The company, known formally as Shenzhen Huiding Technology Co., is among a crop of Chinese companies embracing technology and higher-margin products.

Goodix, a supplier of mobile chips to Amazon.com Inc. and major Chinese smartphone makers, plans to begin shopping abroad for semiconductor and software developers to gain an edge in an increasingly competitive market.

The company wants to become the world’s biggest supplier of fingerprint sensors, Chief Executive Officer David Zhang said in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. That will help again double its revenue in 2017, matching its pace of growth in the first nine months of 2016, he added.

The company, known formally as Shenzhen Huiding Technology Co., is among a crop of Chinese companies embracing technology and higher-margin products, trying to shake off a reputation for making cheap goods.

|  A Industry Week release  |  January 6, 2017  |

Tesla is now producing lithium-ion battery cells at its “Gigafactory,” the massive plant just outside Reno, Nevada, that the company claims will become the largest factory of its kind in the world. The cells will be used for Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2 energy-storage battery packs, at first.

The company held a grand opening for the Gigafactory last year, but until now the factory has only assembled battery packs, and not the cells that go into them. Those cells have been imported by Panasonic, which partnered with Tesla on the Gigafactory and has been the sole supplier of battery cells for the company’s electric cars and energy-storage products.

Cells manufactured at the Gigafactory are a cylindrical “2170” design co-developed by Tesla and Panasonic, according to a company blog post. The Gigafactory is currently building them for Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2 battery packs only, but Tesla expects to start cell production for the Model 3 electric car in the second quarter of this year. The Model 3 is the 215-mile, $35,000 mass-market electric car that is the Gigafactory’s main reason for existence.

Tesla needs the massive factory to provide the economies of scale necessary to make the Model 3 profitable at its sub-$40,000 price point. It also needs to produce battery cells in large volumes: Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants the company to produce 500,000 cars per year by 2018, and the Model 3 is expected to make up the majority of that total. That’s a lot of battery cells.

By 2018, Tesla expects the Gigafactory to be producing 35 gigawatt-hours of cells per year, which it claims is nearly as much as the rest of the world’s cell production combined. Tesla will keep expanding the factory, which it says is only 30-percent complete. The current footprint of 1.9 million square feet houses 4.9 million square feet of operational space on multiple floors. When the factory is completed, Tesla expects it to be the largest building in the world.

Tesla may be kicking off 2017 with some good news, but it ended 2016 with a disappointment. The automaker delivered 76,230 cars last year, meaning it missed its target of 80,000 units by a slim margin. In q statement, Tesla attributed this primarily to the transition to new Autopilot hardware, which the company believes interrupted the flow of production.Also watch: Sony 4K UHD Blu-ray Player, TVs, Projector At CES 2017

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/tesla-begins-gigafactory-battery-cell-production/#ixzz4VDDfebdK|  DigitalTrends  |  january 5, 2017  |

Cinch is the brainchild of Jake Jackson, an avid camper and entrepreneur from Lancaster in the United Kingdomwho set out on the mission to find the perfect tent for festival-going.

His search was thwarted when he was unable to find one which did everything he wanted it to. Jake’s vision was ambitious, yet simple: a tent should make camping fun, easy and cheap – not suck away your time, money and sanity.

He wanted power. He wanted to access his tent from both the back and the front. He didn’t want to trip over guide ropes or tent pegs. And he wanted to be able to stand up!

So in true entrepreneurial fashion, when he couldn’t buy what he wanted, he set out to make his own. And Cinch was born.

“The concept behind Cinch came from me not being able to find what I wanted on the market,” said founder Jake Jackson, “I loved the idea of a pop up for the festivals I was attending but there was nothing out there that suited my needs fully so I went about designing my own.”

Setting off on a one-man-mission, his first step was to design his perfect tent and get some samples made, which any designer will tell you, is a challenge in itself.

“I sourced different factories and got some samples made up,” he added, “I then got a small test order which went well and made constant changes over the space of a year or two to get the tent to more of an advanced concept.

“We field tested them, listened to customers and changed them accordingly. The most difficult thing was finance to get the project off the ground. It is not really a business that you can start off with too small and scale up steadily, you have to start the business on a much larger scale for it to work.

“I tried for a good couple of years to find funding for the project but due to the economic climate there was no money available for new businesses and ideas. This is when we decided to crowd fund to get the project off the ground and it went amazingly well.”

With his designs ready, Jake took to crowdfunding platform Kickstarter in a bid to fund the project and was overwhelmed by the response. The campaign raised £30,000 in just 14 minutes and became one of the fastest raises ever to appear on the website. Jake decided to extend the campaign and went on to raise a total of £366,905 from 1,341 private investors.

