IBM and Samsung say their new chip design could lead to week-long battery life on phones

Kaleb Hilton
IBM and Samsung have announced their latest advance in semiconductor design: a new way to stack transistors vertically on a chip (instead of lying flat on the surface of the semiconductor).
The new Vertical Transport Field Effect Transistors (VTFET) design is meant to succeed the current FinFET technology that’s used for some of today’s most advanced chips and could allow for chips that are even more densely packed with transistors than today. In essence, the new design would stack transistors vertically, allowing for current to flow up and down the stack of transistors instead of the side-to-side horizontal layout that’s currently used on most chips.
Vertical designs for semiconductors have been a trend for a while (FinFET already offers some of those benefits); Intel’s future roadmap also looks to move in that direction, too, although its initial work focused on stacking chip components rather than individual transistors. It makes sense, after all: when you’ve run out of ways to add more chips in one plane, the only real direction (other than physically shrinking transistor technology) is to go up.
While we’re still a ways away from VTFET designs being used in actual consumer chips, the two companies are making some big claims, noting that VTFET chips could offer a “two times improvement in performance or an 85 percent reduction in energy use” compared to FinFET designs. And by packing more transistors into chips, IBM and Samsung claim that VTFET technology could help keep Moore’s law’s goal of steadily increasing transistor count moving forward.
IBM and Samsung are also citing some ambitious possible use cases for the new technology, raising the idea of “cell phone batteries that could go over a week without being charged, instead of days,” less energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining or data encryption, and even more powerful IoT devices or even spacecraft.
IBM has previously shown off its first 2nm chip earlier this year, which takes a different route toward cramming more transistors by scaling up the amount that can be fit onto a chip using the existing FinFET design. VTFET would aim to take things further, however, although it’ll likely be even longer before we see chips based on IBM and Samsung’s latest technology out in the world.
It’s not the only company looking to the future of production, either. Intel previewed its upcoming RibbonFET (Intel’s first gate-all-around transistor) design over the summer, its own successor to FinFET production technology, which is set to be part of the Intel 20A generation of semiconductor products scheduled to start ramping production in 2024. The company also recently announced its own plan for stacked transistor technology as a potential successor for RibbonFET in the future, too.
Read the article here: IBM and Samsung say their new chip design could lead to week-long battery life on phones
Biden signs $1T infrastructure deal with bipartisan crowd

Kaleb Hilton
President Joe Biden signed his hard-fought $1 trillion infrastructure deal into law Monday before a bipartisan, celebratory crowd on the White House lawn, declaring that the new infusion of cash for roads, bridges, ports and more is going to make life “change for the better” for the American people.
But prospects are tougher for further bipartisanship ahead of the 2022 midterm elections as Biden pivots back to more difficult negotiations over his broader $1.85 trillion social spending package.
The president hopes to use the infrastructure law to build back his popularity, which has taken a hit amid rising inflation and the inability to fully shake the public health and economic risks from COVID-19.
“My message to the American people is this: America is moving again and your life is going to change for the better,” he said.
With the bipartisan deal, the president had to choose between his promise of fostering national unity and a commitment to transformative change. The final measure whittled down much of his initial vision for infrastructure. Yet the administration hopes to sell the new law as a success that bridged partisan divides and will elevate the country with clean drinking water, high-speed internet and a shift away from fossil fuels.
“Folks, too often in Washington, the reason we didn’t get things done is because we insisted on getting everything we want. Everything,” Biden said. “With this law, we focused on getting things done. I ran for president because the only way to move our country forward in my view was through compromise and consensus.”
Biden will get outside Washington to sell the plan more broadly in coming days.
He intends go to New Hampshire on Tuesday to visit a bridge on the state’s “red list” for repair, and he will go to Detroit on Wednesday for a stop at General Motors’ electric vehicle assembly plant, while other officials also fan out across the country. The president went to the Port of Baltimore last week to highlight how the supply chain investments from the law could limit inflation and strengthen supply chains, a key concern of voters who are dealing with higher prices.
“We see this as is an opportunity because we know that the president’s agenda is quite popular,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday before the signing. The outreach to voters can move “beyond the legislative process to talk about how this is going to help them. And we’re hoping that’s going to have an impact.”
Biden held off on signing the hard-fought infrastructure deal after it passed on Nov. 5 until legislators would be back from a congressional recess and could join in a splashy bipartisan event. On Sunday night before the signing, the White House announced Mitch Landrieu, the former New Orleans mayor, would help manage and coordinate the implementation of the infrastructure spending.
