Your report for Friday, August 29, 2008

Oak Park's Azure Dynamics sells hybrid trucks to NYC's Con Ed
Oak Park-based Azure Dynamics Corp. said Thursday that it had received an initial order for three of its Balance Hybrid Electric powertrains integrated on Ford's E450 medium-duty truck chassis from the New York City utility company Con Edison. Azure develops hybrid electric and electric powertrains for commercial vehicles. More.

Energy Conversion Devices profits on skyrocketing solar sales
Rochester Hills-based Energy Conversion Devices Inc. reported net income of $9.9 million or 24 cents a share in its fourth fiscal quarter ended June 30, on revenue of $82.4 million. That's up from a loss of $13.1 million or 33 cents a share on revenue of $36 million a year earlier. ECD manufactures thin-film flexible solar laminate products for the building integrated and commercial rooftop markets. Solar product sales in the quarter were $77 million, up 161 percent from a year earlier. ECD's United Solar Ovonic unit produced 26.2 megawatts of solar cells in the fourth quarter and 73.6 MW for the fiscal year. As of June 30, 2008, the solar product sales pipeline was $1.8 billion, compared to $1.2 billion at the end of the fiscal third quarter. More.

Versus Technology loss widens
Traverse City-based Versus Technology Inc. Thursday announced a loss of $448,000 for its third fiscal quarter ended July 31, worse than a loss of $134,000 in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue was $1.2 million, down 8 percent from $1.3 million a year earlier. For the nine months, the company's loss was $825,000, worse than a loss of $544,000 for the first nine months of the prior fiscal year. Revenue was $4 million, up 13 percent from $3.6 million in the same nine months of the prior fiscal year. Most of the reason for the bigger losses this year: sharp increases in both marketing and research-and-development costs. More.

Wayne State research team gets NSF award
A team of researchers at Wayne State University has been awarded $295,022 from the National Science Foundation to develop new computational methods that will be applied to computer assisted diagnosis of various brain diseases. The ultimate goal of the project is to apply computational tools to the analysis of huge data sets of brain imaging, assisting in the computer-assisted diagnosis of brain diseases such as tumors and brain functional disorder. More.

Consumers Energy dedicates $5 million Marshall training center
Consumers Energy today dedicated its new Marshall Training Center -- a $5 million investment in preparing utility workers to meet the challenges of the 21st Century, including service to a growing renewable energy market. The new center also is a major step by Consumers Energy in its ongoing statewide commitment to upgrade the efficiency and environmental quality of its facilities. The center will use renewable energy and the latest training techniques for about 2,000 utility service workers each year. It's designed to meet standards for environmentally sustainable construction developed by the United States Green Building Council. More.

UM nurtures robotics industry in southeast Michigan

The robotics industry is poised to expand in southeast Michigan and the College of Engineering is helping to make that happen with a new research center, four new faculty members, a master's degree program and 5,000 square feet of additional lab space.

In July, the University of Michigan's Ground Robotics Research Center opened, with $2 million in projects funded by the U.S. Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center. TARDEC gave another $2 million to seven other universities in the state and UM will collaborate with these institutions and industry partners.

The center will research all aspects of ground robotics, including their design, propulsion, navigation and reliability. It will also look at how robots and humans interact and seek ways to improve safety.

Four faculty members have been hired in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

A new Master of Engineering degree in unmanned ground vehicles and robotics is offered this fall for the first time.

In addition to 5,000 square feet of new robotics lab space, the college will provide space for industry offices on campus in effort to foster collaboration.

More from the Great Lakes IT Report.

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Rofin-Sinar in new solar power alliance
Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc., the industrial laser maker with dual headquarters in Plymouth and Hamburg, Germany, Thursday announced a strategic alliance with Manz Automation AG of Reutlingen, Germany to develop a new machine concept for the production of thin-film solar modules. The strategic alliance aims to develop a new type of manufacturing equipment for the photovoltaic industry that combines laser edge ablation and laser cutting of thin-film solar modules within production. The innovative machine concept will allow two successive processes to be integrated into a single production line. More.

Bosch brings passion for science to Detroit students at Grand Prix
As part of the company's ongoing commitment to help improve the community by developing young technical talent, Robert Bosch LLC associates are donating their time and expertise to fuel a group of Detroit high school students' interest in science. As part of the Detroit Grand Prix Free Day, on Friday Aug. 29, from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Belle Isle in Detroit, approximately a dozen Bosch volunteers are planning a fun and informational day of events for students enrolled in the Detroit-Area Pre-College Engineering Program. More.

