An electric grid is a system of synchronised electricity producers and consumers that is run by one or more control centres and connected by transmission and distribution lines. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently disclosed a US$ 45 million financial commitment to develop, advance, and test technology that will safeguard the electric grid against cyber-attacks and allow Americans easily access inexpensive and clean energy.
“As DOE builds out America’s clean energy infrastructure, this funding will provide the tools for a strong, resilient, and secure electricity grid that can withstand modern cyber threats and deliver energy to every pocket of America,” says Jennifer M. Granholm, U.S. Secretary of Energy. “DOE will use this investment to keep up with the administration’s promise to make energy more affordable, reliable, and clean.”
Cyberattacks on American energy systems have the potential to shut down vital energy infrastructure, disrupt the country’s economy, and endanger consumer health. The U.S. will have the chance to strengthen its cyber defences in the energy industry by combining them with the additional grid improvements that are supported by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Up to 15 research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects with a focus on creating new cybersecurity tools and solutions to lower cyber risks for energy delivery infrastructure would be supported by the grant. To achieve the nation’s objective of a net-zero carbon economy by 2050, it is essential to build robust and secure energy infrastructure across the nation.
The said research projects will receive funding from the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) of the DOE. These projects will create new research partnerships or strengthen those that already exist with energy sector utilities, vendors, universities, national laboratories, and service providers to develop resilient energy delivery systems.
The project will result in the development of cutting-edge tools and technology that are intended to lessen the disruption of energy distribution caused by cyber incidents. To enable energy systems to autonomously identify a cyberattack, try to prevent it, and automatically isolate and eliminate it without affecting energy delivery, researchers will focus on creating tools and technologies.
As sustainable energy technology is implemented on the grid, cybersecurity is still a top priority. The project’s six planned issue areas are as follows:
Meanwhile, the National Science Foundation (NSF), a pioneer in providing infrastructure, direction, and support for ethically created and deployed ML/AI systems in the U.S. has worked with some partnerships to strengthen and support fairness in machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), which are developing quickly.
The awardees of the Programme on Fairness in Artificial Intelligence for 2022 were announced by NSF in partnership with a private institution as part of that commitment. The recipients of the 2022 awards will get financial support worth up to $9.5 million.
The awardees have outlined projects that include eliminating bias and unfairness in ML/AI systems, creating guidelines for how people should interact with such systems, creating theoretical frameworks for algorithms, and enhancing speech recognition technology so that it is more widely used.
Combining music, computing and neuroscience to improve educational outcomes for South Australia’s young children will be the focus of a new research partnership that was recently announced between the University of South Australia (UniSA) and a Singaporean early education company. The partnership was formalised on 23 August 2022 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at UniSA’s City West campus in Adelaide.
UniSA’s researchers in cognitive neuroscience and virtual and augmented reality, at the Australian Research Centre for Interactive and Virtual Environments (IVE), will collaborate with the international early education provider to help improve music, literacy and numeracy among pre-school-aged children in South Australia.
The education company has developed a performing arts-based curriculum specifically for pre-school-aged children, which will be analysed for its effectiveness by UniSA cognitive neuroscientist Professor Ina Bornkessel-Schlesewsky and the IVE laboratory using a range of techniques.
This work will be supplemented by Professor Mark Billinghurst and Dr Gun Lee from IVE’s Empathetic Computing Laboratory, who will develop augmented reality technology that empowers children to learn remotely from expert teachers with minimal impact on children’s screen time.
The Founder, CEO and Chairman of the edtech firm stated that the company is “thrilled to partner with the University of South Australia to help make a significant difference to the educational outcomes of young children”.
Meanwhile, the UniSA Vice Chancellor noted that the university is pleased to support cutting-edge research into early childhood education. He said that by leveraging the expertise of cognitive neuroscience and empathetic computing researchers with an established global early education provider, UniSA looks forward to seeing some tangible results that can be applied in pre-school settings.
Recent research notes that the global education technology market size was valued at US$ 106.46 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.5% from 2022 to 2030. Education technology (EdTech) includes hardware and software technology used to educate students on a virtual level to improve learning in classrooms and enhance students’ education outcomes.
EdTech platforms help students overcome challenges to obtain comprehensive education by using technology for learning and teaching. Nowadays, learners are increasingly shifting toward eBooks that can be accessed online from anywhere across the globe.
