2023 Create the Future Design Contest: Aerospace & Defense Finalist

See the 2023 Create the Future Design Contest's Aerospace & Defense Finalist: Zulu Pods, self-contained, sealed, oil tanks and pumps that can be installed into existing low-cost expendable jet engines.

Combustion-Powered, Bug-Sized Robots can Leap, Lift, and Race

Researchers combined soft microactuators with high-energy-density chemical fuel to create an insect-scale quadrupedal robot that is powered by combustion.

AI-Based Generative Engineering for Hybrid Vehicle Design

The future of transportation is shifting toward hybrid and electric vehicles (xEV), making the development of powertrain systems more intricate. Meeting stringent development timelines adds to the challenges faced by the industry.

An Electrifying Collaboration: From the Lab to the Marketplace

Matthias Preindl, associate professor of electrical engineering at Columbia Engineering, and Wesley Pennington, the founder and CEO of Tau Motors, have formed a collaboration...

The Road to Net-Zero EV Development Labs

As the automotive sector continues to transition to a significant portion of their portfolio being electric, they must either build the needed test facilities to support this transition or update their current facilities.

GM Readies Fuel Cells for Commercial Deployment

After decades of concentrated development work, GM’s fuel-cell R&D unit Hydrotec is poised to deploy “the first applications that will be going commercial” of its hydrogen fuel-cell technology.

Revolutionizing Motion Control with Linear Motors

As the demand grows for increased productivity, higher product quality, rapid development time, and lower engineering costs, adopting linear motor technology is increasingly popular by leveraging modular linear motor designs.

Megawatt Electrical Motor Could Help Electrify Aviation

Aerospace engineers designed a 1-megawatt electrical motor that is a stepping stone toward electrifying the largest aircraft.

Design Techniques for Efficient Power Transmission

Power transmission is critical in industrial automation as it enables machines to work together seamlessly, reducing downtime and maximizing productivity.

New Products

See the new products, including a crossed-roller linear bearing, a lifting column, a motion-sizing tool, and more.

Using 3D Printing to Strengthen Jet Engines

Skoltech engineers have used a 3D printer to fabricate — and investigate the mechanical characteristics of — samples of bronze-steel alloys previously unknown to materials science.

New Products

See the new products for April 2023, including combustion valves, a linear motion system, an autonomous mobile robot, and more.

SAE WCX™ 2023 Preview: Paving the Future of Mobility

SAE's WCX World Congress Experience, will be held from April 18-20, in Detroit, MI.

New Products

New products for March 2023, including a battery interconnect system, silicon nitride bearing balls, and more.

Using Nano-Engineering Techniques to Develop a Safer Battery

A research team has developed technology that could prevent electric vehicle fires, like those caused by saltwater flooding from Hurricane Ian.

Can EV Batteries Be Recycled?

Many companies and universities are partnering to develop EV battery-recycling technologies. But can EV batteries be recycled?

Enhancing Fault Isolation and Detection for Electric Powertrains of UAVs

NASA’s System-Wide Safety (SWS) project is developing innovative data solutions to assure safe, rapid, and repeatable access to a transformed National Airspace System.

Top 10 Most-Read Tech Briefs Stories of 2022

See Tech Briefs’ most-read stories of 2022.

Meeting the Challenge of Electric Vehicle Battery Cell Innovation

Today, batteries are the new engine for innovative electric vehicle (EV) development.

Powering Light Electric Vehicles

Light Electric Vehicles (LEVs) such as golf carts have been traditionally powered by lead-acid batteries.

Best Practices to Optimize Motor Selection

Optimizing motor selection for motion control applications can have significant performance, cost, and maintenance benefits.

Solid Electrolyte–Based Microthrusters for Precision Propulsion

Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are developing a novel microthruster that could provide easy-to-control propulsion during spaceflight.

2022 Create the Future Design Contest: Automotive/Transportation Category Winner — Betterfrost Ultra-Low Energy Defrost & Defog System

Betterfrost’s solution defrosts and defogs electric vehicles’ windshields with 20 times less power than current technology and extends the range of an EV by 38 km on an average commute in winter.

Fighting Gravity with the World’s First Propulsion Suit

Using jet fuel as a means to power five gas turbines, the suit can propel pilots about 40 mph for up to eight minutes and can generate more than 1,000 horsepower.

Highly Conductive Aluminum Can Equal Copper

A first-ever simulation of aluminum conductivity offers a recipe for an inexpensive substitute for copper.

New on the Market: September 2022

New on the market in September 2022, including inductors, a snap-action switch, a stamped spring socket, and more.

Powertrain System Improves Wind, Water Turbine Efficiency and Environmental Impact

Purdue University engineers have designed a low-speed, high-torque powertrain system to reduce the operation costs, maintenance costs, and environmental...

Anti-Phase Noise Suppression Rotor Technologies

Acoustic optimization for anti-phase asymmetric rotor.