Who Knows How Much AI Knows? This Tech Does

Researchers have created software that is able to verify how much information an AI system farmed from an organization’s digital database.

Condition Monitoring Comes to Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Now, broader availability of sensors, evolving capabilities, and new digital platforms and tools are making IIoT capabilities more readily available and easy to manage with small teams.

How Artificial Intelligence Makes Quality Traceable Down to Component Level

Manufacturers can meet industry requirements thanks to the exact inspection of the individual components that is continuously improved using AI.

Controlling the Grind for Precision Photonics

As the tolerances for photonics systems become more demanding, controlling the grinding of optical components must also become more precise.

Lunar Lens: First Compact Flat Metalens Images Moon Surface

Using a new fabrication method, researchers developed a single-lens telescope and captured clear images of the lunar surface — achieving greater resolution of objects and much farther imaging distance than previous metalenses.

Wavelength-Multiplexed Diffractive Optical Processor Computes Hundreds of Linear Transformations in Parallel

Computing using light can potentially provide lower latency and reduced power consumption, benefiting from the parallelism of optical systems.

Ultrafast Beam-Steering Breakthrough at Sandia Labs

The ability to control light using a semiconductor device could allow low-power, relatively inexpensive sources like LEDs or flashlight bulbs to replace more powerful laser beams in new technologies.

Optical Switching at Record Speeds Opens Door for Ultrafast, Light-Based Electronics and Computers

The future of electronics will be based instead on using laser light to control electrical signals, opening the door for the establishment of “optical transistors” and the development of ultrafast optical electronics.

Hyperspectral Imaging: Making Rich Colors More Visible

Spectral measurement is thus the basis of remote sensing, allowing for highly accurate material analysis and image recognition.

New Products

See the New Products, including Variable Beam Expander, a modulator, Smart Fixture Mount Sensors, a pluggable module, and more.

Helping Machine Vision Go Beyond Human Programming

Facial recognition AI inspections will go beyond simple geometry. They will learn how makeup, tattoos, or clothing may conceal features that were previously used to identify someone.

Product of the Month

Learn more about the Product of the Month: Mitsubishi Electric Automation's MELSOFT Gemini 3D Simulator Software.

Products of Tomorrow

See the Products of Tomorrow, including silicon photonic MEMS, a micro-robotic arm, and more.

Videos of the Month

Watch the Videos of the Month, including one about a swimming robot, one about 3D printing a controllable replica of a patient’s heart, and two more.

10 Surging Space Startups

As startups continue to make strides into space and beyond, this article spotlights 10 fast-growing startups (in no particular order) that are poised to disrupt space by bringing new innovations to market.

The Transformative Power of Innovations in Additive Materials

According to research, polymer AM technologies are forecasted to move into a multitude of industries over the next decade, with print production growing to nearly $26 billion annually by 2030.

Vision Sensing is Becoming More Accessible

Vision sensing systems are needed to improve operations in many industrial applications, where they can be arranged to detect the presence, position, and other characteristics of objects and products.

Wearable Sensor Uses Ultrasound to Provide On-the-Go Cardiac Imaging

Researchers have developed a wearable ultrasound device — about the size of a postage stamp — that can assess both the structure and function of the human heart.

Printing High-Fidelity Sensors

Printed radio frequency (RF) surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor devices are a promising technology for providing highly reconfigurable, cost-effective, and multi-parameter sensing.

Artificial Skin Provides Haptic Feedback

The skin could help rehabilitation and enhance virtual reality by instantaneously adapting to a wearer's movements.

Robotic Wing Could Improve Drone Performance

Ornithological animals have always benefited from folding their wings during upstroke. So, a Swedish-Swiss research team has constructed a robotic wing that can flap like a bird.

Rapidly Configuring Robots for Lunar Exploration

A team of MIT engineers is designing a kit of universal robotic parts that an astronaut could easily mix and match to rapidly configure different robot “species” to fit various lunar missions.

Gecko-Inspired Climbing Soft Robot

The new robot, developed by engineers at the University of Waterloo, uses ultraviolet (UV) light and magnetic force to move on any surface, even up walls and across ceilings.

Fluid-Driven Actuators Enable Complex Motions in Soft Robots

A team of researchers has designed a new system of fluid-driven actuators that enable soft robots to achieve more complex motions. The researchers accomplished this by taking advantage of the very thing — viscosity — that had previously stymied the movement of such robots.

Peeling Back the Layers: Adhesives Testing for Wearables

Trends in wearable technology follow those of the broader biomedical and electronics industries — devices are getting smaller, smarter, and easier to use. Specifically, wearables in...

Crack Image Quality Indicator

Engineers have developed a modeling and manufacturing technique that generates unique verification tools which simulate cracks in metals within X-ray setup part-testing geometries.

