Tuesday 25 February 2014

Dyson Will Invest £5 Million In Robotic Lab

"My generation believed the world would be overrun by robots by the year 2014. We now have the mechanical and electronic capabilities, but robots still lack understanding—seeing and thinking in the way we do. Mastering this will make our lives easier and lead to previously unthinkable technologies,” said James Dyson, founder, Dyson.

Dyson, an engineering firm, popular for its bagless vacuum cleaners, is all set to invest £5 million in robotic lab located at imperial college, London. This new robotic lab will help robots to know the world around them and adapt to it. 

James Dyson and Prof Andrew Davison of imperial college are working together on robotics since 2005. The research that will be conducted at the lab will cover the robotics vacuum cleaner and domestic robot.

In 2001, Dyson’s robotic vacuum cleaner’s prototype almost completed its production. However, Prof Andrew Davison pulled it out at the last moment saying that it was way expensive and huge. There are few robotic vacuum cleaners like iRobot's Roomba and LG's Hom-Bot in the market.

This five year investment by Dyson will be supplemented by an additional fund of £3 million from other sources.

"A truly intelligent domestic robot needs to complete complex everyday tasks while adapting to a constantly changing environment. “We will research and develop systems that allow machines to both understand and perceive their surroundings - using vision to achieve it,” said Prof Andrew Davison.

Future of global robotics market is bright and is poised to grow. An investment of £250 million was announced by Dyson in January, which will expand the size of its research center at Wiltshire.

Dr. Robot To Address The Medical Concerns Of Astronauts

We know that robots are not adept at being generalist. They are often designed to do one particular task.  However, humans are good at being generalists. Hence, we have always tried to develop technologies that can multi-task. Then why should be robots left behind?

Science has always tried to develop robots with high intelligence, speed and precision, so that it can perform various tasks accurately. It is definitely not easy; however, NASA’s Robonaut is being developed to be a doctor.  This new robot called Robonaut is chipped to be useful for astronauts who explore the space. Astronauts are trained in basic medical procedures, however, situation may demand high end surgeries to be performed. 

The $2.5 million Robonaut 2, nicknamed R2, will work with the astronauts and will shoulder their tedious responsibilities. NASA is also training to add telemedicine skills to the new R2.

The basic idea behind Robonaut is to make itwell versed with general medical procedures that can be performed in the space. Also, complicated medical procedure can be performed with the help of teleoperation. Hence, NASA plans to prepare a list of doctors who would help Robonaut to learn medical procedures in a medical school.

"I would say that within an hour I trained him more than with other students I'm working for a week, so I think that he's learning really fast," Dr. ZsoltGarami, of the Houston Methodist Research Institute. Definitely with bright prospects of Robonaut, Medical robotics have a bright future and hence global medical robotics market could witness an upsurge.

Anastrozole: Cancerous Drug That Would Prevent Breast Cancer

Dr. Jack Cuzick, head of the Cancer Research, the U.K.’s Center for Cancer Prevention, headed a new research team from Queen Mary University of London, which studied the drug called ‘anastrozole’ and a therapy which helped to prevent the reoccurrence of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

Hence, with this study, women having a family history of breast cancer may soon get an improved and enhanced way to prevent breast cancer. However, what Dr. Jack Cuzick and his research team hoped to discover is, that the same therapy would help prevent breast cancer in women who show signs of developing breast cancer in the future.

The research team studied 3,800 women in 18 countries having a family background of breast cancer. As per the study, anastrozole can help in reducing the breast cancer occurrence by 53%.

“The biggest surprise of our study was that the side effects were less than expected,” Cuzick said. Anastrozole is not the only drug that can help to reduce the incidence of breast cancer among women. Drugs like tamoxifen and raloxifene are also used to curb breast cancer; however, these drugs have side effects like increased risk for blood clots, stroke and other types of cancer. Although, anastrozole is not free from side effects, it is less severe than other cancer drugs.

“We need to raise awareness that medications to prevent cancer exist. It is vastly underutilized in the world. This study further validates their safety – a major concern for most prescribers,” said Dr. Angel Rodriguez, a breast cancer doctor at Houston’s Methodist Cancer Center. 

