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Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Should We Use Chitin to Build on Mars?
In the latest episode of our Tech Briefs podcast series Here's an Idea™, researcher Javier Gomez Fernandez talks about his idea for making habitats on Mars. Fernandez envisions using chitin from insects – and combining the substance with the Martian soil – to create a kind of sustainable building...
Application Briefs: Power
Automatic recirculation valves offer efficiency for critical pump protection in power or oil and gas applications.
Articles: Motion Control
Smart electric actuators not only enable fine position adjustments, but they also provide real-time feedback on the extent of those adjustments.
Articles: Energy
RadiBond technology, based on nanometer-thin coatings, provides ultra-strong and ultra-tight bonding between metals and plastics.
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
The mobile system could reduce healthcare workers’ exposure to the COVID-19 virus.
Briefs: Energy
This lightweight, portable garment is designed for active shoulder and elbow positioning.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
This subsystem is used in free-space optical communications and fiber-optic communications.
Briefs: Imaging
The system allows multiple users to interact with the same VR app on smartphones, providing opportunities for education, healthcare, and entertainment.
Briefs: Aerospace
Method Tests Microscopic Aeronautical Materials
This process breaks the temperature barrier in small-scale materials testing.
Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
We explore the major scientific breakthroughs achieved during 20 years of human presence on the ISS.
NASA Spinoff: Manufacturing & Prototyping
NASA’s neutral body position research was used in the design of a medical massage chair.
5 Ws: Sensors/Data Acquisition
A low-cost sensor enables at-home diagnosis of a COVID infection.
Briefs: Aerospace
While this technology was designed for CubeSats, it may be utilized in any technology that utilizes a structural frame, such as drones.
Articles: Energy
A new process can turn bulk quantities of just about any carbon source into valuable graphene flakes.
Briefs: Imaging
The device can translate expressions into emojis or silent speech commands.
Articles: AR/AI
A battery-less pacing system enables painless defibrillation.
Products: Software
Mixed-signal oscilloscopes, 3D printers, DC/DC converters, and more.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The tiny motor can be powered by both thermal and electrical energy.
Briefs: Unmanned Systems
Wire-connected drones may complement or replace the fixed base stations of cellular communications networks.
Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Robotic exoskeletons, a breath-test for cancer, and plastic-eating enzymes are Products of Tomorrow.
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
This robotic finger has a highly precise sense of touch over a complex, multi-curved surface.
Q&A: Sensors/Data Acquisition
See how Dr. Andrei Kolmakov and his team are using low-energy electron beams to 3D-print tiny gel structures in liquids.
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
The robot’s extendable appendage can wind through tight spaces and then lift heavy loads.
Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics
The antenna is designed for use in extreme conditions such as outer space.
Briefs: Energy
This can be used in energy-recovery systems in industrial, space, automotive, and military applications.
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
This method enables users to control their robotic fingers precisely enough to gently land on fragile surfaces.
Articles: Imaging
Digital technologies are enabling an "Industry Renaissance" of virtual experiences.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
This technique for optical data transmission from satellites uses laser arrays to provide fine pointing capability.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The thermal management technology could also be used for server farms and spacecraft.
Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Read all about this year's "Create the Future" winner: A transparent flexible film called "RepelWrap."
Briefs: Imaging
High-Resolution X-Ray Camera System
The system has applications in X-ray spectroscopy, pump probes, and molecule imaging.
Articles: Unmanned Systems
The NiobiCon™ underwater connector will not short out, corrode, or cause an electrical shock if touched while powered in harsh environments like saltwater.
Briefs: Automotive
The camera collects the spatial and spectral information required for self-driving cars, machine vision, corrosion detection, and other applications.
Briefs: AR/AI
The device enables ultra-fast wireless communications at low cost.
Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
The conceptual Ring prosthetic leg ensures that individuals do not need an entirely new device every time they have a growth spurt.
Articles: Photonics/Optics
Compact lasers now offer precise colors.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Invisible displays on walls and windows would be bright when turned on but invisible when turned off.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Any high-performance communication systems operating in RF or optical frequencies may benefit from this system.
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
The soft, wearable device simulates the sense of touch and has wide potential in medical and industrial applications.
Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Jacobs' scientists are helping to make contract-tracing apps, emergency-use ventilators, and even squid-bots.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
These switches are key to thermal management of nanoscale devices, refrigeration, data storage, thermal computing, and heat management of buildings.
Briefs: Imaging
Rather than using supecomputers, heart function simulation can be performed at the CT scanner.
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Applications include characterizing additively manufactured components and baggage screening.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Researchers developed a wearable technology that can hide its wearer from heat-detecting sensors such as night vision goggles, even when the ambient temperature changes. The technology can...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Applications include mechanical aerospace manufacturing and thermal structure manufacturing.
Briefs: Materials
Kirigami balloons could be used in shape-changing actuators for soft robots, minimally invasive surgical devices, and macro structures for space exploration.
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
This system can be used for long-range or high-payload deliveries as well as search and rescue.
Briefs: Communications
A low-frequency antenna with enhanced bandwidth will enable robust networking among compact, mobile robots.
Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
With PrintIC technology, sensors, actuators, energy supplies, and ICs can be printed on the same substrate, avoiding assembly cost.
Application Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics
What does wave energy have to do with space exploration? Plenty, it turns out.
Products: Software
COMSOL Multiphysics® version 5.6 simulation software features four new products.
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
This detector could help robots, drones, and self-driving cars avoid collisions.
Briefs: Transportation
This partially superconducting machine can be used as a motor or generator.
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
These hands, with a large grasping force, enable safer human-robot interactions.
Articles: Unmanned Systems
A panel of experts explains how robots are playing a larger role in manufacturing.
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Learn about the sensors assessing and analyzing plant equipment.
Briefs: Aerospace
Applications include retractable covers and awnings, camera booms, and spacecraft and astronaut positioning.
Articles: Motion Control
We review three of your power-supply choices.
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
The magnetic, multi-material pump was 3D-printed all in one piece.
Special Reports: Test & Measurement
ADAS/Connected Car - December 2020
Today's Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and connected cars are paving the way for tomorrow's automated vehicles. To help you keep pace with the latest technology developments, we present this...Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Your 2020 winners include a bacteria-repelling wrap, an advanced prosthetic leg, flash graphene, and more.
Blog: Photonics/Optics
Optical interference filters are critical to the overall performance of machine vision applications. So how do you select the right one?
INSIDER: Internet of Things
A new study has confirmed the success of a natural-gas leak-detection tool pioneered by Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists, which uses sensors and machine learning to...
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
Field Effect Transistors (FET) are the core building blocks of modern electronics such as integrated circuits, computer CPUs, and display backplanes. Organic...
INSIDER: Test & Measurement
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have invented a miniature superconducting thermometer with big potential applications, such as monitoring the...
INSIDER: Physical Sciences
Researchers at the University of Nottingham have cracked the conundrum of how to use inks to 3D-print novel electronic devices with useful properties, such as an ability...
Question of the Week: Medical
Will RepelWrap Catch On?
A material called "RepelWrap" won this year's "Create the Future" Design Contest. The thin film, invented by researchers at McMaster University, instantly fends off viruses and bacteria when the material is placed on a surface, including a door handle or railing.
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
A team of University of Arkansas physicists has successfully developed a circuit capable of capturing graphene’s thermal motion and converting it into an electrical current.
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
A simpler and more efficient way to predict performance will lead to better batteries, according to Rice University engineers. That their method is 100,000 times faster than existing modeling...
INSIDER: Physical Sciences
Electric vehicles (EVs) hold great promise for our energy-efficient, sustainable future but among their limitations is the lack of a long-lasting, high energy density battery...
INSIDER: Materials
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers working to maximize solar panel efficiency said layering advanced materials atop traditional silicon is a promising path to eke more...
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
UW doctoral student Melanie Anderson explains how to make an autonomous 'Smellicopter' to navigate toward smells.
INSIDER: Motion Control
With a training technique commonly used to teach dogs to sit and stay, computer scientists showed a robot how to teach itself several new tricks including stacking blocks. With the method, the robot was able...
INSIDER: Motion Control
Researchers have developed a technique for manufacturing micrometer-long machines by interlocking multiple materials in a complex way. The micromachines are made out of metal and plastic, in...
INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control
A Cornell University team has created microscopic robots that incorporate semiconductor components, allowing them to be controlled – and made to walk – with standard electronic signals. The...
Question of the Week: Unmanned Systems
Could ‘Smellicopters’ Someday Support Search-and-Rescue?
Our second INSIDER story today highlights an innovative combination of autonomous drones and live moth antennae: The “Smellicopter.”
INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control
Scientists from the U.S. Army and MIT created a new way to link materials with unique mechanical properties, opening up the possibility of future military robots made of robots. The method unifies...
INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control
USC researchers have developed a method that could allow robots to learn complicated new tasks, like setting a table or driving a car, from observing a small number of demonstrations.
Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
As engineering professor Mable Fok saw how the pole beans in her garden wrapped tightly around any objects nearby, she had an idea:
What if a robotic gripper could do the same thing?
Blog: RF & Microwave Electronics
The sensor is able to detect ice formation far before you can see it occurring on a surface.
Top Stories
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
2025 Holiday Gift Guide for Engineers: Tech, Tools, and Gadgets
Blog: Power
Using Street Lamps as EV Chargers
INSIDER: Semiconductors & ICs
Scientists Create Superconducting Semiconductor Material
Blog: Materials
This Paint Can Cool Buildings Without Energy Input
Blog: Software
Quiz: Power
Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: AR/AI
The Real Impact of AR and AI in the Industrial Equipment Industry
Upcoming Webinars: Motion Control
Next-Generation Linear and Rotary Stages: When Ultra Precision...
Podcasts: Manufacturing & Prototyping
SAE Automotive Engineering Podcast: Additive Manufacturing
Podcasts: Defense
A New Approach to Manufacturing Machine Connectivity for the Air Force
On-Demand Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Streamlining Manufacturing with Integrated Digital Planning and Simulation
On-Demand Webinars: Automotive
