November 2019

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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

For decades, robots in controlled environments like assembly lines have been able to pick up the same object over and over again. More recently, breakthroughs in computer vision have enabled...

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Articles: Imaging
The Foldable Drone: a Morphing Quadrotor that can Squeeze and Fly Davide Falanga, Kevin Kleber, Stefano Mintchev, Dario Floreano, and Davide...
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Briefs: Test & Measurement

Undercooled metal technology was developed that features liquid metal (in this case, Field's metal, an alloy of bismuth, indium, and tin) trapped below its melting point in polished,...

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Briefs: Materials

A process was developed for producing oxide perovskite crystals in flexible, free-standing layers. A two-dimensional rendition of this substance is intriguing because 2D materials have been shown to...

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Briefs: Nanotechnology
Camera Enables Surgeons to More Easily Identify Cancerous Tissue

Many surgeons rely on sight and touch to find cancerous tissue during surgery. Large hospitals or cancer treatment centers may also use experimental near-infrared fluorescent agents that bind to tumors so surgeons can see them on specialized displays. These machines are costly,...

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

A novel approach was developed to improve communications range and allow for covert behavior using a team of robots for future multi-domain operations. Specifically, researchers...

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Briefs: Motion Control

Researchers have created a motion-powered, fireproof sensor that can track the movements of firefighters, steelworkers, miners, and others who work in high-risk environments where they cannot always be seen....

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Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

A perception system for soft robots was developed that is inspired by the way humans process information about their own bodies in space and in relation to other objects and people. The system includes a...

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Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Flying animals both power and control flight by flapping their wings. This enables small natural flyers such as insects to hover close to a flower but also to rapidly escape danger. Animal flight has...

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5 Ws: Test & Measurement
A new wearable could make heart health monitoring easier and more accurate than existing electrocardiograph machines.
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Briefs: Imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines are employed to locate cancerous tumors and aid in the development of treatment plans, while nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) machines are used to...

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Facility Focus: Medical
In recent decades, NSF-funded researchers have discovered quite a bit, including many of the fundamental particles of matter.
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Q&A: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Sherry Towfighian and her team made a big improvement on how microphones are manufactured.
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Briefs: Materials

Researchers have developed a fiber that combines the elasticity of rubber with the strength of a metal, resulting in a tougher material. The fibers consist of a gallium metal core...

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Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
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Briefs: Imaging

Thermal cameras like forward looking infrared (FLIR) sensors are actively deployed on aerial and ground vehicles, in watch towers, and at check points for surveillance purposes. More recently,...

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Briefs: Test & Measurement
X-ray Measurement Approach Could Improve CT Scanners

A new measurement approach could lead to a better way to calibrate computed tomography (CT) scanners, potentially streamlining patient treatment by improving communication among doctors.

Briefs: Materials

To investigate oceans, researchers aim to build a submerged network of interconnected sensors that sends data to the surface. Supplying constant power to scores of sensors designed to stay for long...

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Products: Materials
3D-printing platforms, simulation software, transistors, and more.
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Briefs: Imaging

Understanding how cars, planes, bridges, and other structures handle vibrations and dynamic loads can be critical to their design and performance. Researchers have developed a new way to...

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NASA Spinoff: Materials
The material used on a shuttle's rocket boosters has several terrestrial applications.
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Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Battelle's simple, cost-effective sensor detects the onset of battery faults.
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Articles: Energy
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Briefs: Wearables

Contact lenses that can monitor the wearer’s health and correct eyesight use embedded electronics. These, and other curved devices such as solar cells and electronics, could be...

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Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Smart Electronic Skin for Robots and Prosthetics

Humans use the sense of touch to accomplish almost every daily task such as picking up a cup of coffee or shaking someone’s hand. Without it, humans can even lose their sense of balance when walking. Similarly, robots need to have a sense of touch in order to interact better with humans but...

Briefs: Defense

By mimicking the outer coating of pearls (nacre or mother of pearl), researchers created a lightweight plastic that is 14 times stronger and eight times lighter (less dense) than steel. It could...

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Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

NASA Langley Research Center developed a wind event warning technology that provides a practical early warning system (5-10 minutes) for a severe change in the wind vector. Events such as gusts, shear, microbursts,...

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Briefs: IoMT
Wearable Motion Sensors Measure Fetal Heartbeat

A technique was developed that could allow expectant parents to hear their baby’s heartbeat continuously at home with a non-invasive and safe device that is potentially more accurate than any fetal heartrate monitor currently available in the market.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Researchers have developed a formula that enables them to recreate different levels of perceived softness. Based on the results from their experiments, they created equations that can calculate how...

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers

A fully print-in-place technique for electronics could enable technologies such as high-adhesion, embedded electronic tattoos and bandages with patient-specific...

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Articles: Transportation
A prototype of the AC 'Biode' battery has been developed at 20W.
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Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition

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 innovation.

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Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

A system was developed that uses radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags to help robots target moving objects with unprecedented speed and accuracy. The system could enable greater...

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Articles: Test & Measurement
Make the best selection for your hospital, clinic, or life science organization.
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Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs

A method was developed to make atom-flat sensors that seamlessly integrate with devices to report on what they perceive. Electronically active 2D materials, touted for their strength, are difficult to move to...

