<p>In this episode, we talk about a joint effort between MIT, CalTech, and ETH Zurich to create a lightweight nanostructured material capable of providing better impact resistance than kevlar on a per mass basis, NASA JPL and CalTech students proving that weather balloons capable of reading seismic activity could help us better understand the mysteries of Venus, and how University of Michigan researchers are liberating the trapped light in OLED devices. &nbsp;As always, you can find these and other interesting &amp; impactful engineering articles on Wevolver.com.&nbsp;</p><p><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/de851a77-9a1c-4caf-9f7a-e3bff5405a74?dark=false" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe></span><br></p><h3 id="isPasted">EPISODE NOTES</h3><p>Take a few seconds to leave us a review. It really helps!&nbsp;<a href="https://apple.co/2RIsbZ2" target="_blank">https://apple.co/2RIsbZ2</a> if you do it and send us proof, we’ll give you a shoutout on the show.</p><p>(0:49) - Nanostructured Shields:&nbsp;</p><p>MIT, CalTech, and ETH Zurich researchers have developed a new lightweight material capable of providing more stopping power than kevlar on a per mass basis. Furthermore, they were able to use the Buckingham-pi theorem - an analytical method used to measure how much material a meteor can excavate from a planet - to create a framework for assessing the impact absorption effectiveness of new nanostructured materials.&nbsp;</p><p>(10:55) - Balloon Detection of Venus Earthquakes:&nbsp;</p><p>Much of what we know about the inner workings of planet earth comes from our analysis of seismic activity but it's not that easy to do the same on other planets with inhospitable surface conditions like Venus. So how can we work around this problem? According to NASA JPL and some students from CalTech, balloons are the answer! The team was able to prove that weather balloons with barometers (instruments that gauge pressure differences) could detect earthquakes miles away.&nbsp;</p><p>(16:00) - Increasing OLED Efficiency:&nbsp;</p><p>OLED screens are becoming the standard for phones, TVs, and monitors; however, about 80% of the light produced by these screens actually ends up trapped inside the devices leading to drastic decreases in overall efficiency. Researchers from University of Michigan have found a way to liberate ~20% of the trapped light by making some modifications to the electrodes on either side of the light emitters and using an index-matching fluid to prevent light getting trapped by the outer glass layer.</p><p id="isPasted">--</p><p>About the podcast:</p><p>Every day, some of the most innovative universities, companies, and individual technology developers share their knowledge on Wevolver. To ensure we can also provide this knowledge for the growing group of podcast listeners, we started a collaboration with two young engineers, Daniel Scott Mitchell &amp; Farbod Moghaddam who discuss the most interesting content in this podcast series.&nbsp;</p><p>To learn more about this show, please visit the <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" target="_blank">shows page</a>. By following the page, you will get automatic updates by email when a new show is published.</p><p>Be sure to give us a follow and review on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/the-next-byte/id1548255861?l=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apple</a> podcasts, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6lPPsRtegnivsRUEsQ09R7?si=IPMiah7xT_apJtPjqvXMlA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, and most of your favorite podcast platforms!</p>

In this episode, we talk about Nanostructured Shields, Balloon Venusquake Detection, and 20% Brighter OLED

Podcast: Nanostructured Shields, Balloon Venusquake Detection, 20 Percent Brighter OLED

