News : Aerospace
Trick or Treat: Spooky Space Sounds from NASA, and 7 Techs that Creep and Crawl
Getting into the Halloween spirit, NASA released a collection of the spookiest sounds ever recorded by the agency's spacecraft instruments. Captured radio emissions reveal whistling helium, howling planets, and other mysterious noises from the depths of space.
Question of the Week : Energy
Will transparent solar technologies supply a significant amount of US energy?
INSIDER : Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Soft Robotic Gripper Manipulates Objects Without Training
INSIDER : Robotics, Automation & Control
Vacuum System Powers Modular Soft Robot
Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have created the first functional robot powered entirely by vacuum. It is made up of soft building blocks that move by having air sucked out of them. The robot can be reconfigured to perform different tasks, like climbing...
INSIDER : Robotics, Automation & Control
Multi-Legged Robot Reconfigures in Real Time
News : Automotive
Sound-Off: How Do Automotive OEMs Detect Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)?
A technique known as Selected Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS) instantly analyzes air down to part-per-trillion (ppt) concentrations. The SIFT-MS technology can be used to test vehicles for emissions and volatile organic compounds, including irritants, toxins,...
Question of the Week : Energy
Will conformal batteries improve electronics design?
Today’s lead INSIDER story featured a conformal battery that bends to meet specific device shapes. What do you think?
Q&A : Materials
Q&A: LBNL's Dr. Haimei Zheng Makes Metal-Organic Spongy Photocatalysts
Dr. Zheng and her team of scientists from Berkeley Lab and Nanyang Technical University in Singapore made metal-organic spongy photocatalysts that convert carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon monoxide (CO) in the presence of sunlight. They were able to make liquid fuels...
News : Medical
Creating the Future: A New Way to Join Arteries
A novel, pencil-sized device now provides surgeons with an alternative to traditional methods of suturing arteries. The Arterial Everter, Medical Category winner of the 2017 “Create the Future” Design Contest, will reduce operation times, according to the technology’s inventor.
News : Software
Sound-Off: How to Model Electric Bus Implementation
To reduce costs and eliminate air pollution, many cities are exploring the benefits of electric buses. Before electrified fleets take the road, however, officials will require a test run. The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) used a modeling approach.
INSIDER : Sensors/Data Acquisition
Breathalyzer Replaces Blood Test
In the future, breathalyzers will not just be used by police checking for alcohol intoxication, but also for testing the condition of athletes, and for people who want to lose weight. When exactly the body begins burning fat can now be determined by analyzing, for example, biomarkers in the blood or urine....
INSIDER : Test & Measurement
Measuring Volcanic Emissions from Space
INSIDER : Sensors/Data Acquisition
New Generation of Fluorescence-Based Sensors
Researchers have designed and tested a series of plasmonic nanoantenna arrays that could lead to the development of a new generation of ultrasensitive and low-cost fluorescence sensors that could be used to monitor water quality.
News : Photonics/Optics
When Stars Collide: LIGO Detects Gravitational Waves from ‘Kilonova’ Light Show
Question of the Week : Energy
Will the "Create the Future" reactor help power plants reduce their carbon-dioxide emissions?
News : Robotics, Automation & Control
Creating the Future: An Industrial Robot Climbs to the Top
Petrochemical and liquid gas companies require a regular inspection of a vessel's welds and wall thicknesses — a dangerous task given the hazardous environment. A climbing robot, category winner in the 2017 “Create the Future” Design Contest, is potentially up to the challenge.
News : Materials
Sound-Off: How to Repair Parylene Coatings
Conformal coatings like Parylene protect a variety of components, including LEDs, sensors, and circuit card assemblies. If a board component needs to be replaced, however, how easily can the Parylene be removed?
Question of the Week : Aerospace
In 10 years, will brain-controlled UAVs support critical applications?
In this week’s INSIDER story, researcher Panagiotis Artemiadis predicted that we will see an increase in brain-controlled UAVs within the next ten years. The mind-controlled drones, according to the Arizona State University professor, will play critical application roles as...
News : Motion Control
Drone Control: How the Human Brain Can Guide Robotic Swarms
Who needs a keyboard, a mouse, or a joystick? A researcher from Arizona State University wants to command machines with the human brain.
Question of the Week
Would you use MatchPoint?
This week’s INSIDER story featured a gesture-recognition technology that transforms everyday objects into remote controls. What do you think? Would you use MatchPoint?
Products : Software
Product of the Month: October 2017
ANSYS, Canonsburg, PA, introduced ANSYS® Discovery Live™ simulation software that allows engineers to immediately examine the impact of their design changes. Users can pose what-if questions upfront in the design process to rapidly explore thousands of design options and receive immediate feedback. The...
News : Automotive
Sound-Off: Do Electric Vehicles Produce High-Frequency Noise?
Many structural factors contribute to automotive noise, whether the vehicle is electric or has an internal combustion engine. In a webinar this week titled, “The Art of NVH Attenuation,” an attendee asked Dr. Pranab Saha, a consultant and expert in acoustics, noise, and vibration...
Question of the Week : Robotics, Automation & Control
Will "print-and-go" structures lead to printable robots?
As seen in this week's Tech Briefs TV video, MIT researchers envision many possibilities for devices that self-fold without external stimuli.
Briefs : Sensors/Data Acquisition
PC-Board-Mountable Corrosion Sensors
Corrosion is a pervasive and expensive problem in applications ranging from construction to microelectronics. Corrosion has been widely studied in theories, and empirical studies exist for common materials, material combinations, and myriad environmental conditions. In order for microelectronic devices to...
Briefs : Sensors/Data Acquisition
Gas Sensing System Employing Raman Scattering
The detection and characterization of molecular gases in a sample is a relatively difficult challenge. Usually, this task is relegated to expensive and time-consuming processes like mass spectrometry and gas chromatography. Furthermore, numerous industrial applications require such gas-phase analysis...
Articles : Research Lab
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Opened in 1947 on the former site of the U.S. military's Camp Upton in New York, Brookhaven National Lab's (BNL) initial mission centered on the peaceful exploration of the atom. Particle accelerators, leading chemistry and biology experiments, and visionary scientists soon joined research reactors, and Brookhaven...
Articles : Sensors/Data Acquisition
AUGMENTED REALITY: Beyond Gaming to Real-World Solutions
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INSIDER: Power
Highly Sensitive Diode, Converts Microwaves to Usable Electricity
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
'Direct Thermal Charging Cell' Turns Waste Heat into Power
Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Aluminum Joining Methods: Welding vs. Adhesives
INSIDER: Materials
3D-Printed Plastics with High Performance Electrical Circuits

Question of the Week
Will ‘Unbreakable Batteries’ Find a Place in Electronics and Vehicles?
Webcasts
On-Demand Webinars: Aerospace
Update on Civil Certification of Multicore Processing Systems in Commercial...
On-Demand Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping
On-Demand Webinars: Automotive
Collaborative Robot Applications in the Automotive Industry
On-Demand Webinars: Materials
Enhance Product Design and Dependability with Advanced Coating Technologies
On-Demand Webinars: Green Design & Manufacturing
Rapid, Selective Volatile Emissions Testing for Vehicles and Components
Tech Talks: Medical
TRENDING STORIES
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Articles: Imaging
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A Breakthrough in Earthquake Forecasting: Floating Buoy Measures Seafloor Motion
Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Creating the Future: New Take on Welding Gun Bonds Plastic and Metal — In...
Blog: Electronics & Computers
In High Temperatures, A New Class of Ceramics Controls Heat Radiation
INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Highly Sensitive Diode, Converts Microwaves to Usable Electricity