The Leading Source for Design Engineering News & Insight
Solar Impulse - Behind-the-Scenes
May 16, 2013 9:18 am | by Solar Impulse | Videos | CommentsAfter winning the prize of the "Most Frequently Asked Question", Solar Impulse's favorite behind-the-scenes expert uncovers how the pilots go to, well... to the bathroom. Meet Brian and the challenges he's had to face to find the most appropriate solution for this very sensitive issue.
BP challenges 'fictitious' claims from oil spill
May 16, 2013 6:39 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsBP is seeking to stop paying millions of dollars in what it calls spurious compensation claims stemming from the catastrophic 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The company warned Thursday that the excessive claims are jeopardizing its financial prospects. It has sought an injunction in U.S....
Google unveils maps, photo, music features
May 15, 2013 7:22 pm | by MICHAEL LIEDTKE - AP Technology Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsGoogle's sixth annual conference for software developers opened Wednesday with a chance for the company to showcase its latest services. Announcements included new features for online games, maps and search, a new music-streaming service and enhancements to its Google Plus social network,...
Tesla Shares Soar After Hours on Offering Plans
May 15, 2013 6:28 pm | by Sarah Skidmore - AP Business Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsTesla Motors Inc. on Wednesday said it is planning a stock and notes offering that includes plans for its CEO and co-founder, Elon Musk, to buy a chunk of the shares himself. The news sent Tesla's stock up nearly 7 percent in after-hours trading, extending the rally in stock of the maker of pricy...
Cambridge Nanotherm Establishes First Step Towards Mass Manufacturing
May 15, 2013 5:24 pm | by Technology Strategy Board | News | CommentsElectronics thermal management innovator Cambridge Nanotherm is to build its first prototype manufacturing plant in Haverhill, UK following the award of £250,000 in matched funding from the UK Innovation Agency - Technology Strategy Board (TSB).
HEIDENHAIN's New Encoder Testing Software Now Available
May 15, 2013 5:20 pm | by HEIDENHAIN | Heidenhain Corp. | News | CommentsUsed in conjunction with HEIDENHAIN’s PWM 20 diagnostic tool, the new ATS (Adjustment and Testing Software) software provides a powerful and easy-to-use platform to diagnosis encoder faults and to evaluate the output signals of HEIDENHAIN encoders.
Ocean Optics Launches Powerful New Spectroscopy Software
May 15, 2013 5:16 pm | by Ocean Optics | News | CommentsOcean Optics has released OceanView spectroscopy software, combining powerful data processing capabilities with a clear graphical user interface for use with the company’s miniature spectrometers. OceanView is highly customizable and includes a schematic view that provides a visual roadmap of data flow from spectral inputs to processed results.
MIT Student Inventor Awarded for Innovative Medical Devices
May 15, 2013 4:52 pm | by Melissa Barnes, Associate Editor PD&D | Articles | CommentsEach year, MIT’s Lemelson program awards an outstanding student inventor for his or her contribution to innovative technology. This year, Nikolai Begg was awarded the $30,000 prize for his portfolio of cutting-edge medical devices. The main inspiration behind his work was a quest to create less invasive surgical tools, and by all means, he is succeeding.
Next Generation Surge Protector
May 15, 2013 4:02 pm | Thomas Research Products | Product Releases | CommentsThomas Research Products (Huntley, IL) has announced an advanced new generation of their Surge Protector product line. The FSP3-277-20K model Surge Protector is useful in avoiding costly problems in 24/7 outdoor applications, including street lighting, big-box retail, warehouses, parking garages, and transportation facilities.
Google's music plan part of fresh wave of upgrades
May 15, 2013 3:56 pm | by MICHAEL LIEDTKE - AP Technology Writers - Associated Press | News | CommentsGoogle Inc. unveiled a streaming music service called All Access that blends songs users have already uploaded to their online libraries with millions of other tracks for a $10 monthly fee. The service puts the Internet goliath in competition with popular paid subscription plans like Spotify and...
Top IN Wind Farm Drafts Bat-Protection Plans
May 15, 2013 3:55 pm | by Rick Callahan - Associated Press | News | CommentsThe operators of Indiana's largest wind farm are proposing changing the nighttime operations of the farm's 300-plus wind turbines to protect endangered Indiana bats from being killed by the turbines' spinning blades. Two of the mouse-sized federally protected species have been found dead since...
All SiC 3-Phase Power Module
May 15, 2013 3:50 pm | by PD&D Staff | Cree Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsCree, Inc. (Durham, NC) (Nasdaq: CREE) has introduced the industry’s first commercially available silicon carbide (SiC) six-pack power module. When compared to state-of-the-art silicon modules, the SiC 1.2 kV, 50 A modules deliver performance equivalent to silicon modules rated at 150 A.
Digital Pyrodetector for Wireless & Battery-Operated Devices
May 15, 2013 3:40 pm | by PD&D Staff | Product Releases | CommentsExcelitas Technologies (Waltham, MA) has announced the Low-Power DigiPyro PYD 1688. As part of the industry’s one and only Digital Pyroelectric Infrared Detector Family, the new DigiPyro PYD 1688 was developed for use in both residential and commercial products.
Making Frequency-Hopping Radios Practical
May 15, 2013 2:45 pm | by Larry Hardesty, MIT | News | CommentsThe way in which radio spectrum is currently allocated to different wireless technologies can lead to gross inefficiencies. In some regions, for instance, the frequencies used by cellphones can be desperately congested, while large swaths of the broadcast-television spectrum stand idle.
HotSpot Episode 12: 3D Microbatteries
May 15, 2013 2:40 pm | by Eric Sorensen, Multimedia Coordinator | Videos | CommentsThis week on WDD's HotSpot, a netbook-like combo that uses a smartphone for its computing power, new microbatteries for a balance between energy and density, satellites that listen in on ADS, and a sound camera that shows the location of troublesome noises in machinery.
