Technical Briefs, Design Engineering News

November 2018

Blog : Manufacturing & Prototyping

Answering Your Questions: How Long Should a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Take?

An FMEA provides a step-by-step way of identifying product failures. Carl Carlson explains just how long the process takes.

On-Demand Webinars : Electronics & Computers

Reduce the Risk of Equipment Failure with Efficient Wire Termination Solutions

When designing an electrical system, reducing the risk of failure is a top priority. By making the best selections and ensuring proper installations of the termination, you can be sure your end product will meet industry standards that will work in your current...

INSIDER : Propulsion

Plane Flies with No Moving Parts

Since the first airplane took flight, virtually every aircraft has flown with the help of moving parts such as propellers, turbine blades, or fans that produce a persistent, whining buzz. MIT has built the...

Blog : Robotics, Automation & Control

Q&A: After a Successful Landing, What’s Next for the InSight Mission?

InSight project manager Tom Hoffman spoke with Tech Briefs about the importance of digging deep in our knowledge of Mars.

On-Demand Webinars : Materials

Solving Harsh Environment Protection Challenges with Parylene Coatings

Conformal coatings are often used in the electronics, medical device, transportation, aerospace and defense industries to protect products from their surrounding environments. As new materials are used in advancing technologies and as end products are required to survive...

Podcasts : Green Design & Manufacturing

Here's an Idea: Garbage!

In this episode of Here’s an Idea™, we talk with researchers who are finding small — and sometimes even fun — ways to take out all the trash.

Blog : Energy

New Metal-Air Battery Design Offers a Potential Boost to Electric Vehicles

Professor Hart spoke with Tech Briefs about why his team's new battery may someday find its way beyond niche applications and into electric vehicles.

Question of the Week : Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Can ‘The Ocean Cleanup’ Clean Up the Ocean?

The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit effort begun by Dutch inventor Boyan Slat, wants to clean up 50% of “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” in five years, with the aim of a 90% reduction by 2040.

Using a 600-meter long floater, or collection platform, called System 001, the Cleanup technology...

On-Demand Webinars : Manufacturing & Prototyping

The Quality of FMEAs

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) can anticipate and prevent problems, reduce costs, shorten product development times, and achieve safe and highly reliable products and processes. Stated simply, FMEA is an essential element in achieving reliability objectives for any project or program. However, it has to be done...

On-Demand Webinars : Transportation

Virtual Hardware ECUs: A Positive Disruption for Automotive Software Development

Automotive systems require years of development before making it into a vehicle. With advanced driver assistance systems, infotainment, safety systems, and autonomous driving requiring more compute power and software content, automotive companies need to revisit...

On-Demand Webinars : Medical

Introduction to Radiation Dosimetry and the Mathematical Model

An overview of radiation dosimetry will be given with emphasis on dosimetry principles and calibration methods in order to maintain measurement traceability. The importance of estimating measurement uncertainty is discussed, including how uncertainty can be applied to the radiation...

Blog : Sensors/Data Acquisition

Answering Your Questions: How Good are Automotive Sensor Simulation Models?

A reader asks our industry experts: "How good are the simulation models for automotive ADAS sensors?"

Question of the Week : Energy

Will Stretchable, Printable Solar Cells Catch On?

A Rice University lab is making solar cells that are stretchable, printable, and paintable. Watch the demo on Tech Briefs TV.

This week's Question: Will Stretchable, Printable Solar Cells Catch On?

Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Blog : Green Design & Manufacturing

Researchers Convert Plastic Bottles into Aerogels that Insulate and Absorb

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) are trying to solve the problem of plastic waste by converting it into something useful: Aerogels.

INSIDER : Internet of Things

Light it up: Purdue NSF-funded Technology Flips the Switch on the Future for Sustainable Smart Homes and $1.3 Trillion Market

IoT devices need a wireless means of communications to be truly seamless so they can be easily integrated in...

INSIDER : Internet of Things

A Step Toward Personalized, Automated Smart Homes

Developing automated systems that track occupants and self-adapt to their preferences is a major next step for the future of smart homes. When you walk into a room, for instance, a system...

INSIDER : Test & Measurement

Enabling “Internet of Photonic Things” with Miniature Sensors

A team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis was the first to successfully record environmental data using a wireless photonic sensor resonator with a...

On-Demand Webinars : Software

Calibration of Nonlinear Structural Material Models

Structural mechanics simulations often use nonlinear material models that need to be calibrated to experimental data. In this webinar, guest speaker Jorgen Bergstrom from Veryst Engineering will demonstrate how these material models can be calibrated and used in multiphysics simulations. Jorgen...