The gathering Monday on the White House lawn was uniquely upbeat with a brass band and peppy speeches, a contrast to the drama and tensions when the fate of the package was in doubt for several months. The speakers lauded the measure for creating jobs, combating inflation and responding to the needs of voters.
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican who helped negotiate the package, celebrated Biden’s willingness to jettison much of his initial proposal to help bring GOP lawmakers on board. Portman even credited former President Donald Trump for raising awareness about infrastructure, even though the loser of the 2020 election voiced intense opposition to the ultimate agreement.
“This bipartisan support for this bill comes because it makes sense for our constituents, but the approach from the center out should be the norm, not the exception,” Portman said.
The signing included governors and mayors of both parties and labor and business leaders. In addition to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the guest list included Republicans such as Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, New York Rep. Tom Reed, Alaska Rep. Don Young and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.
In order to achieve a bipartisan deal, the president had to cut back his initial ambition to spend $2.3 trillion on infrastructure by more than half. The bill that becomes law on Monday in reality includes about $550 billion in new spending over 10 years, since some of the expenditures in the package were already planned.
The agreement ultimately got support from 19 Senate Republicans, including Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell. Thirteen House Republicans also voted for the infrastructure bill. An angry Trump issued a statement attacking “Old Crow” McConnell and other Republicans for cooperating on “a terrible Democrat Socialist Infrastructure Plan.”
McConnell said the country “desperately needs” the new infrastructure money, but he skipped Monday’s signing ceremony, telling WHAS radio in Louisville, Kentucky, that he had “other things” to do.
Historians, economists and engineers interviewed by The Associated Press welcomed Biden’s efforts. But they stressed that $1 trillion was not nearly enough to overcome the government’s failure for decades to maintain and upgrade the country’s infrastructure. The politics essentially forced a trade-off in terms of potential impact not just on the climate but on the ability to outpace the rest of the world this century and remain the dominant economic power.
“We’ve got to be sober here about what our infrastructure gap is in terms of a level of investment and go into this eyes wide open, that this is not going to solve our infrastructure problems across the nation,” said David Van Slyke, dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.
Biden also tried unsuccessfully to tie the infrastructure package to passage of a broader package of $1.85 trillion in proposed spending on families, health care and a shift to renewable energy that could help address climate change. That measure has yet to gain sufficient support from the narrow Democratic majorities in the Senate and House.
Biden continues to work to appease Democratic skeptics of the broader package such as Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, while also holding on to the most liberal branches of his party. Pelosi said in remarks at the Monday bill signing that the separate package will pass “hopefully this week.”
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz expressed concern during a Fox News interview Sunday that Republican support for the infrastructure law could ultimately lead Democrats to rally and back the second package.
“They gave Joe Biden a political win,” Cruz said of his fellow Republicans. “He will now go across the country touting, look at this big bipartisan win. And that additional momentum, unfortunately, makes it more likely that they whip their Democrats into shape and pass some multitrillion-dollar spending bill on top of this.”
The haggling over infrastructure has shown that Biden can still bring together Democrats and Republicans, even as tensions continue to mount over the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump who falsely believe that Biden was not legitimately elected president. Yet the result is a product that might not meet the existential threat of climate change or the transformative legacy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose portrait hangs in Biden’s Oval Office.
“Yes, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a big deal,” said Peter Norton, a history professor in the University of Virginia’s engineering department. “But the bill is not transformational, because most of it is more of the same.”
Norton compared the limited action on climate change to the start of World War II, when Roosevelt and Congress reoriented the entire U.S. economy after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Within two months, there was a ban on auto production. Dealerships had no new cars to sell for four years as factories focused on weapons and war materiel. To conserve fuel consumption, a national speed limit of 35 mph was introduced.
“The emergency we face today warrants a comparable emergency response,” Norton said.
Read the article here: Biden signs $1T infrastructure deal with bipartisan crowd
Smart bandage contains sensors to detect wound-healing process

Kaleb Hilton
A new ‘smart bandage’ has been developed that contains a sensor which detects moisture levels in a wound and then transmits the data to a nearby smartphone, without requiring doctors to remove the bandage.
Developed by researchers at the University of Bologna in Italy, the bandage allows doctors to determine how well a dressed wound is healing without removing the bandage, which can disrupt the healing process.
By changing the geometry and materials in the bandage, the researchers believe it could be fine-tuned to suit different types of wound.