Monday 24 February 2014

Aerogel Fabrication Process: Commercialization to Make It Economical

The Global Aerogel Market Report is an exclusive platform for business houses to understand the changing market scenarios.  The report can be availed in areas such as North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America & Africa, and Middle East. Click here to see the preview

Aerogel displays superior thermal characteristics as compared to its counterparts. Hence, it is also an enhanced insulator. Its superior qualities would make it a $1,896.6 million market by the end of 2020. Europe and North America are expected to generate maximum revenue by 2020, as per the report “Global Aerogel Market (Raw Material Type, Forms, Applications, Geography) - Industry Analysis, Trends, Share, Opportunities and Forecast, 2013- 2020."



Oil & Gas application would grab many eyeballs across the globe. This is due to the exceptional insulation property of aerogel that enables it to be used in pipes.

“Aerogel is the material whichcontains 99 % air is the lightest material of the universe. The material possesses some unique physiochemical characteristics, which opens its usage in a wide range of industrial applications.  Being a highly porous material, aerogel exhibits some exceptional thermal resistivity, as a result of which it is extensively used as an insulation solution in building, construction and oil & gas industries. The material is successfully providing sophisticated pipe insulation solution to the oil and gas industry, “states analyst Guru Mallick.

LAMEA region within the segment would reach a whopping mark of $182.5 million by 2020. This can be credited to the wide presence of oil & gas industries in Middle East and Latin America. Asia Pacific would also showcase exceptional growth capabilities during the forecast period and would reach $123.2million by 2020.

“The manufacturers have developed various forms of aerogel, such as blanket, panels, blocks etc according to the application need. The blanket form of aerogel is flexible enough to be wrapped around oil, LNG or crude oil carrying pipes. Moreover, the material would be gather substantial market share in the building insulation solution in future, due to its superior property than the conventional insulation material, such as fiber glass, foam and cellulose. The high production cost is the major factor restraining its market growth; however, the manufacturers are expected to overcome from this by the rapid research and development,” said Mr. Mallick. 


Due to its superior properties, aerogel has wide application in the Oil & Gas industry. In fact, Aspen aerogel, the dominant aerogel market segment has its maximum revenues piped through the Oil & Gas industries.

Photonic Crystal Fibers: Make Use of Light Like Never Before!

Recent developments inhybrid photonic crystal fiber components and amplifiers will provide improved modal and spectral filtering. After successful experimentation and modelling with optical fibers by scientists at Lawrence Livermore, one can easily fabricate ribbon like photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). This can be used to create oscillators, amplifiers and optical lasers. A fiber fabrication facility was installed within the Photon Science Principal DirectorateandNational Ignition Facility ( NIF), featuring a furnace capable of generating temperature above 2,000°Cwith an 8.2-meter-high draw tower and offering an unique capability within the Department of Energy (DOE) complex.“Traditional accelerators based on radio-frequency technology would be scaled down to optical wavelengths by taking a hollow-core optical fiber and shooting light into it to make an accelerator,” eminent scientist Mr. Dawson said.
According to Dr. Jason Eichenholz, advanced photonic crystal technologies will provide better ways to guide the light. Dr. Jason Eichenholz, CEO, Open Photonics, also authored a report in which he stated that photonic crystal will prove to be beneficial in making fiber lasers. Photonic crystal fibers are also called as specialty fiber. Photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) can change the way light is generated, delivered and used. Super continuum generation, hollow-core PCF and four-wave mixing technology may enable breakthroughs in microscopy and medicine.

Due to photonic optical fiber’s high potential to confine light in hollow core, it is being increasingly used in highly sensitive gas sensors, fiber lasers, high-power transmission, nonlinear devices, fiber optics communication and other fields.This potential of Photonic Optical was unknown in the past; it is only in last decade that such useful properties of Photonic crystal fiber was discovered by experts. 