<p>The technology, developed by researchers from the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and University College London (UCL), is based on LiDAR (light detection and ranging), and uses LiDAR data to create ultra-high-definition holographic representations of road objects which are beamed directly to the driver’s eyes, instead of 2D windscreen projections used in most head-up displays.</p><p>While the technology has not yet been tested in a car, early tests, based on data collected from a busy street in central London, showed that the holographic images appear in the driver’s field of view according to their actual position, creating an augmented reality. This could be particularly useful where objects such as road signs are hidden by large trees or trucks, for example, allowing the driver to ‘see through’ visual obstructions. The <a href="https://www.osapublishing.org/oe/fulltext.cfm?uri=oe-29-9-13681&id=450306" target="_blank">results</a> are reported in the journal <em>Optics Express</em>.</p><p><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pa7o2Gd4ITU?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 786px; height: 442px;"></iframe></span></p><p>“Head-up displays are being incorporated into connected vehicles, and usually project information such as speed or fuel levels directly onto the windscreen in front of the driver, who must keep their eyes on the road,” said lead author <a href="http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/profiles/js2459" target="_blank">Jana Skirnewskaja</a>, a PhD candidate from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering. “However, we wanted to go a step further by representing real objects as panoramic 3D projections.”</p><p>Skirnewskaja and her colleagues based their system on LiDAR, a remote sensing method that works by sending out a laser pulse to measure the distance between the scanner and an object. LiDAR is commonly used in agriculture, archaeology and geography, but it is also being trialled in autonomous vehicles for obstacle detection.</p><p><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9kgweRItSFU?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 787px; height: 466px;"></iframe></span></p><p>Using LiDAR, the researchers scanned Malet Street, a busy street on the UCL campus in central London. Co-author Phil Wilkes, a geographer who normally uses LiDAR to scan tropical forests, scanned the whole street using a technique called terrestrial laser scanning. Millions of pulses were sent out from multiple positions along Malet Street. The LiDAR data was then combined with point cloud data, building up a 3D model.</p><p>“This way, we can stitch the scans together, building a whole scene, which doesn’t only capture trees, but cars, trucks, people, signs, and everything else you would see on a typical city street,” said Wilkes. “Although the data we captured was from a stationary platform, it’s similar to the sensors that will be in the next generation of autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles.”</p><p>When the 3D model of Malet St was completed, the researchers then transformed various objects on the street into holographic projections. The LiDAR data, in the form of point clouds, was processed by separation algorithms to identify and extract the target objects. Another algorithm was used to convert the target objects into computer-generated diffraction patterns. These data points were implemented into the optical setup to project 3D holographic objects into the driver’s field of view.</p><p></p><div class="fr-img-space-wrap"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 788px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1621597362621-Projection+3_CENTRE.jpg" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner">Image based on LiDAR data (left), converted to a hologram (right).&nbsp;</span></span></span><p class="fr-img-space-wrap2">The optical setup is capable of projecting multiple layers of holograms with the help of advanced algorithms. The holographic projection can appear at different sizes and is aligned with the position of the represented real object on the street. For example, a hidden street sign would appear as a holographic projection relative to its actual position behind the obstruction, acting as an alert mechanism.</p><p>In future, the researchers hope to refine their system by personalising the layout of the head-up displays and have created an algorithm capable of projecting several layers of different objects. These layered holograms can be freely arranged in the driver’s vision space. For example, in the first layer, a traffic sign at a further distance can be projected at a smaller size. In the second layer, a warning sign at a closer distance can be displayed at a larger size.</p><p>“This layering technique provides an augmented reality experience and alerts the driver in a natural way,” said Skirnewskaja. “Every individual may have different preferences for their display options. For instance, the driver’s vital health signs could be projected in a desired location of the head-up display.</p><p>“Panoramic holographic projections could be a valuable addition to existing safety measures by showing road objects in real time. Holograms act to alert the driver but are not a distraction.”</p><p>The researchers are now working to miniaturise the optical components used in their holographic setup so they can fit into a car. Once the setup is complete, vehicle tests on public roads in Cambridge will be carried out.</p><p>Skirnewskaja is a PhD candidate at the <a href="https://www.ceps-cdt.org/" target="_blank">EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Connected Electronic and Photonic Systems</a>, a joint centre with the University of Cambridge and UCL. She also is a fellow of the Foundation of German Business (SDW).</p><hr><p><strong>Reference:</strong><br><em>Jana Skirnewskaja et al. ‘<a href="https://www.osapublishing.org/oe/fulltext.cfm?uri=oe-29-9-13681&id=450306" target="_blank">LiDAR-Derived Digital Holograms for Automotive Head-Up Displays</a>.’ Optics Express (2021). DOI: 10.1364/oe.420740</em></p></div><p></p>

Image based on LiDAR data (left), converted to a hologram (right).

Researchers have developed the first LiDAR-based augmented reality head-up display for use in vehicles. Tests on a prototype version of the technology suggest that it could improve road safety by ‘seeing through’ objects to alert of potential hazards without distracting the driver.