Chronic wounds can be a source of significant suffering and disability for patients who experience them.
Getting such wounds to heal can be difficult due to a large number of varying factors that impact the healing process, such as temperature, glucose levels, and acidity. One of the most important is moisture levels – too dry, and the tissue can become desiccated; too wet, and it can become white and wrinkly. Both these situations disrupt the healing process.
Checking the moisture level of a wound typically involves removing the bandage, which can cause damage to the delicate healing tissue.
The new smart bandage uses a conductive polymer that has been applied onto a gauze using a screen-printing technique; the gauze is then incorporated into commercially available bandage materials. The idea is that changes in the moisture level of the wound cause a change in an electrical signal measured by the sensor.
The organic semiconducting polymer can be easily deposited on several substrates as a standard ink.
“We also incorporated a cheap, disposable and bandage-compatible RFID tag, similar to those used for clothing security tags, into the textile patch. The tag can wirelessly communicate moisture level data with a smartphone, allowing healthcare staff to know when a bandage needs to be changed,” said Dr Marta Tessarolo of the University of Bologna, an author on the study.
To test their bandages, the researchers exposed them to artificial wound exudate, which is the liquid that seeps from wounds, and also tested different bandage materials and shapes. They found that the bandage was highly sensitive, providing widely differing readings between dry, moist and saturated conditions, suggesting it could be a valuable tool in wound management.
“We developed a range of bandages with various layers and different absorption properties and characteristics,” said Dr Luca Possanzini, another author from the University of Bologna.
“The idea is that each type of wound could have its own appropriate dressing, from slowly exuding wounds to highly exuding wounds, such as burns and blisters. However, we will need to further optimise the sensor geometry and determine the appropriate sensor values for optimal healing before we can apply our technology to various types of wounds.”
Various smart bandages have been developed over the years, including one that releases medications into a wound when commanded by an app and a smart patch that could allow people to self-administer Covid-19 vaccines.
Read the article here: Smart bandage contains sensors to detect wound-healing process
Jacobs' Fulcrum Bridge Technology Goes Into Production

Kaleb Hilton
Jacobs Vehicle Systems, a worldwide manufacturer of engine retarding and valve actuation systems for the commercial vehicle industry, has started Fulcrum Bridge production at its U.S. headquarters in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Fulcrum Bridge makes it possible to combine conventional engine braking with automatic hydraulic lash adjustment – two technologies, which were previously incompatible, to both enhance vehicle performance and reduce operating costs.
Jacobs’ first Fulcrum Bridge product includes a high-performance compression release engine brake, manufactured on a state-of-the-art semi-automated manufacturing line and is part of an overall valvetrain system that will be supplied to an Original Equipment Manufacturer in the U.S. The technology’s first production application will be on an off-road application. Other heavy-duty off-highway applications, such as articulated dump trucks used in construction and mining, farm vehicles and vocational applications are expected to follow.
Steve Ernest, vice president of engineering & business development at Jacobs Vehicle Systems, commented: “Fulcrum Bridge is a breakthrough technology because engine makers no longer have to choose between Hydraulic Lash Adjusters (HLAs), which set and maintain the clearance in the valve train between valve and camshaft, and a Jake Brake®. With Fulcrum Bridge, it is now possible to have the advantages of our world-famous engine brake and know that the lash setting is good for the life of the engine.”
Engine braking is desirable because it reduces service brake wear and maintenance, enhances safety when operating on steep hills and with heavy loads, and lowers the total cost of ownership. HLAs are desirable because they enhance efficiency by allowing for more consistent valve motions throughout all engine operating conditions and wear over the engine’s lifetime and eliminates the need to periodically adjust the engine’s lash settings. Reduced servicing requirements are particularly beneficial with off-highway vehicles whose engines are not easily accessible and may require significant vehicle disassembly.
Conventional engine brakes were previously incompatible with HLAs because as the engine brake holds one exhaust valve open, the HLA will over-extend, possibly causing valve-to-piston contact once engine braking is turned off. Jacobs’ solution applies a reactive load to the HLA during an engine braking event to prevent this over-extension.
Even more benefits can be realized by using Fulcrum Bridge in on-highway applications. On-highway engines are facing strong emissions regulations from 2024 through 2030 worldwide. Using HLAs will allow the ideal valve lift to be maintained throughout the life of the engine thereby maintaining original engine combustion and emissions performance. This will keep DPF re-gen intervals consistent and keep the engine running healthy longer.
