio, bringing the total number of tech employees in the state to 592,960. These cities are among the fastest-growing metro areas in the US. Popular tech jobs include computer user support specialist with almost 5,000 workers in San Antonio alone, followed by application software developer with 4,620 employed.

Interestingly, Austin ranked 1st for start-up hubs based inland and 6th in the US overall, demonstrating that entrepreneurial activity is now occurring away from the typical coastal regions and well-known technology hubs. In actual fact, start-ups are now being formed in every state, in what has been termed, “The Rise of the Rest.” This is significant as high-growth start-ups provide the most potential for employment growth; they tend to create jobs faster than more established organizations.

Nationally, the tech sector grew by almost 3% in 2016, with California, New York, Florida and Massachusetts also among the top states for tech jobs. Tech job gains were largest in California, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Michigan.

Today, there are more US workers in tech jobs than in finance, transportation or construction. Since 2010, there has been a 2.7% gain each year for the sector. Technology is transforming every industry, as businesses become more and more reliant on IT for growth. Tim Herber from CompTIA, declared that, “Organizations of all sizes are embracing cloud-based technology solutions, expanding their mobile presence, fortifying cyber defenses and driving decision-making through advanced data analysis.”

The federal and state R&D Tax Credit is available to technology companies who are developing new or improved software, products, formulas or processes, among other activities. To find out whether your company is eligible, contact Swanson Reed R&D Tax Specialists.

New Study Says Solar Energy Is the Answer to Climate Change, but Requires Improvements in the R&D World

Solar energy may be the one and only answer to climate change.

According to a new study from MIT, “The Future of Solar Energy,” solar has the ability to reverse the effects of climate change by mid-century, but it comes with major obstacles.

“It is going to have to be solar,” explained MIT Economics and Management Professor Emeritus and study chair Richard Schmalensee. “That leads to the question of whether today’s technology, with incremental improvements, can do it. We have serious doubts.”

There will have to be powerful advances in solar technology before solar energy can become the leading universal electricity provider.

“It will take increasing solar by a factor of 65. Not doubling, but a factor of 65,” Schmalensee said, describing how solar could prevent the world from enduring the worst consequences of climate change. “And it has to be done globally, in China and India and sub-Saharan Africa. That means it has to be cheap.”

The researchers at MIT are saying that this change will be difficult, but not impossible. There are policy changes that need to happen immediately in order to get where we need to be.

Schmalensee emphasized that we need to “get R&D right,” because “it is not automatic that there will be new technologies.” There will be many hurdles that will require major R&D spending.

He also stressed the importance of fixing the subsidies “so we are getting more solar per dollar.”

The study states that, “policies that reward production are generally superior in terms of return per dollar spent to policies that subsidize investment in solar generation.”

The study’s suggestion on the issue: “Subsidies for solar and other renewable technologies should reward generation, not investment, and should reward generation more when it is more valuable…Tax credits should be replaced by direct grants, which are more transparent and more effective. If this is not possible, steps should be taken to avoid dependence on the tax equity market.”

Click here for the full study.

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