Nanotechnology Platgorm

16/03/2022

15/03/2022

A research team demonstrated that electrolyte additives increase the lifetime of lithium metal batteries, improving the performance of fast charging and discharging.
Professor Nam-Soon Choi’s research team, from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST, hierarchised the solid electrolyte interphase to produce a dual-layer structure and demonstrated groundbreaking run times for lithium metal batteries.

The team applied two electrolyte additives that have different reduction and adsorption properties, in order to improve the functionality of the dual-layer solid electrolyte interphase. In addition, the team has also confirmed that the structural stability of the nickel-rich cathode was achieved through the formation of a thin protective layer on the cathode.

Advanced lithium metal batteries
Securing high-energy-density lithium metal batteries with a long lifespan and fast charging performance is vital for realising their ubiquitous use as superior power sources for electric vehicles.

15/03/2022

Scientists from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have discovered how to make battery cell production quick, inexpensive, flexible and to a high standard.
A holistic approach
The Cluster of Competence for Intelligent Battery Cell Production (InZePro) is coordinated by KIT. It is aimed at holistically optimising production systems and making them more flexible in terms of quantity, format, material, and technology. For this purpose, cross-process, data-driven optimisation approaches and Industry 4.0 solutions are developed.

To meet current requirements, battery cell production will occur in Germany in an economically efficient way in small, medium, and large series for various applications and markets. These innovative approaches are required to enhance productivity and reduce production costs. This is the initial situation of InZePro, which is currently being funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, who have invested a total of 44 million euros.

So far InZePro research projects have achieved first results focusing on agile plant technology, digitalisation of certain production steps and the entire battery cell production system, virtual production systems, and the use of AI in production.

Digitalising battery cell production
To digitalise battery cell production, toolboxes have been developed for machine and plant technology, process engineering, planning, control and logistics, and quality management. They can be used to evaluate and further develop already existing technical and organisational Industry 4.0 approaches to battery cell production. Scientists intend to accelerate systematic implementation of digitalisation to achieve Industry 4.0 in battery cell production. This will rapidly and efficiently increase future competitiveness of battery cell production. In the last project stage, the results will be summarised and published in a guideline.

15/03/2022

Researchers are developing new hand gesture technology that allows users to carry out commands on computers without the need of a keyboard or mouse.
The prototype human-computer interaction technology labelled ‘Typealike’, works through a regular laptop we**am with a simple affixed mirror. The program recognises the user’s hands and gestures beside or near the keyboard, prompting operations based on different hand positions.

A user could, for instance, place their right hand with the thumb pointing up beside the keyboard, and the program would recognise this as a signal to increase the volume. Different gestures and different combinations of gestures can be programmed to carry out a wide range of differing operations.

The innovation in the field of human-computer interaction technology aims to make user experience faster and smoother, reducing the dependency on keyboard shortcuts or working with a mouse and trackpad.

‘Typealike’ technology formation
“It started with a simple idea about new ways to use a we**am,” explained Nalin Chhibber, a recent master’s graduate from the University of Waterloo’s Cheriton School of Computer Science. “The we**am is pointed at your face, but the most interaction happening on a computer is around your hands. So, we thought what we could do if the we**am could pick up hand gestures?”

The initial insight led to the development of a small mechanical attachment that redirects the we**am downwards towards the hands. The team then designed a software program capable of understanding distinct hand gestures in variable conditions and for different users. The team utilised machine learning techniques to train the Typealike program.

“It’s a neural network, so you need to show the algorithm examples of what you’re trying to detect,” said Fabrice Matulic, senior researcher at Preferred Networks Inc and former postdoctoral researcher at Waterloo. “Some people will make gestures a little bit differently, and hands vary in size, so you have to collect a lot of data from different people with different lighting conditions.”

15/03/2022

Computer scientists and electrical engineers from the University of California discover a way to produce more expressive AI-generated voices with minimal training.
Researchers have uncovered a means to make AI-generated voices, such as digital personal assistants, more expressive, and organic with a minimum amount of training. The method, which translates text to speech, can also be applied to voices that were never part of the system’s training set.

The team of computer scientists and electrical engineers from the University of California San Diego presented their work at the ACML 2021 conference.