3D holographic head-up display could improve road safety

<p>We are probably all familiar with this: if you want to quickly type a message on your smartphone, you sometimes hit the wrong letters on the small keyboard – or on other input buttons in an app. But it's not just us. The touch sensors, which detect finger input on the touch screen, have not changed much since they were first released in mobile phones in the mid-2000s.</p><p>In contrast, the screens of smartphones and tablets are now providing unprecedented visual quality, which is even more evident with each new generation of devices: higher colour fidelity, higher resolution, crisper contrast. A latest-generation iPhone, for example, has a display resolution of 2532x1170 pixels. But the touch sensor it integrates can only detect input with a resolution of around 32x15 pixels – that's almost 80 times lower than the display resolution: "And here we are, wondering why we make so many typing errors on the small keyboard? We think that we should be able to select objects with pixel accuracy through touch, but that’s certainly not the case," says Christian Holz, ETH computer science professor from the Sensing, Interaction &amp; Perception Lab (SIPLAB) in an <a href="https://inf.ethz.ch/news-and-events/spotlights/infk-news-channel/2021/05/christian-holz-capcontact.html" target="_blank">interview in the ETH Computer Science Department's "Spotlights" series</a>.</p><p>Together with his doctoral student Paul Streli, Holz has now developed an artificial intelligence (AI) called "CapContact" that gives touch screens super-resolution so that they can reliably detect when and where fingers actually touch the display surface, with much higher accuracy than current devices do. This week they presented their new AI solution at <a href="https://programs.sigchi.org/chi/2021/program/content/47316" target="_blank">ACM CHI 2021</a>, the premier conference in on Human Factors in Computing Systems.</p><h2><strong>Recognising where fingers touch the screen</strong></h2><p>The ETH researchers developed the AI for capacitive touch screens, which are the types of touch screens used in all our mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. The sensor detects the position of the fingers by the fact that the electrical field between the sensor lines changes due to the proximity of a finger when touching the screen surface. Because capacitive sensing inherently captures this proximity, it cannot actually detect true contact – which is sufficient for interaction, however, because the intensity of a measured touch decreases exponentially with the growing distance of the fingers.</p><p>Capacitance sensing was never designed to infer with pinpoint accuracy where a touch actually occurs on the screen, says Holz: "It only detects the proximity of our fingers." The touch screens of today's devices thus interpolate the location where the input is made with the finger from coarse proximity measurements. In their project, the researchers aimed to address both shortcomings of these ubiquitous sensors: On the one hand, they had to increase the currently low resolution of the sensors and, on the other hand, they had to find out how to precisely infer the respective contact area between finger and display surface from the capacitive measurements.</p><p>Consequently, "CapContact", the novel method Streli and Holz developed for this purpose, combines two approaches: On the one hand, they use the touch screens as image sensors. According to Holz, a touch screen is essentially a very low-resolution depth camera that can see about eight millimetres far. A depth camera does not capture coloured images, but records an image of how close objects are. On the other hand, "CapContact" exploits this insight to accurately detect the contact areas between fingers and surfaces through a novel deep learning algorithm that the researchers developed.</p><p>"First, 'CapContact' estimates the actual contact areas between fingers and touchscreens upon touch," says Holz, "Second, it generates these contact areas at eight times the resolution of current touch sensors, enabling our touch devices to detect touch much more precisely."</p><p>To train the AI, the researchers constructed a custom apparatus that records the capacitive intensities, i.e., the types of measurements our phones and tablets record, and the true contact maps through an optical high-resolution pressure sensor. By capturing a multitude of touches from several test participants, the researchers captured a training dataset, from which "CapContact" learned to predict super-resolution contact areas from the coarse and low-resolution sensor data of today's touch devices.</p><p><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qtf6u4pJoyA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 782px; height: 436px;"></iframe></span><em>The "CapContact" method can localise the touches by fingers on the touchscreens of mobile phones and tablets much more accurately than current industry-wide technology. (Video: CHI/SIPLAP)</em></p><h2><strong>Low touch screen resolution as a source of error</strong></h2><p>"In our paper, we show that from the contact area between your finger and a smartphone’s screen as estimated by CapContact, we can derive touch-input locations with higher accuracy than current devices do," adds Paul Streli. The researchers show that one-third of errors on current devices are due to the low-resolution input sensing. CapContact can remove these errors through the researcher’s novel deep learning approach.</p><p>The researchers also demonstrate that "CapContact" reliably distinguishes the touch surfaces even when fingers touch the screen very close together. This is the case, for example, with the pinch gesture, when you move your thumb and index finger across a screen to enlarge texts or images. Today's devices can hardly distinguish close-by adjacent touches.</p><p>The findings of their project now put the current industry standard of touchscreens into question. In another experiment, the researchers used an even lower-resolution sensor than those installed in our mobile phones today. Nevertheless, "CapContact" detected the touches better and was able to derive the input locations with higher accuracy than current devices do at today’s regular resolution. This indicates that the researchers’ AI solution might pave the way for a new touch sensing in future mobile phones and tablets to operate more reliably and precisely, yet at a reduced footprint and complexity in terms of sensor manufacturing.</p><p>To allow others to build on their results, the researchers are releasing their trained deep learning model, code, and their dataset on their <a href="https://siplab.org/projects/CapContact" target="_blank">project page</a>.</p><hr><h2>Reference</h2><p>Streli, P, Holz, C. CapContact: Super-resolution Contact Areas from Capacitive Touchscreens. CHI '21: Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, May 2021, Article No.: 289, Pages 1–14. doi: <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3411764.3445621" target="_blank">10.1145/3411764.3445621</a></p>

Computer scientists at ETH Zurich have developed a new AI method that can estimate much more precisely than today's devices where exactly a finger touches the screen of a mobile phone. (Photograph: Adobe Stock)

Fewer typing errors when touching a smartphone keyboard: ETH Computer scientists have developed a new AI solution that enables touchscreens to sense with eight times higher resolution than current devices. Thanks to AI, their solution can infer much more precisely where fingers touch the screen.

