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FAYETTEVILLE, GA, UNITED STATES, January 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Monitoring trace gases with high sensitivity and selectivity is essential for environmental safety and smart monitoring systems. Recently, a research team led by Professor Baicheng Yao from Key Laboratory of Optical Fiber Sensing and Communications, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, has developed a simple, low-power optical gas sensor that uses functionalized graphene integrated onto a microrod resonator to detect trace gas molecules at ppb levels. By switching the doping type of graphene, the device achieves tunable selectivity among NH₃, CO₂, and NO₂, opening a new pathway for flexible, high-performance chemical monitoring.

Monitoring trace gases with high sensitivity and selectivity is essential for environmental safety and smart monitoring systems. Whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) optical microcavities have emerged as a powerful platform for such applications, owing to their ultrahigh quality (Q) factors and exceptional sensitivity to minute refractive-index changes. However, challenges such as Q-factor deterioration, complex mode analysis, demanding operation processes, and limited selectivity still remain, leading to intricate experimental setups, high excitation thresholds, and reduced device reliability and portability.

To address these limitations, the research team led by Professor Baicheng Yao from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China designed and fabricated a graphene-integrated silica microrod resonator, establishing a compact platform capable of converting gas adsorption into measurable resonance shifts. The team prepared the microrod resonators through laser machining and obtained monolayer graphene via mechanical exfoliation, followed by precise integration of the graphene onto the microrod surface to ensure strong interaction between the cavity mode and graphene. In addition, they modified the doping state of the graphene through vapor-phase doping, and the Raman spectroscopy confirmed both its monolayer structure and its doping characteristics (Figure 1).

The researchers then constructed a tapered-fiber-coupled experimental system and placed the device inside a sealed gas chamber to quantify its resonance response to different gases. By exposing the microrod to calibrated concentrations of NH₃, CO₂, and NO₂, they monitored the wavelength shifts of multiple cavity modes and evaluated the concentration-dependent characteristics of each gas. Using this approach, the sensor achieved ppb-level sensitivity with a best detection limit of 1.1 ppb, while requiring only extremely low probe power, demonstrating its excellent gas-sensing performance. (Figure 2).

A major contribution of this work lies in enabling switchable selectivity through graphene doping engineering. Rather than altering the device structure, the researchers tuned the gas-sensing characteristics by converting graphene from P-type to N-type using diethylenetriamine (DETA). They systematically compared the sensitivities and detection limits of the two doping states for all three gases, demonstrating that P-doped graphene favors NH₃ and CO₂ detection, whereas N-doped graphene significantly enhances the response to NO₂. The team further verified the repeatability and recovery behavior of both configurations, confirming their suitability for long-term sensing applications (Figure 3).

With its simple construction, low-power operation, and doping-enabled switchable selectivity, the functionalized-graphene microrod resonator provides a versatile sensing platform for next-generation environmental monitoring, industrial safety assessment, and smart IoT systems.

References
DOI
10.1007/s13320-025-0772-2

Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13320-025-0772-2

Funding Information
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2023YFB2805600), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. U2130106 and 62305050), the National Postdoctoral Innovation Talent Support Program of China (Grant No. BX20220056), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, China (Grant No. 2024A1515011665), and the Industrial Key Project of China Southern Power Grid (Grant No. CG2100022001935673).

Lucy Wang
BioDesign Research
email us here

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New Pinwheel Home phone lets kids chat with approved family and friends — and dial 911 — without the distraction of screens, texting or games

AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES, January 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Pinwheel, best known for its popular, top-rated phones for children and teens, announced it will launch a new, landline-style, voice-only “Pinwheel Home” phone that enables younger children to make and receive calls with family and friends.

