WCA May 2019

From the Americas “Drones can fly for maybe ten or 20 minutes before they need to charge again, whereas our bees can collect data for hours,” said senior author Shyam Gollakota, an associate professor in the UW’s Paul G Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering. “We showed for the first time that it’s possible to actually do all this computation and sensing using insects in lieu of drones.” Bees can fly carrying roughly their own bodyweight, but this still restricts the backpacks to lightweight, low-power sensors. GPS is too bulky and power-hungry, so the team developed a geolocation system that uses a base station and multiple antennas to triangulate bee position with radio signals. “To test the localisation system we did an experiment on a soccer field,” said co-author Anran Wang, a doctoral student in the Allen School. “We set up our base station with four antennas on one side of the field, and then we had a bee with a backpack flying around in a jar that we moved away from the antennas. We were able to detect the bee’s position as long as it was within 80m, about three-quarters the length of a football field, of the antennas.” According to the team, a swarm of bees fitted with the backpacks would form a type of “living IoT”, superior in many ways to environmental monitoring performed by drones. As technology evolves the researchers hope to eventually fit the devices with cameras capable of live-streaming images, informing farmers about plant health or irrigation issues while also providing fresh insight into the daily life of the bees themselves. “Having insects carry these sensor systems could be beneficial for farms because bees can sense things that electronic objects, like drones, cannot,” said Mr Gollakota. “With a drone you’re just flying around randomly, while a bee is going to be drawn to specific things, like the plants it prefers to pollinate. And on top of learning about the environment, you can also learn a lot about how the bees behave.” “Time for talks, not tariffs” The Fabricator reported that a recent survey by the Chicago-based North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM) reveals that the tariffs on Chinese imports, along with tariffs on imported steel and aluminium, are making it more expensive to produce commercial food service equipment and supplies. More than 80 per cent of respondents to the survey reported that the tariffs have negatively affected their manufacturing businesses, with 50 per cent blaming tariffs on Chinese imports for affecting their ability to compete, and 53 per cent saying that tariffs are hurting sales. On imports from other destinations, 56 per cent said that tariffs on steel and aluminium have impaired their ability to compete, with 47 per cent claiming these tariffs are damaging sales. The majority of NAFEM members surveyed also reported that tariffs on Chinese imports and imported steel and aluminium are raising material costs by between six and 15 per cent. The trade war

NAFEM president Joe Carlson, also president of Lakeside Manufacturing Inc, Milwaukee, USA, said: “The survey clearly demonstrates that tariffs are negatively impacting US businesses, which doesn’t bode well for US jobs and a strong economy. Trade wars have no winners. Now is the time for talks, not tariffs. We’re encouraged by recent congressional action to work toward a solution to unfair trade practices; we need a solution that does not include tariffs that ultimately hurt American workers and consumers.”

Steel

US to block British steel plants post-Brexit?

Steel News in February reported that US steel firms are urging President Donald Trump to shut British companies out of American government contracts under a trade deal with the UK. Calling it “a fresh blow to our industry,” the Steel Manufacturers Association called on White House trade representative Robert Lighthizer to make it difficult for UK steel producers to bid for lucrative supply opportunities. “With respect to government procurement, US negotiators should refrain from making any new concessions in a bilateral trade agreement with the UK,” said the SMA’s evidence to the American officials bidding to strike a post-Brexit free trade pact.

Solar

US solar jobs down, but 2019 could be better

The National Solar Jobs Census 2018 shows the number of solar jobs in the US dipped to 242,343 in 2018, the second year of decline in the industry though still better than in 2015, when the total was 208,859. A year-on-year jobs decrease of 3.2 per cent has been recorded by The Solar Foundation, explaining that the uncertainty surrounding pending tariffs on photovoltaic (PV) module and cell imports in late 2017 caused project delays that had a significant nationwide impact. At state level, several major solar markets, such as California, Massachusetts and North Carolina, experienced job declines in 2018 because of policy challenges and a difficult business climate. Still, solar job numbers grew in 29 states last year, with the most significant increases in Florida, Illinois, Texas and New York. The Solar Foundation said respondents to its survey expect a seven per cent increase in 2019 to around 259,400 jobs, but it warned that such predictions may not be realised. The foundation cited the previous census, when the solar industry expected a 5.2 per cent increase during 2018 . Gill Watson – Features Editor

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Wire & Cable ASIA – May/June 2019

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