3D-Printable Nanocomposite Polymeric Ink Could Replace Epoxies

Researchers have created a way to make a 3D-printable nanocomposite polymeric ink that uses carbon nanotubes — known for their high tensile strength and lightness. This revolutionary ink could replace epoxies.

Cryogenic Selective Surfaces

A new thermal control coating material, developed for use as a coating or rigid tiles, reflects essentially all solar radiation in the space environment.

Robust Synthesis of Vertically Aligned Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Researchers are scaling up the production of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes that could revolutionize diverse commercial products ranging from rechargeable batteries, automotive parts and sporting goods to boat hulls and water filters.

3D Printing Creates High-Performance Metal Alloy

Scientists used a 3D printer to create a high-performance metal alloy with an unusual composition that makes it stronger and lighter than state-of-the-art materials currently used in gas turbine machinery.

Copper Catalyst Converts Carbon Dioxide into Liquid Fuels

A research team has gained new insight by capturing real-time movies of copper nanoparticles as they convert CO2 and water into renewable fuels and chemicals: ethylene, ethanol, and propanol, among others.

An Energy-Efficient Method to Monitor Soil Moisture

The University of Maine’s Wireless Sensor Networks laboratory has developed a novel method of using AI and machine learning to make monitoring soil moisture more energy and cost efficient.

Turning Plastic Waste into a Valuable Soil Additive

Researchers have moved a step closer to finding a use for the hundreds of millions of tons of plastic waste produced every year that often winds up clogging streams and rivers and polluting our oceans.

AV Computers Contribute to Global Carbon Emissions

MIT researchers recently explored the potential energy consumption and related carbon emissions if autonomous vehicles (AV) are widely adopted.

Radiative Cooling and Solar Heat from One System

Researchers have been exploring how to turbocharge a passive cooling technique — known as radiative or sky cooling — with sun-blocking nanomaterials that emit heat away from building rooftops.

New on the Market

See what's New on the Market, including eFuses, a Portable Particle Counter, a high-efficiency right angle gearmotor, graphical panel meters, and more.

How to Engineer Intrinsically Safe Hazardous Duty Wireless Sensors

An apparatus such as a wireless sensor used in a hazardous location must meet the required safety standards. Those standards are amplified when the hazardous duty is done in areas in or near explosive atmospheres.

Always-On Intelligent Sensing at Microwatt Levels

An interview with Tom Doyle, CEO and Founder of Aspinity, Pittsburgh, PA, about the company's analog machine learning chip, the AML100 analog machine learning processor.

Silk-Based Printable, Wearable, Biosensors

Researchers have developed a way to detect bacteria, toxins, and dangerous chemicals in the environment using a biopolymer sensor that can be printed like ink on a wide range of materials.

Multi-Pixel Magnetic Sensing Gives Robots the Gentle Touch

A reliable and cost-effective sense of touch now lets robots handle fragile objects to fulfill an even wider variety of tasks and interact more safely with humans.

MEMS-Based Inertial Switch for Event Detection

With advancements in microfabrication techniques, MEMS devices have become more readily available for many commercial applications.

Low-Cost Device Can Measure Air Pollution Anywhere

Air pollution is a major public health problem. Now, an MIT research team is rolling out an open-source version of a low-cost, mobile pollution detector that could enable people to track air quality more widely.

New Hydration Sensor Enables “Smart Diapers” and Other Health Monitors

A new sensor — so cheap and simple to produce that it can be hand-drawn with a pencil onto paper treated with sodium chloride — could clear the way for wearable, self-powered health monitors.

New Sensor May Be Groundbreaking Tool for Soil Health

Bioengineers have developed sensors that monitor multiple soil parameters to provide farmers with accurate, real-time, continuous data to improve soil health and productivity.

New Products

See the New Products for May 2023, including particulate matter sensor, a vibration sensor, an air quality monitor, and more.

Highlights of Sensors Converge 2023

This year, Sensors Converge will be held at the Santa Clara (California) Convention Center from Tuesday June 20 – Thursday June 22. Some highlights include: Extending Battery Life to Empower the IoT/IIoT; The Smarts Behind Smart Cities and Smart Farms using Sensors in IoT; and more.

5Ws of a Smart Bandage

A new kind of smart bandage developed at Caltech may make treatment of chronic wounds easier, more effective, and less expensive.

Amplified Power of Traveling-Wave Tubes

Traveling-wave tubes designed for NASA are being used not only for satellite systems but also ground applications.

Robotic Exploration of Mars Caves

Professor Wolfgang Fink of University of Arizona engineers discusses a new system that allows autonomous vehicles to scout out underground habitats for astronauts.

How Much Do You Know About IoMT?

