Microsoft has tested a prototype of a self-contained data center that can operate hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean, in efforts to reducing the need for expensive air-conditioning.

The first industrial robot, Unimate, went into operation at a General Motors plant in 1961. Over the next few decades the use of industrial robot arms in the automotive industry matured.

Ever since Sony launched the first television with quantum dots in 2013, these highly engineered materials have been back in the spotlight.

Interfacing with machines undergoes a constant evolution, allowing for wider adoption of computing devices over time, as interaction becomes more "natural". According to IDTechEx Research, smartglasses are bringing about the next big step in this ever-changing space.

Advanced microelectronics are moving on from the Moore's Law era to be More-than-Moore. Denser chips have higher internal and external clock rates, and higher power dissipation.

High power energy harvesting (HPEH) is the clean part of off-grid renewable energy and its main potential lies at kilowatts to megawatts. Few things are genuinely new in this world but newly important aspects of energy harvesting really matter.

Large investments have been made to enable flexible, thin sensors rather than rigid sensors.

Proper selection of thermal interface materials is crucial for the efficiency of electronic devices, has been proven to reduce the cost of ownership, reduce system power consumption and increase operational lifetime.

Everyone wants portable products. Miniature high density circuits, often housed in airtight enclosures are required, so we can use our devices everywhere, including in wearable technologies. Heat management is therefore a big problem, particularly as the trend of consumers demanding smaller, faster operating electronics continues.

The power electronics business as applied to electric vehicles is becoming so huge that very divergent approaches become viable.

Overheating is the most critical issue in the computer industry.

New research conducted by IDTechEx finds that the thermal interface materials market - including tapes, adhesives, greases, gels, pastes, elastomeric pads, phase change materials, graphite, solders, compressible materials and liquid metals - will grow from $1.7 billion in 2015 to $3.7 billion in 2025.

The new IDTechEx report, "Electric Motorcycles and Three Wheel Electric Vehicles 2015-2025" reveals gaps in the market as e-motorcycles and their three wheel derivatives become a multi-billion dollar market. One gap is the crossover between bikes and motorcycles created as a premium-priced product.

There will be over 3 billion sensors in wearable technology devices by 2025, with more than 30% being emerging sensor types.

The printed electronics industry shows a huge interest in sensors as it seeks to forget the failures from the past.

The metal oxide backplane technology has many clear advantages.

A revolution is slicing through the car industry.

Load bearing structures that are also electronic or electrical are called structural electronics. This two-for-the-price-of-one approach can be more reliable, attractive and long-lived and it always saves space.

About 2,800 people and 200 exhibitors from 40 countries attended the IDTechEx Printed Electronics USA event in Santa Clara last week - the world's largest event on the topic. Watch the highlights here.

The reasons why CEOs want to come to the IDTechEx Printed Electronics USA event.