Pinwheel designed Pinwheel Home for children ages 5-10 as an ideal solution for families with younger kids who are not ready for smartphones or smartwatches but want a fun, screen-free way to build verbal communication skills and stay connected with approved contacts. Much like an old-fashioned landline phone, Pinwheel Home features a retro-style handset that sits in a central spot at home or child’s bedroom and enables distraction-free, voice-to-voice conversations. It connects over Wi-Fi, eliminating the need for phone jacks or a cable company landline, and includes built-in parental controls that parents manage through the Pinwheel Parent Dashboard, where they can add or remove approved contacts and set schedules and time limits for phone usage.

“Parents have been asking for a modern take on the ‘home phone,’ landline experience we all grew up with – a way to connect with friends and family, or even call 911 in an emergency – without having to turn over their adult smartphones to children,” explained Dane Witbeck, CEO and Founder of Pinwheel, noting that 78% of Americans live in a household with only cell phones today. “Pinwheel Home goes back to the basics and helps teach kids how to communicate. Instead of being distracted by looking at themselves on Facetime or tuning out to catch incoming texts or social media alerts, they can tune into old-fashioned phone conversations with friends and family.”

Pinwheel Home Key Features
• Screen-free home phone for younger kids
Retro-style handset stays in one place at home, letting kids make and receive calls without screens or apps – perfect for the pre-phone years.
• Simple Wi-Fi setup, no landline needed
The Pinwheel Home Hub plugs into a power outlet and connects to the home Wi-Fi. The handset uses a standard phone cable – no need for a landline provider.
• Parent-managed contacts and use
Parents manage contacts, review call history and set usage limits from the Pinwheel web portal.
• Supports lower screen time at home
In the future, Pinwheel will link Home with phones and watches, so more at-home calls can happen on the screen-free handset, letting families connect while limiting screens.
• Affordable hardware and service
Pinwheel Home will be available to purchase at pinwheel.com for $99, with the second phone in the same order just $49. Calls within a child’s Pinwheel Circle (between Pinwheel Home phones) are free. To call other numbers, the service is just $9.99 per month.

As part of the broader Pinwheel ecosystem, Pinwheel Home serves as an entry-level product that allows children to easily transition to a Pinwheel Watch or Pinwheel Phone as they mature and gain more independence, with all devices managed through the same parental dashboard. In the future, Pinwheel plans to pair Pinwheel Home with Pinwheel phones or Pinwheel watches so kids can connect with friends and family at home using the same phone number, without having to use their watch or Pinwheel phone.

Scheduled for an official launch in April 2026, the Pinwheel Home will come in a variety of styles and colors and includes fun stickers for kids to personalize their phone. Pinwheel Home will be available in the U.S. and Canada.

“We have already seen our Pinwheel Watch, which offers parent-monitored AI chat, help older kids learn to use powerful tools like AI in a safe and supervised way,” Witbeck explained. “Pinwheel Home furthers that mission for even younger children by helping them independently connect to family and friends, while learning simple telephone etiquette, with age-appropriate guardrails in place from day one.”

For high-res images and/or more detailed information, please visit our CES 2026 press kit.

About Pinwheel
Pinwheel is a kid tech company that sells digital devices and services designed specifically for children and teens. The company’s best-selling Pinwheel phone provides kids 8–14 with the features and functions they want, like texting, photos, and fun apps, along with age-appropriate guardrails (no browser or social media) and parental monitoring tools that encourage healthy technology habits from the start. Unlike adult phones that connect kids to the open internet with confusing and thin parental controls, or other kid phones with very limited functionality and apps, Pinwheel allows parents to customize the settings to meet their child’s current needs, then unlock features and more than 1,200 apps as their child grows into an independent young adult who manages technology well. Based in Austin, Pinwheel was recognized by the Inc. 5000 as one of the country’s fastest-growing private companies in 2024. For more information, visit www.pinwheel.com.

Aimee Grove
Pinwheel
+ 14157061906
press@pinwheel.com
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TrackFunnels has expanded into MarTech consulting, supporting B2B teams with GA4 tracking, MarTech integrations, and reliable marketing automation systems.