How much do you know about IoMT, an industry that was valued at $99.58 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to $486.34 billion by 2031? Find out with this quiz.

After the Storm — Rapid Location of Damaged Utility Poles

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a drone that can find and rapidly locate damaged utility poles.

Optical Neural Networks Could Speed Image Processing Time

Cornell researchers have developed an optical neural network (ONN) that can filter relevant information from a scene before the visual image is detected by a camera, a method that...

Light-Based Computing Scheme Reduces Power Needed to Mine Cryptocurrencies

Researchers have developed a new light-based computing scheme that uses a photonic integrated circuit to reduce the energy necessary for cryptocurrency and...

NASA, Rocket Lab Launch First Pair of Storm Observing CubeSats

Two NASA CubeSats designed to study tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons, are in orbit after a successful launch.

First Wearable Health Sensor for Monitoring Muscle Atrophy

The wearable sensor aims to help patients who suffer from muscle atrophy monitor changes to their health in a more convenient way.

Ensuring the Global Safety of Unattended Telescopes

The Las Cumbres Observatory relied on Pilz to develop safety systems for its automated telescopes. In addition to protecting people, a safety system is needed to help protect equipment in case of a malfunction.

How Much Do You Know About Our Renewable Energy Resources?

Limited energy resources, global warming, and air pollution are increasingly being seen as growing crises. How good is your knowledge about our renewable energy resources? Take this quiz to find out.

Many-Legged Robots Can Traverse Difficult Landscapes

Inspired by centipedes, Georgia Tech researchers have developed many-legged robots that can move across uneven surfaces without any additional sensing or control technology.

Toy Microbots Demonstrate How Biological Machines Move

By connecting small self-propelling toys in a chain, researchers at the University of Amsterdam Institute of Physics have found the key to studying the movement of microscopic organisms...

Wheeled Robot Measures Leaf Angles to Help Breed Better Corn Plants

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Iowa State University have demonstrated an automated technology capable of accurately measuring the angle of leaves on...

New Tech: See No Data, Steal No Data

Peter Fuhr has invented a new way to hide sensitive electric grid information from cyberattack: a constantly changing color palette.

Real-Time Remote Heart Monitoring

Biotricity’s continuous heart rhythm monitor uses advanced technology to deliver unlimited heart data insights.

Perovskite Solar Cells — From the Lab to the Manufacturing Floor

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) has announced that a team of researchers, led by MIT and including the University of California San...

Tiny Biobattery With 100-Year Shelf Life Runs on Bacteria

Last fall, Binghamton University professor Seokheun “Sean” Choi and his Bioelectronics and Microsystems Laboratory published their research into an ingestible biobattery...

Indoor Photovoltaics Spark a Sustainable Revolution

Newcastle University researchers have created high-efficiency, sustainable solar cells that harness ambient light to power Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

How Much Do You Know About the History of Digital Twins?

How much do you know about the history of digital twins? Find out with this quiz.

Intelligent Building Blocks for a More Reliable Electric Grid

Radha Krishna Moorthy is lead researcher on an Oak Ridge National Laboratory project to create a new architecture to modernize the electric grid from the bottom up. The approach combines hardware and software to monitor equipment health, speed up communication and increase security.

3D Printing a Mini Vacuum Pump

The technology would be pivotal in a portable mass spectrometer that could help monitor pollutants, perform medical diagnoses in remote areas, or even test Martian soil.

Teaching Robots to Predict Humans' Actions

A group of researchers wants to teach robots how to predict human preferences in assembly tasks, so they can one day help out on everything from building a satellite to setting a table.

The History of Mars Missions

The Red Planet continues to fascinate future space explorers — engineers who have been developing landers and rovers for Mars exploration. Test your knowledge of the successful missions to Mars launched by the U.S.

A Fully Integrated Autonomous Wearable Ultrasonic System-on-Patch (USoP)

Engineers at University of California San Diego have developed a fully integrated system for deep-tissue monitoring.

New Transfer Process Moves 2D Materials from Growth Substrate to Device Substrate

Purdue University engineers have developed a patent-pending tool to make the manufacture of ultrathin semiconductors more consistent, controllable, and...

Self-Folding Origami Machines Powered by Chemical Reaction

A Cornell-led collaboration harnessed chemical reactions to make microscale origami machines self-fold — freeing them from the liquids in which they usually function, so they can...

Robot Fish Makes Splash with Motion Breakthrough

A robot fish fitted with a twisted and coiled polymer (TCP) to drive it forward, a lightweight low-cost device that relies on temperature change to generate movement, could make underwater...

Trial, Error, Repeat

When you're working to develop something new, something really innovative, you're going to fail — over and over. The difference between finally succeeding, or not, is whether you keep on going anyway, so you can learn something new from each failure.