Read the article here: Jacobs’ Fulcrum Bridge Technology Goes Into Production
Lessons from the Pandemic: The Future of ‘Smart Cities’

Kaleb Hilton
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing us to rethink the future of cities. The increase in remote work will impact office footprints, transportation patterns, and consumption habits, while the adoption of AI and the increase in automation will continue to reshape the workforce. While early predictions about the “end of the city” now seem premature, there is no denying that the pandemic has posed significant challenges to urban centers worldwide. The exact impact of the pandemic on cities is difficult to predict. Still, there is an eagerness among policymakers, technologists, and urbanists alike to seize this moment to “build back better” and re-imagine cities that are more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable. It is not surprising that the concept of smart cities is gaining greater attention, given their perceived potential to solve complex urban problems.
A smart city essentially refers to a framework, composed of IoT and cloud computing, that collects, manages, and analyzes data to help cities be more efficient and responsive to citizens. It has many potential applications, ranging from IoT enabled traffic management systems that reduce traffic congestion and accidents, to smart grids, which can save energy and allow an easier penetration of renewable energy. In 2019, there were 379 fully deployed smart city projects in 61 countries, and one study found that the market will be worth $2.75 trillion by 2023. A survey of senior officials across 167 cities and 82 countries also revealed that 65% of city officials believe smart cities programs will be crucial for their futures post-pandemic.
This outlook among city officials likely stems from being forced to think creatively about the use of technology in their pandemic responses. For instance, Chicago used anonymized cellphone data to analyze travel patterns and track whether people were self-isolating. In Helsinki, city hall maintained a Special Operations Group that used data from digital technology platforms and scenario analysis to inform their decision-making. This past year also encouraged new public-private partnerships, which will be central to the success of smart cities projects. For example, California-based drone delivery startup Zipline partnered with Ghana’s government to deliver COVID-19 test samples to the country’s two largest cities – Accra and Kumasi.
However, not all outcomes of the pandemic have been positive for smart cities. The health crisis has also interrupted several smart cities projects and created new hurdles for city administrators. Most notably, city budgets have been squeezed, and one report anticipated long-lasting revenue shortfalls for subnational governments. In response, some governments are trying to get ahead of this financial gap and using recovery plans to bolster technology investment. For instance, the European Union has set up a €750 billion recovery plan, known as NextGenerationEU. Among the approved Member States’ recovery plans, top digital priorities include the digitalization of the public administration (~36%) and businesses (~17%) (see graph below). Cities are also expected to benefit from this funding. Additionally, London and five other European cities have invested €250 million in smart technologies through the Sharing Cities program, which brings together 34 partners from across government, industry and academia to test and scale the use of smart technology. Going forward, strategic investments and creative business models will be key to successfully scaling the use of this technology.
Budgets are not the only consideration. Another key lesson from the pandemic is that trust is a crucial element for the deployment of any digital service, product, or ecosystem. In Singapore, which was named the “smartest city in the world,” citizens were required to scan a QR code with identification information whenever they entered a public space for contact tracing purposes. The government originally gave assurances that the data would only be used for contract tracing. However, it was later revealed that police had been using the data for their investigations, sparking public mistrust. In Zhengzhou, smart city projects came under scrutiny after failing to prevent deaths following severe flooding.
Needless to say, the pandemic has prompted a shift in public outlook on data sharing, further incentivizing governments to address these real and potential harms. In July, the Dutch Data Protection Agency published recommendations to ensure smart city initiatives comply with data protection and privacy protections. Just two months prior, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) similarly published a series of principles encouraging developers to build smart cities with security in mind from the start. In China, home to half of the world’s smart city projects, the highest court ruled that businesses who use facial recognition technology must acquire users’ consent before collecting their facial information.
While these are promising initiatives, city governments can take even more proactive steps to ensure their citizens can trust and benefit from this new technology. Chief among the responses should be a data privacy policy, whereby citizens can be assured that their data is collected for a legitimate purpose and not stored beyond the necessary timeframe. At the same time, the use of data to guide local and national responses to the pandemic highlights the need to strike an appropriate balance between personal privacy and public interest. With increasing data collection, policymakers will also need to address pervasive fears of public surveillance. Sensors, cameras, and audio solutions that comprise a smart city collect vast amounts of data, but even a small amount can be revealing and abused by the government. Finally, smart cities need strong security policies; otherwise, the very IoT backbone that powers a smart city could be exploited by cyber criminals and other malicious actors. These should be key components of any smart city strategy, along with a robust consultation involving diverse stakeholders to understand local needs and concerns. In sum, as city officials, the private sector, and citizens look to the future, they should jointly develop and invest in smart cities that address citizens’ greatest needs, earn their trust, and embed security, privacy, and fundamental rights at the outset.
