How Pratt & Whitney Uses a Robot to Help Build Jet Engines

Kevin Kirkpatrick, Vice President of Aftermarket Global Operations, Pratt & Whitney, is the guest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast.

Where Do EV Batteries Go When They Die?

Some go to Cox Automotive’s battery solutions center in Oklahoma City, where the company works with OEMs on their post-sale needs. Others get recycled, with lots of OEMs teaming up with Redwood Materials. Read on to find out what happens to the others.

Crafting Safe, Long-Cyclable Lithium Metal Batteries for High Temperatures

A research team led by Professor Dong-Myeong Shin of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hong Kong has developed a new generation of lithium metal batteries, representing a significant advancement in the field. Here, an interview with Shin to learn more about the technology.

Researchers Discover a Surprising Way to Jump-Start Battery Performance

In a study published in Joule, researchers at the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center report that giving batteries a first charge at unusually high currents increased their average lifespan by 50 percent while decreasing the initial charging time from 10 hours to just 20 minutes. Read on to learn more.

Researchers Unveil Scalable Graphene Technology to Revolutionize Battery Safety and Performance

Researchers have developed a pioneering technique for producing large-scale graphene current collectors. This breakthrough promises to significantly enhance the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), addressing a critical challenge in energy storage technology. Read on to learn more.

New Battery Cathode Material Could Revolutionize EV Market and Energy Storage

A multi-institutional research team led by Hailong Chen has developed a new, low-cost cathode that could radically improve lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) — potentially transforming the electric vehicle (EV) market and large-scale energy storage systems. Read on to learn more.

Dormant Capacity Reserve in Lithium-Ion Batteries Detected

Using transmission electron microscopes, Researchers at Graz University of Technology were able to systematically track lithium ions as they traveled through battery material, map their arrangement in the crystal lattice of an iron phosphate cathode with unprecedented resolution, and precisely quantify their distribution in the crystal. Read on to learn more.

Second Life of Lithium-Ion Batteries Could Take Us to Space

The global use of lithium-ion batteries has doubled in just the past four years, generating alarming amounts of battery waste containing many hazardous substances. The need for effective recycling methods for spent lithium-ion batteries is becoming increasingly critical. Scientists from various Polish research institutions presented a promising solution to this issue. Read on to learn more about it.

Folded or Cut, This Lithium-Sulfur Battery Keeps Going

To address stability and safety issues, researchers have designed a lithium-sulfur battery that features an improved iron sulfide cathode. One prototype remains highly stable over 300 charge-discharge cycles, and another provides power even after being folded or cut. Read on to learn more.

Product Showcase

See what's in the product showcase, including Miba Resistors' RST5N resistor series; Luxinar's femtosecond lasers; Freudenberg Sealing Technologies' cell caps; CPEG's durable equipment to safely handle and process lithium and other minerals for lithium-ion batteries; and much more.

DC-DC Converters for High Reliability eVTOL Auxiliary Power Systems

eVTOL power system architectures are not yet well defined, and with the wide variety of possible configurations, from small, unmanned drones through multiseat passenger craft, there may never be one standard. Read on to learn what this means.

Solving the Battery Recycling Challenge

The surging global popularity of electric vehicles is creating a new challenge: a mounting pile of spent lithium-ion batteries. In just a decade, more than 1.2 million tons of lithium-ion batteries will reach their end-of-life, creating an urgent need for efficient and profitable recycling solutions. This impending battery waste crisis presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Read on to learn more.

Revolutionizing Seafood Production with Adaptive Robots

Robotic automation technology is reshaping food manufacturing, packaging, and handling by driving significant improvements in efficiency, quality, and flexibility. By integrating advanced artificial intelligence, computer vision, and proprietary force-sensing technology, Flexiv has introduced cutting-edge automation to the food processing sector. Read on to learn more.

How a Standardized Platform Delivered Precision Motion Control

To upgrade its existing line of laboratory and high-speed production equipment, Genesis called on Moxley Electronics, a trusted distributor of automation components from Mitsubishi Electric. Read on to learn what happened.

Cat’s Eye-Inspired Vision System for Autonomous Robotics

Researchers led by Professor Young Min Song from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology have unveiled a vision system inspired by feline eyes to enhance object detection in various lighting conditions. Featuring a unique shape and reflective surface, the system reduces glare in bright environments and boosts sensitivity in low-light scenarios. Read on to learn more.

