We're often disappointed when 'cool'-looking inventions never come to market, but it looks like the dual-piezo jet fans we saw in GE's labs recently have a fighting chance. The company told us at CES 2013 that it wants to team with Texas Instruments to put the millimeter-thick, bellows-like units inside upcoming Ultrabooks and other devices that have no room for a traditional fan. Such a partnership could work out since GE has little experience in the gadget-space, and TI has all the power conversion bits necessary to make the tech work, since they're similar to the latter outfit's circuits used in so-called high-definition haptics, a tactile feedback system. Representatives from the two outfits said that manufacturers are already working with the tech, meaning we could see the technology in slimmed down products like Ultrabooks within a year -- perhaps just in time to meet Haswell's demanding specs.
Filed under: Peripherals