On-Demand Webinars : Materials

Next-Generation Technologies and Materials for Advanced Mobility Applications

As automotive manufacturers embrace the transition from internal-combustion engines to e-mobility and fuel cell propulsion systems, they face new challenges in areas such as thermal management, power efficiency, friction reduction, weight reduction, compact...

INSIDER : Medical

Laser-Activated Silk Sealants Outperform Sutures for Tissue Repair

Tissue repair following injury or during surgery is conventionally performed with sutures and staples, which can cause tissue damage and complications, including infection....

INSIDER : Materials

Invention Opens Door to Safer, Less Expensive X-Ray Imaging

New lead halide perovskite nanocrystals developed by researchers from NUS Chemistry could soon mean cheaper X-rays and computerized tomography (CT) scans involving lower levels of...

INSIDER : Energy

Solar Cell Does Double Duty for Renewable Energy

In the quest for abundant, renewable alternatives to fossil fuels, scientists have sought to harvest the sun’s energy through “water splitting,” an artificial photosynthesis technique...

Products : Photonics/Optics

New Products: November 2018 Photonics & Imaging Insider

Telecentric Lenses

Edmund Optics (EO) (Barrington, NJ) has introduced TECHSPEC® MercuryTL™ Liquid Lens Telecentric Lenses. These integrated lenses utilize the unique...

Blog : Robotics, Automation & Control

Modular Robots Change Shape – Depending on the Task

Professor Hadas Kress-Gazit tells Tech Briefs about the "great promise" of autonomous modular robots.

On-Demand Webinars : Medical

New Developments in Catheter Shaft Components

This webinar is focused on catheter shaft componentry with a deeper dive into polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) liners and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP). Information provided will contain a mix of polymer material science, specifications of extruded fluoropolymers, engineering considerations for...

On-Demand Webinars : Imaging

Three Ways Thermal Cameras Make Autonomous Vehicles Safer

There are over 500,000 thermal infrared cameras in cars today, warning drivers of objects on the roadway ahead. As we move through SAE automation level 2 and beyond, thermal infrared cameras will be a key technology in the safety sensor suite for ADAS and autonomous vehicles.

Question of the Week : Imaging

Will AR and VR Help Automotive Manufacturers?

A reader recently asked our automotive expert: “How will the use of augmented reality and virtual parts impact the role of automotive parts manufacturers, such as PCB manufacturers, in prototyping and production?”

Blog : Energy

Answering Your Questions: For an Electric-Aircraft Future, Do We Need to Rethink Design?

For an electric-aircraft future, it's not enough to just change components. You have to rethink design, our expert tells one reader.

News : Medical

3D Imaging Opens Door to Fascinating Leaf Complexity

The field of plant science is in the process of being profoundly transformed by new imaging and modeling technologies. These tools are allowing scientists to peer inside the leaf with a clarity and resolution inconceivable a generation ago.

News : Medical

CT Expands Possibilities of Imaging Ancient Remains

Researchers in Sweden using computed tomography (CT) have successfully imaged the soft tissue of an ancient Egyptian mummy's hand down to a microscopic level. Non-destructive imaging of human and animal mummies with X-rays and CT is a boon to the fields of archaeology and paleopathology. They...

News : Photonics/Optics

Chemists Create Circular Fluorescent Dyes for Imaging

University of Oregon chemists have created a new class of fluorescent dyes that function in water and emit colors based solely on the diameter of circular nanotubes made of carbon and hydrogen. The six-member team is now exploring their potential use in biological imaging.

News : Medical

Enhanced 3D Imaging Advances Brain Treatments

Researchers have developed a combination of commercially available hardware and open-source software, named PySight, to improve rapid 2D and 3D imaging of neuronal activity in the living brain and other tissues. PySight serves as an add-on for laser scanning microscopes. Such an advancement in...

Articles : Test & Measurement

Inside Story: S. Himmelstein and Company

S. Himmelstein and Company (Hoffman Estates, IL) has been designing and manufacturing torque measurement transducers and instrumentation since 1960. The company’s products offer significant advantages that enhance their overall performance under real-world conditions – not just in the calibration...

On-Demand Webinars : Sensors/Data Acquisition

The Critical Role of Sensors in Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous vehicles are now moving beyond early applications in the military and construction industries to revolutionize the way we drive every day. Sensors and actuators play a critical role in self-driving vehicles, controlling both the driving and safety aspects of the car. As such, they...

Briefs : Electronics & Computers

Method Enables Electronic Components to be Printed Like Newspapers

Cellphones, laptops, tablets, and many other electronics rely on their internal metallic circuits to process information at high speed. Current metal fabrication techniques...

Briefs : Medical

Wireless System Pinpoints Location of Ingestible Implants

An “in-body GPS” system was developed that can pinpoint the location of ingestible implants inside the body using low-power wireless signals. These implants could be used as tiny tracking devices on shifting tumors to help monitor their slight movements. The system, called ReMix, can...