Comparatively, digital content is easier to generate than printed content, which tends to incur higher production costs. Digital books are available in different languages and can be easily translated and retrieved by a wider user base. Moreover, learners, especially those with physical disabilities, can listen to the educational content in an audio format to improve their vocabulary and encourage better interpretive reading.
EdTech solutions are expected to evolve in line with the advances in the latest technologies, such as IoT, AI, and AR/VR, and contribute significantly to the market’s growth. The integration of AR and VR in EdTech solutions helps offer an interactive experience to the learners. It allows learners to explore and seamlessly connect with abstract concepts subsequently driving student engagement.
It was noted that the K-12 segment led the market in 2021, accounting for over 40% share of the global revenue. The high share can be attributed to the growing trend of game-based learning in the K-12 sector. Most teachers in the K-12 sector support gamification initiatives to develop the students’ math learning skills with the integration of practical, project-based work in schools. Additionally, incorporating technologies in this sector enables immersive content and provides experiences, such as virtual field trips and complex lab-based experiments, resulting in an engaging learning experience.
The Minister of International Trade and Industry announced the formation of the Sustainable Aviation Energy Task Force led by MITI at the opening of the Malaysia Aerospace Summit 2022 (MyAERO’22).
The task force aims to provide policy recommendations and coordinate the implementation of public-private partnership national projects and initiatives to help achieve a reduction of carbon footprint in the aerospace industry including the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Malaysia. The Task Force consists of members from the government as well as the private sector.
MyAERO’22 was organised by the National Aerospace Industry Coordination Office (NAICO), MITI in collaboration with SOCSO, IEM and AMIC featuring the aerospace exhibition, career fair, and an industry seminar focusing on Digital Transformation and Innovation towards Sustainable Aerospace Ecosystem and a tech-talk session on Additive Manufacturing.
The event gathered stakeholders in the aerospace industry highlighting the potential and current capabilities of the Malaysian aerospace industry ecosystem and providing the platform for subject matter experts to share and promote industry competency development.
The Malaysian aerospace industry has been on an upward trajectory, positioning Malaysia as a regional powerhouse and integral to the global aerospace industry supply chain. Last year, the industry recorded RM 104.7 million worth of investments, total trade of RM 13.84 billion and revenue of RM 12.2 billion.
RM2 billion worth of work packages were awarded to the local aerospace industry involving RM 600 million worth of MRO expansion projects which are expected to be implemented by the fourth quarter of this year. The Farnborough International Airshow 2022 held last month saw Malaysian companies securing RM 572.6 million of business deals.
The government remains committed to facilitating the growth of the aerospace industry with the introduction of various initiatives currently being implemented under the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP). These initiatives will be in coherence with the 3 focus areas by MITI in terms of policy direction and strategic initiatives in the near term namely trade and sustainable development, supply chain resiliency and human capital development.
About MITI
MITI is the key driver in positioning Malaysia as the preferred destination for quality investments and enhancing the nation’s rising status as a globally competitive trading nation. Its objectives and roles are oriented toward ensuring Malaysia’s rapid economic development and helping achieve the country’s stated goal of becoming a developed nation.
The aerospace industry
The global aerospace market is expected to grow from US$ 298.0 billion in 2020 to US$ 430.9 billion in 2025 at a rate of 7.7%. The global aerospace market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2025 and reach US$ 573.6 billion in 2030.
Growth factors in the historic period include increased demand for air travel technological advances, emerging economies, changes in social behaviour and low-interest rates. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were high exchange rate fluctuations, political uncertainties, volatile raw material prices and grounding of planes.
Looking ahead, it is expected that there will be a growing demand for commercial use of drones, emerging economies, and rapid advances in technology. Factors that might hinder the growth of the aerospace market in the future include budget airlines’ bankruptcy, order cancellations, increased cyber-attacks, global warming, poor aviation infrastructure, geo-political tensions, global recession, and coronavirus pandemic.
A new moisture-driven electricity generation (MEG) device has been created by researchers from the College of Design and Engineering (CDE) of the National University of Singapore (NUS). It is made of a thin fabric layer with a thickness of about 0.3 millimetres (mm), sea salt, carbon ink, and a unique water-absorbing gel.
“Sea salt was chosen as the water-absorbing compound due to its non-toxic properties and its potential to provide a sustainable option for desalination plants to dispose of the generated sea salt and brine,” says Assistant Professor Tan Swee Ching, who also led the research team.
