Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2024 - 8

Products of
Tomorrow
uDC-DC Power
Converter
A new DC-DC
power converter developed
by engineers
at the Kobe
University is superior
to previous designs and paves the way for
more efficient, reliable, and sustainable energy
storage and conversion solutions. The device can
efficiently interface with a wide range of energy
sources while enhancing system stability and simplicity
at an unprecedented efficiency. Its asymmetrical
duty limit control offers enhanced performance
especially for electric vehicle-connected
DC microgrids. The evaluation of the team's prototype
showed an impressive efficiency of up to
98.3 percent. According to the researchers, this
highlights the practical feasibility and scalability
of the proposed topology for real-world applications,
paving the way for future advancements in
bidirectional DC-DC conversion technology.
Contact: Daniel Schenz
Phone: +81-78-803-5160
E-mail: gnrl-intl-press@office.kobe-u.ac.jp
uHaptic Device for
Softness Perception
EPFL researchers have
developed a haptic device
capable of reproducing
the softness of
various materials. Understanding
and reproducing softness perception is
challenging because it involves so many sensory and
cognitive processes. Robotics researchers have tried
to address this challenge with haptic devices, but
previous attempts have not distinguished between
two primary elements of softness perception: cutaneous
cues (sensory feedback from the skin of the
fingertip), and kinesthetic cues (feedback about
the amount of force on the finger joint). With their
Softness Rendering Interface (SORI), the team
has achieved just that. By decoupling cutaneous
and kinesthetic cues, SORI faithfully recreates the
softness of a range of real materials, filling a gap in
the robotics field and enabling many applications
where softness sensation is critical - from deep-sea
exploration to robot-assisted surgery.
Contact: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne
Phone: +41-21-693-7022
E-mail: presse@epfl.ch
This column presents technologies that have
applications
in commercial areas, possibly
creating the products of tomorrow. To learn
more about each technology, see the contact
information provided for that innovation.
uFabric-Based Touch Sensor
Engineers from NC State University have combined three-dimensional embroidery
techniques with machine learning to create a fabric-based sensor that can control
electronic devices through touch. As the field of wearable electronics gains
more interest and new functions are added to clothing, an embroidery-based sensor
or " button " capable of controlling those functions becomes increasingly important.
Integrated into the fabric of a piece of clothing, the sensor can activate and control
electronic devices like mobile apps entirely by touch. The device is made up of two parts - the embroidered pressure
sensor itself and a microchip which processes and distributes the data collected by that sensor. The sensor is
made from yarns and is triboelectric, which means that it powers itself using the electric charge generated from
the friction between its multiple layers.
Contact: Joey Pitchford
Phone: 919-602-3270
E-mail: jmpitchf@ncsu.edu
8
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Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2024

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