Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Light-Activated Micro-Pump

Even the smallest mechanical pumps have limitations, from the micro-fabrication techniques required to make them to the fact that there are limits on their size. A laser-driven photoacoustic microfluidic pump was...

Articles: Software

Simulation of Autonomous Vehicles

The emergence of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Automated Driving (AD) systems is gradually preparing consumers for a time where they relinquish control of their vehicles. A heated source of...

Briefs: Transportation

Two-Dimensional Materials Improve Efficiency of Lithium-Air Batteries

Lithium-air batteries are poised to become the next replacement for currently used lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles, cell-phones, and computers....

5 Ws: Manufacturing & Prototyping

5 Ws of the Wearable Cooling and Heating Patch

Who

The patch — which serves as a personal thermostat — provides personalized cooling and heating at home, work, or on the go by cooling or warming the user's skin to a comfortable...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Controlling Thermal Conductivity of Polymers with Light

Polymers are regularly used as thermal insulators and can even be used as thermal conductors to enable efficient heating or cooling. A new type of polymer was created that demonstrates...

Briefs: AR/AI

Surgeons Use Augmented Reality to Reconnect Blood Vessels

Following severe trauma, patients may have tissue damage or open wounds that require reconstructive surgery using fasciocutaneous flaps. These flaps of tissue, which are taken from...

Briefs: Materials

Hybrid Cathodes Could Boost Energy Capacity of Lithium Batteries

Today's lithium-ion batteries use cathodes (one of the two electrodes in a battery) made of a transition metal oxide. Batteries with cathodes made of sulfur are considered a...

Facility Focus: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Facility Focus: National Energy Technology Laboratory

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory — with sites in Anchorage, AK; Albany, OR; Morgantown, WV; and Pittsburgh, PA...

NASA Spinoff: Imaging

Image-Analysis Software Sees Cancer in 3D

Spinoff is NASA's annual publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. This commercialization has contributed to the development of products and services in the fields of health...

Articles: Data Acquisition

Image Warping Caused by Heat-Induced Turbulence

It is well known from astronomical imaging that various atmospheric conditions and weather effects have an impact on image quality. This is due to local changes of the refractive index of the...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Technology Produces Unclonable Digital Fingerprints for Internet of Things Devices

Researchers have created technology that is 10 times more reliable than current methods of producing unclonable digital fingerprints that can be used to...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Wearable Liquid Unit Harvests Energy

Researchers have created wearable technology to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. It presents a step toward the practical realization of self-powered, human-integrated technologies.

Briefs: Energy

Process Directly Converts Methane to Methanol

Methanol is a key feedstock for the production of chemicals, some of which are used to make products such as plastics, plywood, and paints. Methanol also can fuel vehicles or be reformed to...

Products: Data Acquisition

Product of the Month: August 2019 Tech Briefs

nTopology, New York, NY, offers the nTop Platform, a unifying technique for design, simulation, and manufacturing data to be intelligently embedded directly into a part. The approach...

INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Scientists Have Visualized the Electronic Structure in a Microelectronic Device

Scientists have visualized the electronic structure in a microelectronic device for the first time, opening up opportunities for finely tuned,...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Convert Power Faster and More Efficiently

University of Illinois electrical engineers have used beta-gallium oxide to clear another hurdle in high-power semiconductor fabrication. Beta-gallium oxide is readily available and promises to...

INSIDER: Data Acquisition

New Sensor Network Reveals Telltale Patterns in Neighborhood Air Quality

Black carbon, commonly known as soot, is a significant contributor to global warming and is strongly linked to adverse health outcomes. Produced by the incomplete...

INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Tiny Laser is an Important Step Toward New Sensors

In a major step toward developing portable scanners that can rapidly measure molecules in pharmaceuticals or classify tissue in patients’ skin, researchers have created an imaging...

Blog: Propulsion

What is the ‘Lunar Gateway?’ NASA Details Its Return to the Moon

Sign up now to hear how NASA plans to get back to the Moon by 2024.

INSIDER: Motion Control

Tiny “Walking” Motor Made with Five Parts

A new approach developed at MIT to building robots is based on a set of five millimeter-scale components, all of which can be attached to each other by a standard connector. Using this simple...

INSIDER: Motion Control

MEMS Accelerometer Begins with Multi-Layer Metal Structures

A high-sensitivity and low-noise MEMS accelerometer was developed using multi-layer metal structures composed of multiple metal layers. The accelerometer achieves 1 µG level...

Blog: Automotive

Answering Your Questions: How Will Emulation Be Used in Automotive Design?

A reader asks: What role will emulation play in the verification of modern automotive solutions?

News: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Smart Textiles Boost Connectivity Between Wearable Sensors by 1,000 Times

Over the past decade, a major trend in electronics has been the development of sensors, displays, and smart devices that are seamlessly integrated onto the human body....