Surface morphology of polyimide thin film dip-coated on polyester filament for dielectric layer in fibrous organic field effect transistor

The idea of wearable electronics automatically leads to the concept of integrating electronic functions on textile substrates. Since this substrate type implies certain challenges in comparison with their rigid electronic companions, it is of utmost importance to investigate the application of materials for generating the electronic functions on the textile substrate. Only when interaction of materials and textile substrate is fully understood, the electronic function can be generated on the textile without changing the textile's properties, being flexible or stretchable. This research deals with the optimization of the dielectric layer in a fibrous organic field effect transistor (OFET). A transistor can act as an electrical switch in a circuit. In this work, the polyimide layer was dip-coated on a copper-coated polyester filament. After thoroughly investigating the process conditions, best results with minimal thickness and roughness at full insulation could be achieved at a dip-coating speed of 50 mm/min. The polyimide solution was optimal at 15w% and the choice for the solvent NMP was made. In this paper, details on the pre-treatment methods, choice of solvent and dip-coating speed and their effect on layer morphology and thickness, electrical properties and roughness are reported. Results show that the use of polyimide as a dielectric layer in the architecture of a fibrous OFET is promising. Further research deals with the application of the semiconductor layer within the mentioned architecture, to finally build an OFET on a filament for application in smart textiles

Ono: an open platform for social robotics

In recent times, the focal point of research in robotics has shifted from industrial ro- bots toward robots that interact with humans in an intuitive and safe manner. This evolution has resulted in the subfield of social robotics, which pertains to robots that function in a human environment and that can communicate with humans in an int- uitive way, e.g. with facial expressions. Social robots have the potential to impact many different aspects of our lives, but one particularly promising application is the use of robots in therapy, such as the treatment of children with autism. Unfortunately, many of the existing social robots are neither suited for practical use in therapy nor for large scale studies, mainly because they are expensive, one-of-a-kind robots that are hard to modify to suit a specific need. We created Ono, a social robotics platform, to tackle these issues. Ono is composed entirely from off-the-shelf components and cheap materials, and can be built at a local FabLab at the fraction of the cost of other robots. Ono is also entirely open source and the modular design further encourages modification and reuse of parts of the platform

The 2021 flexible and printed electronics roadmap

This roadmap includes the perspectives and visions of leading researchers in the key areas of flexible and printable electronics. The covered topics are broadly organized by the device technologies (sections 1–9), fabrication techniques (sections 10–12), and design and modeling approaches (sections 13 and 14) essential to the future development of new applications leveraging flexible electronics (FE). The interdisciplinary nature of this field involves everything from fundamental scientific discoveries to engineering challenges; from design and synthesis of new materials via novel device design to modelling and digital manufacturing of integrated systems. As such, this roadmap aims to serve as a resource on the current status and future challenges in the areas covered by the roadmap and to highlight the breadth and wide-ranging opportunities made available by FE technologies

An intertemporal, multi-region general equilibrium model of agricultural trade liberalization in the South Mediterranean NICs, Turkey, and the European Union

With the aid of an intertemporal, multi-region general equilibrium model, the authors study issues of agricultural trade liberalization, growth and capital accumulation in the context of a world economy moving towards a multi-polar structure. They specifically focus on Turkey, the European Union, the Middle East, and the Economies in Transition; and study alternative scenarios of formation of customs unions and increased trade orientation. The model is based on intertemporal general equilibrium theory with Ramsey-type dynamics. The world economy is fully endogenized within a 9-region specification, with Turkey, EU, Middle East and the Transition Economies constituting as one of the indigenous regions. A key feature of the model is its explicit recognition of both the commodity and foreign capital flows across regions in an endogenous setting, and its explicit portrayal of the out-of-steady state dynamics under an intertemporal optimization framework. They explore the short- versus the long-run economic impacts of alternative trade and investment policies on agricultural production, foreign trade, resource allocation, accumulation, consumer welfare, and income distribution in the regions of analyis. The results reveal significant gains from increased bilateral trade between the identified regions, and further underscore the crucial importance of financing commodity trade deficits in sustaining the accumulation patterns.Economics Models. ,Trade liberalization. ,Foreign trade Mathematical models. ,Agricultural trade. ,TMD ,

The potential of additive manufacturing in the smart factory industrial 4.0: A review

Additive manufacturing (AM) or three-dimensional (3D) printing has introduced a novel production method in design, manufacturing, and distribution to end-users. This technology has provided great freedom in design for creating complex components, highly customizable products, and efficient waste minimization. The last industrial revolution, namely industry 4.0, employs the integration of smart manufacturing systems and developed information technologies. Accordingly, AM plays a principal role in industry 4.0 thanks to numerous benefits, such as time and material saving, rapid prototyping, high efficiency, and decentralized production methods. This review paper is to organize a comprehensive study on AM technology and present the latest achievements and industrial applications. Besides that, this paper investigates the sustainability dimensions of the AM process and the added values in economic, social, and environment sections. Finally, the paper concludes by pointing out the future trend of AM in technology, applications, and materials aspects that have the potential to come up with new ideas for the future of AM explorations

Modeling Economic, Social and Environmental Implications of a Free Trade Agreement Between the European Union and The Russian Federation

The EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force in 1997 foresees the possible establishment of a free trade area (FTA) between the parties. The aim of our study is to evaluate the possible economic, social and environmental impact of such a free trade agreement between the European Union and Russia. The results of the analysis indicate that an EU-Russia FTA will be beneficial to the Russian Federation and the EU27. Some sectors are expected to contract in the medium term, but their importance in total output is small. Over the long run, the majority of sectors in Russia are expected to expand, while only a few sectors in the EU27 are expected to register negligible decreases in output. We estimate that welfare losses from the environmental damages would be very small for Russia (possibly even smaller due to the implementation of greener technologies), and negligible for the EU. Despite some significant negative medium-term social implications in selected sectors in Russia, the overall increase in economic activity and wages, coupled with likely domestic policies aiming at easing the impact of transitional unemployment, are expected to allow for the overall reduction in poverty rates. Overall, the results show that significant welfare gains (2.24% of GDP for Russia) would accrue from the deep FTA scenario involving a significant reduction of NTBs along with additional flanking measures, particularly on competition, IPR protection and corruption, which would help re-branding of Russia as a safe and attractive investment location. Also a number of countries such as Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden are expected to see their welfare increase by around 0.5% of GDP.free trade agreement, WTO accession, European Union, Russian Federation, labor market, environment, NTBs, CGE

Challenges and Opportunities in 4D Printing -An Application Perspective

Over the last ten years, 3D printing technology has played a pivotal role in transforming the manufacturing industry. A recent advancement within the realm of 3D printing has introduced time as a fourth dimension, enabling the creation of 4D printing components. While a 3D-printed design remains static, a 4D-printed design has the remarkable ability to change its shape in response to environmental conditions. This paper also examines various applications of 4D printing across diverse fields such as electronics, renewable energy, aerospace, food, healthcare, and fashion. The review addresses research gaps, the current obstacles in 4D printing, and the future prospects of this technology