Mobile payments are set to explode over the next few years, according to new research released today from Forrester. According to the report, U.S. mobile payments will reach $90 billion by 2017, a 48 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from the $12.8 billion spent in 2012. Denée Carrington, the author of the report, says […]
Applications
Creaform’s TRUaccuracy Technology in the Automotive Industry
Creaform has announced the installation of probing and non-contact 3D measurement systems at the BMW plant in Munich, Germany. The TRUaccuracy technology which is integrated in all Creaform systems is a key factor that contributed to convince BMW. Since October of 2012, the BMW plant in Munich has been using the MetraSCAN 3D optical […]
Mathematical Breakthrough Sets Out Rules for More Effective Teleportation
For the last ten years, theoretical physicists have shown that the intense connections generated between particles as established in the quantum law of ‘entanglement’ may hold the key to eventual teleportation of quantum information. Now, for the first time, researchers have worked out how entanglement could be ‘recycled’ to increase the efficiency of these connections. […]
New Jersey’s power and fuel infrastructure was no match for Sandy
The love-hate relationship we have with “the grid” was inescapable during Superstorm Sandy. We don’t think about it much when our homes are lit and appliances are humming – we have the freedom to do anything we want. But when there’s an interruption, there’s that nagging wish to be free from the grip of our […]
Heliatek Consolidates Its Technology Leadership
Heliatek GmbH has announced a record breaking 12.0% cell efficiency for its organic solar cells. This world record, established in cooperation with the University of Ulm and TU Dresden, was measured by the accredited testing facility SGS. The measurement campaign at SGS also validated the superior low light and high temperature performances of organic photovoltaics […]
The Right’s Resistance to Regulation
James Watt, who served as Secretary of the Interior from 1981 to 1983, is remembered primarily for a short, business-friendly tenure that ended with his resignation soon after an ill-judged remark about women, minorities and the disabled. And yet, as MIT professor Judith Layzer observes in her new book about environmental politics, “Open for Business,” […]
Toyota Boshoku Starts Production of Hybrid Components
NAGOYA – Automotive parts supplier Toyota Boshoku Corp. said it has started producing power generating components for motors of Toyota Motor Corp.’s remodeled Crown luxury sedan, which features a newly developed hybrid system. It marks Toyota Boshoku’s first advancement into the field of hybrid-related components.
Honda, Others Focus on Luxury Models at U.S. Auto Show
DETROIT, Jan. 16 (Kyodo) — Honda Motor Co. and fellow manufacturers from Japan and the United States showed a renewed emphasis on their mainstay lines and luxury models at this year’s North American International Auto Show, shifting their focus from electric vehicles and other hi-tech offerings. By unwrapping high-margin products, they hope to immediately shore […]
NREL Launches Interactive Tool for Developing a Cleaner Energy Future
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has created an energy analysis tool to help individuals and educators experiment with future energy use scenarios. The interactive Buildings, Industry, Transportation, Electricity, and Transportation Scenarios (BITES) allows users to explore how changes in energy demand and supply can impact carbon dioxide emissions and […]
Device Tosses Out Unusable PV Wafers
Silicon wafers destined to become photovoltaic (PV) cells can take a bruising through assembly lines, as they are oxidized, annealed, purified, diffused, etched, and layered to reach their destinies as efficient converters of the sun’s rays into useful electricity. All those refinements are too much for 5% to 10% of the costly wafers. They have […]