The foundation of MEG technology is the capacity of various materials to produce electricity through their interaction with atmospheric moisture such as self-powered gadgets. The gadget being saturated with water when exposed to ambient humidity and poor electrical performance are two main problems with current MEG technologies. Traditional MEG systems cannot generate enough electricity to sustainably power electrical equipment as a result.
To address these issues, the researchers developed a novel MEG device with two regions of different properties that continuously maintain a difference in water content across the regions to generate electricity and enable electrical output for hundreds of hours.
The carbon nanoparticle-coated fabric layer that makes the MEG gadget is quite thin, so scientists used a commercially available polyester-wood pulp fabric. The part of the fabric that is covered with a hygroscopic ionic hydrogel is called the “wet zone.” The unique water-absorbing gel is made from sea salt and can take in more than six times its own weight in water. It is used to pull water from the air. The dry end of the fabric, which is its opposite, is devoid of the hygroscopic ionic hydrogel layer. To keep this area dry and keep water in the wet area, is being done.
After assembling the MEG device, electricity is generated when the ions of sea salt are separated as water is absorbed in the wet region. The negatively charged carbon nanoparticles attract positively charged free ions that cause changes to the fabric’s surface, creating an electric field across it. These surface modifications also enable the fabric to store electricity for later use.
NUS researchers were able to maintain high water content in the wet region and low water content in the dry region by using a unique design of wet-dry regions. This will keep the power on even when the wet region is saturated with water. After 30 days in an open humid environment, water was still retained in the wet region, demonstrating the device’s effectiveness in sustaining electrical output.
The team’s MEG device was also extremely flexible, withstanding stress from twisting, rolling, and bending. Interestingly, the researchers demonstrated its exceptional flexibility by folding the fabric into an origami crane, which had no effect on the device’s overall electrical performance.
Because of its ease of scalability and commercially available raw materials, the MEG device has immediate applications. One of the most obvious applications is as a portable power source for mobile electronics powered directly by ambient humidity.
The NUS team has also demonstrated the scalability of its new device in producing electricity for various applications. The NUS team joined three pieces of the power-generating fabric and placed them in a 3D printed case the size of an AA battery.
The voltage of the assembled device was tested to reach 1.96V, which is higher than the 1.5V of a commercial AA battery and sufficient to power small electronic devices such as an alarm clock.
The Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMC) in Tseung Kwan O INNOPARK is being provided with advanced robotics technology by a driverless industrial vehicle manufacturer, making it the first autonomous forklift supplier to provide advanced logistics automation services to support high-value “innofacturing” and long-term re-industrialisation.
The AMC logistics centre receives 24-hour core logistics services from the manufacturer. AMC is equipped with an array of automated robotics equipment including automated storage and retrieval system (mobile dense racks, four-way shuttles, automatic conveyors), automatic sorting arms and autonomous forklifts, which form the core equipment for transporting goods across AMC’s eight stories.
This project uses the company’s pallet stacking autonomous forklift vehicle which is equipped with a visual positioning module, high-precision sensing module and servo motion control module. This enables autonomous path planning, self-adjusting pick-up and automatic data interaction, making the transportation of products or goods seamless and efficient.
It currently supports multiple automated production lines in automotive, electrical and mechanical manufacturing industries. It is worth noting that the VNL14 is the first vehicle in the world which has been awarded a CE certificate by global testing service provider TÜV SÜD, based on the latest safety standard for driverless industrial vehicles, ISO 3691-4:2020.
The autonomous forklift trucks have been deployed on each floor in AMC to shift materials in and out, and through the 10 lifts on both sides of the building to achieve seamless logistics flow on each floor. Early on in the project, the company developed a 3-step implementation plan via onsite survey and mapping out the complete logistics process:
An engineer from the manufacturer on-site stated that while approximately ten autonomous forklifts are deployed on the ground floor, the floor has limited space for operational movement. Goods are randomly delivered from different lifts, and then the autonomous forklifts enter the lifts to pick up the goods to transport them to the ASRS conveyor – adding to the high demands on the RCS system. In addition to information exchange and real-time interaction, scheduling was a major challenge.
It is necessary to constantly adjust the tiller wheels for steering or obstacle avoidance for under-actuated mobile robots like forklifts. This may cause multiple vehicles to lock up and interrupt the task in a limited space. The company’s scheduling algorithms were crucial in the project, achieving smooth and efficient material handling through task distribution, timing rescheduling and circumvention strategies.
