Highlights this week: Apple Vision Pro Internals 🧠 Electric Transformer Shortages ⚡️ New AI Robotics Control From UC Berkeley 🤖
📝 Featured Article: A case study from Allspice with Impulse Labs, a top feature of our CES 2024 edition.
🎤 Featured Interview: This week we spoke with the CEO of Five Flute, William Burke.
Interesting Links 🏭
[manufacturing]: Behind the scenes in the world's largest battery factory. The process starts with two distinct processes which form the anode and cathode. From there the lithium, etc which starts as a powder form is turned into a slurry and then rolled into the shape and installed into the case + electrolyte and charged.
[engineering]: Researchers working with Purdue’s Resilient Extra Terrestrial Habitats institute (Rethi) have developed a new type of soft robotic manipulator that uses a scissor linkage to grip objects in three modes of operation. The goal is to design a general purpose robot that can perform a majority of tasks in space habitats and then design space systems within a ‘robotic factors’ as well as human factors to make long-term space habitation more resilient.
[engineering]: A neuromorphic computer is any device that uses artificial neurons to perform computations. A good measure of computational efficiency for these systems is TOPS - tera-operations per second per watt. This is the amount of computation that can be done for a given unit of energy. A human brain functions at 100 TOPS. Semron has developed one of the most efficient neuromorphic computers to date, with an array of 156 memcapacitor devices that could reach 10,000 TOPS.
[engineering]: UC Berkeley researchers have developed SERL "Sample-Efficient Robotic Reinforcement Learning" which can train an AI model to direct a robot with as little input as necessary. For example, researchers were able to train a robotic arm to insert a PCB thru-hole component in only 20 demonstrations (one of the most labor-intensive parts of any PCBA build).
[engineering]: The Apple Vision Pro was released this week as the company's first consumer AR/VR product. Launching with it is a new class of Apple Silicon, the R1 chip, which serves as a coprocessor alongside the M2 chip found in the MacBook line. The R1 handles sensor inputs from the headset’s 12 cameras, 5 sensors, 6 microphones, and LiDAR sensor. The R1 focuses on hand tracking, eye-tracking, gesture recognition, and spatial mapping while the M2 on more standard computing tasks for the application.
[engineering]: More on the Apple Vision Pro, the iFixit Teardown gives the much anticipated exploded view of all the major components which we have been waiting for with the associated main control board, fans, and sensors.
[engineering]: Schoonschip is an unique network of floating houseboats in Amsterdam that, with 46 households, operates one of the most advanced residential smart grids globally. Each dwelling is equipped with solar panels, a heat pump, and a battery system for storage. An energy management system then routes power as needed between households and a single connection to grid power.
[manufacturing]: Some electric transformers now have lead times as long as three years! Even smaller equipment used for renewables projects have lead times as long as 100 weeks. The problem is largely due to the fact that the US produces almost no grain-oriented electrical steel (a key transformer material) and the country relies too heavily on foreign manufacturers for production of large power transformers. Even worse, new Department of Energy regulations would soon exacerbate shortages by requiring that new transformers use amorphous cores instead of good old electrical steel which is much more available. Legislation is moving to block the regulations.
Startup News 🚀💰:
Aldoria raised a $10.9M Series A extension from Starquest. The company uses a space-based system of sensors to provide situational awareness for satellites.
Interlune, a space startup still in stealth mode, has raised at least $15.5M in investment. The company aims to harvest lunar resources for use on Earth. Co-founder Harrsion Schmitt has been a long-time advocate for returning to the moon ever since his own lunar surface walk.
Heart Aerospace raised a $107M Series B to develop the powertrain of its regional hybrid-electric jet the ES-30, which currently has 250 orders.
Acorai raised a $4.5M Seed for its machine learning cardiac monitoring system which was granted FDA breakthrough status last Fall. Led by Solardis Ventures with KHP Ventures, Carma Fund participating.
Nano Nuclear Energy raised a $2.17M private round for its micro nuclear reactor. The company is developing two portable reactors, only solid core and another low pressure reactor that can run on low-enrichment uranium.
EE Interview Prep 🤓
Register below with your student email for a 20 minute interview prep meeting with The Analog. You’ll be interviewing with 1-2 EE’s from companies like SpaceX, Apple, Neuralink, and hardware startups.
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An exploded layout of the Apple Vision Pro from iFixit
