Samsung tested batteries in house, Note 7 banned from U.S. commercial aircraft – Evaluation Engineering

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Samsung tested the batteries in its recalled Galaxy Note 7 using a CTIA-certified lab owned by the electronics giant, according to The Wall Street Journal… Lithium ion batteries for cellphones sold in the United States are tested in accordance with IEEE 1725 at […]

Eddie Forouzan, a member of the IEEE committee that developed the battery standard, (said) battery safety failure rates have dropped to parts per billion from the parts-per-million level that accompanied a flood of cheap batteries that proliferated in the early 2000s

A U.S. ban on carrying Note 7 cellphones on commercial aircraft either in cabin or in checked luggage (is in effect)

Source: Samsung tested batteries in house, Note 7 banned from U.S. commercial aircraft – Evaluation Engineering

U.S. Lawsuit Against Samsung Claims Injuries from Galaxy 7 Explosion

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Samsung Electronics Co. was sued on Friday by a Florida man who said he suffered severe burns after his Galaxy Note 7 smartphone exploded in his front pants pocket…

Source: U.S. Lawsuit Against Samsung Claims Injuries from Galaxy 7 Explosion

From Passwords to Passthoughts: Logging In to Your Devices With Your Mind – IEEE Spectrum

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John Chuang and his colleagues at the University of California at Berkeley married … two avenues of work by developing a passthough [EEG] reader integrated into an everyday set of earbuds. Chuang presented the idea earlier this month at IEEE’s Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society conference in Orlando, Fla.

The rudimentary device was surprisingly accurate … the next logical step to making a practical, real-world device. “Clearly a lot more work needs to be done for this to be effective and useful in the real world,”

Much more at the Source: From Passwords to Passthoughts: Logging In to Your Devices With Your Mind – IEEE Spectrum

Register Your Electrical Appliances To Stay Safe (UK)

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Shoppers who register new and old appliances with the relevant manufacturer will greatly reduce the risk of a fire in their home.

Thousands of consumers are missing out on product safety warnings because they are not registering their fridges, freezers, toasters and washing machines. “There are more than 100 million large appliances in use in our homes and we keep them a very long time, but less than half (47%) of consumers registered the last product they bought. Unlike cars, this leaves the vast majority untraceable if a safety action or product recall becomes necessary,”.

Manufacturers need to identify and contact owners swiftly to organise a repair. SFRS is urging consumers to register their new and used appliances by logging onto the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances (AMDEA) website – www.registermyappliance.org.uk – where they will find registration pages for 62 leading brands. The public should register all their appliances, including the older ones.

Product recall information can be found at http://www.registermyappliance.org.uk/products/recall-list/

 

Source: Register Your Electrical Appliances To Stay Safe | Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service

Report on Furniture Stability | Kids In Danger (USA)

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A child dies from tipping furniture, appliances or TVs every two weeks. The statistics for tip-over incidents have grown over the last decade, yet there has been little reform to safety standards. [The] report, Furniture Stability: A review of data and testing  … analyzed data of dresser and chest tip-overs and revealed testing results for 19 furniture units. Findings of the data analysis include:

  • Two-year-olds are the age group most affected by tip-overs, and are most likely to be killed.
  • Head injuries (37%) were the most common category of injury.
  • Almost all (98.7%) of head injuries are related to a television tipping over on a child.

Source: KID and Shane’s Foundation Release Report on Furniture Stability | Kids In Danger

IBM Making Silicon to Sort Viruses and Other Nanoscale Biological Targets – IEEE Spectrum

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In cross-disciplinary research described in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, a team at IBM … has been able to … create a diagnostic device that can separate viruses, DNA, and other nanoscale-size biological targets from saliva or urine. This could enable the device to detect the presence of diseases before any physical symptoms are visible.

Source: IBM Making Silicon to Sort Viruses and Other Nanoscale Biological Targets – IEEE Spectrum

Infinity in a grain of sand: neural dust sensors monitor the body from inside

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120945_webImagine tiny wireless sensors the size of a grain of sand that can be implanted in the human body to monitor nerves, muscles and organs in real time. … engineers from the University of California, Berkeley recently created these batteryless sensors, opening the door to ‘electroceuticals’ — an emerging field in which these devices are used to treat disorders like epilepsy, stimulate the immune system or reduce inflammation by stimulating nerves and muscles.