The automation of AMC’s logistics has resulted in:
HKSTP’s Head of Re-industrialisation noted that the Park is committed to promoting innofacturing by nurturing talent and providing resources and infrastructure support to emerging I&T ventures. Apart from the logistics services integrated with automation and advanced smart solutions provided by our partners, AMC is well-equipped with warehousing, prototyping, low-volume assembly support and cleanroom-enabled space to further support Innofacturing which helps advanced manufacturing companies to accelerate their R&D and production processes, thus enriching the entire I&T ecosystem.
The Minister of State for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, has announced that the government is providing financial support of IN₹ 3.29 crores (US$ 411,882) to a start-up incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur for developing smart water management technologies.
A press release informed that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Technology Development Board (TDB) and the start-up for the production and commercialisation of the Dhaara Smart Flow Metre. The flow metre is an integrated system for online monitoring. It uses two beam ultrasonic flow metres that are designed to track water distribution in real-time for applications like drinking water supply, groundwater extraction, industrial water usage, and precision irrigation.
The device collects data through sensors, stores it in the device, and transmits it to the online cloud servers. Then, the data transmitted to servers is analysed and displayed on a dashboard. The solution uses a combination of hardware and software for flow measurement and water management respectively, the release noted.
The system is battery-operated and does not require external power. The hardware architecture is based on the Internet of things (IoT) communication circuits, which are patented in India. Additionally, it complies with ISO and Central Ground Water Authority standards. The water usage data is automatically recorded in an online logbook through telemetry via 4G/2G. The built-in telemetry and battery-operated capabilities make it easy for users to monitor their water consumption virtually anywhere (even when the power is out). Initially, the device will be marketed for commercial uses in hotels, hospitals, malls, IT parks, schools, and industrial users (food products, packaged drinking water, pharmaceuticals, and paper and pulp).
Singh claimed that the device will benefit Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal), a US $751 million central sector scheme that promotes the sustainable management of groundwater resources based on community participation. The scheme is being implemented in 80 water-stressed districts and 8,565 gram panchayats (village councils) of seven states, namely, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The Dhaara Smart Flow Metre can also help bulk water consumers budget their water usage, understand their patterns and points of inefficiencies, and enable them to build strong strategies to reduce water wastage.
The Central Groundwater Authority has issued guidelines under which every commercial groundwater user must install a smart water meter and pay yearly bills. All the project proponents/users drawing groundwater and seeking/having NOCs shall have to mandatorily install tamper-proof digital water flow metres with telemetry on all the ground water abstraction structures within their premises.
Groundwater levels in various parts of the country are declining because of vagaries of rainfall, increases in population, industrialisation, and urbanisation. As per an assessment of Dynamic Ground Water Resources (2017) carried out by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), out of the total 6,881 assessment units in the country, 1,186 units in 17 states and union territories were categorised as ‘over-exploited’ where ‘annual groundwater extraction’ is more than ‘annual extractable groundwater resource’.
A new class of wearable sensors that interacts wirelessly without the need for onboard chips or batteries has now been developed by American engineers -paving the way for wireless sensors without chips.
“Chips require a lot of power, but our device could make a system very light without having any chips that are power-hungry,” says Jeehwan Kim, principal investigator in the Research Laboratory of Electronics and a corresponding author. To remotely monitor the pulse, sweat, and other biological signals, it could be applied to the body like a bandage and coupled with a wireless reader on the cellphone, he explained.
The team’s sensor is a type of flexible, semiconducting material called “e-skin,” which adapts to the skin like electronic Scotch tape. Gallium nitride, a substance recognised for its piezoelectric capabilities, which allow it to both emit an electrical signal in reaction to mechanical strain and vibrate mechanically in response to an electrical signal, forms the sensor’s core in the way of an ultrathin and high-quality film. Gallium nitride has two-way piezoelectric capabilities that can be used by researchers to use the substance for sensing and wireless communication at the same time.
To enhance any incoming or outgoing electrical signal, the team created pure, single-crystalline samples of gallium nitride. They then combined these samples with a gold conducting layer. They demonstrated that the material’s vibrations produced an electrical signal that could be detected by a nearby receiver and that the gadget was sensitive enough to react to a person’s heartbeat and the salt in their sweat. The system did not require a chip or battery to wirelessly transmit sensor data in this manner.
