Smart Industry 2/2018

Nissan
Nissan Cars, Check
Your Backseat
RoWrite
Paint on Paper – Edit on Tablet
Many people prefer the surface of paper to that of smart devices for sketching
or handwriting. But transferring scribbles from paper to the digital realm can be
a hassle. RoWrite brings the traditional notepad into the digital age. When you
write or sketch on paper attached to the device, every pen stroke is captured
digitally by RoWrite. When the system is not paired with a smart device, the
work is saved internally and can be edited or shared later. Paired devices will
display anything that is sketched on the RoWrite in real time. The hardware
includes a notepad with an integrated flexible sensor that tracks motion of the
RoWrite pen on the surface of paper. This pen is a hybrid ink/digital writing
device with 2,048 pressure points of sensitivity. Transferred to a smartphone, the
captured sketches or writings can be edited in a versatile app, available for iOS
and Android. You may even record the whole process of sketching as a movie.
Not everyone may need this gadget – but at €130, it is an affordable investment.
Nissan was
the first car
manufacturer
that integrated
sensors to prevent
people from
leaving stuff
in the backseat of their cars. Now they are taking the
system, called RDA (which stands for “Rear Door Alert”),
to a wider range of vehicles. “I’m proud to see Nissan lead
the way by making Rear Door Alert standard on more
models,” said Marlene Mendoza, a mechanical engineer
who helped create the technology. “What started as a
chat with my colleague, Elsa Foley, is now innovative
technology being adopted in more Nissan models. It
is a testament to Nissan’s culture.” RDA monitors when
the rear door is opened and closed before and after the
vehicle is in motion. A series of notifications is given if a
rear door was used before a trip but was not reopened
after parking the car. The system will first display a
notification in the instrument panel and progresses to
subtle, distinctive chirps of the horn. From 2019 on, the
system will be integrated as standard equipment to eight
additional Nissan nameplates in the USA. By model year
2022, Nissan plans to have RDA standard on all four-door
trucks, sedans, and SUVs.
Tufts University
Bandages That Monitor and Tailor
Wound Treatment
Band-Aids and bandages have hardly evolved within the last decades. But now
a team of engineers at Tufts University in Massachusetts has developed a smart
bandage designed to actively monitor the condition of chronic wounds and deliver
appropriate drug treatments – thereby improving the chances of healing.
Chronic skin wounds that may result from burns or diabetes can overwhelm
the regenerative capabilities of the skin. They often lead to persistent infections
and, in serious cases, also to amputations. The new bandages contain heating
elements and thermoresponsive drug carriers that can deliver tailored treatments
in response to measurement data from integrated pH and temperature
sensors tracking infection and inflammation. A microprocessor reads the data
from the sensors and can release drugs on demand from its carriers by heating
a gel. The entire construct is attached to a transparent medical tape to form a
flexible bandage less than 3 mm thick. Smart bandages could provide real-time
monitoring and delivery of treatment with limited intervention from patients or
caregivers. “The smart bandage we created, with pH and temperature sensors
and antibiotic drug delivery, is really a prototype for a wide range of possibilities,”
said Sameer Sonkusale, PhD, professor of electrical and computer engineering
at Tufts University’s School of Engineering. “One can imagine embedding
other sensing components, drugs, and growth factors that treat different
conditions in response to different healing markers.” The smart bandages have
so far been tested successfully in the laboratory. Next are preclinical studies, so
hopefully smart bandages will be available to patients within the next years.
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