Source: Infinity in a grain of sand: neural dust sensors monitor the body from inside

Travel warning: carriage of lithium ion batteries on aircraft

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The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester issued a reminder to airline passengers to carefully consider items in their carry-on luggage after a lithium battery in a passenger’s carry-on bag caught fire at Sydney Airport.“ On this occasion the battery caught fire while the plane was on the ground and the issue was resolved. Whilst there was no damage to the aircraft, several passengers did report feeling ill.

Source: Travel warning: carriage of lithium ion batteries on aircraft

Tesla car on autopilot mode crashes in Beijing (ABC News Australia)

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Tesla said it had reviewed data to confirm the car was in autopilot mode, a system that takes control of steering and braking in certain conditions. The company, which is investigating the crash, also said it was the driver’s responsibility to maintain control of the vehicle. In this case, it said, the driver’s hands were not detected on the steering wheel.

Mr Luo, who filmed the incident with a dashboard camera, said his car hit a vehicle parked half off the road.

Tesla owners all said salespeople described the cars’ function in Chinese as “self-driving”, a term the company generally avoids using in English, and took their hands off the wheel while demonstrating it.

Source: Tesla car on autopilot mode crashes in Beijing – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Hoverboard fires, food scares fuel jump in Australia product recalls: ACCC

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There has been a concerning jump in the number of products recalled in Australia in the past year, the ACCC says.

Source: Hoverboard fires, food scares fuel jump in Australia product recalls: ACCC

 

Ms Rickard said button batteries, which can be lethal to children of swallowed, are a continuing concern across a number of products.

“We’ve been working with industry to get a code in place that’s going to lead to much better containment of button batteries, and major retailers not being able to sell products that don’t have batteries properly screwed in,” she said.

“We most frequently get the recalls around children’s novelty products which flash, things like kids bracelets, flashing rings, drinking cups which are cheaply made so easily break.

“They’re also there in car keys, TV remote controls, kitchen scales, hearing aids, so they’re virtually ubiquitous, so we’re saying to anyone who supplies products that contain button batteries, unless they are securely contained so children can’t access them, they shouldn’t be sold at all.”

Dealing With Product Liability Down Under – Law360

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This is the first in a series of articles about product liability and the management of litigation in Australia and how it differs from the way things are done in the United States.

The basic structure of the Australian legal courts system and Australia’s product liability laws are similar to those in the United States, but with some important differences…

Source: Dealing With Product Liability Down Under – Law360 (login required)

New mandatory Australian safety standard (self-balancing scooters) (aka “Hoverboards”)

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“The ACCC’s investigation found there are fire safety risks from defective charging devices, electrical circuitry and substandard lithium-ion batteries. “There have already been six house fires in Australia directly linked to the scooters, which has resulted in the destruction of two houses.“

The ACCC will work with state and territory electrical safety regulators to develop a longer-term solution.

Source: New mandatory safety standard (self-balancing scooters)

She woke in a pool of blood: hospital misdiagnosed baby who swallowed button battery, coroner hears

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What we would give to have another chance to hear your voice, to feel your kiss and to see you grow,” wrote the Rees family in Isabella’s tribute.

At the age of one, Isabella swallowed a button battery. No one knows precisely when. It lodged in her oesophagus, and made her sick.

Her parents took her to hospital several times over two weeks, but staff didn’t pick up the presence of the battery until it was too late, the Coroners Court heard on Thursday.

She died in the morning of February, 4, 2015, from cardiac arrest, on the operating table at Sunshine Hospital.

Source: She woke in a pool of blood: hospital misdiagnosed baby who swallowed button battery, coroner hears

ACCC takes action against e-cigarette suppliers for alleged misleading “no toxic chemicals” claims

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The ACCC alleges, based on independent testing it commissioned, that the e-cigarette products sold by Social-Lites and Elusion did in fact contain carcinogens and toxic chemicals found in conventional cigarettes, including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein.

Source: ACCC takes action against e-cigarette suppliers for alleged misleading “no toxic chemicals” claims