New optical gear from X-Rite compensates for paper chemicals
Kentwood-based X-Rite Inc. Thursday announced the availability of the graphics industry’s first-ever complete optical brightener compensation system. The new OBC Module allows users in color-critical proofing and printing environments to effectively and precisely compensate for color shifts in custom ICC output profiles typically caused by Optical Brightening Agents in papers and other printing substrates. This breakthrough technology offers a complete system for high-end applications requiring consistent color measurements and visualization of printed output in the prepress (proofing), printing and photo (studio printing and fine art) markets. More.

THE WORLD IN TECH

Reborn retail site fires salvo in shopping war
With gas prices high and consumers stretching shopping dollars, competition is heating up online for deals - and a discount retail site hopes to fan the flames by shipping orders for $1.95. Chicago-based Enable Holdings Inc. plans to launch RedTag.com on Friday and sell retailers' excess inventory at a fixed price. Its shipping charge will undercut a similar site, Overstock.com Inc., which charges $2.95 for standard ground shipping. "We're willing to take less for shipping because we think you'll buy five more items from us -- as opposed to if we got as much as we could from you, shipping this product, you may never buy again," said Enable Holdings' CEO, Jeffrey D. Hoffman. More.

Even critics give Apple a pass on 3G iPhone woes
First an iPhone price cut left early buyers feeling foolish, and then came reports that some iPods were spitting sparks. Now the new iPhone 3G has been marred by bugs, spotty service, disappearing programs for the device and a veil of secrecy over software developers trying to broaden its appeal. Such a string of mishaps and missteps might throw another electronics company into crisis. But of course, Apple Inc. isn't just another electronics company. Even as iPhone griping rages online, it looks like Apple's sterling reputation will emerge untarnished. "The objective reality is that Apple does plenty of wrong," said Peter Fader, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. However, Fader said, the company's loyal fans, and even casual users, have come to identify so strongly with Apple's high-end, individualistic vibe that they're willing to look the other way. More.

Small GPS devices help prosecutors win convictions
Like millions of motorists, Eric Hanson used a GPS unit in his Chevrolet TrailBlazer to find his way around. He probably didn't expect that prosecutors would eventually use it too - to help convict him of killing four family members. Prosecutors in suburban Chicago analyzed data from the Garmin GPS device to pinpoint where Hanson had been on the morning after his parents were fatally shot and his sister and brother-in-law bludgeoned to death in 2005. He was convicted of the killings earlier this year and sentenced to death. Hanson's trial was among recent criminal cases around the country in which authorities used GPS navigation devices to help establish a defendant's whereabouts. Experts say such evidence will almost certainly become more common in court as GPS systems become more affordable and show up in more vehicles. More.

Malaysia blocks anti-government Web site
Malaysia has blocked access to a popular news Web site that often runs afoul of authorities for its sensational political reporting, sparking complaints Thursday that the government has reneged on its pledge to keep cyberspace uncensored. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, the government's industry regulator, ordered local Internet service providers on Wednesday to cut off access to the Malaysia Today site, said a commission official who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. More.

Stocks: Advanced Micro, Oracle lead tech stocks higher
Technology stocks turned decisively higher Thursday afternoon, boosted by upbeat economic news that also pushed the broader market higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) gained 29.18 points or 1.2 percent to 2,411.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) jumped 212.64 points or 1.8 percent to 11,715.18. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose 4.02 points or 1.1 percent to 362.83 and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 5.35 points or 0.9 percent to 573.9. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index ($DRG) rose 3.07 points or 1 percent to 313.71, while the Amex Biotech Index (BTK) rose 12.23 points or 1.5 percent to 835.63. The S&P 500 ($SPX) added 19.02 points, or 1.5 percent to 1,300.68. In an upward revision early Thursday, the Commerce Department reported the U.S. economy grew at a 3.3 percent real annual pace in the second quarter, nearly double the initial 1.9 percent estimate offered last month. Separately, the Labor Department said first-time applications for state unemployment benefits fell 10,000 in the latest weekly data to 425,000, while the four-week average of continuing claims climbed to a near five-year high of 3.37 million. Also, crude oil fell $4 a barrrel to $115.59 and the dollar rose.

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