Precise touch screens thanks to AI

<p>Shopping is not as pleasant as it has been before the pandemic. Queuing up in front of the stores because only a limited amount of people is allowed inside, wearing a mask all the time and disinfecting hands at every store one enters are only a few of the measures taken into action in order to ensure public health, not to talk about distance regulations…</p><p>The amount of online shoppers has grown tremendously in the past decades with the rise of the internet, famous online retailers and global trade distribution hubs. And with the pandemic raging there have barely been alternative options lately. One disadvantage of online shopping has always been that the huge amount of returns due to the lack of opportunity to try on the products. This is not only a huge point in customer satisfaction but also a tremendous burden for the environment.</p><p>Some applications make it possible now to try on items virtually and thus enhance the online shopping and decision making experience for online shopping. Augmented reality is a key tool in this approach. We have accompanied a 3D professional in the transition from photogrammetry to 3D scanning for virtual data display. Let´s embark together on this journey!</p><p><strong>AR-sneakers</strong></p><p>The sportswear and sneakers label Rockdeep offers fashionable apparel and shoes. The colorful designs add a unique trendy and athletic touch to every outfit, no matter if for sports or just casual everyday life. Rockdeep wants to enhance their customer´s online shopping experience by implementing Augmented Reality enabling 3D display and online try-on on their website via smartphone.</p><p>Rockdeep hired the experienced 3D artist Logan Hamilton Davis to complete the job. Logan focuses on games, visualizations, and interactive media. He has worked on 3D models for Yahoo News, DC Comics, and various marketing and video game companies. Lately, he focused on photogrammetry cleanup and interactive product models.</p><p>Having a tough time creating the 3D models by means of photogrammetry, Logan looked for faster and more efficient options to create nice 3D files for his customer Rockdeep.</p><p>&nbsp;“I attempted to use photogrammetry to capture shoes for ROCKDEEP and had only slight success. The detail that I was able to capture with my setup would not provide the fidelity needed for customers on the ROCKDEEP store website. &nbsp;My photogrammetry scans created noisy 3D models with bumps where it should have been smooth and so the detail was useless for transferring to lower polygon models. It was also substantially time-intensive to take all the photos needed and process the images with the photogrammetry software. In my research on how to improve this, I came across Shining3d and their incredible scanners.”</p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; -Logan Hamilton Davis, Professional 3D Artist</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>3D scanning: a smooth and simple approach to clean, colorful and high-quality 3D models</strong></p><p>&nbsp;For the online AR display, Logan needs to create digital models of Rockdeep´s colorful sneakers. In order to create the working process as smooth and efficient as possible, he opted for the EinScan Pro HD with the Industrial Pack. Additionally, he used the Color Pack to be able to capture the colorful designs of the Rockdeep shoes.</p><p><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1619099971644-1619099971644.png" alt="" width="616" height="462" class="fr-fic fr-dii"></p><p>Image 1: The Rockdeep “Mother Africa” shoe needs to be displayed in AR on Rockdeep´s website</p><h3>1. Scanning the Shoe</h3><p><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1619099972447-1619099972447.png" alt="" width="616" height="346" srcset="https://www.einscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2.png 616w, https://www.einscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2-300x169.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px" class="fr-fic fr-dii"></p><p>Image 2: Logan´s scanning setup with the EinScan Pro HD, Color Pack, Industrial Pack and the “Mother Africa” shoe&nbsp;</p><h3>2. Software Processing</h3><p><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1619099971672-1619099971672.png" alt="" width="616" height="346" srcset="https://www.einscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/3.png 616w, https://www.einscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/3-300x169.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px" class="fr-fic fr-dii"></p><p>Image 3: the final scanning data of the shoe…</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1619099971787-1619099971787.png" alt="" width="616" height="346" srcset="https://www.einscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/4.png 616w, https://www.einscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/4-300x169.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px" class="fr-fic fr-dii"></p><p>Image 4: …looks colorful and accurate</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1619099971603-1619099971603.png" alt="" width="616" height="346" srcset="https://www.einscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/5.png 616w, https://www.einscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/5-300x169.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px" class="fr-fic fr-dii"></p><p>Image 5: …from every angle</p><p>&nbsp;“I was very impressed by the capabilities of the Einscan Pro HD. The software guided me through the whole process and worked without any issues. I scanned the shoe by features and rotated it on the turntable to capture all areas of the shoe. The software stitched those separate scans together into a seamless whole.”</p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; -Logan Hamilton Davis, Professional 3D Artist</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>3. Processing of Scanning Data</h3><p><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1619099971148-1619099971148.png" alt="" width="616" height="346" srcset="https://www.einscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/6.png 616w, https://www.einscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/6-300x169.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px" class="fr-fic fr-dii"></p><p>Image 6: Thanks to the open output file formats of the EinScan Pro HD, the scanning data can be imported…</p><p><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1619099971694-1619099971694.png" alt="" width="616" height="346" srcset="https://www.einscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/7.png 616w, https://www.einscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/7-300x169.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px" class="fr-fic fr-dii"></p><p><br></p><p>Image 7: …into a broad range of different data processing software. Logan used Blender to further work on his 3D scans.</p><p><br></p><p>&nbsp;“The model will eventually be used on the ROCKDEEP website to allow customers to inspect all areas of the shoe. It will also be used to create a design customizer to enable people to choose materials for each individual part of the shoe and speed up design iteration.”</p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; -Logan Hamilton Davis, Professional 3D Artist</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1619099971340-1619099971339.png" alt="" width="616" height="347" srcset="https://www.einscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/8.png 616w, https://www.einscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/8-300x169.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px" class="fr-fic fr-dii"></p><p><br></p><p>Image 8: Final 3D model created from the scan with the EinScan Pro HD</p><p><br></p><p>&nbsp;“I was impressed by the range of applications (from art to industrial) and different scanning processes (fixed vs. freehand). The industrial and color packs added all the extra features I needed. The total price was within budget and significantly more approachable than other competitors. I was floored by the detail captured and the ease of use. It just works and works phenomenally.“</p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; -Logan Hamilton Davis, Professional 3D Artist</p><p><br></p>

