At the third International Conference on Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, held from October 21 to 23 in Beijing, Wang Zhonglin, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced one of its many inventions -- an intelligent suit.
The new suits, fitted with large sensors made of woven material, can detect temperature, chemical balance, blood pressure and other indicators of a person's health status.
By wireless transmission, those signals can be sent to cell phones, computers or even to doctors far away, so the wearer can be monitored anytime and anywhere, Wang said.
Online Photo
Wang also mentioned "nano tattoos" for drug injections. Stickers on the arm can be shaped into a tattoo-like pattern to deliver medicine into a subject's body. It's a private, painless injection method that could help the diabetic patient.
Besides, the intelligent suit is also equipped with a self-charging pacemaker for the heart that doesn't need recharging or replacement.
The new invention is expected to hit the market in two to three years, said Wang at the conference.
The secret behind these high-tech gadgets is an innovation called the triboelectric nanogenerator. It harvests mechanical energy during motion and could transform energy into electrical signals.
Some scientists believe that nanotechnology will change medicine in the future. /Smithsonian Magazine Photo
On a small scale, nanogenerators can be used to power portable devices, which has applied in many products such as shoes, suits, bicycles and carpets. Those high-tech products can gather the mechanical energy people produce when they walk to power lights, monitor body indicators or record the trajectory of movements while providing energy for themselves.
Ashutosh Tiwari, secretary-general of the International Association of Advanced Materials, spoke highly of China's contribution to nanoscience during the conference.
"China has surpassed the United States and ranks first in the field of nanoenergy. Thanks to the hard work of Chinese scientists around the world, it now produces 50 percent of academic publications every year. But how to synchronize it with applications, that's a question to think about," he said.
Nanotechnology concept picture/HDIAC PhotoChina
ZURICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 16, 2025--
ABB today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire IPEC, a UK-based technology company with more than 30 years of expertise in electrical diagnostics. IPEC's advanced monitoring systems track critical electrical infrastructure around the clock, using AI and advanced analytics to predict failures that could result in multi-million-dollar losses, safety risks or extended outages for industries such as data centers, healthcare, utilities and manufacturing. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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This acquisition reinforces ABB’s commitment to safeguarding operational resilience in the world’s most critical industries. Partial discharge activity – small electrical sparks that signal the early stages of failure of equipment insulation – is the leading cause of failure, responsible for more than 80% of asset breakdowns before an unexpected outage. IPEC specializes in detecting partial discharge, enabling businesses to identify problems before they escalate into costly downtime. The result is stronger, more reliable infrastructure that can withstand today’s energy and operational pressures. This expansion of ABB’s Electrification Service portfolio will contribute to supporting customers shift from reactive to proactive asset management that can reduce downtime by up to 90 percent, cutting maintenance costs by as much as 85 percent, and extend the life of critical infrastructure by decades.
Stuart Thompson, Division President, ABB Electrification Service, said: “Across critical industries, the cost of downtime is staggering, from multi-million-dollar revenue losses in data centers to the safety and reliability risks facing utilities and hospitals. This acquisition gives our customers the diagnostic intelligence they need to prevent failures before they happen. By turning complex monitoring data into clear, actionable insights, we’re enabling businesses to shift from reactive repairs to predictive maintenance, so they can focus on performance while their critical infrastructure runs leaner, cleaner, and smarter.”
IPEC is headquartered in Manchester, UK, with 70 employees across its operations in Oxford, Abu Dhabi, Sweden, Riyadh and Texas. The company has expanded from its UK utility base to serve customers globally, with data centers now representing its largest and fastest-growing market segment, particularly in the United States. IPEC's monitoring platforms provide 24/7 monitoring of electrical infrastructure, with its flagship system capable of tracking up to 128 connection points simultaneously. IPEC's proprietary DeCIFer algorithm analyses monitoring data to identify potential equipment issues before they escalate into failures, enabling businesses to schedule maintenance proactively rather than reactively.
Dr. Colin Smith, Managing Director of IPEC, said: “At IPEC, we’ve spent decades refining how partial discharge data can be translated into meaningful diagnostics through advanced algorithms and, more recently, AI and machine learning. By joining ABB, we can both continue to develop our technology and bring our innovations to more industries and markets, turning complex data into predictive insight that anticipates potential failures and enables industries to make more strategic, intelligent decisions about their electrical assets.”
ABB is a global technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. By connecting its engineering and digitalization expertise, ABB helps industries run at high performance, while becoming more efficient, productive and sustainable so they outperform. At ABB, we call this ‘Engineered to Outrun’. The company has over 140 years of history and more than 105,000 employees worldwide. ABB’s shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ABBN) and Nasdaq Stockholm (ABB). www.abb.com
IPEC Limited was founded in 1995 with the objective of transferring cutting-edge technology to the power industry by generating a dialogue between academic research, industry, and commerce. This has enabled the power industry not only to fully exploit the research and innovation of scientists at the forefront of power engineering but to make an active contribution to the direction of future research and development. In turn, IPEC has been able to respond efficiently to market demands and develop commercially viable products which bring real monitoring and control solutions to the power industry.
Working in close collaboration with clients, IPEC provides a complete service for the design, manufacture, and support of power engineering monitoring systems. IPEC has cultivated and maintained long-term working relationships with large utilities and industrial power users ensuring both an on-going understanding of market requirements and continuity and consistency of service. www.ipecuk.com
Colin Smith (L), IPEC CEO and Richard Mahomed (R), Local Division Manager, Electrification Service, ABB UK
