Taking inspiration from the butterfly, Tufts University researchers created light-activated composite devices that execute precise, visible movements and form complex three-dimensional shapes, without the need for wires or other actuating materials or energy sources.

Precision optics are used in a wide variety of industrial, scientific, medical, and military applications, and their performance is often improved or enhanced by the application of thin film coatings. But how do you know what types of optics will work best for your application (e.g., spheric vs. aspheric,...

Battery packs are the heart of electric vehicles. Today, the industry is challenged to remove weight from these systems, while boosting performance and minimizing damage from collisions.

A team from the University of Waterloo is creating robotic exoskeleton legs that use A.I. to make their own steps and control decisions. "Learning" from a collection of sample-strolls around an environment, the system adjusts its movements based on the surroundings it senses.

Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) are hot topics in the engineering simulation community. These techniques have applications across the product lifecycle. For example, a design engineer can train an AI system to find optimal designs using data...

Robotic and actuator applications most often require sensors that measure force, load, pressure, or torque. However, in many cases catalog products or off-the-shelf type sensors are not a suitable option due to space considerations or costly modifications needed to be made to the existing...

A Tech Brief featured in our April issue highlighted a battery-free pinpointing system from MIT called Underwater Backscatter Localization. Rather than emitting its own acoustic signals, the “UBL” reflects modulated signals from its environment. The reflections provide researchers with positioning...

The problem of counterfeit components is a threat unlikely to disappear anytime soon, presenting a risk for both manufacturers and end users. This 30-minute Webinar examines strategies and tactics to mitigate these risks and remove potentially...