3D scanning technology opens up manifold ways to enhance the online shopping experience

3D Scanning: A Smooth and Simple Approach to Clean, Colorful and High-quality 3D Models

AR Driven Try-on for Online Shopping Applications

<section><p><strong>You’re most likely reading this article on a device containing microchips, which in turn contain millions of transistors. The placement of these nanometer-sized components in microchips is only possible with accurate fabrication techniques like atomic layer deposition (ALD). But to use this atom-by-atom build-up technique to make larger scale devices such as displays and solar cells, ALD needs an upgrade; a spatial one, to be precise. TU/e researchers Bart Macco and Erwin Kessels, in collaboration with numerous companies, aim to elevate this ‘spatial ALD’ to the next level. Get ready for the spatial revolution.</strong></p></section><section tabindex="-1"><p>Independent developments are regular in science. Just think of Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell with the telephone, or Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz with calculus.</p><p>Like the telephone and calculus, atomic layer deposition was also developed by independent groups, in this case, Russian and Finnish scientists in the 1960s and 1970s respectively.</p><p>The magic of atomic layer deposition is all in the name – it puts layers of atoms on top of layers of atoms. “ALD allows for the growth of layers of atoms in a controlled manner – which is hugely important for electronic products like processors and memory devices,” says TU/e researcher <a href="https://www.tue.nl/en/research/researchers/bart-macco/" target="_blank">Bart Macco</a>.</p><h2><style type="text/css"></style><style type="text/css"></style><span data-sheets-formula="=PROPER(R[-1]C[0])" data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":3,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"How To Build An Atomic Sandwich"}'>How To Build An Atomic Sandwich</span></h2><p>ALD takes place in a chamber under vacuum conditions with the atoms deposited on a starting layer or substrate. This substrate is exposed to chemical reactants in a gas, and some reactants attach to the substrate. Unused reactants and by-products are then removed before the next chemical reactant is introduced and deposited on top of the layer below. “It’s like building an atomic sandwich,” notes Macco.</p><p>TU/e has been working on ALD for some time, as <a href="https://www.tue.nl/en/research/researchers/erwin-kessels/" target="_blank">Erwin Kessels</a> fondly remembers. “Back in 2003, when I was a young assistant professor in the Plasma &amp; Materials Processing (PMP) group, I was working on a project with 2 PhD students on ALD. Nowadays, the group focus is very much on ALD.”</p><p><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rs13yJ1U04U?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 785px; height: 440px;"></iframe></span><em>Video showing the difference between temporal and spatial ALD. Source: AtomicLimits (YouTube).</em></p><h2><style type="text/css"></style><style type="text/css"></style><span data-sheets-formula="=PROPER(R[-1]C[0])" data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":3,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Shifting From Temporal To Spatial"}'>Shifting From Temporal To Spatial</span></h2><p>Given that layers are deposited one after another on a stationary substrate over time, ALD can also be referred to as <em>temporal</em> ALD. While temporal ALD has the accuracy needed to make microchips and has already proven itself in high-volume solar cell production, it’s not well suited for high-volume production of other devices with large surface areas like displays. “There’s a speed issue, and in industry if the technique is too slow then it’s not useful,” says Kessels.</p><p>Nonetheless, there is an ALD approach that provides the necessary scale-up and high-volume production speeds needed for industry. And it involves thinking spatially.