Briefs : Energy

Piezoelectric Resonator with Two Layers

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) filters have advantages in being able to reduce the size, weight, and power required when used as part of electronic systems such as radios; however, MEMS-type filters have limitations. For example, thickness MEMS-type filters (e.g., thickness-extensional mode...

Briefs : Nanotechnology

Nano-Additives Increase the Service Life of Concrete

A new method increases the service life of concrete structures by reducing the infiltration rates of deleterious ions. The key is a nano-sized additive that slows down penetration of...

5 Ws : Materials

5 Ws of the SAFIRE Lithium-Ion Battery

Who

The Safe Impact Resistant Electrolyte (SAFIRE) fire-resistant battery can be used in consumer electronics such as cellphones, in drones and cars, and in soldiers’ packs.

Articles : Electronics & Computers

Smart Sensor Technology for the IoT

Internet of Things (IoT) applications — whether for city infrastructures, factories, or wearable devices — use large arrays of sensors collecting data for transmission over the Internet to a central,...

Briefs : Medical

Kit Containing Stem Cells and Cytokines for Use in Attenuating Immune Responses

Stem cells have two distinct characteristics that distinguish them from other cell types. First, they are unspecialized and can self-renew for long periods without significant changes in their general properties. Second, under certain physiologic or experimental...

Articles : Manufacturing & Prototyping

2018 Create the Future Design Contest Special Awards Section

The Create the Future Design Contest was launched in 2002 by Tech Briefs Media Group (publishers of Tech Briefs magazine) to help stimulate and reward engineering innovation. Since...

Briefs : Electronics & Computers

Self-Healing Metal Oxides for Corrosion Protection

Most metals, with the notable exception of gold, tend to oxidize when exposed to air and water. This reaction — which produces rust on iron, tarnish on silver, and verdigris on copper or...

Briefs : Sensors/Data Acquisition

A Biologically Inspired Method of Improving Systems and Survivability Through Self-Sacrifice

In human beings, the self-destruction behavior of human body cells is considered as an intrinsic safety mechanism of the human body. It seems that the lifetime of a cell is programmed, and that cells know when to commit suicide. This self-destruction is...

Articles : Test & Measurement

Products of Tomorrow: November 2018

This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that...

Products : Imaging

New on the Market: November 2018

Thermography Systems

Advanced Thermal Solutions, Norwood, MA, announced the tvLYT^™ liquid crystal thermography system that provides a portable solution for temperature measurement of...

Briefs : Materials

Energy-Storing Material Folds Onto Itself

Eagles can store energy in their feet without having to continuously contract their muscles to then jump high or hold on to prey. New materials have been created that can store energy this way. The...

Briefs : Imaging

Super-Resolution Image Reconstruction (SRIR)

Many low-cost sensors (or cameras) may spatially or electronically under-sample an image. Similarly, cameras taking pictures from great distances, such as aerial photos, may not obtain detailed...

Briefs : Medical

Machine Learning Method Detects Heart Disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the U.S., one in every four deaths is a result of heart...

Briefs : Data Acquisition

Method Trains Robots to Collaborate Through Demonstration

Robots that are adapted to respond to physical human-robot interaction (pHRI) traditionally treat such interactions as disturbances, and resume their original behaviors when the...

Briefs : Energy

Synthesis and Development of Polyurethane Coatings Containing Fluorine Groups for Adhesive Applications

Accumulation of insect strikes on the leading edge of airplane wings is a more serious problem than one might realize. Depending on the magnitude, such accumulation changes the aerodynamic characteristics of the wing, causing a change from...

Briefs : Materials

Cell-Sized Robots Sense Their Environment

Colloids — insoluble particles or molecules anywhere from a billionth to a millionth of a meter across — are so small they can stay suspended indefinitely in a liquid or even in air. Robots about...

Briefs : Materials

Inorganic Compound for Use in Quantum Computing

Quantum computers will be able to solve problems well beyond the reach of existing computers while working much faster and consuming vastly less energy. An inorganic compound was developed that...

Q&A : Semiconductors & ICs

Q&A: University of Virginia’s Patrick Hopkins Studies How to Regulate a Material’s Thermal Conductivity

Professor Hopkins and University of Virginia colleagues — in collaboration with materials scientists at Penn State, the University of Maryland, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology — have studied a material that can...

Briefs : Manufacturing & Prototyping

Bacteria-Fighting Polymers Created with Light

Hundreds of polymers that could kill drug-resistant superbugs in novel ways can be produced and tested using light. The new method may help identify antimicrobials for a range of applications from personal care to coatings.

