Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
INSIDER: Nanotechnology
Devices that convert AC electromagnetic waves into DC electricity are known as “rectennas.” MIT Researchers have demonstrated a new kind of rectenna, that uses a flexible...
INSIDER: Energy
Researchers at Rice University have made test cells for lithium metal batteries with a coat of red phosphorus on the separator that keeps the anode and cathode electrodes apart. The phosphorus...
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
Most power plants in the United States are built alongside bodies of water to meet the demands of their cooling systems. Some of that water is lost through evaporation in cooling...
INSIDER: Nanotechnology
Researchers from Drexel University say that adding MXene to silicon anodes could extend the life of Li-ion batteries by as much as five times. It’s...
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Question of the Week: Energy
Will ‘Structural Batteries’ Replace Conventional Ones?
Structural batteries are built into the actual configuration of battery-powered products – think the wing of a drone or the bumper of an electric vehicle. These batteries could reduce weight and extend range of a vehicle, but they're usually heavy, unsafe, or short-lived.
Briefs: Software
Optimal Computational Vision Pipeline (OCVP)
Optimal Computational Vision Pipeline (OCVP) software uses a novel algorithm that allows overlapping point clouds obtained from sensors with displaced position and orientation to be fused together in a common coordinate system with a rigorously linear solution for position and orientation parameters;...
Articles: Aerospace
Lightweighting design is an extensively explored and utilized concept in many industries, especially in aerospace applications, and is associated with the green aviation concept. The...
Articles: Energy
The Create the Future Design Contest, launched in 2002 by the publishers of Tech Briefs magazine, helps stimulate and reward engineering innovation. The annual event has...
Products: Imaging
Watlow, St. Louis, MO, introduced a batch processing feature for the F4T temperature and process controller and D4T datalogger. The new feature helps collect manufacturing...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Precision Low-Speed Motor Controller
Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a method for controlling precise motion of a brushless DC (BLDC) motor using relatively inexpensive components. Precision motors are usually quite expensive and inefficient when operating at slow speeds. Current motors are only capable of operating at...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Objects in our daily lives, such as speakers, refrigerators, and even cars, are becoming “smarter” day by day as they connect to the Internet and exchange data, creating the Internet of Things (IoT)....
Briefs: Test & Measurement
MEMS Switch Extends Life of Cellphones
A new type of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) was developed that uses electrostatic levitation to provide a more robust system. All cellphones use MEMS switches for wireless communication, but traditionally there are just two electrodes. The switches open and close numerous times during just one hour,...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Traditional methods, such as reverse osmosis, that remove contaminants from water are expensive and energy-intensive. Researchers have developed technology to remove contaminants from water,...
Briefs: Motion Control
Computer-Controlled Exercise Equipment
While a wide variety of computer-controlled exercise machines for training and rehabilitation exist — some of which can be automatically adjusted to vary resistance or incline — such systems provide for preprogrammed changes in load or resistance. What is needed is a system that overcomes the...
Application Briefs: Imaging
The consumable component of muscle tissue in meat is approximately 75% water, 20% protein, 5% fat, carbohydrate, and minerals. The proportions vary depending...
Articles: Materials
Additive manufacturing is poised to liven the pace and scale of manufacturing. Deploying a range of techniques that use 3-D models to print objects layer by layer, it can generate a...
Articles: Data Acquisition
FLIR Systems has introduced their Firefly machine vision camera with open platform deep learning inference onboard. Deep learning makes it possible to easily develop high performance solutions for difficult...
Products: Test & Measurement
Vision Research (Wayne, NJ) has introduced the Phantom® S210 and S200, 2Gpx/sec (16 Gbps) machine vision cameras. The S210 reaches 1,730 frames per second (fps) at full 1.3Mpx...
Articles: Communications
We recently interviewed Justin Bessette, Manager, Wireless Systems and Software Engineering at LORD Corporation, Micro-Strain® Sensing Systems, about the nuts and bolts of a wireless...
Articles: Communications
Bluetooth technology is focused on short-range wireless connectivity. Most of us know the Bluetooth standard as the way we connect a phone to our car or a headset for hands-free operation. But...
Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Concrete is the material most widely used by humans — after water. As its ingredients are readily available almost anywhere in the world, it is the main component used by...
Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Although driverless forklifts have been around for about 30 years, it's only in the last 10 or so that they've been free to maneuver anywhere around their environment. In the early days, the machines followed a current...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
To address the demand for a more accurate, reliable, customizable, and easy-to-use force measurement device, Interface Force Measurement Systems (Scottsdale, AZ) has introduced the AxialTQ...
Special Reports: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Unmanned Systems - March 2019
The latest advances in aerial, ground, and underwater unmanned systems are covered in this special report, a compendium of recent articles from the editors of Tech Briefs and Aerospace & Defense...
Special Reports: Transportation
Connected Commercial Vehicles - March 2019
Trucks and other commercial vehicles are becoming smarter and more connected, moving rapidly on the road to autonomy. To help you keep pace with the latest developments, we present this compendium...
Facility Focus: Medical
Since 1967, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) has been the United States’ premier particle physics laboratory, working on the world's most advanced particle accelerators...
Top Stories
Blog: RF & Microwave Electronics
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Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Rapidly Printing with Liquid Metal
Blog: Design
New Material Could Lead to Better Hydrogen-Based Batteries, Fuel Cells
NASA Spinoff: Design
Additive Manufacturing Subtracts from Rocket Build Time
Podcasts: Aerospace
Countering Illegally Operated Drones at Airports, Stadiums, and Prisons
Blog: Materials
Question of the Week
Blog: Artificial Intelligence: Meet Human Intelligence
Webcasts
On-Demand Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping
AI on the Ascent: Optimizing Factory Schedules for Peak Production
Webinars: Materials
Top 3 Factors Impacting the Useful Life of Medical Devices
Upcoming Webinars: Power
How to Safely Control the Power to Your Vehicle
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
Digital Twins and Simulation for Accelerated Automotive Product...
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
EV Bodyshop Metrology: The Same but Different
Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace
Integrating Additive Manufacturing Into Aerospace Production