</p><h2><style type="text/css"></style><style type="text/css"></style><span data-sheets-formula="=PROPER(R[-1]C[0])" data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":3,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Flying Substrates Save The Day"}'>Flying Substrates Save The Day</span></h2><p>“In spatial ALD, layers are grown much faster by “flying” the substrate through different zones of the reactor with each zone containing different gases or reactants,” says Macco.</p><p>“Flying” the substrate allows for the faster deposition of layers, while retaining accuracy. It’s very much a case of flying faster is better.</p><p>Although spatial ALD was patented in the early 1980s, it wasn’t until the second half of the 2000s that spatial ALD started gaining scientific attention. This means that there’s still a lot unknown about spatial ALD.</p><p>Added to that, innovating spatial ALD is not going to be easy. Bart Macco: “Our slogan is ‘More materials, more demanding applications’. We want to use spatial ALD to deposit a wider range of complex materials for new applications. This might involve building layers on flexible or porous substrates. There are lots of things to solve, but it’s a thrilling challenge.”</p><p></p><div class="fr-img-space-wrap"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 788px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1613003567292-csm_SALD_3_BvOF+2016_0126_BCS+zonnecel+in+cleanroom+-mediumsize-_dec30948c0.jpg" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner">Solar cell in the cleanroom. Photo: Bart van Overbeeke.&nbsp;</span></span></span><h2 class="fr-img-space-wrap2"><style type="text/css"></style><style type="text/css"></style><span data-sheets-formula="=PROPER(R[-1]C[0])" data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":3,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Assembling The Spatial Ald Team"}'>Assembling The Spatial Ald Team</span></h2><p>Many Dutch companies are working on spatial ALD equipment such as Levitech, SoLayTec, SALD, Smit Thermal Solutions, VDL-ETG, TNO, and SALDtech. Thanks to a grant of 700,000 euros from the Dutch Research Council’s (NWO) Open Technology Programme, Macco and Kessels aim to improve the competitive edge of Dutch spatial ALD companies by working directly with these companies, and establishing a hub of spatial ALD innovation at TU/e.</p><p>In addition to stakeholders like ASM, Chipmetrics, and J.A. Woollam, these companies, some of whom are working on sustainable energy technologies,&nbsp;will be heavily involved in the NWO-funded project. “The Netherlands is playing a leading role in the field of spatial ALD, and we want TU/e to be the principle contributor to advancements,” says Macco, who is also the project coordinator.</p><p>“This project will assemble many companies to work on spatial ALD technology, but they all have their own different applications,” adds Macco. “Exciting times lie ahead for spatial ALD at TU/e.”</p><h2><style type="text/css"></style><style type="text/css"></style><span data-sheets-formula="=PROPER(R[-1]C[0])" data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":3,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Welcoming New Equipment"}'>Welcoming New Equipment</span> </h2><p>And the most exciting aspect of the project will be the in-kind installation of a spatial ALD tool – developed by the company SALD – in the laboratories of the PMP group at TU/e. The tool is a dedicated R &amp; D system that can be easily reconfigured to study the influence of various factors on the spatial ALD process.</p><p>Erwin Kessels: “Having access to this tool will be invaluable to the success of the project. We can test new processes, new materials, and new substrates quickly. It promises to be fun!”</p><p>It goes without saying that Kessels and Macco are enthusiastic about upcoming developments in spatial ALD. What’s more, they and their collaborators in academia and industry are set to play leading roles in the ongoing narrative of spatial ALD.</p><p>Move over temporal ALD, and make some space for spatial ALD at the fabrication table.</p></div><p></p></section>