Read the article here: Lessons from the Pandemic: The Future of ‘Smart Cities’
America’s ‘Smart City’ didn’t get much smarter

Kaleb Hilton
IN 2016, COLUMBUS, Ohio, beat out 77 other small and midsize US cities for a pot of $50 million that was meant to reshape its future. The Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge was the first competition of its kind, conceived as a down payment to jump-start one city’s adaptation to the new technologies that were suddenly everywhere. Ride-hail companies like Uber and Lyft were ascendant, car-sharing companies like Car2Go were raising their national profile, and autonomous vehicles seemed to be right around the corner.
“Our proposed approach is revolutionary,” the city wrote in its winning grant proposal, which pledged to focus on projects to help the city’s most underserved neighborhoods. It laid out plans to experiment with Wi-Fi-enabled kiosks to help residents plan trips, apps to pay bus and ride-hail fares and find parking spots, autonomous shuttles, and sensor-connected trucks.
Five years later, the Smart City Challenge is over, but the revolution never arrived. According to the project’s final report, issued this month by the city’s Smart Columbus Program, the pandemic hit just as some projects were getting off the ground. Six kiosks placed around the city were used to plan just eight trips between July 2020 and March 2021. The company EasyMile launched autonomous shuttles in February 2020, carrying passengers at an average speed of 4 miles per hour. Fifteen days later, a sudden brake sent a rider to the hospital, pausing service. The truck project was canceled. Only 1,100 people downloaded an app, called Pivot, to plan and reserve trips on ride-hail vehicles, shared bikes and scooters, and public transit.
The discrepancy between the promise of whiz-bang technology and the reality in Columbus points to a shift away from tech as a silver bullet, and a newer wariness of the troubles that web-based applications can bring to IRL streets. The “smart city” was a hard-to-pin-down marketing term associated with urban optimism. Today, as citizens think more carefully about tech-enabled surveillance, the concept of a sensor in every home doesn’t look as shiny as it once did.
Still, Columbus officials insist the Smart City project was not a failure. In fact, the final report labeled the project a success. Now Columbus wants to rethink the slippery term.
“It’s not supposed to be a competition for who has more sensors, or anything like that, and I think we got a little distracted at a certain point,” says Jordan Davis, director of Smart Columbus, the organization charged with continuing the challenge’s work. Some of the challenge’s projects will continue. Davis says the focus will be, “How do we use technology to improve quality of life, to solve community issues of equity, to mitigate climate change, to achieve prosperity in the region?”
Think back to 2015, and the challenge’s techno-solutionist goals made sense. The future was coming quick, and the DOT hoped its seed money would help a midsize city like Columbus work with companies to plan ahead, with equity in mind. When it selected the city, the department said it was impressed by the number of local companies that had pledged additional support for the project. The challenge is “about using … advanced tools to make life better for all people, especially those living in underserved communities,” then secretary Anthony Foxx said. (He is now the chief policy officer for Lyft.)
Now it’s clear that private firms can’t predict the future of cities and may not have their best interests in mind. Davis says Columbus’ selection led to a flood of proposals from companies that ultimately proved difficult to manage, and “at times distracting.” Meanwhile, Uber (and Lyft) have pulled out of autonomous vehicles, notably after an Uber testing vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona. Google sibling Sidewalk Labs promised in 2017 to construct a sensored-up neighborhood of the future in Toronto. But it killed the project last year amid the pandemic and a bitter political battle with privacy advocates and local groups and developers.
Still, smart-city projects continue around the world. Toyota is building a self-driving-car-friendly community outside of Tokyo. Sidewalk Labs just announced it’s advising real estate developers in a handful of US cities on “innovation plans.” And Alibaba-led “smart traffic” projects continue in China, Malaysia, and Macau.
In the end, a smart-city revolution in Columbus may have been overly ambitious from the start. “A lot of people were expecting a lot from this project, and perhaps too much,” says Harvey Miller, a geography professor and director of the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis at Ohio State University, who helped plan and evaluate the challenge. He points out that $50 million ($40 million from the federal government, $10 million from the late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen’s Vulcan Inc.) isn’t much money, especially spread out over five years. It’s not Columbus’ fault that industry promises about the imminent arrival of self-driving cars were way overblown.
