/ News

14.01.2015

Voxel8 paves the way for 3D-printed electronics

The 3D printers of today can produce objects that may be quite intricate in shape but, by and large, these objects are still made solely of "dumb" plastic. This may be about to change thanks to the Voxel8, a printer presented at CES that makes it much easier to blend plastic, conductive ink and other electronic components in the same object to manufacture highly customizable devices, such as your very own quadcopter.

Special conductive inks and the right kind of printers already make it possible to build simple parts with embedded electronics. The problem with current conductive inks, however, is that they’re not very conductive at all: they’re made using carbon particles, which are mediocre conductors at best and are only really good for a limited scope of simple, low-power applications.

Voxel8, a Harvard spin-off founded by professor Jennifer Lewis, has designed a new ink that replaces carbon with highly conductive silver particles and is reportedly five thousand times more conductive, making it ideal for carrying higher currents, such as those required by small electric motors and other actuators.

The ink is specifically designed so it can be deposited by a 250 micron nozzle, dry in just five minutes at room temperature and used to reliably interconnect TQFP integrated circuits. The idea is that this new ink will enable users to easily wire together chips and other electronic components within their 3D-printed objects, allowing a degree of design freedom that is simply not possible through standard methods of manufacturing.

Using interchangeable cartridges, the Voxel8 prints out objects in either PLA plastic or conductive silver ink. Thanks to its unique software (which was specifically developed by CAD software giant Autodesk and is hosted in the cloud), the printing can also pause at predetermined points so that users can manually insert the components that will be embedded in their 3D-printed objects.

As printers go, this one appears to be on the higher end of the spectrum with features including a 4.3-inch touchscreen, USB and Wi-Fi connectivity, and a kinematically coupled bed that uses magnets to ensure high-precision printing even after the various components are inserted manually. The XY resolution is 15 microns, layer resolution is 200 microns, and the device can reportedly print objects up to 4 x 6 x 4 inches (10 x 15 x 10 cm) in size.

The only two printing materials currently supported are standard PLA plastic and the silver conductive ink, but the startup has said users will be able to upgrade their printer in the future as more functional and matrix materials are released. 

Voxel8 printers are set to begin shipping late this year. The US$8,999 standard price tag includes two PLA filament spools and five conductive ink cartridges. Should you choose to pre-order, which entails a $500 deposit, you’ll get double the printing materials.

The video below demonstrates what the printer can do,  including printing a working quadcopter.

Source: Voxel8

Source: http://www.gizmag.com/voxel8-3d-electronics-printer/35489/




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Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.

The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies. 

The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.

A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.

The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.

An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.

 

Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society

2015-2020

The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.

2020-2025

Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning  bodily life. Such technologies will  greatly enlarge  the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make  all  kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.

2030-2035

Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness  with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness  onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of  cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence,  expand human capabilities  and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times.  The final result  at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.

2045

This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive!  Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.

Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots  will become affordable  and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however:  humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover,  prerequisites for a large-scale  expansion into outer space will be created as well.

 

Key elements of the project in the future

• International social movement
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