Cobalt is on the top of Canadian financier Wayne Tisdale’s list of new business opportunities. He has a talent for sensing shortages and creating a business to take advantage of them. This could put the U.S. on the cobalt map when the world is low on its cobalt supply.

Editor's Note: This news brief was brought to you by the Electronic Components eNewsletter. Subscribe today to have content like this delivered to your inbox

As consumers demand more juice from rechargeable batteries without compromising size, researchers continue to push the performance of batteries to new heights. Researchers at the University of Cambridge in collaboration with Beijing Institute of Technology have developed a lithium-sulphur battery that promises to outperform the conventional lithium-ion batteries in energy density at lower cost and lighter weight.

Editor's Note: This news brief was brought to you by the Electronic Components eNewsletter. Subscribe today to have content like this delivered to your inbox

Dartmouth College researchers have designed a smartwatch that uses single-hand gestures, allowing your wrist to function as a joystick. Called WristWhirl, it allows the user to interact with the device using only the wrist that wears the smartwatch.

Editor's Note: This news brief was brought to you by the Electronic Components eNewsletter. Subscribe today to have content like this delivered to your inbox

To power wearable devices using body heat, researchers at North Carolina State University have developed wearable thermoelectric generators (TEGs) that utilize temperature differential between user's body and the ambient air. Unlike previous techniques, the new TEGs generate power up to 20 µW/cm² and do not use a heat sink, making them lighter and much more comfortable. Since the new TEG is scalable, it can easily be made larger to generate more power if needed.

Editor's Note: This news brief was brought to you by the Electronic Components eNewsletter. Subscribe today to have content like this delivered to your inbox

Because consumers are demanding smaller products with more functionalities, manufacturers are constantly looking for better batteries. To address such ongoing needs, Illinois Capacitor has released a new series of high-performance lithium-ion coin-cell batteries. Labeled RJD Series, the new rechargeable coin cell batteries employ novel encapsulation technology to significantly boost storage capacity. By effectively utilizing the space within the cell case, the new encapsulation technique also enhances the failure rate and reliability of the product. The result is 20% improvement in run time.

Editor's Note: This news brief was brought to you by the Electronic Components eNewsletter. Subscribe today to have content like this delivered to your inbox