Photon crystal fiber market is projecting a bright future. Two big names in PCF technology viz. Newport and Spectra physics are partnering to innovate and develop a superior product. This can provide a breakthrough in photonic carbon technology.

Surgical Equipment Market Moving Ahead With Growth Rate

The report titled “Global Surgical Equipment Market (Types, Applications and Geography) - Size, Share, Global Trends, Company Profiles, Demand, Insights, Analysis, Research, Report, Opportunities, Segmentation And Forecast, 2013 – 2020,” is a smooth gateway to the future of the surgical market and its growth opportunities.

Robotic surgical equipment segment is the most shining segment throughout the forecast period. This is mainly because of its increased application in developing and developed nations due to its reliability and repeatability. It improves the surgical efficiency providing clear visuals of reliability and repeatability, superior control and motion scaling. Furthermore, increasing cases of chronic diseases and healthcare expenditure across the globe are helping the robotic market to grow.



AMR analyst quoted, “Robotic surgery can be performed in three ways, namely supervisory control, telesurgical control and shared control. Supervisory control is solely executed by robots that act according to a computer program controlled by the surgeon. The surgeon is indispensable for supervision and to plan and monitor the operation. This type of surgery is very expensive as the robot performs the entire surgery and needs to be individually programmed for each surgical procedure. A telesurgical system, also known as remote surgery, involves the surgeon manipulating the robotic arms during the surgical procedure.”


“The surgeon operates from a remote location using real-time image feedback and robotic sensor data. da Vinvi® Surgical System is currently the leading device used in the telesurgical system. In shared-control system, surgeon performs the procedure by using a robot that provides steady-hand manipulations,” analyst added.


Environmentally Friendly Bio-Succinic Acid Shifting Gear for Growth


Biomass-derived succinic acid should serve as an attractive alternative for maleic anhydride and work as a catalyst for the synthesis of multitude of compounds.

According to Susanne Kleff, senior scientist for MBI International, all living things produce succinic acid through a natural fermentation of sugars. “First you want that four-carbon platform," she says. "Second, any chemical you can make that is part of the central metabolism of an organism always implies that you can make lots of it and that you can make it easily. “

Department of Energy, is concentrating more on producing bio based chemicals and hence, bio succinic acid is getting more attention. Rising petroleum price has been instrumental in shifting the attention towards bio based chemicals. "Some government agencies' emphasis on bio based products has lessened because of more pressing energy and fuel mandates," explains Gene Petersen, DOE project officer and chemist. "The question is will the private sector step up to the plate?"


Higher prices are a concern for the bio succinic acid manufacturers. With economies of scale, the cost factor would be addressed.

Myriant has a production facility of 3,600 tons/year at Lake Providence, U.S. They plan to expand the plant production in year 2014. Hence, in future we may witness growth of Bio Succinic acid. This can be main reason why it makes a favorable destination for investors and chemical companies.

Thursday 20 February 2014

Silicon Carbide: Feasible Source of Energy

We never know how far we can go with our ambition and dreams. It is only until we push ourselves beyond limitsthat we discover our true potentials.  Such limitless endeavor has resulted in technological strides and discovered new tools and techniques that have helped human-kind to live a better life.

We have always utilized natural resource from primitive times. Over the due course of time, humans have become more intelligent and advanced in leveraging natural resource for their gain. No doubt it has resulted in depletion of vital resource; however, with growing environmental awareness, there has been developmentsin economical and energy saving technologies. 

Silicon carbide is the material that has been identified as potential electricity generator for the future. In fact, it is already used in generating electricity for one of the underground railways in Japan.The project is known as Giza Line experiments. As per Mitsubishi, leveraging Silicon Carbide for generating electricity will prove to be efficient. 

Silicon Carbide has numerous advantage over Silicon; one of them is of wider bandgap that makes the equipment run at an extreme temperature of 600 °C. Also, Silicon Carbide has a breakdown Voltage of more than 10 times of Silicon, making it robust. Silicon Carbide has high thermal conductivity, allowing it to manage high power.

