Nanoscale Device Points the Way to Future Wireless Communication Channels

In a paper published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, a team of Caltech engineers reports building a metasurface patterned with miniscule tunable antennas capable of reflecting an incoming beam of optical light to create many sidebands, or channels, of different optical frequencies. Read on to learn more.

New Technique Could Improve GPS Navigation Devices

For the first time, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin’s Applied Research Laboratories and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center have formed a radio interferometer between a GPS antenna and receiver and a large radio telescope. Read on to learn more about the new technique.

‘Attacker’ Device to Protect AVs from Cyberattacks

To help improve the safety and security of AVs, researchers have devised a novel algorithm designed to mimic an attacking device. The algorithm lets researchers identify areas for improvement in autonomous vehicle security.

New Phase Shifter to Reduce Antenna Signal Loss

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a new type of high-performance “phase shifter” using a liquid gallium alloy — which varies the phase angle of microwave and millimeter-wave radio signals — for use in advanced phase array antenna systems.

An Autonomous Battery-Free Microrobot Powered by Surrounding Light

Moving robots demands a lot of energy, and batteries, the typical power source, limit lifetime and raise environmental concerns. Researchers at the University of Washington have now created MilliMobile, a tiny, self-driving robot powered only by surrounding light or radio waves.

Printing High-Fidelity Sensors

Printed radio frequency (RF) surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor devices are a promising technology for providing highly reconfigurable, cost-effective, and multi-parameter sensing.

Automated RF Interference Mitigation System

Innovators from the NASA Glenn Research Center developed a software-based automated RFI mitigation system to increase communication reliability.

Robot Overcomes Uncertainty to Retrieve Buried Objects

A new robotic system fuses visual information and radio-frequency signals to efficiently find hidden items buried under a pile of objects.

2022 Create the Future Design Contest: Electronics/Sensors/IoT Winner - RF Fingerprinting for Industrial IoT Security

Some of the hardest to detect cyber-attacks are wireless, including man-in-the-middle attacks and rogue access points.

Pulsed 2-Micron Laser Transmitter

The design produces a compact, efficient, long-lifetime laser transmitter as needed for use in space, while also having potential applications as an airborne or ground-based wind measurement tool.

5G Strobe Light: NIST Imaging System Spotlights the Tiny Mechanical Hearts at the Core of Every Cellphone

The new NIST instrument captures waves in action by relying on a device known as an optical interferometer.

Meeting the Challenges for Space to Earth Optical Communication

Satellite radio communication is widely used in industry and government for high-bandwidth data transfers.

Robot Senses Hidden Objects

Researchers have developed a robot that uses radio waves, which can pass through walls, to sense occluded objects. The robot, called RF-Grasp, combines this powerful sensing with more traditional computer vision to...

Next-Generation High-Performance Lasers

NASA’ Deep Space Network (DSN), a sort of GPS system for space, relies on atomic clocks for extreme accuracy. Any modern navigation system must accurately time radio signals to triangulate a location....

5G Strobe Light: NIST Imaging System Spotlights the Tiny Mechanical Hearts at the Core of Every Cellphone

Inside every cellphone lies a tiny mechanical heart, beating several billion times a second. These micromechanical resonators play an...

Q&A: A Unique Material Transmits Heat in One Direction and Blocks it in Another

Professor Jiwoong Park and his team have made a material that is crystalline in the X-Y direction, but amorphous in the Z direction.

Multispectral Imaging, Detection, and Active Reflectance (MiDAR)

This is a novel remote sensing instrument with myriad applications.

Robot Locates and Retrieves Buried Items

This robotic arm fuses data from a camera and antenna to locate and retrieve items buried under piles and completely out of view.

System Harvests Energy from Radio Waves to Power Wearable Devices

The electricity can be used to power wireless devices or to charge energy storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors.

Radio Signals Image Hidden and Speeding Objects

This method could help firefighters find victims inside buildings and could track hypersonic objects such as missiles and space debris.

Fiber-Metal Laminate Manufacturing Technique

Synthesis of fiber-metal laminates is performed using RF plasma spray deposition.

Atom-Based Radio Communications

An atom-based sensor can determine the direction of an incoming radio signal.

Products of Tomorrow

Water-sensing smartphone screens, a NASA-developed RF switch, and an ultrasound patch.

Conformal, Lightweight, Aerogel-Based Antenna

The flexible antenna was designed for active aeronautical satellite communications.

RF Wireless Power Unleashes the Ubiquity of Sensor Networks

AI will only reach its full potential when it can be fed with a constant stream of data from a plentitude of diverse sources.

Transport of Mechanical Energy, Even Through Damaged Pathways

This work could lead to much more robust devices that continue to operate in spite of damage.

Harnessing SWIR Line Scan Imaging Technology

Learn about the benefits of SWIR imaging, from food inspection to surveillance.

Underwater Navigation System Powered by Sound

This system enables battery-free ocean exploration with applications ranging from marine conservation to aquaculture.

CMOS-Based Transceiver for 300 GHz

This transceiver for wireless communications at the 300-GHz band enables beyond-5G applications.