Tech Scouting

Viewed through the eyes of an innovation manager, quantum dot technology could either represent the best thing since sliced bread or your darkest nightmare. Quantum dots are dependent on the size of the nanoparticle and not the chemical nature of the material and enable applications ranging from large screen televisions (TVs) to packaging to medical diagnosis and imaging. Quantum dots have the potential to disrupt the status quo across virtually all industrial sectors. Your product may be obsolete and you just don’t know it yet.

A machine that can perform tasks that normally require the skills of a human being defines the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and it is transforming the medical device industry. Investors are pouring money into start-ups in the AI med devices sector at higher rates than the other industries exploiting AI. Since 2013, this segment has raised $4.3B USD in start-up funding.

Running out of battery power in a cell phone is annoying. For a medical device, it can be life-threatening!

Synthetic biology is the engineering of biological components, systems or organisms to make chemicals or materials. It has the potential to disrupt highly disparate industries ranging from pharma to chemicals, materials, plastics, agriculture, food and even lighting and electronics. Synthetic biology is poised to change the fundamental building blocks of many industries.

Nerac’s review of a large number of reports (2016-2017) clearly indicates that no matter what the industry sector, the biggest challenge to a successful digitalization depend on the capabilities of a company’s employees and their ability to transform the organization.

Chaos theory proposes that a butterfly flapping its wings in South America can cause a tornado in Kansas. The “Amazon Effect” is when the digital marketplace grabs significant market share from brick-and-mortar stores. Like the butterfly, this ripples across the supply chain and can cause major chaos for unprepared industries.

Polymeric membranes have many features that can be tailored and that are beneficial in membrane design including performance capabilities, cost and use versus ceramic and inorganic counterparts.

Carbon fiber has been incorporated into everything from tennis rackets to airplanes. It increases the strength and stiffness of structural parts without adding weight. Unfortunately, carbon fiber itself is not cheap to produce. A new tool for the carbon fiber toolbox is 3D printing. This article explores the emerging market opportunity for 3D printing of carbon fiber composite materials.

Researchers have isolated a 2-dimensional sheet of the 12th element of the periodic table from graphite called graphene, and both academic and industrial scientists have fantasized about applications in areas such as energy, aerospace, biomedical & life sciences, electronics, oil & gas, paints, coatings & adhesives, and defense. Where will the killer app for graphene be found?