Organic Solar Cell Technology Breaks World Record:

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Certifies Cell Efficiency

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Plextronics, Inc. announced today that its organic photovoltaic technology achieved a world record in the conversion of solar light to power efficiency. The company's result of 5.4 percent establishes a new world record for single layer organic solar cells as certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in Golden, Colorado.

Troy Hammond, vice president of products for Plextronics, said that the company began its organic photovoltaic development program less than two years ago, with the support of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority.

"Today's world-record performance demonstrates the rapid pace at which our technology is progressing," said Hammond. "We look forward to continuing this advancement until we have enabled low-cost solar cell products with our Plexcore(R) ink system."

According to Shawn Williams, vice president of technology at Plextronics, "NREL is the nation's primary laboratory for renewable energy R&D, and to have their certification of our technology is absolutely vital. Most importantly, in the course of setting the world record, we've also identified clear pathways to further improve our technology."

Plexcore(R) ink systems for organic photovoltaic cells enable the low-cost printing of photo-active and charge carrier layers, which together convert light to power in the organic photovoltaic cell. The ability to print organic photovoltaic cells on glass or plastic drastically reduces the cost of energy compared to silicon solar cell technology. Specifically, Plextronics' technology has the potential to reduce the cost of solar cells below the commercially important threshold of $1 per watt, which is a reduction of up to five times that of crystalline silicon-based solar energy systems.

For more information about Plextronics, visit http://www.plextronics.com/.

Source: Plextronics, Inc.

Seeing Inside the Lungs With the Sound of Your Breath

FDA Clears Unique Non-Invasive, Radiation-Free Pulmonary Imaging System

Deep Breeze(TM) VRIXP(TM) Pulmonary Imaging System Records & Monitors Lung Sounds

OR-AKIVA, Israel, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Deep Breeze(TM), the leader in vibration response imaging (VRI(TM)) technology, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted 510K marketing clearance for the VRIXP(TM), a non-invasive, radiation-free pulmonary imaging system to use lung sounds to create dynamic images of the lungs.

"Vibration response imaging enables physicians to effectively record and monitor lung sounds with the ultimate goal of improving the detection and assessment of lung disorders in the future," said Igal Kushnir, MD, President and CEO of Deep Breeze(TM). "FDA clearance represents a significant milestone for the Company and we plan to work closely with U.S. interventional pulmonologists to bring this advanced pulmonary imaging system to patients suffering from lung disorders."

Deep Breeze plans to launch VRIXP(TM) in the U.S. at the 2007 CHEST meeting in Chicago, October 20 to 25. The Company currently markets the technology in Europe and Asia.

The non-invasive and radiation-free lung imaging system records lung sounds from sensors applied to a patient's back while he or she breathes. The system then uses an algorithm to convert these data into images. Changes in tissue composition or alteration in airflow impact how sounds within the lungs vibrate, and subsequently how the VRIXP(TM) images appear on the system's computer screen.

The VRIXP(TM) procedure takes only minutes in a physician's office and may be performed repeatedly for continuous monitoring. Results are delivered to the physician immediately and can be stored in a system database for future use. The radiation-free technology has been used in more than 3,500 patients worldwide without any single adverse event.

"The VRIXP(TM) system is a breakthrough technology that may allow us to improve patient care by providing more detailed and rapid assessment of lung status without exposing the patient to radiation," said Kalpalatha K. Guntupalli, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Chief, Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine.

"This technology shows great promise for assisting in the care and management of critically ill patients as well as patients with a wide variety of acute cardiopulmonary problems," Dr. R. Phillip Dellinger, professor of medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Director of the Critical Care Division, Department of Medicine, Cooper University Hospital, said.

About Deep Breeze(TM)

Founded in 2001, Israel-based Deep Breeze(TM) (www.deepbreeze.com) is a privately-held medical device company that is providing advanced pulmonary imaging with its proprietary patented technology, Vibration Response Imaging (VRI(TM)). The Company is currently conducting clinical studies globally to evaluate VRI(TM) efficacy in fields such as: general pulmonology, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, congestive heart failure, interventional pulmonology, lung cancer, lung transplant and critical care patient management. Deep Breeze(TM) is researching and developing the VRI(TM) technology to be applied in other organs of the human body.

Source: Deep Breeze (TM)

DARPA Ubran Grand Challenge-36 Semi-Finalist Make the Cut

During a morning press conference today, DARPA announced that not only do they have a good size group for the Semi Final round but that DARPA organizers believe that they will actually be paying the prize money come November.

Here are some autonomous contestants:


To understand what this success means, just take a look at some of the more difficult trials the autonomous vehicles must perform to be considered as meeting the grand challenge.

Autonomous vehicles will be graded on the following abilities:
Staying in lane/Road following
Obeying speed limits.
Avoiding excess delays, particularly at traffic stops.
Avoiding collisions with objects and other autonomous vehicles
Stopping appropriately at stop lines
Appropriate vehicle separation for a particular speed
Performs lane change passing maneuver
3-point turn (U-Turn)
Intersection Precedence (Right-of-way)
Minimum following distance
Queuing/Merging
Obstacle avoidance including oncoming vehicles in same lane
Parking lot (ability to park with cars already in the parking lot.)
Dynamic re planing (ability to reroute around obstacles)
Can cope with GPS Outage
Left turn across incoming traffic.

I think we are actually going to get our autopilot cars during the next decade.


Also announced was the location of both the national qualifier round and the finals:

The DARPA Urban Challenge will take place in Victorville, California at the site of the former George Air Force Base on November 3, 2007. The National Qualification Event will take place at the same location, October 26-31, 2007.