From wireless sensor networks to new plastics to energy harvesting, the array of technologies of interest to the design news community is advancing at a pace we haven't seen in years.
Our friends at EETimes put together their list of the top 20 areas they see as big movers in 2012. We've pared out the EE- and silicon-specific stuff like white-space radios and 4G communications networks to come up with our selection of the cutting-edge spheres to watch. All will offer both challenges and new options in the upcoming 12 months.
Click the image below to view our gallery of the top 12 hot design technologies of 2012:
MEMS is really six or seven sub-domains, many of which have products with high growth numbers.
They include: environmental sensors such as pressure and humidity sensors and silicon microphones; inertial sensors including accelerometers and gyroscopes; inkjets and microfluidics; microactuators including micromirror devices and displays; RF MEMS; micro-opto-electromechanical systems (MOEMS); bioelectronic probes and substrates.
Shown in the picture is MEMSIC's no-moving-parts MEMS accelerometer, which uses a heater to raise the temperature of a central column of air, while thermocouples around the edge indicate acceleration as a change in temperature.
Great look ahead at some pretty amazing technologies that have the potential to dramatically change the landscape of how we work, live, and play--albeit, not necessarily in the 2012 timeframe. A couple of things stand out to me: The idea of plastic, hence biodegradeable, electronics seems like it could have some profound benefits long term given the heaps of disgarded equipment we see littering the landscapes of third-world nations. I'm also intrigued by the idea of organic LEDs. What makes an LED organic and what's the upshot of that?
I'm struck by how closely the picks in this article written by our colleagues at EE Times dovetails with what we've been covering all year long here at Design News. So that says that we've been on the money, but more than that that these "hot" technologies are actually moving very quickly into the mainstream. For some, I see this and it's been obvious for a while (say, MEMs and photovoltaic cells). However, for others I'm a bit surprised to find the uptake might be quicker than I've been assuming. Here the key example is energy harvesting, which I guess is being goosed by its ROI.
I am wondering the same thing about organic LEDs, Beth. Also, do organic LEDs have a similar lifespan of inorganic LEDs? Does one have advantages over the other? I'm definitely looking forward to learning more.
What a great, diverse of collection of technologies and applications. If I were a bettor, I'd put my money on the Internet of Things. It's doable and will have a lot of big, motivated players behind it. Even though it has great potential, I think it will emerge quietly, with many of us not even knowing its there.
The near field communications is an interesting technology. It's being tested in some markets. Quite of number of phone makers and financial companies are investing in it. Apple is lining up patents to use it at Apple stores.
Good point on the Internet of Things, Chuck. I remember a lot of talk about this during the early dot com days. Then it kind of disappeared. Nice to see it revived. A lot of the technology is already there. It's a matter of deploying the technology in useful ways.
My top-of-the-top votes would be for MEMS, which are amazing enablers and now come in so many different flavors, and energy harvesting, which is not only a good idea but may become more necessary in the search for alternative energy sources. I'd also vote for PV solar cells for the same reason. Organic LEDs took me by surprise, though--what a great idea.
One high-rofile application of MEMS is in Holywood movies, such as Iron Man. The MEMS-based suits enable actotrs to do amazing stunts and we're going to see a lot more applications of the technology in the next few years.
In answer to your question, Beth, the "Internet of Things" is what I'll admit is an unusual term to describe the coming of 'Net connectivity to commonplace items. The biggest example would be, all appliances, from coffee makers and blenders to refrigerators, will be connected to the Internet. This will enable remote control, energy saving, and automatically pushed-down software updates. On the flip side, Internet of Things opponents worry about privacy (sucking down data about users' habits). Asia (particularly China) seems to be the nexus of initial activity of the Internet of Things, which may be why it's kind of a non-idiomatic English coinage. Intel, for one, sees a huge market selling processors which support the Internet connectivity of all these devices.
By experimenting with the photovoltaic reaction in solar cells, researchers at MIT have made a breakthrough in energy efficiency that significantly pushes the boundaries of current commercial cells on the market.
In a world that's going green, industrial operations have a problem: Their processes involve materials that are potentially toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive. If improperly managed, this can precipitate dangerous health and environmental consequences.
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
3 
