At the 14th IDTechEx Printed Electronics Europe conference and exhibition, three companies were honoured for their great achievements in developing and commercialising printed electronics technologies. The judges of the awards were Dr Natasha Conway, Manager - Technology Networking and R&D at Beko and Dr Alexander Mityashin, Program Manager Thin Film Electronics, IMEC.
The awards were presented by Mr. Raghu Das, CEO of IDTechEx in Berlin on 11 April 2018. A summary of the awards and winners are as follows:
Best Institute/Academic R&D Award - Fraunhofer IFAM
Technical Development Materials Award - Nano Dimension
Best Product Award - Applied Nanodetectors
Best Institute/Academic R&D Award - Fraunhofer IFAM
The primary goal of Fraunhofer IFAM's project "printed customized electrodes for gesture recognition" was to print suitable patterns of conductive materials onto surfaces for three-dimensional gesture recognition, motion tracking and approach detection with different printing technologies e.g. inkjet printing, aerosol jet printing, stencil printing or screen printing.
Investigations regarding printability and adhesion of different substrates were carried out. Moreover, the conductivity of the printed electrodes and the resulting capacitances depending on the used materials e.g. silver, copper or graphene was examined.
Such a system enables user command input with natural hand and finger movements. It consists of a microcontroller which uses the principles of electrical near-field sensing. This chip is connected to electrodes that are sensing the E-field variance and calculates the users' hand motion into gestures.
"This is a great development showcasing the important role printed electronics has in human-machine interfaces." reported one of the judges.
"We really appreciate to receive the Best Institute/Academic R&D Award at the IDTechEx Show. In addition to mechanical buttons or touch-sensitive displays, there is a new form of input: the gesture control which will be the future of the human machine interaction. We are delighted that it really worked out to print electrodes for gesture recognition onto several substrates with diverse printing technologies and looking forward to be at the IDTechEx 2019." Fraunhofer IFAM
Technical Development Materials Award - Nano Dimension
Nano Dimension has developed advanced materials - conductive and dielectric inks - that support the form and function of a broad range of 3D-printed objects.
Nano Dimension's inks for inkjet 3D printers are conductive, electrical, structural and solderable, compatible with different file types and substrates. The company's AgCite™ conductive nanoparticle inks, as well as their dielectric materials, have been developed to be used together. Combining very different materials in a single object is a significant challenge that has taken Nano Dimension's nano-chemistry team several years to optimize. These materials are then printed with Nano Dimension's DragonFly 2020 3D Printer, which deposits the materials in such a way that it allows the production of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) and novel 3D circuity.
This unique combination of a dielectric material (for mechanical structure, high temperature resistance and electrical insulation) and very low melting point metal conductive material for the circuitry, breaks existing technology barriers for multi-material 3D printing.
"It is clear that the development of Nano-Dimension's materials was a key enabler for creating their multi-material 3D printing for electronics. Truly ground-breaking" - reported one of the judges.
Best Product Award- Applied Nanodetectors
Applied Nanodetectors' new asthma breathalyser can accurately and selectively detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in breath which has been shown to identity different phenotypes in asthma and can also discriminate between viral and bacterial infection, which is crucial to effective treatment. It will eventually be available for home use and it would help asthmatics more effectively manage their condition and prevent hospitalization and improve their quality of life.
The company reports, "Our new printed electronics-based gas sensor array is incorporated into the asthma breathalyser to measure trace levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in human breath. The gas sensor detects up to 16 gases using a unique patented method of detection. This is the world's first printed electronics gas sensor array on flexible substrates. Conventional sensors have to be heated and consume high electrical power."
"It demonstrates a novel use of printed electronics in a sensor array to deliver a unique method of gas detection" stated one of the judges.
"We are delighted and honoured to receive the IDTechEx Award for Best Product. We have been developing a new point of care exhaled breath test, which would give asthma patients a rapid diagnosis and personalized treatment plan in less than one minute. Home monitoring of airway inflammation via exhaled breath would enable a more proactive, personalized and cost-effective approach to disease management. Inside the handheld device, we use our printed electronics sensor array platform. It's a low-cost technology that can monitor many gases simultaneously, in real time and with a high degree of accuracy". Applied Nanodetectors
The next IDTechEx Printed Electronics award ceremony
The next IDTechEx Printed Electronics award ceremony will be held in Silicon Valley in Santa Clara, CA on November 14 & 15. For more details visit www.PrintedElectronicsUSA.com
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