Product of The Month

See the product of the month, IDEC Corporation's SA2E general-purpose photoelectric sensor family.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including microscale robots, LOTUS coating, and a wearable e-tattoo.

New on the Market

See what's new on the market, including an EV valve motor drive, a switch mainframe, CAD/CAM software, control panels, and more.

Assembling Matter in 3D Using Sound Waves for 3D Printing

Researchers have created a new technology to assemble matter in 3D. Their concept uses multiple acoustic holograms to generate pressure fields with which solid particles, gel beads, and even biological cells can be printed.

Detecting Porosity Defects in 3D-Printed Metal Parts

A research team has made new discoveries that can expand additive manufacturing in industries that rely on strong metal parts, including aerospace.

A Sintering Method to Fabricate Large Perovskite Devices

A Penn State-led team of researchers have created a new process to fabricate large perovskite devices that is more cost- and time-effective than previously possible — and may accelerate future materials discovery.

3D Printing Stronger Carbon Nanotubes

Researchers in the Lyding Group at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have discovered an efficient, sustainable method for 3D-printing single-walled carbon nanotube films, a versatile, durable material that can transform how we explore space, engineer aircraft, and wear electronic technology.

New Microchip Could Monitor Earth’s Climate, Human Health

A team at Delft University of Technology has built a new technology on a microchip by combining two Nobel Prize-winning techniques for the first time. This microchip could measure distances in materials at high precision — e.g., underwater or for medical imaging.

EV Battery Breakthrough: 10-Minute Charge

Researchers at Penn State University have achieved a breakthrough in electric vehicle (EV) battery design to enable a 10-minute charge time for a typical EV battery.

A Novel Way to Convert Heat to Electricity

Researchers have fabricated a novel device that could dramatically boost the conversion of heat into electricity. If perfected, the technology could help recoup some of the recoverable heat energy that is wasted in the U.S. at a rate of about $100 billion each year.

Developing More Durable Solar Cells

An international research collaboration led by UCLA has developed a way to use perovskite in solar cells while protecting it from the conditions that cause it to deteriorate.

Synthesizing Complex Optical Materials

Researchers have developed a colloidal synthesis method for alkaline earth chalcogenides. This method allows them to control the size of the nanocrystals in the material.

An Innovative Method to Produce Soft, Recyclable Fibers for Smart Textiles

Drawing inspiration from how spiders spin silk to make webs, a team of researchers has developed an innovative method of producing soft fibers that possess three key properties (strong, stretchable, and electrically conductive), and at the same time can be easily reused to produce new fibers.

Self-Sensing Electric Artificial Muscles

Taking inspiration from nature, a team of researchers at Queen Mary’s School of Engineering and Materials Science has successfully created an artificial muscle that seamlessly transitions between soft and hard states while also possessing the remarkable ability to sense forces and deformations.

Novel Solid Electrolyte Materials for Improved Battery Performance

A team has designed a new blueprint for solid-state batteries that are less dependent on specific chemical elements, particularly critical metals that are challenging to source due to supply chain issues. Their work could advance solid-state batteries that are efficient and affordable.

Sensors Quickly Spot Coronavirus Proteins and Antibodies

Scientists have created a new way to detect the proteins that make up the pandemic coronavirus as well as antibodies against it. They designed protein-based biosensors that glow when mixed with components of the virus or specific COVID-19 antibodies.

Thin Flexible Sensor Characterizes High-Speed Airflows on Curved Surfaces

To improve efficiency, it is necessary to characterize and reduce flow separation on curved surfaces.

RFID Slot Antenna Offers Big Performance, Small Form Factor

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a quarter-wavelength RFID slot antenna that provides polarization diversity and employs dual resonances, but in a form factor that is much smaller than other RFID antennas that provide similar functionality.

Wearable RFID Sensor Tags Yield Extended Operational Times

The technology exploits the inherently passive nature of RFID to approximate the services provided by traditional active Internet of Things (IoT) protocols like ZigBee and Bluetooth.

SkinKit Offers Versatile, Wearable On-Skin Computing

The next generation of wearable computing technology will be even closer to the wearer than a watch or glasses: It will be affixed to the skin.

Lightweight, Self-Deployable Helical Antenna

NASA's newly developed antenna is lightweight (at or below 2 grams), low volume (at or below 1.2 cm3), and low stowage thickness (approx. 0.7 mm), all while delivering high performance (at or above 10 dBi gain).

New Wireless System for Greater 5G Access

A new paper on wireless connectivity from researchers at the lab of Dinesh Bharadia, an affiliate of the UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute (QI), introduces a new technique for increasing access to the 5G-and-beyond millimeter wave (mmWave) network.

Future-Proofing Applications with Industrial Ethernet

While there may still be times when proprietary or serial communications are useful, the wide availability and low cost of high-performance industrial-specific devices and installation media are making industrial Ethernet the best approach for future-proofing applications and operating most efficiently.

Quantum Computing Architecture May Enable High-Fidelity Communication

MIT researchers have developed a quantum computing architecture that aims to enable extensible, high-fidelity communication between superconducting quantum processors.

An Effective Roadmap to Mobile Automation

To achieve the numerous benefits of mobile automation, manufacturers must take some key implementation considerations into account and follow essential guidelines. Doing so ensures that they apply the right mobile automation solution.