“I think what Columbus did is test revolutionary ideas,” says Miller. “And I think they learned a lot, what works and what doesn’t work.”
What works, according to Columbus: Once the pandemic hit, the project transformed the autonomous shuttle into a food bank delivery operation, which self-drove 500 boxes of food a month between summer 2020 and spring 2021 to a local food pantry, bringing it closer to people in need. (A safety operator was always on board to monitor the tech.) Twenty-seven Columbus residents with cognitive disabilities tested an app to help them navigate public transit, with which 70 percent reported “satisfaction” afterwards. Seventy pregnant women tested an app-based Uber-like service to get to medical appointments. Compared with a control group that didn’t use the on-demand service, they visited doctors, pharmacies, and grocery stores more often. The report says the rides alone were unlikely to guarantee safer births and healthier babies, but suggested they could be a “valuable contribution.”
Five of the eight projects launched by the challenge will continue, including a citywide “operating system” to share data between government and private entities, the smart kiosks, and the parking and trip-planning apps. Smart Columbus will also focus on providing broadband access to all of its residents who lack it—a gap that officials say became even more problematic during the pandemic.
Davis, the Smart Columbus director, acknowledges that the program’s rules sometimes made it hard to shape projects around the real needs of the community. They had only so much room to deviate from the plan set out five years ago. Going forward, she says, the city will rely more on “empathy and engagement,” rather than “‘This is a really cool tech that’s coming out of the private sector.’”
Read the article here: America’s ‘Smart City’ Didn’t Get Much Smarter
Colorado looks to Australia to solve I-25 traffic congestion

Kaleb Hilton
Easing the notorious rush-hour gridlock on Interstate 25 south of Denver will require controlling thousands of motorists’ access to the highway with fraction-of-a-second precision never before seen in Colorado.
It’s why in the next few weeks, state transportation officials will launch the Smart 25 Managed Motorways Pilot Program, using what’s called “coordinated ramp metering” on a 14-mile stretch of northbound I-25 between University Boulevard in Denver and Ridgegate Parkway in Lone Tree.
Many entrance ramps on metro Denver highways have traffic lights to control traffic flow but they aren’t programmed to respond to real-time conditions. By making constant and minute changes to the length of time cars wait on entrance ramps before merging onto the highway, traffic engineers believe slowdowns and logjams can be greatly reduced — or avoided altogether.
The proof, according to Colorado Department of Transportation Smart 25 Project Manager Zach Miller, resides nearly 8,800 miles away in Melbourne, Australia.
“Australia has figured out how to use algorithms to resolve complex traffic problems to prevent congestion,” Miller said. “I am hopeful this technique can be beneficial to CDOT as well.”
What Australia’s second-biggest city found after implementing its coordinated ramp metering program on a stretch of the M1 freeway a decade ago is impressive: The number of vehicles getting through increased by 25% during peak commuting periods, travel speeds improved 35% to 60% during peaks and crashes went down by 20% to 50%.
“We can’t control what the drivers do, but we can control the environment in which they make these decisions,” said Matt Hall, a manager with the Victoria Department of Transport.
And that environment is one of extreme precision: Traffic conditions on the roadway are constantly monitored by sensors, which send data to algorithm-chewing computers. The length of time the green or red light on an entrance ramp illuminates is adjusted every 20 seconds.
“It slowly pushes out red time as needed,” said John Gaffney, strategic advisor to the Victoria Department of Transport. “And if one area is struggling, we share the pain across the system.”
Sometimes that means adding just a tenth of a second to motorists’ wait time, Gaffney said, but manipulating wait times on numerous ramps across miles of highway helps to fill in what empty spaces there are on the highway to keep traffic moving smoothly. It only takes two additional vehicles per lane mile to bog it all down, he said.
The stretch of I-25 through the Denver Tech Center sees upwards of 250,000 vehicles a day on average, CDOT data shows. Melanie Ward, Centennial’s strategic adviser for transportation and mobility, said there has been no shortage of complaints from city residents about I-25.
“We hear from our residents all the time that traffic congestion is the biggest concern,” she said.
She welcomes CDOT’s Smart 25 pilot program as a potential solution to congestion — and possibly helping cut down on the metro area’s ozone alert days — but she worries that extended red ramp lights could mean backups on connecting streets.
“We want to make sure we’re not seeing I-25 improvements at the expense of the local roads,” Ward said.