Mastering Physical Contact with New Algorithm for Robots

Penn Engineers have developed a new algorithm that allows robots to react to complex physical contact in real time, making it possible for autonomous robots to succeed at previously impossible tasks, like controlling the motion of a sliding object. Read on to learn more.

Enabling Robots to Interpret Surroundings Quickly and Accurately

MIT engineers have developed a method that enables robots to make similarly intuitive, task-relevant decisions. The team’s new approach, named Clio, enables a robot to identify the parts of a scene that matter, given the tasks at hand. Read on to learn more about Clio.

ROSE Could Usher in a New Era of Automated Farming

A team of researchers has developed an innovative soft robotic gripper named ROtation-based Squeezing grippEr or ROSE. Read on to learn more about it.

The Future Is Flexible: How One Component Represents Tomorrow’s Manufacturing

Speed and efficiency are bedrocks of operational efficiency but are only proven in processes that are strategically optimized. Read on to learn more about what this means.

New Products

See the new products, including the TNC7 control system from HEIDENHAIN; ATI Industrial Automation's GBX 10 Gigabit Tool Changer Ethernet Module; Emerson's Rosemount™ 802 Wireless Multi-Discrete Input or Output Transmitter; Moticont's two 15.9 mm (0.625 in.) diameter Linear Voice Coil Motors, the LVCM-016-019-01M (Metric) and the LVCM-016-019-01 (Imperial); and much more.

AI in Motion Control: Optimizing Servo Systems

As technology advances, so do we as skilled professionals in the automation industry. Much like artificial intelligence, we continuously learn and adapt to enhance our overall performance. AI advancement and straightforward learning algorithms have transformed how we implement servo systems. Read on to learn more.

Cable Carriers Promote Efficiency in an Autonomous Hospitality Robot

Since the COVID-19 pandemic that advanced contactless service, robots are increasingly being seen conducting routine deliveries around hospitals and hotels. Developed by Robotise Technologies, JEEVES is one such autonomous service robot used in hotels, healthcare facilities, offices, airports, and other settings. Its main duty is to transport materials and products. Read on to learn more about JEEVES.

3D-Woven Thermal Protection System Technologies Support NASA Space Missions

Over the past decade, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and its team of development partners have developed several unique thermal protection system (TPS) technologies designed to protect spacecraft from the extreme heat conditions and entry environments that space missions face. Read on to learn more about it.

Bio-Ink for 3D Printing

Biomedical engineers have developed a “bio-ink” for 3D-printed materials that could serve as scaffolds for growing human tissues to repair or replace damaged ones in the body. Read on to learn more.

Ball Valve Assembly Yields Linear Flowrate Control

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed an adjustable thermal control ball valve assembly which utilizes a unique geometric ball valve design to facilitate precise thermal control within a spacesuit. The technology meters the coolant flow going to the cooling and ventilation garment, worn by an astronaut in the next generation space suit. Read on to learn more.

4D Printing of Shape Memory Polymers

Researchers have successfully demonstrated the 4D printing of shape memory polymers in submicron dimensions that are comparable to the wavelength of visible light. Read on to learn more.

Transistors Repurposed as Microchip Clock Address Security Flaws

A new approach uses commercial chip fab materials and techniques to fabricate specialized transistors to serve as the building block of the timing device. Read on to learn more.

3D-Printed Reactor Core Makes Solar Fuel Production More Efficient

In recent years, engineers at ETH Zurich have developed the technology to produce liquid fuels from sunlight and air. In 2019, they demonstrated the entire thermochemical process chain under real conditions for the first time, in the middle of Zurich, on the roof of ETH Machine Laboratory. Two ETH spin-offs, Climeworks and Synhelion, are further developing and commercializing the technologies. Read on to learn more.

Vision-Based Approach and Landing System (VALS)

Incorporating a vision-based navigation method, NASA Ames has developed a novel Alternative Position, Navigation, and Timing (APNT) solution for AAM aircraft in environments where GPS is not available. Read on to learn more about it.

Safe, Inexpensive Method to Propel Small Satellites

A novel micropropulsion system was developed for nanosatellite applications using a liquid-fed pulsed-plasma thruster. It uses a liquid propellant for a Lorentz-force pulsed-plasma accelerator and an extended lifetime ignition system driven by nanosecond-long pulses. Read on to learn more.

UCF’s Hypersonic Technology Advances

Over the past year, the DoD has awarded funding to hypersonics research led by University of Central Florida Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Kareem Ahmed to support the advancements he’s making in the technology. The support is a testament to the progress UCF has made in the field. Read on to learn more about these advances.