BERLIN, BERLIN, GERMANY, January 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — TrackFunnels today announced the expansion of its services into focused MarTech consulting, formalizing work that has increasingly supported B2B marketing teams dealing with broken tracking, unclear data flows, and fragile automation across their marketing stack.

Originally built to help teams create consistent UTM links with its UTM Link Builder to improve campaign tracking discipline, TrackFunnels has worked closely with marketing teams implementing GA4, attribution, and automation workflows. Over time, a recurring pattern emerged: most execution delays and reporting issues were not caused by individual tools, but by how systems interacted across teams.

“Teams don’t struggle because they lack software,” said Shadab Malik, founder of TrackFunnels. “They struggle because data doesn’t move cleanly between systems. Numbers need explaining. And teams either hesitate to launch campaigns, or delay the launch because they’re unsure what might break downstream.”

According to Malik, these issues typically appear at the intersections between marketing, engineering, analytics, and RevOps, where ownership is unclear but dependencies are high.

“As stacks grow more complex, the real work becomes connective,” Malik said. “Someone has to define data, validate integrations, and ensure that changes in one system don’t quietly undermine measurement or automation elsewhere.”

Focused consulting, not broad services

As part of this expansion, TrackFunnels will focus on three areas where upstream correctness has the greatest impact on execution speed and trust in data:

1. MarTech implementation & integrations — designing systems where tools have clear roles and intentional data flows
2. Marketing measurement & GA4 — establishing reliable tracking, attribution logic, and shared data definitions
3 Marketing automation & AI orchestration — ensuring workflows operate on clean, trustworthy signals

The expansion comes as AI-driven decisioning becomes embedded across marketing platforms. While automation promises efficiency, it also increases the cost of poor inputs.

“AI doesn’t change the fundamentals,” Malik said. “Garbage in, garbage out still applies. If tracking and attribution aren’t sound, automation simply amplifies the problem. Fixing things upstream matters more than ever.”

Continued product development

The move into consulting does not signal a shift away from product development. TrackFunnels will continue building tools informed directly by real-world implementation work.

Recent releases include a GA4 internal traffic filter Chrome extension, a HubSpot attribution validator, and email open tracking integrated with the TrackFunnels UTM Link Builder.

“Working closely with teams exposes what actually breaks in practice,” Malik said. “Consulting improves our tools, and tools make our consulting more grounded.”

About TrackFunnels

TrackFunnels is a MarTech agency helping B2B teams fix broken tracking, unreliable data flows, and fragile automation across their marketing stack. The company specializes in GA4 measurement, MarTech implementation, and marketing automation, supporting teams with systems that are reliable, understandable, and easy to operate across functions.

Alongside consulting, TrackFunnels builds purpose-built tools such as the TrackFunnels UTM Link Builder to help marketing teams implement consistent tracking without adding operational complexity.

Know more at: https://trackfunnels.com/

Shadab Malik
TrackFunnels
email us here
+49 15143684396
Visit us on social media:
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FAYETTEVILLE, GA, UNITED STATES, January 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are essential for clean water, yet they also generate significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A new study introduces a comprehensive tiered assessment framework that simultaneously targets pollution control and carbon reduction.

Globally, Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) account for about 3% of electricity use and 2% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, largely due to heavy reliance on fossil-based power and chemical inputs. In China, rapid expansion of wastewater capacity since 2015 has been accompanied by rising energy and chemical consumption. While stricter discharge standards improved water quality, they also brought diminishing returns, as additional upgrades often yield higher emissions than environmental benefits. Existing research has outlined emission sources but rarely addressed the synergy between pollution control and carbon reduction. Due to these challenges, there is an urgent need to explore integrated strategies that simultaneously reduce pollution and carbon emissions in WWTPs.