In Melbourne, Gaffney said, that hasn’t been a problem. If a ramp starts to become overloaded, cars will be released while the system transfers wait times somewhere up the road to compensate.
“You have to have all the ramps looking at the system,” he said.
Both Hall and Gaffney said Colorado is on the “leading edge” in putting in place a coordinated ramp metering system. Utah, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee, among other states, have explored using it but I-25 already has much of the infrastructure needed in place.
That includes the sensors on the highway and a dozen “sensing pucks” at each of the 18 ramps involved in the study, Miller said. The first three months of the pilot, which could start as soon as the end of June, will be spent collecting data.
The next two months will be a “soft launch” of the program, followed by four months of full operation. Miller said CDOT is spending $5 million on the pilot program, and will be able to assess next year whether it’s something to implement on a permanent basis.
“This corridor was completely refreshed 15 years ago,” Miller said, referring to the additional lanes built on I-25 and I-225 in 2006 as part of the $800 million T-REX project. “However, most of the improved capacity gains have been lost due to increased demands.”
Jeremy Hanak, public works director for Greenwood Village, would just like the worst of the rush hour through his city to grow no longer or more intense than it is.
“If you get a coordinated traffic signal system, you can increase efficiency,” Hanak said. “Hopefully, you can stop yourself from going from a one-hour peak period to a two-hour peak period.”
Read the article here: Colorado looks to Australia to solve I-25 traffic congestion
Whiteman AFB Airman innovates, develops smart maintenance floor mat to prevent FOD

Kaleb Hilton
Foreign object debris, or FOD, can come from a variety of sources and presents a major hazard to aircraft around the world, costing the aviation industry an estimated $4 billion in repairs each year.
One Whiteman Air Force Base Airman took it upon himself to try to prevent these maintenance costs after learning about the risks of FOD and the importance of having good attention to detail on the flight line.
“From the moment I walked onto the flight line, I was blown away by the sheer power of the B-2 (Spirit)s and the Airmen who work around them,” said Airman 1st Class Paul Olexa, 509th Bomb Wing Innovation Office assistant, originally assigned to the 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. “I began to learn the process for removing, inspecting, and installing parts. I watched how Airmen handled tools, parts, and where they placed objects.”
Seeing the trends for item placement and the chance of losing parts or tools, Olexa realized something needed to be done to keep track of these items. Originally he focused on the magnetic aspect of many parts and tools as a way to keep track of them.
Before joining the military, Olexa worked as an area manager within a factory, this industrial background exposed him to a variety of floor mats that serve a variety of purposes. This experience helped him develop a floor mat that would potentially reduce FOD. The concept started as a magnetic floor mat and evolved to incorporate smart technology in order to analyze and track FOD.
“The FOD mat is a durable polymer mat capable of detecting and locating metallic and non-metallic objects using a variety of sensors,” Olexa said. “Doing so will allow users to easily find FOD thus reducing the risk of damage, property damage, labor hours, and mission delays.”
With up to eight hours of battery life, the mats will be able to be used throughout various maintenance tasks and will record data for the items that fall on them.
“Each item dropped on the mat will be assigned a unique ID and will be recorded in a database,” Olexa said. “Metrics recorded on the database will be the item location, time of drop and time of retrieval. It will also include a machine learning model for object identification.”
While the FOD mat was developed for use during military aircraft maintenance, Olexa stated there will be a public version with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities along with a variety of sizes to fit the needs of different industries.
The mats will be modular and will be able to be connected to form larger mats. They can also be stacked for storage and charging.
The initial prototype, which will be no larger than a pizza box, is undergoing development by Texas A&M University engineering students for their capstone project. The capstone project partners students with innovators and industry professionals, giving them the opportunity to use the skills and knowledge they’ve acquired to produce and design real-world projects.
“Innovation is the method by which we maintain or in some areas, regain our competitive edge in every warfighting domain,” said Capt. Benjamin Fogarty, 509th Bomb Wing Innovation Office director. “It is the diametric opposite of complacency; innovation requires us to take the initiative and not accept the status quo, but instead strive for something better.”
Fogarty added that innovation comes to play in the lives of Airmen by improving efficiency, quality of work and providing new insight to units that choose to innovate.
“What we are finding is that better forms of communication and the ability to understand data in real-time is a cross-enterprise obstacle now for the Air Force and we are pursuing numerous parallel lines of effort to solve this ubiquitous problem,” Fogarty said.