Researchers and companies unite to advance an established fabrication technique that builds up materials atom by atom for use in displays, batteries, and solar panels.

Building devices at the atomic scale: the spatial revolution

<p>Flexible electronics isn&rsquo;t a new technology, but it has achieved a remarkable progress over the past years and has become increasingly important to many sectors such as consumer electronics, automotive, retail and healthcare. <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/idtechex-global-research-report-on-flexible-printed-and-organic-electronics-2019-2029-forecasts-players--opportunities-300799688.html" target="_blank">IDTechEx analysts forecast</a> that the total market for printed, flexible and organic electronics will grow from $31.7 billion in 2018 to $77.3 billion in 2029.&nbsp;</p><p>Flexible electronics is a technology that allows you to build electronic circuits on flexible substrates thus making them bendable and stretchable. It enables new product paradigms that aren&rsquo;t possible with conventional semiconductors and glass substrates. Here we explore some of the attributes of flexible electronics that make this tech attractive to product designers and consumers alike.</p><h2><strong>Flexible</strong></h2><p>Transistors can be made from either inorganic or organic materials, or a mix of both. FlexEnable fabricates transistors using organic materials which replace the silicon and hard ceramic materials with soft, carbon-based materials. The organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) we use are known as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flexenable.com/services/otft-materials/" target="_blank" title="FlexiOM™">FlexiOM&trade;</a> - they are inherently flexible and have greater performance than amorphous silicon. These high-performance OTFTs can be processed at temperatures lower than 100&deg;C allowing for the use of&nbsp;lower cost thin film substrates thus enabling flexible devices.</p><p>While flexible electronics have many applications, at FlexEnable we are primarily focused on flexible displays. Yet, our flexible OTFT platform can drive&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flexenable.com/technology/flexible-sensor-arrays/" target="_blank">flexible sensors</a> and other flexible devices. This platform has enabled the development of <a href="https://www.flexenable.com/technology/flexible-olcd/" target="_blank">flexible organic LCD</a>s&nbsp;(OLCDs) that can bend down to 10mm and be scaled to large areas making them suitable for a range of applications including automotive, consumer electronics, smart home appliances and digital signage.</p><h2><strong>Light and thin</strong></h2><p>Display thickness and weight are especially important features for applications that require large area displays such as automotive and digital signage. Using a flexible substrate (instead of glass) in combination with organic transistors helps make the whole stack very thin. For example at FlexEnable we use low-cost bio-based substrates such as TAC (tri acetyl cellulose) which are just a fraction of a tenth of a millimetre thick. As a result the entire OLCD is just 0.3mm thick (without the backlight). Moreover, the thinness and flexibility of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flexenable.com/newsroom/breakthrough-in-glass-free-olcd-technology-enables-bezel-less-displays-for-notebooks/" target="_blank">OLCD enables bezel-less displays</a> through curved edges and folded borders. This brings huge value in applications like notebooks and tablets where borderless means bigger displays for the same sized device. <a href="https://www.flexenable.com/Blog/why-certain-plastic-substrates-are-an-ideal-alternative-to-glass-for-lcd/" target="_blank">The extreme thinness of TAC substrates also brings optical advantages to OLCD.</a></p><h2><strong>Unbreakable</strong></h2><p>One property of flexible electronics which deserves to be highlighted is their robustness. This makes a great difference for applications such as wearables, notebooks and other consumer electronics which traditionally feature glass-based displays or sensors. Incorporating an unbreakable, glass-free active matrix display could become a unique selling point for consumers.</p><h2><strong>Cost advantage</strong></h2><p>The processes and materials for manufacturing flexible electronics differ, but the aim is to make them lower cost than conventional electronics. <a href="https://www.flexenable.com/blog/enabling-flexible-electronics-from-the-roll/" target="_blank">Roll to roll printing</a> has been long considered the ultimate approach to the cost-effective manufacture of electronics over large and small areas. It will remove the waste of materials currently incurred in factories and will drive product costs down. However, there are a few steps to overcome before roll to roll printing becomes the norm.</p><p>At FlexEnable we have developed a practical approach to the cost-effective manufacture of flexible electronics for flexible displays and sensors. Our processes are compatible with existing flat panel display lines meaning that all of the existing equipment can be reused. A maximum processing temperature below 100&deg;C allows for the use of&nbsp;lower cost flexible substrates (e.g. TAC) and minimises&nbsp;distortion (improves yield), whilst enabling a low cost, high yield method of handling flexible substrates.</p><h2><strong>Innovation</strong></h2><p>For brands and designers to keep innovating and developing next generation products, they need tools and components that will enable them to do this. Flexible electronics allow the development of flexible components such as flexible displays and sensors which remove form factor constraints and give designers creative freedom. A typical example is the automotive industry where designers are already thinking outside the box by reinventing the car interior with the help of flexible displays. French company Novares, for example, has demonstrated how flexible display technology can help improve design and safety by integrating conformable OLCDs supplied by FlexEnable&nbsp;into the interior of their demo car&nbsp;<a href="https://www.novaresteam.com/our-solutions/novacar-2-an-open-innovation-lab/" target="_blank">Nova Car 2</a>.</p>

Flexible electronics isn’t a new technology, but it has achieved a remarkable progress over the past years and has become increasingly important to many sectors such as consumer electronics, automotive, retail and healthcare.