At present, Cree, Rohm, Infineon are small firms that deal with SIC equipment Market. However, the market of Silicon is expected to grow exponentially in future. So, we can expect new firms getting associated with Silicon Carbide Equipment market. Mitsubishi Electrics is one such emerging company that was instrumental in Giza Line experiment.

Between the end of July and August 17 last year, we recorded a 38.6 percent energy savings compared to a conventional system,” says HirotoshiShiratori, head of Mitsubishi’s transport systems engineering section.“This included the increased regenerated power from a new regenerative braking system that is also part of the installation.”

Thursday 13 February 2014

3D Printing Technology: Changing the Manufacturing Process


Can you imagine your computer printing a solid substance? Can you think of a printer capable of printing tangible products? Certainly yes! This is because of a new technology called as 3D printing which can print tangible products as well as intangible services. The first commercial 3D printer was based on stereolithography technique. This was invented by Charles Hull in 1984.

Technology has grown leaps and bounds in the past few decades. With technological advent, life has changed a lot. One of such technology is of 3D printing which is showcasing immense potential for growth. Initially, 3D printing was used for rapid prototyping, but now we can witness that 3D printing’s higher application in diverse fields like car dashboards, shoes,jawbones for humans, jewelry etc.

Application of 3D printing has benefited many. LayerWise, a Belgium company created jawbone with the help of 3D printing technology that was implanted into an 82 years old woman. There has been another breakthrough by an Australian company named Inventech which created Bio 3D printers capable of printing tissue structures using human tissues.

3D printing technology is also proving itself useful in 3D printing of spare parts. 3D printing technology also has the ability to print different materials at same time. No doubt 3d printing’s popularity is increasing. Looking at the benefits of 3D printing technology in various fields, it may become mainstream.

3D printing is growing at a faster pace globally.3D printers will definitely revolutionize the manufacturing process in the future. A team of Loughborough University is presently working on 3D concrete printing that would be capable of printing 3D components for building on spot. This can prove to be the biggest breakthrough in 3D technology.

All these factors can be pacifying for investors in future. Also, latest report by AMR observed the overall 3D technology market to reach $175.1 billion, by the end of 2020. 3D printing may be one highest growing segments over others 3D technology market segments.

Thursday 6 February 2014

Is IVF effective for fertility treatment?

In vitro fertilization is one of the major treatments for fertility among couples which involves fertilization of women egg by sperm outside the body. IVF involves removing ovum from the woman's ovaries followed fertilization through sperms in a fluid medium in a laboratory.

Report by AMR observed that Global In vitro fertilization market will reach a figure of $21.6 billion by 2020 with a CAGR of 11.6% between 2013 and 2020. In 2012, it stood at $9.3 billion.


This report studied that medical tourism is giving a boost to IVF market as cost of IVF is $6000 in Thailand, whereas it cost around $10000-$1500 in U.S.  Due to increasing focus on advanced technologies, favourable health care cost and improving health care infrastructure; developing countries are becoming popular for IVF treatment. 

As per the experts, IVF market is increasing due to increase in fertility rate. Egg donations in United States of America have increased to 18000 in 2010 from 11,000 in 2000 because of rising awareness.

As per the analysts, Intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique is very useful to treat the infertility among men and women. It will bring relief for those who had tried different treatments for infertility but failed.

High cost of IVF treatment could have an impact on its growth as its procedure costs  around $10,000-$20,000. Europe is studied to generate %8 billion revenue by 2020 at a CAGR of 10.2% from 2012-2020,. Also, Asia Pacific region will grow at a CAGR of 17.1% from 2013-2020

Keep your food safe and healthy with Food Traceability

A system that gives information and locates the food ingredient or path of food product or throughout food supply chain is called as food traceability system

AMR’s new study observed that the market for food traceability will reach a mark of $14.1 billion by 2020 growing at a CAGR of 8.7%. Due to real time locating of food irrespective of place of weather conditions, RFID is calculated to grow at rate of 19.4%. Further, its read-write accuracy in complex environment gives it an upper edge over the other technologies.

