2024 Award Finalists

The Create the Future Design Contest, launched in 2002 by SAE Media Group, recognizes and rewards engineering innovations that benefit humanity, the environment, and the economy. Read on to learn about the finalists in all seven categories chosen from new product ideas submitted from more than 50 countries. The Grand Prize winner and category winners will be chosen at a live competition on November 15.

Silicon Carbide Crystal Growing Industry Tests for Minute Defects

To meet the ever increasing demand for silicon carbide (SiC) crystals, the world needs much higher yields without sacrificing quality. However, without advanced metrology tools capable of promptly detecting minor flaws, the SiC crystal growing sector essentially operates blindly, resulting in unacceptable defects and costly product losses. Read on to learn more.

Videos of the Month

See the videos of the month, including one on a humanoid robot that can effortlessly learn and perform a variety of expressive movements all while maintaining a steady gait on diverse terrains; one on Picotaur, the first legged robot of its size to run, turn, push loads, and climb miniature stairs; one on the DoD’s All Domain Test Range; and one on using generative AI and cutting-edge scene-mapping technology to elevate robots from simple tools to being capable of providing aid in disaster and battlefield scenarios.

New Upgrade Will Supercharge Atomic Vision of the World’s Most Powerful X-Ray Laser

The Department of Energy has given the green light for construction to begin on a high-energy upgrade that will further boost the performance of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the world’s most powerful X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) at the DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Read on to learn more about it.

Can Optical Component Manufacturers Design Better Devices With AI?

Opto Generative Pretrained Transformer (OptoGPT), a decoder-only transformer, developed by University of Michigan engineers, harnesses the computer architecture underpinning ChatGPT to work backward from desired optical properties to the material structure that can provide them. Read on to learn more.

Product Showcase

See what's in the product showcase, including VSD’s innovative SV-2000 Flex; Keysight Technologies' N7718C Optical Reference Transmitter; MKS Instruments' Newport™ TLS260B Tunable Light Sources; Analog Modules' Picosecond Pulsed Seed Laser Diode Driver, Model 766A; and more.

Why Honda Wants FMCW LiDAR in Next Generation Mobility

Photonics & Imaging Technology caught up with Dr. Mehdi Asghari, SiLC Technologies CEO, to discuss their approach to designing and manufacturing FMCW LiDAR technology. Read on for the entire interview.

Researchers Develop Smallest Free-Floating Bubbles for Medical Imaging

A team of researchers from Rice University has introduced 50-nm gas-filled protein nanostructures derived from genetically engineered gas vesicles(GVs) that are referred to as 50 nmGVs. Read on to learn more.

New Computer Vision-Based System Monitors Seasonal Dynamics of Tropical Water

Researchers have developed a new way to map water on land in the tropics. Called the UC Berkeley Random Walk Algorithm WaterMask, this advanced monitoring technology uses L-band microwaves from the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System to “see” water hidden beneath visual barriers, like tree canopies and clouds. Read on to learn more.

New Technology Uses Light to Engrave Erasable 3D Images

Imagine if physicians could capture 3D projections of medical scans, suspending them inside an acrylic cube to create a hand-held reproduction of a patient’s heart, brain, kidneys, or other organs. Then, when the visit is done, a quick blast of heat erases the projection, and the cube is ready for the next scan. A new report by researchers at Dartmouth and Southern Methodist University outlines a technical breakthrough that could enable such scenarios, and others, with widespread utility. Read on to learn more.

An OLED for Compact, Lightweight Night Vision

A new type of organic light emitting diode (OLED) could replace bulky night vision goggles with lightweight glasses, making them cheaper and more practical for prolonged use, according to University of Michigan researchers. Read on to learn more.

Seeing Like a Butterfly: Optical Invention Enhances Camera Capabilities

Butterflies can see more of the world than humans, including more colors and the field oscillation direction, or polarization, of light. Other species, like the mantis shrimp, can sense an even wider spectrum of light, as well as the circular polarization, or spinning states, of light waves. Inspired by these abilities in the animal kingdom, researchers have developed an ultrathin optical element known as a metasurface, which can attach to a conventional camera and encode the spectral and polarization data of images captured in a snapshot or video through tiny, antenna-like nano-structures that tailor light properties.

New Ultrafast Imaging Technique Provides Insight into Combustion Processes

A team of scientists has developed an ultrafast imaging technique, called femtosecond laser sheet-compressed ultrafast photography, that can compile videos of incredibly transient details. Read on to learn more about it.

Designing the Next Generation of Event-Based Sensing and Vision for Edge Applications

Event-based sensing enables new approaches to machine learning. An object recognition or detection algorithm that, until now, could only use the spatial information from a frame can now access another dimension: time. Read on to learn more.

Test Your Knowledge of Machine Vision

Machine vision is the technology, software, hardware, integrated systems, actions, methods, and expertise used to provide imaging-based automatic inspection and analysis. How much do you know about machine vision? Find out with this quiz.

Precise Diagnosis of Electric Vehicle Batteries Using Small Currents

Accurately diagnosing the state of electric vehicle (EV) batteries is essential for their efficient management and safe use. Korea Advanced Institute of Science and...

New Smart Charger May Pave the Way for More EVs

In 2024, more than one in five cars sold is an electric vehicle (EV). Intergovernmental agencies estimate that by 2035, half of all new cars sold globally will be EVs.

Unlock the Full Potential of Your CAD | An End-to-End Webinar Series

In this nine-part webinar series, attendees will learn how to unlock the full potential of CAD data and revolutionize engineering processes with an integrated business...

A Wearable System Continuously Monitors Factory Workers for Fatigue

A system of wearable sensors and machine learning can continuously monitor factory workers for signs of physical fatigue. Read on to learn more.

Robots with Artificial Muscles that Can Walk and Jump

Inspired by living creatures, they jump across different terrains in an agile and energy-efficient manner. Read on to learn more.

An Inside Look at Designing Drug-Delivery Pumps

A look at the unique drive assembly challenges that drug-delivery pumps present and how to mitigate those challenges.

To Make Fluid Flow in One Direction Down a Pipe, It Helps to Be a Shark

Flaps perform essential jobs. From pumping hearts to revving engines, flaps help fluid flow in one direction. Without them, keeping liquids going in the right direction...

Hexagonal Electrohydraulic Modules Shape-Shift into Versatile Robots

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) have developed hexagon-shaped robotic components, called modules, that can be snapped together...

AI-Trained Vehicles Can Adjust to Extreme Turbulence on the Fly

In nature, flying animals sense coming changes in their surroundings, including the onset of sudden turbulence, and quickly adjust to stay safe. Engineers who design aircraft...

Computer Simulations for Better Solar Cells

Perovskite materials may degrade quickly, and in order to know how best to apply these materials, a deeper understanding is required of why this happens and how the material functions. Researchers have gained new insights into the matter. Read on to learn more.