Invertible Neural Network Tool Helps Optimize Airfoil Design

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are building computational tools using artificial intelligence (AI) that can help optimize airfoil design for wind...

DNA Origami Nanoturbine Sets New Horizon for Nanomotors

Flow-driven turbines lie at the heart of many machines that have shaped our societies, from windmills to airplanes. Even life itself depends critically on turbines for fundamental...

New Technique Helps Robots Pack Objects into a Tight Space

Anyone who has ever tried to pack a family-sized amount of luggage into a sedan-sized trunk knows this is a hard problem. Robots struggle with dense packing tasks, too.

Engineering a Safer Football Helmet

In the winter of 2019, the National Football League hosted its Helmet Challenge Symposium in Youngstown, OH, bringing together 300 engineers, manufacturing experts, and innovators from across the country.

My Opinion: Innovation Happens When Scientists and Engineers Work Together

LIGO scientists and engineers working together to observe gravitational waves have achieved the remarkable feat of surpassing the quantum limit.

Vote for Tech Briefs’ 29th Annual Readers’ Choice Awards

These 12 products are the nominees for the 2020 Tech Briefs Readers’ Choice Product of the Year.

Use SLEAP to Track Sheep — or any Other Animal

The desire to understand how the brain generates and patterns behavior has driven rapid methodological innovation in tools to quantify natural animal behavior.

Illuminating the Mechanics of Solid-State Batteries

Doctor Sergiy Kalnaus and his team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a framework for designing solid-state batteries that focuses on their underlying mechanics.

How Much Do You Know About Jet Engines?

As the future of jet engine technology continues to take shape, test your knowledge about how jet engines work with this quiz.

Top Prizes Awarded in 2023 Create the Future Design Contest

NeuroPair’s Fibermag treatment — which aims to help patients of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) recover — took home the distinguished honor on Friday, November 10 in the heart of New York City.

Bringing Sustainable and Affordable Electricity to All

A Cambridge, MA-based startup is commercializing MIT/IIT-Comillas University-developed planning and analysis software to help governments determine the most cost-effective ways to provide electricity to all their citizens.

Robotic Ankles Stabilize Amputees

Robotic prosthetic ankles that are controlled by nerve impulses allow amputees to move more “naturally,” improving their stability.

How AI is Changing Military Aircraft Maintenance and More

David Mazar, Vice President of Strategy and Growth, Spark Cognition Government Systems, is the guest on this episode of Here’s an Idea. He explains how his company’s AI-enabled digital maintenance tool is changing the way military aircraft are serviced.

How Much Do You Know About DC Power Supplies?

DC power supplies are ubiquitous in the modern electronic age. All electronic devices need DC power. Although our smart phones, for example, use batteries, those batteries need to be recharged using a DC power supply. How much do you know about DC power supplies?

AI Yields ‘Athletically Intelligent’ Robotic Dog

Someday, when quakes, fires, and floods strike, the first responders might be packs of robotic rescue dogs rushing in to help stranded souls. These battery-powered quadrupeds would use...

Finger-Shaped Sensor Enables More Dexterous Robots

Imagine grasping a heavy object, like a pipe wrench, with one hand. You would likely grab the wrench using your entire fingers, not just your fingertips. Sensory receptors in your skin,...

Using AI to Design a New Robot from Scratch in Seconds

A team led by Northwestern University researchers has developed the first artificial intelligence (AI) to date that can intelligently design robots from scratch.

Big Data, AI Help Advance Ornithology

Big data and artificial intelligence are being used to model hidden patterns in nature, not just for one bird species, but for entire ecological communities across continents.

Wearable Device Makes Memories and Powers Up with The Flex of a Finger

Researchers have invented an experimental wearable device that generates power from a user’s bending finger and can create and store memories, in a promising step...

Electric Vehicles Play a Surprising Role in Supporting Grid Resiliency

Widespread electrification initiatives are increasing the demands on America’s aging power grid, but utilities and consumers may have an unlikely ally in electric...

New Modeling Approach Helps to Understand Faults in the Modern Electric Grid

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are leading the way in understanding the effects of electrical faults in the modern U.S....

Choosing Exoskeleton Settings like a Music-Streaming App

Taking inspiration from music-streaming services, engineers have designed the simplest way for users to program their own exoskeleton assistance settings.

NASA’s Emissive Material Adapted for High-Tech Fabrics

A coating material developed by NASA for protecting spaceplanes’ heat shields is now being used in high-tech fibers and fabrics.

5Ws of the Edible Battery

A team of researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) has created a totally edible and rechargeable battery, starting from materials that are normally consumed as part of our daily diet.

VR Therapy Aims to Help Those with Hoarding Disorder

Virtual reality therapy could allow those with hoarding disorder to rehearse relinquishing possessions in a simulation of their own home, which could help them declutter in real life.

On/Off Functionality for Fast, Sensitive, Ultra-Small Technologies

An ultra-small actuator has nanometer-scale precision.

Making the Structure of ‘Fire Ice’ with Nanoparticles

Cage structures made with nanoparticles could be a step toward making organized nanostructures with mixed materials, and researchers at the University of Michigan have shown how to achieve this through computer simulations.

Algae-Powered Devices Inspired by Bioluminescent Waves

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed soft devices containing algae that glow in the dark when experiencing mechanical stress, such as being squished, stretched, twisted, or bent.

Self-Organizing Lasers Could Lead to New Materials

Researchers from Imperial College London and University College London have demonstrated the first spontaneously self-organizing laser device, which can reconfigure when conditions change.