Food traceability is becoming a norm for all food producers across the globe due to rising consumer demand for food safety coupled with increased government regulation for the same. There has been good market revenue for it in Australia, U.S and Japan due to early adoption of food traceability technology. But due to increased globalization of food market, there lies greater opportunity for food traceability market in developing countries.

High cost of investment for this market is deterring its growth, but experts state that with high technological strides and low investment cost conditions will be better.

End user is one of the segments that experts observed in this market. It consists of retailers, food producers, transportation companies, warehouses etc. Food manufacturers are expected to earn maximum revenue of $5.4 billion by 2020 at a CAGR of 11.5%. Sensors market among equipments market are studied to grow with highest rate of 10.5%.

As far as geographical conditions are concerned, food traceability market consists of Asia Pacific, North America, Europe and Rest of the World (RoW). North America is expected to generate $4.4 billion by 2020  with a CAGR of 4.6%. Asia Pacific is projected to have the highest revenue at a CAGR of 16.7% between 2013 and 2020.

MOBILE WALLET MARKET ALL SET TO WRITE THE SUCCESS STORY

Today’s generation are ofcourse becoming Tech Savvy. What's different about mobile wallet, since pockets are already made cash-less with debit and credit cards?  Mobile wallet is a platform where you can transfer money online without using any cards or cash.

New report by AMR observes that Mobile Wallet market will reach $5,250 billion by 2020 with a CAGR of 127.5%. Experts estimated that Mobile commerce will lead this sector till 2020. Mobile ticketing and Mobile money transfer will follow.

Analyst studied that due to higher inclination of people towards smart phones, mobile payment is increasing gradually. Many consumers still prefer debit and credit cards even though mobile payment has the potential to change the payment and shopping experience. Analyst explained this due to Security and technological infancy among consumers. As per the study, factors that deter the growth of mobile wallet market are high cost of investment and deployment issues.

In order to provide a better product to consumers, many telecommunication companies are working together.


As per the report, market is divides on the basis of Mode of Payment, Application and Stakeholders. Money Transfer, Mobile Ticketing, Mobile Commerce and others form the application market. On the other hand NFC and remote payment is two segments that make up Mode of Payment. Stakeholder’s market is divided as mobile payment service providers, OSS/BSS solution provider’s mobile network operators, handset manufacturers and others. 

Asia Pacific is expected to have highest growth from 2013-2020. Less strict laws in Africa have triggered growth, as per analysts. On contrary, lack of interest from merchants in Asia Pacific region has slowed the growth which will pave way for future growth, as per analysts.

Real Time Locating System (RTLS) market expected to climb a figure of $30.6 billion by 2020

Real Time Locating System is an application that locates the exact position of a target, be it an asset moving vehicle or an individual. RTLS comes embedded in a navigational product or mobile phones. RTLS technology is getting popular among masses through growth potential. 

Report by AMR stated that RTLS market could reach a figure of $43.7billion by 2020 from $11.7 billion in 2013 with a CAGR of 20.7%.  Leaving RFID far behind, experts observed that GPS will have a highest CAGR of 23.8% among all RTLS technologies. The market revenues for GPS by 2020 are expected to be near 15 billion.

As per the report, RTLS application in diverse segment and its high accurateness to locate target than RFID are favorable for its growth. Particularly for Military and Public safety, it is an asset.  

It is increasingly becoming popular in retail stores for providing quality information about staff, customers, inventory, and facility.  It helps you to know about shopping paths and patterns of customer. Also, it controls inventory. It provides you valuable data about time that customers spend in the store and most visited place in it. 

Privacy is still a concern for RTLS market, but GPS act and Stalking Apps that was passed in U.S bill will work as catalyst. Experts observed that customers are becoming more flexible to use such technologies. Also, General Data Protection Act to be implemented in 2016 by European Union will prove to be favorable. 

As per the report, RTLS market is divided into Technology and Application. Technology section is further divided as Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), GPS and Wi-Fi. Application market includes Healthcare, Transportation, logistics, Manufacturing etc.

In terms of geographical location, Asia Pacific region will account for highest growth rate of 23% in forecasted time span of seven years.