Environmental themes have been strong at the K Fairs for at least 15 years. This year new bioplastics moved front and center. One of the most interesting new products comes from Novamont, which is showing a tire in which bioplastics made from starch replace some of the carbon black and silica used in automobile tires. The new material is aid to provide better grip on roads by reducing “rolling resistance” 30 per cent, according to development partner Goodyear. The result is improved fuel efficiency. Tread wear and noise pollution are also said to be reduced with the new compound. Goodyear anticipates he tire will cost the same as traditional tires. The first user is expected to be BMW, which is also a development partner. Goodyear received a 3 million euro ($4.3 million) grant from the European Commission to develop the new tire.
Ford and Unifi, maker of Repreve, will gather and recycle 2 million plastic bottles at CES and other shows for conversion into the Repreve seat fabric used in the 2012 Focus EV.
Thanks to embedded electronics, medical devices are getting smaller and smarter than ever. Pacemakers and implantable defibrillators are now able to call physicians. MRIs, CT scanners, and ultrasound machines are gaining mobility. And the venerable Band-Aid may soon be able to detect illnesses ranging from fevers to heart arrhythmias. On February 21, join Design News senior editor Charles Murray for a wide-ranging discussion, "Embedded Angles for Medical Products," which will explore the latest developments in medical electronics. The discussion will examine advances in medical device technology and offer an inside look at the embedded electronics behind it.
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