Overhang Support Designs for Powder-Based Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM)

The supports enable the production of higher-quality, less-expensive parts via additive manufacturing.

Electrolyte Boost Improves Performance of Aqueous Dual-Ion Batteries

New cell chemistry utilizes less costly and more abundant materials than lithium-ion batteries.

Robot Detects and Shares Changes in 3D in Real Time

A robot could immediately alert a human of small changes in their surrounding environment.

System Provides Robots with Context Awareness

The system enables robots to predict what their human coworker will do next.

Products of Tomorrow: July 2021

Battery recycling, NASA's water treatment, and a wireless wearable transmitter.

Product of the Month: July 2021 Tech Briefs

Stratasys introduced three 3D printers for additive manufacturing of end-use parts.

System for In-Situ Defect Detection in Composites During Cure

This system enhances processing via real-time, non-destructive defect tracking.

Ultrasound Improves Efforts to Recycle the Battery

Could a tool from the dentist's office lead to better recycling of lithium-ion batteries?

How Can the Private Sector Support Space?

A reader asks a Space Force expert about new markets, including data transport, traffic management, and advanced power.

Material Motion is “Flexoelectric”

Researchers from the University of Houston have demonstrated “giant flexoelectricity” in soft elastomers that could improve robot movement range and make self-powered pacemakers a real...

A New Cooling Strategy for Cities: 'Strategic' Reflective Surfaces

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering used a Computational Fluid Dynamics model to find ways to decrease cost and increase usage of cooler surfaces.

How to Make a 'Smarter' Cement

By introducing nanoparticles into ordinary cement, Northwestern University researchers have formed a smarter, more durable, and highly functional building material.

Here's an Idea: Surgery Robots

In this episode of Here’s an Idea, we speak to three researchers who are finding ways to automate surgical tasks, from suturing,to spotting tumors.

New Skin Patch Brings Us Closer to Wearable All-In-One Health Monitor

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a soft, stretchy skin patch that can be worn on the neck to continuously track blood pressure and...

“Agricomb” Measures Multiple Gas Emissions From ... Cows

After the optical frequency comb made its debut as a ruler for light, spinoffs followed, including the “astrocomb” to measure starlight and a radar-like comb system to...

This Advance May Enable 2D Transistors for Tinier Microchip Components

Atomically thin materials are a promising alternative to silicon-based transistors; now researchers can connect them more efficiently to other chip elements.

Ultra-Thin Terahertz Source Paves the the Way to Next Generation of Communication Tech

Physicists from the University of Sussex have developed an extremely thin, large-area semiconductor surface source of terahertz, composed of just a...

'P-Flash' Uses A.I. to Fight Fires

The Prediction Model for Flashover, or P-Flash, estimates where flashover explosions could occur.

Inexpensive Tin Packs a Big Punch for the Future of Supercapacitors

A sustainable, powerful micro-supercapacitor may be on the horizon. Until now, these high-capacity, fast-charging energy storage devices have been limited by the...

Reduced Heat Leakage Improves Wearable Health Device

North Carolina State University engineers continue to improve the efficiency of a flexible device worn on the wrist that harvests heat energy from the human body to monitor health.

Compound Normally Found in Candles Lights the Way to Grid-Scale Energy Storage

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Richland, WA) have shown that low-cost organic compounds hold promise...

Nanoscale Defects Could Boost Energy Storage Materials

A collaboration led by Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) used X-ray nanoimaging to gain an unprecedented view into solid-state electrolytes, revealing previously undetected crystal...

A Robotic 'Digger Finger' Senses Buried Items

The technology uses tactile sensing to identify objects underground.