Articles

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including a new type of glass with unique and even contradictory properties, a novel approach for actively controlling Dutch-roll oscillations of an eVTOL aircraft by using existing outboard propellers to dampen oscillations, and the world’s first practical titanium-sapphire laser on a chip.

The Impact of Fast Charging on the EV Charging Chain

With fast charging becoming more common, precise and reliable temperature sensing across the charging chain will remain critical even as battery technologies evolve. Read on to learn why.

Batteries and Recycling: The Next Frontier

Recycling EV batteries has been a goal of the auto industry for many years, but the infrastructure to make that a widespread reality is still in the early stages. As the amount of used lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cells coming from EVs increases, the industry is getting ready to turn them into fresh packs. Read on to learn more.

Developing Safer Batteries with Solid-State Polymer Electrolytes

A 100 percent solid-state, high-performance polymer electrolyte addresses issues with liquid electrolytes for safer battery cell designs. Read this article to learn more.

When Is Precision Motion Control the Right Choice?

Precision motion control solutions supply an even higher level of motor control, often synchronized over several axes of motion or motors. But when are they the right choice? Read this story to find out.

The Crucial Role of Bearings in the Humanoid Robotics Revolution

In the ever-evolving robotics landscape, achieving precise and seamless motion is paramount. While articulating joints enable a robot’s range of motion, bearings serve as the backbone, ensuring smooth and accurate movement. Particularly in humanoid robots where precision is non-negotiable, the selection of bearings becomes a critical engineering decision. Design engineers must consider the diverse range of robotic bearings, how backlash affects precision, and when to use seals to protect bearings from harsh environments.

Event Sensors Are Changing the Paradigm in Machine Vision

Event-based vision is well on its way to establishing itself as a paradigm that will create a new standard in many markets requiring efficiency in how machines can see. Over the past several years, it has successfully evolved to meet a wider range of uses. And by continuing to adapt and address the requirements of many applications, we will see more event-based cameras all around us.

Generative AI: Reshaping the Industrial Value Chain with the Industrial Copilot

Companies worldwide are faced with a shortage of skilled labor as experienced workers retire and not enough new talent enters the workforce to compensate. To address this, companies must find a way to capture knowledge from experienced workers and make it both accessible and enticing to new hires. Generative AI can help address this by transforming the way humans and machines interact and collaborate using solutions such as Siemens Industrial Copilot.

Betting Big on LFP Battery Cells for Electric Commercial Vehicles

Accelera by Cummins, Daimler Truck, and Paccar collaborate to establish a 21-GWh dedicated factory for lithium iron phosphate battery cell manufacturing in the U.S. Read on to learn what that means for you.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including the Third Thumb, an extra robotic thumb aimed at increasing the wearer’s range of movement; a way to display full-color, 3D moving images over a direct view of the real world; and an adjustable filter that can successfully prevent interference, even in higher-frequency bands of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Volvo Trucks’ Battery Chemistry of Choice: NCA

While Daimler Truck and Paccar are pursuing LFP battery cells, Volvo Trucks employs lithium-ion batteries in which lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) is used as the cathode — for now anyway. The Swedish truck maker is continuously exploring other battery technologies. Read on to learn more.

Advancing Technologies for In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing

Greg Richardson leads COSMIC as the Executive Director of the consortium and primary interface to NASA. He is also a principal engineer/scientist in the Human Exploration and Space-flight Division at The Aerospace Corporation. In this interview, he elaborates on the future vision of COSMIC and how the organization will coordinate work to help accelerate ISAM activities that will foster the future space economy.

In-Space Manufacturing of Self-Replicating Machines

How do we get to a future of self-replicating, Von Neumann space probes? What are some of the steps required to convert the Asteroid Belt into a partial Dyson Sphere? The answer lies in ISAM or in-space servicing assembly and manufacturing, 3D printing on-orbit, and fully automated, ‘lights-out’ production on-Earth.

Beyond Earth: The Future of In-Space Servicing

It no longer requires the imagination of Arthur C. Clarke to see where the space industry is headed. We need only to look at every other system of vehicles, appreciate the falling technical roadblocks, and observe the regulations and resources environment. It is with confidence that we ask not, “if?” but, “when?” We invite you to consider, “what’s next?” because almost anything becomes possible with the right foundations in place.

