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"Geographic regions will vary significantly in their rates of investment. Emerging markets will represent the largest growth in T&D spending, with Africa and Southeast Asia the fastest growing regions as they build out new infrastructure to boost their electrification rates. However, North America and Europe will see lackluster growth in traditional T&D infrastructure spending of around 1%, but will account for the majority of smart grid spending. The individual country with the largest amount of traditional T&D spending will be India, which will outpace China by 2024. Smart grid annual spending on distribution automation will be concentrated in Europe ($11.5bn per year), followed by North America ($7.5bn) and East Asia ($6.1bn), as these regions modernize their existing electric infrastructure."

"The researchers now believe they can automate the entire process with cognitive robotics. "

Nexans, the large French wire and cable maker, announced on 7th February that its full year operating revenues, at constant non-ferrous metals prices, increased by 6% to EUR4.87B (USD6.60B). However, the company noted that acquisitions were responsible for the increased revenues and organic sales growth was roughly flat compared to 2011. Nexans reported mixed revenue growth by sector, with the group's Industrial Cables unit and the Distributors and Transformers unit showing organic sales growth, whilst the Nexans reported contraction in its Power Transmission and Utilities and Operators businesses. In the Industrial Cables unit, high double-digit growth was noted in the demand automotive wiring harnesses, with the company highlighting its strong position with German autos companies as a decisive factor. The company also noted strong growth in supplying cables to the oil industry and the aeronautical industry. Weak European growth was noted in Nexan's Automation and Capital goods business, as well as in the railways sector, with Nexans noting that they expect railway investment to pick up in China in H2 2013.

Thermoelectric bracelet that helps people maintain a comfortable body temperature takes home $10,000 from MIT's annual materials-science design competition. The "watch" part of the prototype actually consists of the team's custom copper-alloy-based heat sink (a component that lowers a device's temperature by dissipating heat). Attached is an automated control system that manages the intensity and duration of the thermal pulses delivered to the heat sink. Integrated thermometers also measure external and body temperature to adjust accordingly.