Modeling and Analyzing Inter-Satellite Relative Motion

To address scalable control of orbital dynamics, NASA Ames Research Center has patented Swarm Orbital Dynamics Advisor (SODA) — a solution that accepts high-level configuration commands and provides the orbital maneuvers needed to achieve the desired type of swarm relative motion. Read on to learn more.

Recycling Defunct Satellite Material into a Fuel Source

A research team from the University of Waterloo’s Laboratory for Emerging Energy Research is looking into processing lunar regolith, the Moon’s top layer of soil and dust, into usable materials for life support, energy generation, and construction. This includes investigating the use of defunct satellite material as a fuel source when mixed with lunar regolith. Read on to learn more.

Understanding the Vulnerability in Wireless Backhaul Networks for 5G

A research team led by Rice University’s Edward Knightly has uncovered an eavesdropping security vulnerability in high-frequency and high-speed wireless backhaul links, widely employed in critical applications such as 5G wireless cell phone signals and low-latency financial trading on Wall Street. Read on to learn more.

Nanoscale Device Points the Way to Future Wireless Communication Channels

In a paper published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, a team of Caltech engineers reports building a metasurface patterned with miniscule tunable antennas capable of reflecting an incoming beam of optical light to create many sidebands, or channels, of different optical frequencies. Read on to learn more.

New Wearable Communication System Can Transmit Data Farther than Wi-Fi

A group of University of Arizona researchers has developed a wearable monitoring device system that can send health data up to 15 miles without any significant infrastructure. Their device, they hope, will help make digital health access more equitable. Read on to learn more.

A Digital Twin Can Predict What Data Wireless Users Will Need Before They Need It

Researchers have developed a new method for predicting what data wireless computing users will need before they need it, making wireless networks faster and more reliable. The new method makes use of a technique called a “digital twin,” which effectively clones the network it is supporting. Read on to learn more.

Enabling High-Capacity Space Communication

Researchers have achieved data rates as high as 424Gbit/s across a 53-km turbulent free-space optical link using plasmonic modulators — devices that uses special light waves called surface plasmon polaritons to control and change optical signals. The new research lays the groundwork for high-speed optical communication links that transmit data over open air or space. Read on to learn more.

Silicone Membrane for Wearable Devices is Comfortable and Breathable

A silicone membrane for wearable devices is more comfortable and breathable thanks to better-sized pores made with the help of citric acid crystals. The new preparation technique fabricates thin, silicone-based patches that rapidly wick water away from the skin. The technique could reduce the redness and itching caused by wearable biosensors that trap sweat beneath them. Read on to learn more.

Future Washable Smart Clothes Powered by Wi-Fi will Monitor Health

Purdue University engineers have developed a method to transform existing cloth items into battery-free wearables resistant to laundering. These smart clothes are powered wirelessly through a flexible, silk-based coil sewn on the textile. Read on to learn more.

Prepare for Takeoff: NWI Aerostructures Thrusts Forward with CNC Control System

The aerospace industry is in an era of profound innovation. Airplanes and air travel are transforming in response to the needs of the global economy, necessitating the building of aircraft at an accelerated pace. Enter NWI. With over 50 years of long-bed machining expertise, NWI is a contract manufacturer of complex structural components, sub-assemblies, and complete major assemblies of wing structures. Read on to learn more.

New on the Market

See what's new on the market, including Nikon Metrology NV's Scatter Correction CT; Emerson's next-generation Rosemount™ 3490 Controller; Fischer Connectors' USB 3.2 connectors and cable assembly solutions; Renesas Electronics' R-Car Family of system-on-chips for entry-level Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS); and much more.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including a 3D microwave antenna, smart CCTV systems trained to spot blockages in urban waterways, and a full-scale prototype for six telescopes that will enable, in the next decade, the space-based detection of gravitational waves.

Videos of the Month

See the videos of the month, including one on Michigan Engineering racing its 17th solar car, Astrum, across the Australian Outback; one on how NASA’s Europa Clipper — a 7,000-pound spacecraft — was packed and shipped from the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to Kennedy Space Center in Florida; one on the MIT Media Lab’s Space Exploration Initiative; and one on leveraging precision growth to convert plants into biodegradable electronic devices.

Shedding Weight: Connectivity in Military-Aerospace Applications

Weight is among the most critical factors behind component choice when it comes to aerospace applications. Being among the bulkiest of components, connectors and cables need to embrace the latest scientific advances in order to reduce weight and enhance performance, fuel efficiency, and overall system reliability. This article outlines the recent advances enabling lighter connectors for aircraft, satellites, and drones.