Five benefits of flexible electronics for displays and sensors

<p>Over the years we have seen analogue dashboards being replaced by digital dashboards, touch-screen infotainment systems being introduced and rear-seat entertainment displays becoming an add-on option for many models.</p><p>Surface-integrated displays have become such an important part of the car interior that <a href="https://www.displaydaily.com/article/display-daily/automotive-is-becoming-a-driver-for-display-technology" target="_blank" title="automotive is becoming a driver for display technology">automotive is becoming a driver for display technology</a>. As challenging as it can be to implement new technologies in cars, it is exciting to witness the revolutionary change that is happening to the vehicle interior.</p><p>Here are three display technologies under development that can have a big impact on the safety and comfort of passengers, and on creating a more personal interior in the future.</p><h3><strong>3D displays</strong></h3><p>Companies like Bosch and Jaguar Land Rover are working on 3D displays that can relay real time safety information. <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/12/bosch-is-working-on-glasses-free-3d-displays-for-in-car-use/" target="_blank" title="Bosh’s approach sees the instrument panel become a 3D display">Bosch&rsquo;s approach sees the instrument panel become a 3D display</a> that shows crucial and time sensitive warnings. These include collision warning, or warning for lane departure or blind spots.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 1114px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1583823472073-122607-bosh3dautodisplay.jpg"><span class="fr-inner">Source: Bosch&nbsp;</span></span></span></p><p><a href="https://media.jaguarlandrover.com/news/2019/08/jaguar-land-rover-develops-immersive-3d-car-experience-head-display-research" target="_blank" title="Jaguar Land Rover">Jaguar Land Rover</a>, on the other hand, is bringing immersive 3D capability to next generation head-up displays that can also project safety alerts. The company is also carrying out research on how this innovative system can offer passengers 3D entertainment in future autonomous vehicles.&nbsp;</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 1114px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1583823501537-122745-jlr3dautodisplay.jpg"><span class="fr-inner">Source: Jaguar Land Rover&nbsp;</span></span></span></p><h3><strong>AR head-up-displays</strong></h3><p>Head-up displays (also known as HUDs) show information in line of sight of the driver, reducing dangerous distractions. Some of them project information onto the windshield while other project it on a separate screen.</p><p>Introduced by General Motors in 1988, the first head-up display has been used to show speed and other basic readings from the dashboard. The technology has progressed a lot since then with HUDs becoming increasingly common in many new car models.</p><p>Now, augmented reality (AR) systems are becoming the new version of head-up displays. They promise to make driving even more comfortable and safe. An AR head-up display makes the information appear as part of the driving situation itself, i.e. it overlays it on top of what you&#39;re actually seeing in the real world. For example the display can highlight the lane you need to be in and when you need to turn.</p><p>A Swiss start-up called WayRay grabbed the media attention back in 2018 when it showed its aftermarket solution, called Navion. <a href="https://www.autoevolution.com/news/wayray-navion-the-augmented-reality-head-up-display-129028.html" target="_blank" title="WayRay has developed a holographic augmented reality display">WayRay has developed a holographic augmented reality display</a> that serves as a navigation system for cars. The device takes the maps currently used by GPS apps and overlays them on the real world environment making all the information relayed to the driver seem like part of the environment. With <a href="https://venturebeat.com/2018/09/18/porsche-leads-80-million-investment-in-wayray-to-bring-holographic-ar-displays-to-cars/" target="_blank" title="Porsche being one of the key investors">Porsche being one of the key investors</a>, we expect to hear more from WayRay in the future.<span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 1114px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1583823533942-123231-wayrayarhead-updisplay.jpg"><span class="fr-inner">Source: WayRay&nbsp;</span></span></span><strong>Curved and shaped displays</strong></p><p>In 2018 I reported on <a href="https://www.flexenable.com/Blog/the-need-for-large-area-flexible-displays-in-automotive-interiors/" target="_blank">the trend for large area displays in automotive interiors</a>. Mechanical dashboards are replaced by digital ones, the centre console is turning into a big touch-screen and more screens are appearing elsewhere in the car providing information and passengers&rsquo; entertainment. This trend continues and could be seen at the <a href="https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/videos/the-dashboard-is-evolving-at-the-2019-frankfurt-motor-show/" target="_blank" title="Frankfurt Auto Show 2019">Frankfurt Auto Show 2019</a> too.</p><p>Along with the increase of display size, there is <a href="https://www.flexenable.com/Blog/digital-side-view-mirrors-come-to-life/" target="_blank">a trend to replace the side-view mirrors with digital side-view mirrors</a>. This means that displays have to be integrated into the car interior and fit in well with other components, for example the A-pillar.</p><p>Flat glass displays aren&rsquo;t seen as a sustainable solution to meet the evolving vehicle HMI requirements and new flexible display technologies are needed such as <a href="https://www.flexenable.com/technology/flexible-olcd/" target="_blank">Organic LCD</a> (OLCD). OLCD is a glass-free display technology that combines the benefits of auto-qualified LCD technology with the inherent flexibility of a high-performance organic-thin-film transistor (OTFT) backplane (which replaces the amorphous-silicon backplane used in glass displays). It enables conformable and shapeable displays that can be scaled to large area sizes in the same way glass LCD is scaled. Because of OLCD&rsquo;s high-brightness and long lifetime, OLCD is a viable technology to meet automotive display requirements. Moreover, OLCD provides a route to bezel-less and ultra-high contrast displays.</p><p><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable fr-active" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KIzkzabSPU8?&wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 1110px; height: 621px;"></iframe></span><br></p><p>Recently, global plastic solutions provider Novares showed Nova Car #2 highlighting three example applications of surface-integrated displays in next generation vehicle interiors using OLCD. These included a central S-shaped touch system consisting of twin 12.1&rdquo; OLCDs, left and right side 4.68&rdquo; OLCD concave side-mirror replacement displays and a 4.68&rdquo; OLCD passenger HMI touch screen integrated with the rear door panel.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 1114px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1583823607305-093007-novares-flexview-max-01.jpg"><span class="fr-inner">Source: Novares&nbsp;</span></span></span></p><p><br></p>

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