The 509th BW Innovation Office along with innovation teams across the Air Force are working together to solve problems and overcome obstacles in more efficient, cost effective and creative ways by opening the door for new ideas and technology.
“A1C Olexa has so far been unique in his success, and has done an extraordinary thing by putting himself out there and having the persistence to carry his idea to fruition,” Fogarty said. “He had good leaders who pointed him in the right direction. We need more of our leaders to step up and do the same for their Airmen. We need them to tell their Airmen, ‘That’s a great idea and the innovation office can help you make it a reality. I’ve seen them do it.”
Read the full article here: Whiteman AFB Airman innovates, develops smart maintenance floor mat to prevent FOD
Smart tech transforming the lives of elderly people living independently

Kaleb Hilton
The Smart Meters for Independent Living (Smile) initiative is being run by the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics, with housing and care specialist Blackwood Homes and Care, and Scottish innovation centre The Data Lab.
It will see the consortium develop and test artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning methods to analyse energy usage data from consenting residents’ smart meters, which will give a view of their daily routines to highlight unusual changes in behaviour which could cause concern. The trial began in November 2019 and, despite delays caused by the pandemic, it is analysing energy usage data in homes across Scotland.
Residents and their family or carers can set “rules” for the system, telling it which changes in routine could be a cause for concern – the duration of a shower being longer than usual, or a change to normal cooking schedules, which could indicate that there has been an incident.
Machine learning algorithms use energy usage patterns to identify the timing of people’s relevant activities in the home, looking for changes that should be flagged up. The system will then alert the individual, their loved one or carer, enabling a decision on the best course of action.
Gillian Docherty, CEO of The Data Lab, said: “We’re proud to be involved in such a forward-thinking project and look forward to receiving the initial findings soon.”
Dr Lynda Webb from the School of Informatics said: “The fact that we are also co-designing the service with Blackwood customers means we can take forward the research in a way that is adapted to people’s true needs.”
Read the full article here: Smart tech transforming the lives of elderly people living independently
NASA Rover Tech Used for Eco-Friendly Rubber Tire Alternative

Kaleb Hilton
Many detractors understandably argue that governments should divert the immense funds going into space exploration to fix our problems here on Earth.
However, aside from falling into the category of the excluded middle fallacy, the idea that we should halt space exploration also ignores the immense benefits space-age technologies have brought us here on Earth.
One new example is startup SMART, which, thanks to a partnership with NASA, is building an airless bicycle tire based on technology created to make future lunar and Martian rovers more resilient.
SMART’s METL tire is the product of the company’s work with NASA’s Glenn Research Center, as part of the agency’s Space Act Agreement startup program.
Working with NASA engineers Dr. Santo Padula and Colin Creager, who developed the so-called “shape memory alloy” (SMA) technology, the team at SMART devised an airless, maintenance-light tire that could replace traditional rubber tires.
As the U.S. produces approximately 246 million rubber waste tires a year, such a technology could help to fix an unsustainable rubber waste problem on Earth. Puncture-free tires could also reduce thousands of injuries resulting from tire pressure accidents.
NASA’s SMA technology brought down to Earth
SMA technology allows for a tire built entirely of interconnected springs. As these tires don’t require an inner tube or air pressure they are puncture resistant. The people at SMART say the tire is elastic like rubber at the same time as being strong like titanium.
Based on NASA’s tests, the tires also provide similar or even better traction than rubber tires, as well as shock-absorbing capabilities, a TechCrunch report details.
As they were originally built for rovers that could go years, or a lifetime, without maintenance, SMAs were built to return to their original shape at the molecular level. The tires can deform to adapt to different terrain types without losing their structural integrity over time.
SMART was co-founded by engineer Brian Yennie and entrepreneur and reality series “Survivor: Fiji” winner Earl Cole. Both worked with SMA creators Dr. Santo Padula and Colin Creager, as well as former NASA intern Calvin Young, to rethink SMA for the consumer market.
The first METL tire, aimed at the cycling market, will be available to the public early next year. If that goes well, SMART also aims to bring SMA tires to the automotive and commercial vehicle industries.
Aside from being a NASA partner, SMART also has a partnership in place with Ford-owned Spin, a micromobility bike and scooter-sharing company.
SMART is also crowdfunding via a WeFunder campaign which, at the time of writing, has already accrued $90,000 of its first goal of $100,000. The company will have to compete with the likes of Michelin and GM to reach that $8 million valuation cap.
Read the full article here: NASA Rover Tech Used for Eco-Friendly Rubber Tire Alternative