On May 17, the Inspection Technologies arm of Baker Hughes, a GE company, opened its largest Customer Solutions Center, which functions like a high-tech hospital for machines. Some 140 customers from as far away as Japan, South Korea and China attended the opening of the facility, which spreads over 26,000 square feet, almost half the size of an American football field.

Peer review: Many parts 3D printed from metal can be complex in the extreme, very dense in sections and overall difficult to inspect. One of the center's goals is to help companies find new, fast ways to spot imperfections in the parts using X-rays, CT scanners, ultrasound sensors and other equipment that could be seamlessly embedded in their assembly lines.

Read more about the Baker Hughes GE center here.

DNA forensics is a powerful tool for law enforcement in solving crimes. But all too often, not enough DNA can be recovered from crime scenes to provide valuable information. Imagine how many more crimes could be solved with a better way to collect DNA.

Solving the problem: A GE Global Research team developed a new method to collect trace amounts of DNA. 'Instead of using cotton for the swab, we have developed a special fiber that resembles cotton candy that is used to gather a sample,' said Arunkumar Natarajan, a senior scientist and chemist at the GE labs. 'Unlike cotton, it will later dissolve to release the entire sample when exposed to just the right wavelength of light. By swabbing and releasing the entire sample collected, trace amounts can be analyzed more effectively.'

Read more about the new forensic technology here.

The fifth major generation of wireless is expected to roll out by 2020 and to transmit at least 1 gigabit per second. The new 5G networks will offer reliable simultaneous connections to massive amounts of wireless devices.

Why it's cool: Being able to send so much data so fast creates new possibilities for automation, the Internet of Things and more. IoT devices could monitor nutrients in soil for farmers, package locations for shipping companies and vital signs for hospital patients.

Read more about 5G here.

Controlling the current: One technology that will help unlock the 5G mobile network is an improved version of the electromechanical switch. Menlo Micro, backed by GE Ventures, commercialized 12 years of research in GE Global Research labs to shrink the traditional switches down to the width of a human hair. The California company says the switch is looking at a market opportunity of more than $5 billion.

Read more about Menlo Micro switch technology here.

The latest innovation for fighting disease can found in an unusual place: the cells of hamsters.

- QUOTE OF THE DAY -

'Inspecting a large number of parts early allowed [a carmaker] to reduce scrap by 50 percent. Can you imagine how exciting that was for them?'

- Arungalai Anbarasu,

general manager for radiography and CT for Baker Hughes GE

Quote: GE Reports. Images: Tomas Kellner for GE Reports.

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GE - General Electric Company published this content on 24 May 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 24 May 2018 09:22:01 UTC