Perpetual motion: A piezoelectric pacemaker that is powered by your heartbeat It sounds like the theoretical impossibility of perpetual motion, but engineers at the University of Michigan have created a pacemaker that is powered by the beating of your heart — no batteries required. The technology behind this new infinite-duration pacemaker is one that we’ve discussed before at length on ExtremeTech: piezoelectricity. Piezoelectricity is literally “pressure electricity,” and it relates to certain materials that generate tiny amounts of electricity when deformed by an external force. Piezoelectricity is exciting because it can harvest energy from kinetic energy that is currently wasted — the vibration of machines, the straining of floorboards in public/commercial spaces, the wobbling of bridges, the soles of your feet as you walk. A conventional pacemaker. Or, in the case of the perpetual pacemaker, the vibrations in your chest as your heart pumps blood around your body. But why stop there?
Europa, comité français | Ressources Les documents, livres, projets sur le biomimétisme fleurissent depuis quelques années. Voici une liste non-exhaustive de quelques ressources clés. Bonne lecture ! Articles, rapports et études Dossier en ligne sur le biomimétisme -Bibliothèque des sciences et de l’industrie. Vidéos Quelques vidéos en français : Quelques vidéos en anglais : Entreprises Greenloop, l’entreprise fondée par Gauthier Chapelle et Raphaël Stevens. Bibliographie Quelques livres en français : Biomimétisme, Janine Benyus, éd. Quelques livres en anglais : Biomimicry in Industrial Design for Sustainability, Carlos Alberto Montana Hoyos, éd. Pour bibliographie encore plus complète, voici la Reading List de la Biomimicry Guild !
Richard Lazzara - #PiezoElectric En Vie: Aux frontières du design et du biomimétisme ! » Biomimesis Biomimétisme innovation technologie Dans le quartier bobo chic de Paris, entre ministères, Saint-Sulpice et Sciences Po, se cache, au fond d’une impasse arborée, l’Espace Fondation EDF. L’exposition étonnante et prospective « EN VIE, aux frontières du design » s’y déploie sur trois étages. Pendant plus de 4 mois, du 26 avril au 1er septembre, des designers, des architectes et des chercheurs s’interrogent à travers leurs œuvres sur la présence de la nature dans l’architecture, le design industriel ou interactif, le mobilier, les bijoux, les textiles, la mode et la photographie. Le biomimétisme y occupe une place prépondérante car les œuvres de chacun des exposants amènent à réfléchir sur ce que peut nous enseigner la nature, sur ce qu’elle peut nous fournir et sur les questions éthiques que soulèvent son exploitation et sa manipulation. Une expo à voir, et pas seulement parce qu’elle est gratuite
Richard Lazzara - #PiezoElectric Le biomimétisme ou l'art de l’innovation durable Cette approche a été définie en 1997 par la biologiste américaine Janine M. Benyus dans son ouvrage Biomimicry, sous-titré Innovation Inspired by Nature. Ce livre pionnier, rapidement popularisé aux Etats-Unis, n’a été traduit en France qu’en 2011, sous le titre Biomimétisme, quand la nature inspire des innovations durables. Avant cela, la théorie a fait quelques émules en Europe, au point de donner à naissance en 2006 à Biomimicry Europa. Les conditions du vivant Gauthier Chapelle est l’un des principaux fondateurs de Biomimicry Europa. Pour anticiper cette élimination, les tenants du biomimétisme ne se réfèrent qu’à un seul expert : la nature elle-même, la seule entité terrestre capable de maîtriser sa propre durabilité. Comment se définit le biomimétisme ? En s’inscrivant ainsi dans la durée, le biomimétisme repose sur nouvelle estimation de la valeur nature, ou plus précisément il renoue avec une estimation préindustrielle de la nature. Une vision préindustrielle ?
Richard Lazzara - get smart RTD where is my #PiezoElectric General Electric Will Light Up 2014 NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Technology and infrastructure giant General Electric (GE_) began the year by focusing on growth of its industrial business and improvement in margins. GE, the world's leading jet engine and medical scanner maker, is now moving forward with its plan to reduce its reliance on the financial sector. For 2014, GE is targeting up to a 5% increase in sales, while its industrial division could contribute up to 70% of profits. With cost cutting measures and top-line growth, the business will consistently improve its profitability through 2016. Over the next couple of years, GE is looking for significant growth in international markets, driven by China and other regions rich in natural resources. The company's takeover strategy will fuel its inorganic growth. I am staying bullish on General Electric. Improving Profitability GE could enter 2014 on a high note. The business has consistently grown the margins of its Industrial unit since 2011.
Graphene For Smartphones Memscap Expands MUMPS(R) Standard Process Portfolio with Introduction of PiezoMUMPS(TM) MEMSCAP is First in Industry to Offer Piezoelectric Film-Integrated MEMS Prototyping Service GRENOBLE, France & Durham, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 02, 2013-- Regulatory News: MEMSCAP (NYSE Euronext: MEMS) (Paris:MEMS), the leading provider of innovative solutions based on MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) technology, today announces that it has expanded its standard process-based Multi Project Wafer(MPW) service with PiezoMUMPs(TM), the first publicly-available MPW service to incorporate a Piezoelectric film. This addition gives MEMSCAP an unparalleled four unique standard process offerings in its Multi User MEMS Processes (MUMPs(R)): PolyMUMPs(TM), SOIMUMPs(TM), MetalMUMPs(TM), and PiezoMUMPs(TM). "We'd been looking hard for another process to add to our service", said Buzz Hardy, Business Development Manager of MEMSCAP's Custom Products business unit, "but wanted to make sure it was something our loyal community would support. About MUMPs(R) About MEMSCAP steve.wilcenski@memscap.com
Fossil Fuels Just Lost the Race Against Renewables The race for renewable energy has passed a turning point. The world is now adding more capacity for renewable power each year than coal, natural gas, and oil combined. And there's no going back. The shift occurred in 2013, when the world added 143 gigawatts of renewable electricity capacity, compared with 141 gigawatts in new plants that burn fossil fuels, according to an analysis presented Tuesday at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance annual summit in New York. "The electricity system is shifting to clean,'' Michael Liebreich, founder of BNEF, said in his keynote address. The Beginning of the End The price of wind and solar power continues to plummet, and is now on par or cheaper than grid electricity in many areas of the world. The question is no longer if the world will transition to cleaner energy, but how long it will take. The blue lines are what's needed, in billions; the red lines show what's actually being spent. Investment Needed to Minimize Climate Change Read This Next:
History Of Robots Could Change With More Life-like Eyeball July 6, 2012 Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online In Harry Potter, the paintings at Hogwarts did more than just follow you with their eyes, but in the real world, having a painting eye you down in a hallway would be creepy in itself. Researchers have replicated the muscle motion of the human eye by using piezoelectric materials, allowing the robot eye to move more like a real eye. The new muscle-like action could help make robotic tools safe, and more effective for MRI-guided surgery and robotic rehabilitation, according to the team. The research will also be useful for studies on human eye movement, as well as making video feeds from robots more intuitive. The team’s cellular actuator concept was inspired by biological muscle structure that connects many small actuator units in a series or in parallel. The team presented a camera position driven by a cellular actuator technology, using a contractile ceramic to generate motion. Image 2 (below): Georgia Tech Ph.D.