5Ws of the Wingless Transporter

A two-passenger hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) passenger multicopter aircraft with NASA-proven thrusters for advanced air mobility.

New Tech Speeds Up Bacterial Testing in Food

A promising technology that could potentially revolutionize the process of testing bacterial viability in food.

Microelectronics for Smarter Industrial Automation

Moving to a smarter manufacturing industry requires new technologies, including initiatives such as TSN for using Ethernet in real-time control applications.

Turnkey Yet Versatile Cobot Design Improves Sanding, Grinding, Finishing

Manufacturing teams in multiple industries, from aerospace to oil and gas, are finding relief in the form of new collaborative robots (cobots), like Kane Robotics’ GRIT ST and GRIT XL, that can sand off coatings, grind welds, or polish metal finishes in half the time and more safely than humans.

How Simple Component Improvements Can Revolutionize Plant Processes

Since its introduction, dozens of steel mills — ranging from hot to cold and bar to sheet — have recognized the benefits of incorporating INSTAclamp Lock Rings into their operations. Despite a redesign with a new material, the product is not restricted by which mill types it can operate within.

Elevating Workpiece Handling During Plasma Surface Treatment Process

Plasmatreat recently unveiled a new plasma treatment unit. A key innovation with this treatment unit is that it uses XPlanar, a planar motor system from Beckhoff, to transport workpieces with high precision and flexibility.

Small Shape-Shifting Miniature Robot with Big Impact

Engineers at CU Boulder have designed a robot called CLARI, which stands for Compliant Legged Articulated Robotic Insect, that has the potential to aid first responders after major disasters in an entirely new way.

An AI-Enabled Soft Robotic Implant Monitors Scar Tissue

Research teams at University of Galway and MIT have detailed a new breakthrough in medical device technology that could lead to intelligent, long-lasting, tailored treatment for patients thanks to soft robotics and artificial intelligence.

Maneuvering Robot Control Using Machine Learning

Researchers from MIT and Stanford University have devised a new machine-learning approach that could be used to control a robot, such as a drone or autonomous vehicle, more effectively and efficiently in dynamic environments where conditions can change rapidly.

A New Method to Measure the Motion of Soft Robots

Prompted by conversations regarding soft robotics, a research group has developed a design for a new sensor using 3D electrodes inspired by the folding patterns used in origami, able to measure a strain range of up to three times higher than a typical sensor.

New Products

See the new products, including PI's custom air-bearing motion systems, Kollmorgen’s multi-axis servo systems, HEIDENHAIN CORPORATION's EnDat 3 encoder interface, Nexen Group's new line of Rotary Indexers, and more.

Optimizing Multi-Robot Workcell Performance

One way to try to improve performance is to use multiple robots in the same workcell. In a multi-robot workcell, the tasks can be divvied up among the robots, with the expectation that the robots can perform their work concurrently and thus shorten the cycle time.

Optimize Charging for Maximum Solar Energy Harvesting

There is no one-size-fits-all answer. If you need the least expensive option, direct charging works. If you can spend more, you can opt for a PWM circuit. If the price is secondary and you need the absolute best performance, a true MPPT may be the best solution for your application.

Wireless Sensor Networking for the IIoT

The Industrial Internet of Things — sharing, collecting, and analyzing information across a complete manufacturing enterprise — can significantly enhance the bottom line. Not only in monetary terms but also in the quality and reliability of the products and the ability to deliver them on time.

Silicon Nose: Small Sensor ‘Smells’ Incipient Seizures

In people with epilepsy, seizure-alert dogs can smell small changes in body chemistry and warn of an impending seizure an hour or more before it occurs. Inspired by this feat of nature, a team of researchers has developed a way to replicate that ability with technology.

Capturing the Movements of Dancers Has Wide Applications

Praneeth Namburi is a research scientist at the MIT.nano Immersion Lab. One project that bridges the physical and digital worlds uses VR simulations to train people to fabricate computer chips and semiconductors.

New Products

See the new products, including Thine Electronics' serial transceiver, EBE Elektro-Bau-Elemente GmbH's level sensor, Melexis' ToF sensor, IQE's microLED display, and more.

Wireless Networking Expanding the Reach of Healthcare

Devices to remotely monitor patients’ health have been around for more than 20 years, but their use is rapidly expanding now. As networking technologies such as LoRaWAN are maturing, and artificial intelligence is being embedded in “smart” sensors, the medical device industry is motivated to take advantage.

Videos of the Month

See the videos of the month, including one on data connectivity, one on democratizing analytics, one on self-driving cars, and more.

Executive Roundtable: Autonomous Mobile Robots

Autonomous mobile robots are one of the most exciting technologies in the robotics and automation sector. How important is the integration between the hardware and software? How will AI influence the next generation of AMRs? Tech Briefs posed these questions to five industry experts to garner their views on the current status and future outlook for AMRs.

AI-Based Generative Engineering for Hybrid Vehicle Design

The future of transportation is shifting toward hybrid and electric vehicles (xEV), making the development of powertrain systems more intricate. Meeting stringent development timelines adds to the challenges faced by the industry.

Touchless Switches Provide a Hygienic User Interface Option

Touchless switches are an ideal solution for industries such as food, beverage, pharmaceuticals, medical, and chemicals where sanitary design is important. They are also useful for protecting the well-being of users in everyday commercial applications.

A Vertical Electrochemical Transistor to Revolutionize Bioelectronics

A Northwestern University research team has developed a revolutionary transistor that is expected be ideal for lightweight, flexible, high-performance bioelectronics. The electrochemical transistor is compatible with blood and water and can amplify important signals.

A Thin, Flexible OLED Display

Imagine a thin, digital display so flexible that you can wrap it around your wrist, fold it in any direction, or even curve it over your car’s steering wheel. Well, imagine no more — researchers at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago have designed such a material.

Calculation of Unsteady Aerodynamic Loads Using Fast-Response Pressure-Sensitive Paint

NASA Ames has developed a new state-of-the-art method for measuring fluctuating aerodynamic-induced pressures on wind tunnel models using unsteady Pressure Sensitive Paint (uPSP).

New Technology Offers Better Diagnosis of Dizziness

The vibrating device uses bone-conducted sounds to achieve better results.