“I’ve had a great experience with crowdfunding,” he said, “but not all of my experiences have been great, I’ve learned a lot along the way. I wasted a lot of time and money making the wrong decisions but always learning from them.

“It’s certainly not easy and you can’t just expect something from nothing with crowdfunding, you have to put the work in, no matter how good you think your product is. Our approach to crowdfunding was to get the product out there before the campaign and gather momentum, this is the hardest thing to do.”

Cinch is now on target to launch its first range of solar powered pop-up tents early next year and Jake has ambitious plans for the future.

He added: “The reception so far has been unbelievable, our customers are so enthusiastic and I really do think it’s got people camping that maybe would have not bothered previously which is fantastic.

“The plans are now to continue to develop the tents and the expand the range. It would be great to develop Cinch into a world wide lifestyle brand that is recognised for the coolest innovative products.”

|  A Cinch press release  | December 20, 2016  |

Amazon has filed a patent for massive flying warehouses equipped with fleets of drones that deliver goods to key locations.

Carried by an airship, the warehouses would visit places Amazon expects demand for certain goods to boom.

It says one use could be near sporting events or festivals where they would sell food or souvenirs to spectators.

The patent also envisages a series of support vehicles that would be used to restock the flying structures.

Continue to full article on BBCNews - December 29, 2016

While we don't have a magic crystal ball, a combination of what we've seen in 2016, plus one or two murmurs from the supply chains, gives enough clues to be able to make some fairly educated guesses about what's ahead.

• Samsung will be back with more than one flagship phone
• Apple is expected to launch at least two new iPhones in 2017
• LG unveiled the G5 in 2016 at Mobile World Congress
• 2016 also saw the arrival of Google's new Pixel phone

The smartphone tech of 2017

We may not see a huge leap forward in the evolution of the smartphone over the next 12 months, but that doesn't mean there won't be any surprises along the way, and here's what might be in store – though we should mention this is based mainly on leaks and rumors, so don't get your hopes up too high just yet.

Iris scanning technology hasn't appeared on many phones to date, but one handset it did show up on in 2016 was the doomed Samsung Galaxy Note 7. With the necessary components now becoming cheaper and more accurate, you can expect to see more phones feature this futuristic form of security. It's been linked with the Samsung Galaxy S8, among other handsets.

Then there's curves: If there's one running thread through all the smartphone 2017 rumors, it's curves everywhere you look. Handset makers are said to be experimenting with curved back plates, curved front screens, curved edges for displays, and more. What Samsung helped to start with the Galaxy Note Edge back in 2014 could well be the norm in 2017, whichever part of the phone you're looking at.

Continue to full article on New Atlas

Chicago, IL (December 30th 2016) Carbon recycling company, LanzaTech has been selected by the Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) to receive a $4M award to design and plan a demonstration-scale facility using industrial off gases to produce 3M gallons/year of low carbon jet and diesel fuels.

The facility will recycle industrial waste gases from steel manufacturing to produce a low cost ethanol intermediate “Lanzanol”. Both Lanzanol and cellulosic ethanol will then be converted to jet fuel via the “Alcohol to Jet” (ATJ) process developed by LanzaTech and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The ATJ technology was initially developed with DOE funding by PNNL and subsequently scaled-up by LanzaTech to produce 4000 gallons of sustainable jet fuel from Lanzanol and other sources, as well as 600 gallons of diesel fuel, for fuel quality testing, certification and a proving flight with Virgin Atlantic.

LanzaTech is currently building its first commercial ethanol facilities using waste gases, including one in China with China’s largest steel company, Shougang, and one in Belgium with the world’s largest steel manufacturer, ArcelorMittal. In the DOE funded project, LanzaTech will work with ArcelorMittal to evaluate US opportunities for leveraging this expertise to demonstrate an entirely new pathway to low carbon fuels from industrial wastes that are either flared or underutilized.

“Economics and sustainability are key to realizing the potential of alternative aviation fuels,” said Jennifer Holmgren, LanzaTech CEO. “Jet fuel accounts for as much as 40% of an airline’s operating costs and the sector has made substantial commitments to reduce their CO2 emissions by 2025. So fuels must address both of these needs to succeed at commercial scale. Thanks to the Department of Energy, the partners in this project will accelerate the commercial production of low cost, low carbon jet, gasoline and diesel in the United States.”

