Data Acquisition

How Much Do You Know About Physical AI?

Across factory floors and supply chains, physical AI is starting to bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds. How much do you know about physical AI? Test your knowledge with this quiz.

Why 3D ICs Are Essential for Next-Gen AI

As 3D-IC systems grow more complex and heterogeneous to meet the demands of the AI era, the combination of human expertise and AI-augmented design methodologies will be essential.

Hardening AI for the Cosmos: New Flash Memory Defies Cosmic Radiation

Researchers have shown that NAND flash memory made with ferroelectric materials can withstand radiation levels up to 30 times higher than more conventional NAND flash memory.

Cooling the Cloud: A New Way to Manage GPU Power

In an effort to meet the rising energy demands of data centers, engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new chip design that could improve how graphics processing units (GPUs) convert and manage power.

Agentic AI Moves from Hype to Reality in Automation Engineering

A purpose-built AI has been designed by Siemens to execute engineering tasks autonomously by applying multi‑step reasoning and self‑correction.

Thinking Outside the Box (Score): Carnegie Mellon’s Quest to Define the Future of Sports Analytics

A team at Carnegie Mellon University is innovating statistical analysis and data science to revolutionize the world of sports. Read on to learn more about it.

AI's Energy Usage Might Not Be So Damaging

Believe it or not, new research finds that the use of artificial intelligence has a minimal effect on global greenhouse gas emissions and may actually benefit the environment and the economy.

Readers Select 2025 Products of the Year

Last December, Tech Briefs readers were asked to select one product from our 2025 Products of the Month to be named Readers’ Choice Product of the Year. Thanks to all of our readers who cast their votes. Read on for the three 2025 winners.

The Intertwining of AI and Simulation in Automotive Design

By leveraging rich simulation data to train AI models, which can then be used to quickly explore a design space and guide further simulations, the existing product design process can be enhanced to become faster and more flexible. Read on to learn more.

How Much Do You Know About Agentic AI?

Agentic AI is the next level of artificial intelligence transforming enterprise workflows with intelligent agents that can make decisions without constant human oversight. Test your knowledge about agentic AI in this quiz.

Analyzer Delivers Real-Time Insights for U.S. Power Grid

Yilu Liu, lead researcher and UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair for Power Electronics, and her team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory partnered with the University of Tennessee to develop the Universal GridEdge Analyzer, a secure, affordable sensing device that delivers real-time insight into electric grid behavior.

Tracking Falling Space Debris

The new tracking method generates more detailed information in near real-time than authorities have today about the reentry of space debris from falling satellites — information that will help to quickly locate and retrieve the charred and sometimes toxic remains.

Bringing Hybrid Power to the Rescue

NASA-funded hybrid power system makes drones more capable in disasters.

Weaving Data Fabric with AI

Autonomy Association International’s Digital Infrastructure Platform uses the same technology originally designed for a NASA flight test.

Context-Based Configuration Management System

NASA has developed a new technology to track the status of, and changes to, enterprise level programmatic operations. Read on to learn more about it.

Upper Body Robotic Exoskeleton

This lightweight, portable garment is designed for active shoulder and elbow positioning.

New Transmitter Could Make Wireless Devices More Energy-Efficient

Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have designed a novel transmitter chip that significantly improves the energy efficiency of wireless communications, which could boost the...

Wi-Fi Signals Can Measure Heart Rate — No Wearables Needed

Traditionally, measuring heart rate requires some sort of wearable device, whether that be a smart watch or hospital-grade machinery. But new research from engineers at the...

Implementing Predictive Maintenance

Predictive maintenance is based on condition monitoring, anomaly detection, and classification algorithms, and integrates predictive models which can estimate the remaining machine runtime. Read on to learn more about it and how to implement it.

A New Window into Earth’s Upper Atmosphere

Between 50 and 100 kilometers (30-60 miles) above Earth’s surface lies a largely unstudied stretch of the atmosphere, called the mesosphere. It’s too high for airplanes and weather balloons,...

My Opinion: How to Move to Agriculture 4.0

All the pieces are in place for agriculture to become smarter — it’s time to move ahead. Here’s how to move to Agriculture 4.0.

Privacy and Data Security in the Era of Medical Wearables

As we continue to explore the impact of wearables on healthcare, this episode focuses on privacy and data security in the era of medical wearables. Wearables are collecting vast...

Light-Propelled Flying Structures Aim to Study Earth’s Upper Atmosphere

A new study introduces a novel way to reach a largely unstudied stretch of the atmosphere, between 30-60 miles above Earth’s surface, the mesosphere. Researchers have introduced a new way to explore it: lightweight flying structures that can float using nothing but sunlight.

Better Data for Bodies in Motion

To discover why astronauts returning to Earth frequently experience head and neck injuries, NASA awarded SBIR contracts to miniaturize an acceleration data recorder. It’s now used in safety testing for parachute drops, cars, drones, and more.