Briefs : Semiconductors & ICs

One-Dimensional Material with High Current Density

Current density is the amount of electrical current per cross-sectional area at a given point. As transistors in integrated circuits become smaller and smaller, they need higher and higher...

Articles : Photonics/Optics

Facility Focus: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL, Liver-more, CA) was established in 1952 at the height of the Cold War to meet urgent national security needs by advancing nuclear weapons...

Briefs : Imaging

Retinal Prosthesis Stimulates Nerve Cells

Fabricated using inexpensive and widely available organic pigments used in printing inks and cosmetics, an artificial retina was developed that consists of tiny pixels like a digital camera sensor on...

Briefs : Test & Measurement

A Robust Waveguide Millimeter-Wave Noise Source

A noise source is an enabling technology for passive millimeter-wave remote sensing applications such as atmospheric sounding, and precipitation and ice cloud measurements. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has developed a packaged noise source that will allow calibration of the front end at the...

Briefs : Photonics/Optics

Ultra-Thin Camera Creates Images Without Lenses

Traditional cameras — even those on the thinnest cellphones — cannot be truly flat due to their optics. The lenses require a certain shape and size in order to function. A new camera design...

Briefs : Lighting

Two-Dimensional Semiconductor Materials Created Using Artificial “Superlattices”

One current method to build a semiconductor superlattice — materials comprised of alternating layers of ultra-thin, two-dimensional sheets only one or a...

Products : Software

Product of the Month: November 2018

COMSOL, Burlington, MA, introduced COMSOL Multiphysics^® version 5.4 that features the new COMSOL Compiler™ for creating standalone simulation applications and digital twins for the...

Briefs : Sensors/Data Acquisition

On-Chip Optical Filter Processes Wide Range of Light Wavelengths

MIT researchers have designed an optical filter on a chip that can process optical signals from across an extremely wide spectrum of light at once, something never before...

Articles : Energy

Simplifying Access to High Energy Sub-5-fs Pulses

In order to make ultrafast pulses accessible to the broadest possible field of applications, Coherent has been implementing a comprehensive program of design methodologies, materials...

Products : Imaging

New Products: November 2018 Photonics & Imaging Technology

Optical Monitoring System

The SpectraLock Optical Monitoring System from Eddy Company (Apple Valley, CA) provides in-situ monitoring and deposition rate control to produce...

Briefs : Test & Measurement

Next-Generation Photodetector Camera to Deploy During Robotic Servicing Demonstration Mission

An advanced, highly compact thermal camera that traces its heritage to one now flying on NASA's Landsat 8 has been mounted in a corner of NASA's...

Briefs : Lighting

Imaging Innovation for Spinal Care

Motion capture (Mocap) is a technique used in the film industry to digitally track a human actor's movements and precisely transfer those motions to an animated figure. But it has other applications as...

Briefs : Photonics/Optics

Photonic Communication Comes to Computer Chips

With novel optoelectronic chips and a new partnership with a top silicon-chip manufacturer, MIT spinout Ayar Labs aims to increase speed and reduce energy consumption in computing, starting with...

Briefs : Imaging

New Camera Gives Surgeons a Butterfly's-Eye View of Cancer

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Washington University in St. Louis have developed a surgical camera inspired by the eye of the morpho butterfly. The...

Briefs : Data Acquisition

Shrimp-Inspired Camera May Enable Underwater Navigation

The underwater environment may appear to the human eye as a dull-blue, featureless space. However, a vast landscape of polarization patterns appear when viewed through a camera that is...

Articles : Sensors/Data Acquisition

Custom Optomechanics in Industrial UV Lasers

Reliability and longevity directly impact the cost of using Q-switched, diode pumped, solid state, ultraviolet lasers in industrial applications. Damage to the intracavity harmonic crystal is...

Briefs : Photonics/Optics

Novel Optics for Ultrafast Cameras Create New Possibilities for Imaging

MIT researchers have developed novel photography optics that capture images based on the timing of reflecting light inside the optics instead of the traditional approach...

Application Briefs : Photonics/Optics

Ray Optics Simulation of Inertial Navigation Systems

Attitude detection is a crucial element in aircraft and spacecraft navigation. The motion of an aircraft consists of a translational component (motion of its center of mass with respect to...

Articles : Software

2018 Create the Future Design Contest: Electronics/Sensors/IOT Category Winner

FUTURE ANTENNA MINIATURIZATION MECHANISM: MAGNETOELECTRIC ANTENNAS

Hwaider Lin and Nian-Xiang Sun, Northeastern University, Boston, MA...

Articles : Materials

2018 Create the Future Design Contest: Grand Prize Winner

INVISIBLE GLASS

Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) has developed a method for creating surface nanotextures that effectively...