Researchers from Tsinghua University, the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, and the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre have developed a tiered benchmarking framework to optimize both pollution control and carbon reduction in wastewater treatment. Their findings, published (DOI: 10.1016/j.eehl.2025.100155) on May 20, 2025, in Eco-Environment & Health, are based on operational data from 2,232 WWTPs across China. The study highlights benchmark plants that achieve optimal synergy and provides targeted policy recommendations, offering a science-based roadmap for greener urban wastewater systems.

The study conducted GHG accounting and factor analysis using over 247,000 monthly records from WWTPs nationwide. Annual emissions in 2019 were estimated at 34.8 million tonnes CO2-equivalent, with indirect emissions from electricity and chemicals accounting for nearly 60%. Electricity use alone contributed more than half of total emissions, reflecting China’s dependence on fossil fuels for power generation. Researchers identified six critical factors shaping emission intensity: plant scale, treatment process, geography, operational load, electricity intensity, and influent quality.

A new tiered assessment classified WWTPs into three groups: 861 priority control plants, 730 general control plants, and 641 maintenance plants. Additionally, 222 facilities were identified as benchmark plants with optimal synergy. For these, carbon intensity ranged from 0.258–0.482 kg CO2e per tonne, and operating loads were near full capacity. Modeling showed that raising all plants to benchmark performance could reduce national WWTP emissions by 30%. The study also found that oxidation ditch and A2/O processes emitted far less than sequential batch systems, emphasizing the importance of technology choice in future upgrades.

“Our research demonstrates that wastewater treatment can no longer be viewed solely through the lens of pollution control,” said Dr. Miao Li, corresponding author of the study. “By integrating carbon reduction strategies into operational and policy frameworks, we can turn WWTPs into pivotal actors in both clean water management and climate mitigation. Benchmark plants show that achieving this synergy is possible, and scaling their practices across the sector will be key to reaching China’s dual-carbon goals while maintaining environmental protection standards.”

The framework offers policymakers and plant operators clear pathways for action. Priority should first be given to low-performing plants with high emissions, particularly those with underloaded operations. Benchmarking best practices can guide upgrades in energy efficiency, operational management, and treatment technology selection. The study also calls for integrating renewable energy, such as solar power, into WWTPs to further cut emissions. By aligning wastewater management with national climate commitments, China can make significant progress toward Sustainable Development Goals on clean water and climate action, while providing a replicable model for other countries facing similar challenges.

References
DOI
10.1016/j.eehl.2025.100155

Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eehl.2025.100155

Funding Information
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (72140003, 52470195) and Tsinghua-Toyota Joint Research Fund.

Lucy Wang
BioDesign Research
email us here

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EIN Presswire provides this news content “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability
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Experience the Future of Work with TASKBOT AVA and TASKBOT SCOUT | REVOBOTS Founding Team On-Site for Meet the Makers and Media Briefings

LAS VEGAS, NV, UNITED STATES, January 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — REVOBOTS™ is defining a new class of task-adaptive robotics—TASKBOTS™—built around work, not hardware. An AI-driven robotics company, REVOBOTS designs and deploys 3D-printed robots for specific jobs and real-world operations. At CES 2026 (January 6–9) in Las Vegas, the company will showcase its no-CapEx Robots-as-a-Service model—making advanced automation more accessible, scalable, and ready for everyday work.

Over the past year, REVOBOTS has moved from platform development to real-world traction—demonstrating how task-adaptive robotics can directly address one of the most urgent challenges facing organizations today: persistent labor shortages in high-friction environments.

Following the debut of TASKBOT™ SCOUT in higher education at the NACAS Conference and early deployments at Xavier University with strategic partner Campus Innovation, REVOBOTS is expanding pilots and accelerating toward broader adoption across higher education, logistics, manufacturing, warehousing, healthcare, and beyond—positioning the company for scaled deployments in 2026.

