Briefs: Test & Measurement

Handheld Device Measures Cancer Biomarkers

Researchers have created the prototype for a handheld device to measure a biomarker for cancer. The device works much like the monitors that people with diabetes use to test their blood-sugar levels...

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Wearable Device Measures Cortisol in Sweat

This patch offers noninvasive and continuous monitoring of various biomarkers for a range of physiological conditions.

Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control

Products of Tomorrow: January 2021

A malaria-test "bandage"; underwater navigation via sound; and a biodegrading, implantable sensor.

Briefs: Wearables

Painless Paper Patch Tests Glucose Levels

The patch uses painless, biodegradable microneedles.

Briefs: Energy

Solid-State Technology Enables Smaller, Safer Batteries

The technology is inherently safer and more energy-dense than today’s lithium-ion batteries.

5 Ws: Sensors/Data Acquisition

5 Ws of the SoundWatch

The smartwatch app identifies sounds that a user is interested in and sends a friendly buzz and information about the sound.

Technology Leaders: Data Acquisition

Processor Power and Energy Efficiency

Just like smartphones, the same trend of combining separate components into one device is also apparent in industrial automation.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Photonic Wireless System Powers Medical Implants

The system can recharge the internal battery of devices without invasive surgery or risky penetrative procedures.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Handheld Device Diagnoses Skin Cancer

The device could reduce the need for painful biopsies by 50 percent.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Pill-Sized Heating Device for Diagnostic Testing

Combined with smartphone technology, the device becomes a portable system that can track, monitor, and diagnose infections.

NASA Spinoff: Energy

Water-Powered Engines Offer Satellite Mobility

The technology could allow deep-space exploration without running out of propellant.

Articles: Data Acquisition

Software-Connected Wafer Level Reliability Test

As ICs continue to become smaller and chip complexity increases, manufacturers still need to ensure reliability to their customers.

Application Briefs: Imaging

Cameras Capture Asteroid Debris Retrieval

See how Space Dynamics Laboratory built the electronics for a three-camera suite onboard OSIRIS-REx.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

“Stethoscope” Monitors Machine Quality and Functionality

This system provides low-cost monitoring for machine health with audio-based artificial intelligence.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Cavity-Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (CEAS) for Ozone Detection

This simple and inexpensive design achieves high-quality ozone measurements.

Products: Electronics & Computers

New on the Market: January 2021

Radar sensors, cameras, RF processing systems, and more.

Briefs: Energy

Generating Renewable Hydrogen Fuel from the Sea

Membranes that remove salt from water help split sea water into fuel.

Briefs: Medical

Mobile Bedside Bioprinter Prints Skin Directly into a Wound

The system is filled with a patient’s skin cells.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Platform for All-Optical Computing

Computations are done solely with beams of light.

Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics

Microstrip Circuit and Material Characterization System

The system enables measurement of active or passive microstrip line devices with DC probing capability.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Inexpensive Method Decontaminates Personal Protective Equipment

The system uses off-the-shelf materials combined with ultraviolet lights to decontaminate N95 masks.

Briefs: Automotive

Lithium Metal Battery Allows Cold Charging

The battery could be used for drones, cars, or underwater applications at low temperatures.

Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Product of the Month: January 2021 Tech Briefs

Modules from Pickering Interfaces simulate industrial control transceivers.

Blog: RF & Microwave Electronics

A Better Sensor Detects Ice Build-Up, In Real Time

The sensor is able to detect ice formation far before you can see it occurring on a surface.

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

A Spiraling Robotic Gripper 'Twines' Like a Plant

As engineering professor Mable Fok saw how the pole beans in her garden wrapped tightly around any objects nearby, she had an idea:

What if a robotic gripper could do the same...

On-Demand Webinars: Photonics/Optics

New High-Peak Power Line Laser for Beam-Steering LiDAR

The mainstream LiDARs used for robotaxis and autonomous consumer vehicles either utilize a few tens of 360-degree rotating laser beams to build 3D models of the vehicle...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Robots Learn to Drive a Car in a Few Easy Lessons

USC researchers have developed a method that could allow robots to learn complicated new tasks, like setting a table or driving a car, from observing a small number of demonstrations.