To demonstrate process versatility, ethanol from other waste gas streams will be converted, including cellulosic ethanol produced via fermentation of biomass syngas by Aemetis (Nasdaq: AMTX). Ambitech, an Illinois-based engineering company, will be LanzaTech’s engineering partner with additional engineering contributions from Aemetis. Other project partners include PNNL; technology providers Petron Scientech, CRI Catalyst Company, Nexceris and Gardner Denver Nash; Michigan Technological University, who will be evaluating the environmental footprint of the fuels being produced; and Audi, who will support by evaluating diesel and gasoline fuel properties. In addition the project has received support from Airlines for America (A4A) and the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI), an aviation industry consortium focused on the near-term development and commercialization of sustainable alternative jet fuel for the aviation enterprise.

Statements of Support:

Suresh Baskaran, Chief Science and Technology Officer for the Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

"The ability to produce tightly-specified aviation fuel or, alternatively, high-cetane diesel is a unique feature of this technology that will enhance its competitiveness in U.S. as well as global markets.” Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO of Aemetis “We look forward to deepening our relationship with LanzaTech and using our cellulosic ethanol produced from California agricultural residues, to power jet planes and diesel trucks in the future.”

Steve Csonka, Executive Director of CAAFI “We are excited to see this demonstation-scale effort moving forward, and laud BETO’s selection of LanzaTech and their unique technology for this award. The aviation enterprise remains committed to the use of competitively priced sustainable alternative jet fuel, and we look forward to continuing to work with LanzaTech on several ongoing efforts which we believe can lead to near-term full-scale commercialization.“

Professor David Shonnard, Director, Sustainable Futures Institute, Michigan Technological University “The Michigan Tech Sustainable Futures Institute is excited to continue our relationship with LanzaTech, helping them innovate and develop products that meet environmental goals in addition to technical and economic targets." Yogendra Sarin, President & CEO at Petron Scientech Inc.

“Petron is pleased and excited to be working with LanzaTech to help bring ATJ technology to commercial demonstration through the appliaction of Petron's Innovative and proprietary Ethylene technology. We believe this partnership will help greatly in the development of sustainable biojet fuels, while contributing to finding solutions to global warming.”

About LanzaTech

LanzaTech’s carbon recycling technology captures and recycles a broad spectrum of gases for fuel and chemical production. Across the supply chain, LanzaTech promotes a ‘carbon smart’ circular economy, where both gas providers and end users can be resource efficient by recycling or “sequestering” carbon into new products rather than making them from fossil reserves. Founded in New Zealand, LanzaTech has raised more than US$200 million from investors including Khosla Ventures, K1W1, Qiming Venture Partners, Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund, Petronas, Mitsui, Primetals, China International Capital Corp, Suncor and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. http://www.lanzatech.com

Immersive Construction with guest writer Alison Crady

Immersive reality technology has exploded throughout 2016, with more creative uses invented every day. Many huge corporations are placing massive investments in its development. According to ABI Research predictions, immersive reality will balloon into a $100-billion-dollar industry by 2020.

The exciting technology can be broken down into three distinct categories: Mixed Reality (MR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR). The Microsoft’s HoloLens is a great, recent example of mixed reality, which is a split combination of reality and the virtual world. Augmented reality uses “markers” to add pieces of virtual information within the known world. And then there’s virtual reality which fully immerses users into an alternate world.

Whether you’re creating safer training scenarios, developing project blueprints, working out technical issues or showing off a completed project, immersive technologies will take construction to a new level of efficiency and effectiveness. Though immersive devices are still very early in commercial development stages, experts and industry leaders are grasping on. Because when you can change the way you see the world, you can change the world you see.

HOLOLENSES HEADSET MASTER MIXED REALITY

Perhaps one of the most exciting, user-friendly pieces talked about this year has just been released. Microsoft has been working all year to produce the HoloLens headset, which noticeably resembles a StarTrek device. This wireless headset hit the market just in time for 2016 Christmas gifts. Though with a $3,000 price tag, only a privileged few will find one wrapped beneath the tree.

The headset resembles two rings of a 3D solar system, which unfold in concentric circles. The first, inner circle rests around your head and uses a bicycle-helmet-style ratcheting dial to tighten it securely. The front sticks to your forehead, and the back rests below the backside of your skull.

Users interact with their environment by making specific changes with their index finger. Journalists with early-release experiences noted some user inconvenience due to the precise index finger movement and overall headset discomfort. But at the end of the day, it lets you add the virtual world to your current reality, completely transforming the world you see. Comfortable or not, that’s pretty amazing.

