A bacterium that attacks the PET
As recorded by the prestigious journal Science, a bacterium, the Ideonella sakaiensis, thanks to two enzymes, is able to degrade the PET by removing carbon particles that compose to feed. The process occurs for about six weeks at a temperature of 30 degrees.
The discovery opens an important field for the treatment of waste PET, one of the most used for the manufacture of packaging and whose management is a real environmental problem for the planet plastics.
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6278/1196
New plastic materials for tactile surfaces
The project will integrate Happiness Electroactive Polymer (EAP) in a matrix of mechanical actuators integrated in plastic sheeting.
The Happiness Project, which involved the Gaiker technology center aims to develop new areas seeking greater interaction between human-computer especially in the automobile market.
New technology and especially smartphones and tablets are changing the way we interact human with devices and machines, towards a more tácil interface
Despite this great success among users, these touch interfaces also have their limitations. Users do not want to give up the sense of touch (haptic feedback) and, therefore, many appliances incorporate it as part of the physical response confirmation. In this way, it is ensured that the order made has been received or gives more security in piping systems eyeless interaction systems.
The Happiness Project aims to address these concerns and, through technological solutions, introduce new capabilities for haptic feedback of these interfaces.
Thus, the main objective of the project is to develop Happiness adaptive, intelligent, able to offer different tactile sensations through the development of technologies TOLAE (Haptic Thin Organic and Large Area Electronic Technology) surface. This technology integrates detection capabilities and feedback, focusing on user needs and ergonomic designs.
To this end, this project has brought together all players in the value chain (materials, manufacturing technology, manufacturers) to apply this technology in the automobile market.
The Happiness project will provide a new man-machine technology by integrating haptic touch detection and disruptive capabilities feedback on a car dashboard interface.
Use of polymers
For this, the project will integrate Happiness Electroactive Polymers (EAP) in an array of mechanical actuators integrated in plastic sheeting. The aim is that the manufacture of these actuators, large surface and printing technologies are cost-effective to be integrated by injection molding plastic in a dashboard.
In this regard it is expected to design, implement and evaluate prototype scale, new interfaces in the Human-Computer Interaction is fully functional. The prototype will combine a package consisting of sensors and actuators into sheets and custom electronic drive systems at the same time be accessible to end through software libraries users, allowing playback of common feelings and accepted, such as roughness, vibration and emergency signals.
* For more information: www.gaiker.es