“The future of robotics isn’t about spectacle—it’s about usefulness,” said Andre Christian, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of REVOBOTS. “We design robots for specific jobs, in real environments, with autonomy where it makes sense and human oversight where it matters. When robots are built to work like people, they expand what industries can sustain—closing labor gaps, improving safety, and reshaping how work actually gets done.”

At CES 2026, attendees will experience two distinct TASKBOT platforms, each purpose-built for different classes of real-world work:

TASKBOT AVA

TASKBOT AVA is REVOBOTS’ task-adaptive humanoid platform, engineered for job-specific workflows that benefit from human-scale reach, interaction, and versatility. Designed to operate in environments built for people, AVA emphasizes safety, reliability, and rapid iteration—supporting REVOBOTS’ long-term vision for adaptable robotics capable of evolving alongside real operational needs.

TASKBOT SCOUT

TASKBOT SCOUT is REVOBOTS’ mobile patrol and enforcement platform, built for mission-critical operations including parking enforcement, security patrols, escorts, compliance checks, and inventory monitoring. SCOUT is currently being deployed in higher education through REVOBOTS’ strategic partner, Campus Innovation—an established leader in campus operations and parking technology—supporting real-world deployments at institutions such as Xavier University.

Together, REVOBOTS and Campus Innovation are helping colleges and universities address unfilled jobs, enforce policy, and generate revenue—without adding headcount or new infrastructure—while preparing for broader deployments across higher education in the months ahead.

Making Robotics Practical, Scalable, and Accessible to the Workforce

REVOBOTS designs its robots to take on Dangerous, Dexterous, Dirty, and Dull work—tasks that strain human bodies, elevate risk, and are increasingly difficult to staff. By combining autonomy where it is effective with human oversight where safety and reliability matter, REVOBOTS delivers robotics that organizations can trust to operate as part of everyday workflows.

“The convergence of robotics and labor is no longer theoretical—it’s operational,” said Dr. Giby Raphael, Co-Founder and CEO of REVOBOTS. “Labor shortages aren’t slowing down, and robotics has to meet the real world where it is. That means designing robots for real jobs, real environments, and economics that actually work—so organizations can scale automation at the pace work now demands.”

Meet the Makers at CES 2026

CES attendees will have the opportunity to meet members of the REVOBOTS founding team during dedicated Meet the Makers sessions at the booth:

Tuesday | 11:00 AM
Wednesday | 12:00 PM
Thursday | 1:00 PM

Members of the founding team will also be available for scheduled media briefings and interviews throughout the expo.

Visit REVOBOTS at CES 2026

REVOBOTS is honored to be included in the City of Phoenix CES 2026 delegation, reflecting Phoenix’s continued leadership in fostering next-generation technology companies and emerging innovation in robotics, AI, and automation.

Location: Venetian Expo | Halls A–D | Booth #50617

Attendees are invited to visit the REVOBOTS booth for hands-on interactions with TASKBOT AVA and TASKBOT SCOUT, and to learn how task-adaptive robotics can close labor gaps, improve safety, and deliver measurable operational impact.

As CES 2026 unfolds, REVOBOTS remains focused on one clear mission: REVOlutionizing the Future of Work by delivering AI-driven, task-adaptive robotics that elevate human work, scale responsibly, and bring practical automation into the environments where it’s needed most.

About REVOBOTS™

REVOBOTS is an Arizona-based robotics company reimagining the Future of Work through task-adaptive automation. Founded by a team of seasoned technologists and operators, REVOBOTS builds AI-driven robots designed for specific jobs—using 3D printing for rapid customization, combining autonomy with human oversight, and delivering everything through a no-CapEx Robots-as-a-Service model. REVOBOTS isn’t just building robots—it’s reshaping how organizations think about labor, human potential, and the role of automation in the real world. For more information, visit revobots.ai

Andre Christian
REVOBOTS
+1 707-247-5777
email us here
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
YouTube

TASKBOT SCOUT on Patrol

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