Product of the Month

Read about the product of the month, Synopsys' ImSym — Imaging System Simulator, a virtual prototyping platform for imaging systems, encompassing lenses, sensors, and image signal processors (ISPs).

3 Energy Technologies that Will Power Your Interest

Watch this video to learn more about three new energy technologies. One is from Rice University; one is from Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France and University of San Diego, CA; and the last one is from Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa).

5Ws of the EgoTouch

EgoTouch, a new tool developed by researchers in CMU’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute, could put control for AR/VR environments in the palm of your hand.

NASA’s Inspection Technology for Spacecraft Tests Quality of Seacraft Hulls

An ultrasonic technology for inspecting the heat shield on NASA’s Orion spacecraft is now being used for evaluating seacraft hulls made with advanced composite materials.

How Much Do You Know About Connecting DC Programmable Power Supplies in Series or Parallel?

There are some applications where the use of a single power supply may not be sufficient to provide the power required by the load. How much do you know about connecting DC programmable power supplies in series or parallel? Find out with this quiz.

The Rise of Advanced Sensor Technologies

How sensors are reshaping the landscape of medical diagnostics, enabling quicker and more accurate health assessments.

Efficient, Sustainable Atmospheric Water Harvesting

Imagine being severely dehydrated and water literally appearing out of thin air. In other words: The air you breathe could quickly become the water that wets your whistle. Well, that...

How the Navy Uses Off-Gassing to Detoxify Submerged Equipment

A video explaining how the U.S. Navy detoxifies non-metallic materials used in equipment and devices that are operated underwater.

Researchers Demonstrate Self-Assembling Electronics

Researchers have demonstrated a new technique for self-assembling electronic devices. The proof-of-concept work was used to create diodes and transistors and paves the way for...

MIT Team Takes a Major Step Toward Fully 3D-Printed Active Electronics

Active electronics — components that can control electrical signals — usually contain semiconductor devices that receive, store, and process information. These...

A Haptic Patch Can Transmit Complex Information to a Wearer’s Skin

Matthew Flavin, Ph.D., was part of a team at Northwestern University that developed a haptic patch to convey visual information to unsighted people through an array of multi-function actuators. Now, as assistant professor in the School of Electrical Engineering, he has started a new lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology to continue his work on bioelectronics.

Bird-Inspired Drone Can Jump for Take-Off

EPFL researchers have built a drone that can walk, hop, and jump into flight with the aid of birdlike legs, greatly expanding the range of potential environments accessible to unmanned aerial...

Magnetically Controlled Kirigami Surfaces Move Objects: No Grasping Needed

A novel device couples magnetic fields and kirigami design principles to remotely control the movement of a flexible dimpled surface, allowing it to manipulate...

Helping Robots Make Good Decisions in Real Time

In 2018, Google DeepMind's AlphaZero program taught itself the games of chess, shogi, and go, using machine learning and a special algorithm to determine the best moves to win a game within a...

Navigating the Transition: Understanding RSS-102 Issue 6 Updates and Implications

Radio equipment marketed or sold into Canada must be certified with ISED Canada, the Canadian equipment authorization regulator. Radio transmitter equipment must be certified to the latest issue of Radio Standards Specifications (RSS). How well do you understand RSS-102 Issue 6 updates and its implications? Take this quiz to find out.

Microrobots Swimming Autonomously in Viscous Liquids

The researchers’ groundbreaking study introduces the first toroidal, light-driven microrobot that can move autonomously in viscous liquids, such as mucus.

Meet MobiPrint: A Mobile 3D Printer that Can Automatically Measure a Room and Print to the Specs

University of Washington researchers have created MobiPrint, a mobile 3D printer that can automatically measure a room and print objects onto its floor. The team’s graphic interface lets users design objects for a space that the robot has mapped out.

My Opinion: Industrial Symbiosis Is Good for the Environment and for the Pocketbook

Efficiency can be multiplied when companies use innovative methods to cooperate with each other.

Top 10 Most-Read Tech Briefs Stories of 2024

With another year of Tech Briefs almost in the books, it's time to look at our most-read articles of 2024.

Top 5 Tech Briefs Quizzes of 2024

Learn which of our quizzes were the most popular this year. Read on to find out which five quizzes topped our 2024 list.

Implantable Sensors for Internal Health Monitoring

The advent of implantable sensor technologies has had a transformative impact on internal health monitoring. This episode looks into the advancements that allow for continuous, real-time data collection from within the human body, revolutionizing patient care and treatment strategies.