In-Space Manufacturing to Benefit the Future of Human Health on Earth and in Space

As new commercial stations enable the creation of in-space factories that leverage microgravity to improve products for use on Earth, large-scale 3D bioprinting will significantly benefit from it.

The Rise of the Celestial Assembly Line

The concept of space factories holds immense potential to revolutionize space exploration and benefit humanity on Earth. By leveraging advancements in 3D printing, robotics, and automation, these celestial assembly lines will pave the way for a more sustainable and cost-effective space economy.

Engineering Next-Generation Expandable Habitats for Living in Space

If we were to live and work in space, it’s essential to change the paradigm of affordable habitats in space and economically accommodate venues ranging from science to farming to entertainment and government applications. Expandable modules have the potential to pave the way for humankind’s off-planet existence, whether on the Moon, Mars, or beyond.

Control Valves: Essential Components for EV Battery Manufacturing and Recycling

Recovery of valuable elements within the EV battery is essential for the health and viability of the industry. In recycling used EV batteries, controls valves are required. Read on to learn more.

How Intelligent Battery Management Drives EV Buyer Confidence

Battery management systems are poised to become a key competitive differentiator in an EV market that is seeking to grow and thrive on a global level. And by tapping into smarter BMS, automotive manufacturers are future-proofing their resources by embracing, even anticipating, trends in EV battery design. Read on to learn more.

Thermal Management for Off-Highway Electric Vehicles

As demand increases for electric and hybrid technology advancements in the North American market, off-highway vehicles are subject to many challenges. These range from vibration and shock impacts on the vehicles, to thermal stress and adverse environmental conditions such as water, ice, humidity, dust, and grime. Read on to learn how to mitigate these threats.

EV Energy Management Powers Up

Future electric vehicles will be more efficient, more powerful, and will be able to hold more energy in their batteries than today’s EVs. Those big “mores” require countless small improvements beyond the headline component — batteries. Read on to learn more.

Mapping Gravity with Motion Control

As it turns out, motion control can not only help map the world — it might even make it a safer place. Read on to learn how and why.

Modular Design Strategies Reinforce Electric Actuator Selection over Hydraulics

When electromechanical actuator designers began integrating electronics inside their housings, it gave a control and efficiency advantage that opened the door to applications that had long been the sole domain of hydraulics cylinders. Those same electronics, coupled with recent experience applying electric actuators in new applications, now enable a modular design strategy that makes customizing electric actuators easier, further enhancing their advantages over hydraulics.

AI-Powered Optical Inspection Can Find Nanoscale PCB Defects

Most PCB manufacturers use automatic optical inspection (AOI) to monitor defects in their printed circuit boards. This delivers strong results when there are defects in the soldering, connections, pads, and traces on printed boards.

Heating Buildings with Solar Energy Stored in Sand

Affordable thermal storage could help industries and cities capture heat that is currently wasted, as well as balance the inconsistencies in wind and solar power output. But while Polar Night Energy is eager to work directly with potential customers, they realize that the challenges ahead are too big for them to tackle alone.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including a new DC-DC power converter developed by engineers at the Kobe University, a haptic device capable of reproducing the softness of various materials developed by EPFL researchers, and three-dimensional embroidery techniques from engineers from NC State University.

Enhancing Generative Design with Topology Optimization

Both generative design and topology optimization can be leveraged with the COMSOL® software, which also provides features for customizing automated designs so that they are suitable for specific manufacturing methods.

Building the Products of Tomorrow with the Comprehensive Digital Twin

By connecting all cross-domain models and data from across the product development, manufacturing, and usage lifecycles, the comprehensive digital twin forms the foundation for the digital transformation of a company, empowering adopters to surge ahead of the competition as they innovate faster and more efficiently.

Catching Lightning With Phantom Cameras

Astroparticle Physicist Dr. Rasha Abbasi, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at Loyola University Chicago, works with the Telescope Array project. Located west of Delta, Utah, the project is an international collaboration between universities to observe high-energy cosmic rays. Abbasi and her team study how TGFs originate from the Earth’s atmosphere and propagate. In particular, the team hopes to answer key questions.