DEVELOPERS PRODUCE AUGMENTED REALITY GLASSES

Using “markers” AR glasses allow users to note ultra-specific adjustments in real time and space. Participants add pieces of virtual information to the known environment. Google glass has already begun providing AR glasses for military uses. But the goal is to branch out into enterprise customers within the year.

DAQRI, a California-based company, has a mission to create the most powerful AR platform humanly possible. They made a huge push forward with their smart helmet, which has great construction project application. It can accurately be described as a visionary tool for the 21st century worker.

Using AR glasses, field workers can find enhanced solutions. Entire repair manuals can be displayed before their eyes during technical difficulties. DAQRI’s smart helmet greatly improve efficiency with an enhanced degree of situational awareness. The glasses could easily be used in construction helmets, opening up the next level of project possibilities.

BETA-TESTING FOR VIRTUAL REALITY EXPANDS AND EXCITES

Completely surrounding and all-encompassing environments are possible with VR. Single-users can don a device which allows them to move within a virtual scene. Using kinesthesia and proprioception, the device can track the direction of motion distinct from the direction of eye gaze. While the range of view will vary according the device, participants will be able to turn around, look up and down and see a complete environment, known as virtual reality.

Several construction companies, such as PCL Construction Services and Sellen Construction, have begun beta-testing VR uses onsite using a new product from a Seattle startup called Context VR. It’s a mobile app that contractors can use for as-built records, remote walk-throughs, progress reports, estimating, safety training and facility management. By simply uploading engineering drawings or floor plans as PDF, app users can “walk through” the space, taking photos from a 360-degree camera.

This startup is just one example of the many ways VR can transcend the construction industry. Using VR can help construction workers discover new ways to envision projects. They can allow potential buyers and investors to explore first-hand the new environment without needing to be present in the exact location.

The Cave Automated Virtual Environment (CAVE) is another great virtual reality technique with direct application for construction. Firms such as the Boston-based Suffolk Construction have begun using this technique for immersive experiences through mid-construction project sites. This ability has greatly cut down on time and costs due to a reduced number of changes requested mid-project.

THE RAPIDLY EMERGING STARTREK DREAM WORLD

If you grew up watching futuristic series such as the Star Wars or Star Trek phenomenon, then the emerging immersive technology will seem familiar. We are entering a whole new phase of possibilities with our technological advances.

At this point, it’s more about the price range and its wide-spread availability. Companies such as Facebook, Google and Microsoft are constantly exploring new ways to fully utilize immersive reality. Emerging headsets, interactive hand controllers and movement sensors will revolutionize the entire construction process.

Developing construction firms should take note. Not only could safety be significantly improved through enhanced off-site training scenarios, but also the production and display of commercial projects can significantly improve. Designers, contractors and architects will be able to make better decisions, earlier on. While there’s a high ticket price, VR, AR, and MR are here to stay.

| An MSCNewsWire Guest Post by Alison Crady from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |  Friday 23 December 2016  |

Rocket Lab today announced the flight qualification and acceptance of the first stage booster of the Electron launch vehicle.

All primary components of the stage – including engines, vehicle structures, avionics and software systems - were designed, developed and tested in-house at Rocket Lab.

“Rocket Lab has had a hugely successful year with qualification of all major vehicle systems, completion of Launch Complex 1 and considerable growth of our team and customer base,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab CEO.

“We will continue to test the vehicle extensively in the lead-up to commercial operations and are looking forward to beginning the test flight program. Our focus with the Electron has been to develop a reliable launch vehicle that can be manufactured in high volumes – our ultimate goal is to make space accessible by providing an unprecedented frequency of launch opportunities.”

Rocket Lab plans to begin full vehicle testing in early 2017 once international launch licensing is complete. The tests will occur from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, located on the Mahia Peninsula of New Zealand.

|  A Rocket Lab release | Dec 13, 2016 |

Global technology distribution giant, Ingram Micro, is now under the control of HNA Group, following the completion of the Chinese conglomerate’s $US6 billion acquisition of the US-based company.

The companies announced on 6 December that they had completed the transaction, seeing publicly-traded HNA Group subsidiary, Tianjin Tianhai Investment Company, take control of Ingram Micro.

The closure of the deal, worth $38.90 per share with an equity value of approximately $US6 billion, was first announced in February, and comes after a review of Ingram Micro’s finances by the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

On 2 December, Ingram Micro announced that it had cleared their final hurdle to the completion of its acquisition by Tianjin Tianhai, with China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange approving the deal.

"The closing of this transaction represents a significant milestone on Ingram Micro's path to growing our business and providing a full spectrum of global technology and supply chain services to businesses around the world," Ingram Micro CEO, Alain Monié, said.