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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Although Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is being used widely for pallet and box-level tracking in the commercial sector, significant technology gaps remain for tracking dense quantities at the item...

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Articles: Transportation
See the eight winners of the 2019 "Create the Future" Design Contest
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Articles: Imaging
Through Livox, non-verbal people can speak, learn how to read and write, and understand abstract concepts.
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers

A transistor has been made from linen thread, enabling the creation of electronic devices made entirely of thin threads that could be woven into fabric, worn on the skin, or...

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Application Briefs: Test & Measurement
Measuring milk components has become very crucial for the dairy industry.
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Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Learn about the Draper Multi-Environment Navigator.
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Briefs: Communications

Engineers at the University of Illinois have found a way to redirect misfit light waves to reduce energy loss during optical data transmission. In a study,...

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Products: Imaging
LIDAR Systems, Smart Cameras, Optical Communications, and more.
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Articles: Test & Measurement
Machine vision systems shed light on processes too small or too fast to see with the human eye.
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Articles: Electronics & Computers
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Researchers have developed a new self-calibrating endoscope that produces 3D images of objects smaller than a single cell without a lens or any optical, electrical, or...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

High quality camera performance on mobile devices has proven to be one of the features that most end-users aim for. The importance of optical image quality improvement and the trend to have thinner and thinner...

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Briefs: Imaging
A new imaging method extracts a color image from a single exposure of light scattered through a mostly opaque material.
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Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

UCLA engineers have made major improvements on their design of an optical neural network — a device inspired by how the human brain works — that can identify objects or process...

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Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Most of us know optical lenses as curved, transparent pieces of plastic or glass, designed to focus light for microscopes, spectacles, cameras, and more. For the most part, a...

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Features: Medical
Learn more about ULISSES, an organ-preserving device that received top honors in the "Create the Future" Design Contest.
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Features: Wearables
Learn more about the how "CSD" offers a cost-effective, non-invasive way of saving the lives of infants.
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Products: Electronics & Computers
OnLogic has introduced the Karbon 700 high-performance rugged computer.
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Special Reports: Robotics, Automation & Control
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Robotics & Machine Vision - November 2019

Advances in robotics and machine vision are transforming the factory floor. To help you keep pace with the latest developments in industrial automation, we present this compendium of recent articles...

Question of the Week: Aerospace
Will Entire Planes Be Built By 'Assembler Robots?'

Commercial aircraft are typically manufactured in sections, often in different locations, and then flown to a central plant for final assembly. Researchers at MIT are hoping to change that.

Blog: Materials
A team in Germany has a quicker, cleaner approach to welding metal to plastic: The HPCI® Joining Gun.
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INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

A new instrument mounted on a telescope in Arizona aimed its robotic array of 5,000 fiber-optic “eyes” at the night sky on Oct. 22 to capture the first images...

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INSIDER: Imaging

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have reported a new mechanism to speed up the charging of lithium-ion batteries...

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INSIDER Product: Imaging

Test Equipment

The LDTC LAB series instruments from Wavelength Electronics (Bozeman, MT) combine low noise, high-end digital control laser diode driver technology with an IntelliTune® smart temperature controller. Two...

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INSIDER: Nanotechnology

A team led by scientists at the University of Washington has designed and tested a 3D-printed metamaterial that can manipulate light with nanoscale precision. As...

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Question of the Week: Robotics, Automation & Control
Would You Own a Robot Pet?

At the CES Unveiled kickoff event last week, Sony demonstrated Aibo, a social robotic pet. The technology, which will make the trip to CES 2020 in Las Vegas, makes dog noises, responds to commands, and uses cameras to recognize specific owners and their patterns. Take a look at Aibo on our Tech Briefs Instagram.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
What's the best aluminum for extrusion? A Tech Briefs reader asks our expert.
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Podcasts: Aerospace
Will we be able to trust autonomous drones? We explore the question in our latest episode of Here's an Idea.
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Question of the Week: Defense

For developers of A.I.-guided drones and autonomous technologies, failure is not an option.

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Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
A new charging cell wants to use low-grade heat from our industrial processes to power our devices.
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Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Computed tomography is being used in the medical and industrial field. An expert explains how the two imaging techniques differ.
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INSIDER: Motion Control

If you’ve ever tried to hold a camera steady for a long exposure in low light, you know exactly what happens: the camera shakes and the image blurs. The same can happen with images from...

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INSIDER: Motion Control

MIT and Toyota researchers have designed a new model to help autonomous vehicles determine when it’s safe to merge into traffic at intersections with obstructed views. The model uses its own...

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INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory took inspiration from flying insects to create a miniaturized gyroscope, a special sensor used in...

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Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Our expert examines the pros and cons of welding, adhesives, and other metal joining methods.
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Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Will the Ability to Manipulate Virtual Objects in Real-World Scenes Help Your Design and Manufacturing Efforts?

A Tech Briefs TV video this week demonstrated a Brown University system called Portal-ble. The augmented-reality technology allows you to place virtual objects within real-world backgrounds on smartphone screens. Users can then...

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
New measurements could help experts guess the location and size of the next earthquake.
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Webcasts

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On-Demand Webinars: Defense

From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

April Battery & Electrification Summit

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Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024

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Upcoming Webinars: Materials

Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...

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Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement

Building an Automotive EMC Test Plan

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

The Moon and Beyond from a Thermal Perspective

Videos