New Products

See the new products this month, including Motor Stator Busbars for EVs; high-power, liquid-cooled configurable power solution; a compact, automated battery cycler and test system; and more.

New Gel Polymer Electrolyte to Revolutionize the Safety of Li-ion Batteries

A collaborative research team has achieved a groundbreaking milestone in battery technology. Their remarkable achievement in developing a non-flammable gel polymer electrolyte is set to revolutionize the safety of Li-ion batteries by mitigating the risks of thermal runaway and fire incidents.

Designing Solid-State Batteries with Mechanics in Mind

A team developed a framework for designing solid-state batteries (SSBs) with mechanics in mind. Their paper, published in Science, reviewed how these factors change SSBs during their cycling.

New Technique for Environmentally Friendly Battery Recycling

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have created a new and efficient way to recycle metals from spent electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The method allows recovery of 100 percent of the aluminum and 98 percent of the lithium in EV batteries.

Improving Battery Performance with More Efficient Electrodes

To improve battery performance and production, Penn State researchers and collaborators have developed a new fabrication approach that could make for more efficient batteries that maintain energy and power levels.

Mistakes to Avoid When Integrating a Battery Test System

It’s not easy to configure a battery cycle test system for EV batteries and similar high-power batteries. This article covers the mistakes that engineers sometimes make when integrating a battery test system.

Managing the Evolution of the EV Charging Standard

Grayson Brulte, host of SAE’s Tomorrow Today podcast, interviewed Christian Thiele, Director, Global Ground Vehicle Standards, SAE International, and Dr. Rodney McGee, P.E. Chairman, SAE J3400 NACS Task Force, regarding the work of the J3400 Task Force. This Q&A is an abbreviated portion of that interview.

3D Printing a Robotic Hand with Bones, Ligaments, and Tendons

For the first time, researchers have succeeded in printing a robotic hand with bones, ligaments, and tendons made of different polymers using a new laser scanning technique.

Powerful Sensors for the Eye

An implantable sensor detects direct dynamic pressure in the eye and transmits high-fidelity data.

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.