A piezoelectric material would simultaneously convert the inherent, “resonant” vibration or frequency of a gallium nitride-based sensor bonded to the skin into an electrical signal, the frequency of which could be detected by a wireless receiver. The electrical signal that the sensor automatically provides to the receiver would alter if the skin’s circumstances changed, such as if the heart rate increased.
The scientists created a tiny coating of high-quality, pure gallium nitride, and then combined it with a layer of gold to strengthen the electrical signal to verify their theory. They placed the gold in a dumbbell-like pattern that repeated, giving the usually inflexible metal a lattice-like structure that gave it some flexibility.
Their “sample of electronic skin,” which they refer to as gallium nitride and gold, is only 250 nanometers thick, or approximately 100 times thinner than the breadth of a human hair. They strapped the novel e-skin to the wrists and necks of volunteers and used a small antenna held close by to wirelessly record the sensor’s frequency without touching the sensor itself. The device was able to detect and transmit variations in the surface acoustic waves of gallium nitride on the skin of participants that were related to their heart rates wirelessly.
The team also combined the gadget with a thin sodium-selective ion-sensing membrane, a substance that selectively draws a specific ion. This improvement allowed the system to detect and wirelessly transmit changing sodium levels as a volunteer gripped a heating pad and perspired.
According to the researchers, the findings constitute the initial step toward chip-free wireless sensors. In addition, they believe the current approach might be used with other selective membranes to track additional significant indicators.
CORE Innovation Hub will take on the role of an operator at the Western Australia government’s Australian Automation and Robotics Precinct (AARP) in Perth’s north. Launched in October 2021, the AARP is being rolled out by the State Government, through DevelopmentWA’s Industrial Lands Authority, as industry-leading research, development and testing ground for automation, remote operations and robotics.
The initial three-year contract will see CORE take responsibility for attracting, securing and retaining new partners and users at the Neerabup precinct. CORE will lead an industry-driven collaboration model with industry partners and be responsible for the curation and showcasing of projects on behalf of the State Government. This includes the staging of industry events, and promoting skills and ideas exchanges between like-minded innovators, customers, TAFEs and universities.
Users of the precinct, which will form one of the biggest test facilities of its kind in the world, will have access to planned facilities including Common User test beds, laboratories and design co-labs, together with a Common User Facility (CUF) operations building. Road and infrastructure works are now underway on the precinct’s initial 51-hectare site, with the CUF building scheduled to open in 2023.
Interest from the industry has been strong across a broad range of sectors including mining and resources, research and education, technology innovation, remote operations, and drone and robotics suppliers, with several already having used the site for testing and research.
The region’s Lands Minister stated that the Government is focused on driving reform and supporting innovative businesses that will help transform and future-proof the economy while also creating skilled local jobs for the future. He noted that the development of the AARP is expected to create at least 70 construction jobs, with up to 5,000 ongoing jobs in the fields of robotics, automation and remote operations expected to be generated after completion.
The appointment of a highly qualified local operator is a catalyst for that growth, and the Minister looks forward to seeing this unique precinct fulfil its potential and promise, he said.
Meanwhile, the region’s Innovation and ICT Minister stated that the appointment of CORE Innovation Hub is an important step by the McGowan Government in ensuring Western Australia, through the AARP, becomes a leading developer and adopter of automation and robotics.
He added that CORE Innovation Hub brings experience in managing innovative facilities, building collaborative ecosystems and driving transformation across the mining and resources, energy, oil and gas, space and defence sectors.
The Wanneroo MLA noted that securing a Western Australian-founded Innovation Hub in CORE to operate the Australian Automation and Robotics Precinct is a major boost for Neerabup. The innovative and exciting new precinct will provide several new local job opportunities in the developing automation and robotics industry for the community here in Wanneroo.
About CORE Innovation Hub
From start-up to scale-up, industry to academia, CORE Innovation Hub is working to grow Australia’s largest ecosystem dedicated to driving transformation across the mining, energy, resources, oil and gas, space and defence sectors. CORE Innovation Hub, Perth was Australia’s first co-working, collaboration and innovation hub focused on resources technology to facilitate growth for energy and resources-based start-ups and SMEs.
With a second office in Adelaide, SA and a new regional centre in Newman, WA, CORE Innovation Hub continues to support growth companies alongside Australia’s leading resources companies and universities and provides proximity to skills, solutions and opportunities along the energy and resources supply chain.
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