"We are delighted to move forward with this partnership with HNA Group and excited by the opportunity to accelerate the development and delivery of an even stronger value proposition for Ingram Micro's vendors and customers globally."

According to HNA Group vice chairman and CEO, Adam Tan, Ingram Micro, with its supply chain management experience and technology solutions, “exemplifies” HNA Group's strategy of investing in companies with strong positions in growing markets in the company’s core areas of focus.

“Working together, we believe there are significant opportunities to continue to expand Ingram Micro's delivery platform and portfolio of solutions offerings into high growth regions and provide customers across a wide range of industries with greater access to new market opportunities,” said Tan.

“Today marks a significant step forward in HNA Group's efforts to create a global, one-stop provider of logistics and supply chain solutions and services," he said.

While Ingram Micro will remain headquartered in Irvine, California, following the completion of the deal, and continue to be led by Monié, the completion of the transaction sees Ingram Micro cease trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

It is understood that, with the acquisition finalised, Ingram Micro’s chief financial officer, William Humes, is expected to leave the company, to be replaced by executive vice president of finance, Gina Mastantuono.

At the same time, the company’s executive vice president, secretary, and general counsel, Larry Boyd, is also set to step away, leaving vice president and associate general counsel, Augusto Aragone Coppola, as a replacement.

The company had previously told its associates that HNA Group had assured that the merger should have no impact on its day-to-day operations.

‘A significant part of HNA Group’s attraction to Ingram Micro is our exceptional associates, including our management teams," Ingram Micro said earlier in the year.

"HNA Group has assured us that it is committed to maintain our associates, management and operations, including Ingram Micro’s offices, warehouses and other facilities."

The company also said that it expected, “very few, if any,” Ingram Micro positions to be impacted as a result of the acquisition.

“HNA Group recognises that the assets of Ingram Micro’s business are our associates and our trusted relationships with our vendor and customer partners,” the company said.

“Ingram Micro expects to continue to operate in the same manner with our management and associate teams in place across our countries and lines of business, serving our vendor and customer partners as usual."

Likewise, the company assured its staff that the deal was unlikely to result in the closure or consolidation of Ingram Micro offices, facilities, or warehouses, and that there would be no change in how it conducts business, operationally, around the world.

The local channel community has already expressed mixed feelings about the deal, with Arrow ECS ANZ CEO, Nick Verykios, previously citing issues concerning vendors and trade in China.

“It's going to be a political issue as well," he told ARN in February. "It's going to be awesome watching all this. Who knows what's going to happen."

Meanwhile, Dicker Data CEO and chairman, David Dicker, took the long view, simply stating that it would be “very interesting to see how it plays out in the next year or so”.

Ingram Micro’s new owner, HNA Group, is a Hainan-based global conglomerate with an industrial model structured based around aviation, tourism, transportation, logistics, and financial services.

It has in excess of $90 billion in assets with significant operations in countries including China, the United States, Singapore, Australia, Turkey, Norway, France, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Ghana, Belgium and Netherlands.

Wellington Drive Technologies is pleased to announce that following the conclusion of a global beverage brand’s comprehensive technology sourcing process it has been selected as an approved supplier of connectivity hardware for use in the brand’s coolers. This approval allows Wellington to supply its SCS Connect solution to the brand’s network of cooler manufacturers and beverage bottling partners and follows the earlier announcement of the brand’s terms and conditions having being signed.

It should be noted that this approval does not indicate preferred status or determine a minimum level of business; the customer’s network is free to choose from a short list of approved connectivity suppliers, including Wellington.

Wellington continues to work with the brand and its network partners to establish the timing of programmes to adopt SCS Connect and the volumes Wellington will supply over the coming twelve months.

Wellington CEO Greg Allen commented, “We are excited to be selected by this global customer as a connectivity supplier. This is the next step in the customer’s adoption project and we will be working diligently to support the adoption process over the coming twelve months. Our focus continues to be on further innovation of the SCS Connect platform and growing manufacturing capacity and field support capability to support the development of this new and exciting business.”

About Wellington Drive TechnologiesWellington Drive Technologies is a leading global provider of energy efficient electronic motors, airflows solutions and ‘Cloud Connected’ refrigeration control solutions for the commercial refrigeration markets. It serves some of the world’s leading food and beverage brands and refrigerator manufacturers with advanced products and solutions that reduce their costs, improve product sales and reduce energy consumption. Wellington is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, and is listed on the New Zealand stock exchange under the ticker symbol NZ:WDT

Press release NZX