Articles

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.

The New Industrial Edge Ecosystem for Machine Vision

Siemens is collaborating with Basler and MVTec in its open Industrial Edge Ecosystem. The results are scalable, plug-and-play solutions that combine Siemens’ automation technology with third-party machine vision hardware and software.

Convolutional Neural Networks Enable Nighttime Imaging

Increasing regulatory concentration on improving the protection of vulnerable road users (VRUs) against vehicle collisions at night has led to new evaluations of proven imaging modalities that might quickly, effectively, and economically identify VRUs and measure their positions relative to moving vehicles.

O-RAN Redefining the Future of Wireless Connectivity

Ultimately, the success of the 5G Open Radio Access Network (5G O-RAN) deployments hinges on a multi-pronged approach involving a blend of collaboration, standardization, and advanced automated testing tools.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including Lightmatter's chip specializing in AI operations and its interconnect that facilitates data transfer between chips; implantable biomedical devices; and a metallic nanotube.

Can Solid-State Batteries Commercialize by 2030?

Automakers are increasingly focusing on the long-delayed promise of solid-state batteries. With no liquid electrolyte, these batteries can be lighter, safer (with reduced fire risk), faster to recharge, and more energy dense while still being able to deliver ranges of 600 miles (965 km) or more.

Upcycling Commercial Fleets into Circular EVs

Based on the success thus far, Evolectric hopes to introduce its technology to more markets worldwide where demand is growing for affordable and accessible EVs. The company hopes to build a network of local partners capable of carrying out all installation and maintenance services.

Leveraging AI for EV Performance Improvement

As commercial fleets adopt more electric vehicles, they need accurate state-of-health measurements and smart charging algorithms to ensure their EVs have minimum unscheduled downtime. To solve these problems effectively, we need comprehensive data collection, capable computing infrastructure, and intelligent algorithms.

Putting a New ‘Charge’ in EV Recharging

Although there have been questions about the continuing consumer uptake of EVs, BMW’s Niels Bohn said that the robustness of the charging network is the key to achieving consumer acceptance.

Autonomous Mobile Robots Take a Direct Route to Optimization With AI

While advanced vision systems give AMRs the power of “sight,” so to speak, AI allows them to identify objects and optimizes how they navigate on a factory floor.

Unveiling the Future of Robotic Sanding and Polishing with Material Abrasion Technology

This article examines advancements in Flexiv’s material abrasion technology, specifically focusing on sanding and polishing applications and the utility of force control technology.

Optimizing Warehouse Logistics with Autonomous Mobile Robots

Material transport workflows for production and assembly lines are time-consuming, non-value-adding tasks for most manufacturers. AMRs provide a simple, efficient, and cost-effective way to automate material handling and in-house transportation tasks in nearly any situation where employees would previously have been required to push carts around the facility.

Leveraging 3D Printing and Decentralized Production in the Face of Red Sea Conflicts

The Red Sea, historically renowned as a vital sea route connecting the East and the West, finds itself at the center of a complex crisis triggered by escalating geopolitical tensions.

How Adhesives Address the Challenges of Manufacturing Microbatteries

Currently, researchers are exploring the use of adhesives in combination with laser-cut gasket materials to deliver maximum energy density, miniaturization, and while maintaining a high degree of hermetic integrity to assure long-lived operation and efficiency.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including: a new metamaterial that takes advantage of the non-reciprocal magnetoelectric (NME) effect; fully 3D-printed, three-dimensional solenoids; and a freeze-resistant hydration system.

The Rising Presence of Women in Engineering

In the U.S., women make up 14 percent of the engineering workforce. The number of female engineers across the globe is on the rise but compared to male engineers it is still much lower.

Women in Aerospace: 7 Questions with Slingshot’s Audrey Schaffer

What are the challenges for women in aerospace and what more can be done to increase the number of women in the STEM workforce? Tech Briefs interviewed Audrey Schaffer, Vice President of Strategy and Policy, Slingshot Aerospace, who has made significant strides in the aerospace industry.

Quantum Leap in Material Science

Significant progress in industry, especially in manufacturing and material science, is expected to be driven by quantum computing. Using sophisticated simulations and optimization techniques, the technology promises to accelerate the discovery of new substances and improve production procedures.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including: a new wireless smart textile technology that can boost hand mobility of stroke patients, a metal-free magnetic gel, and a new fuel cell that harvests energy from microbes living in dirt.

Executive Roundtable: Artificial Intelligence

What are the opportunities and risks AI offers in manufacturing? How can manufacturers successfully implement AI and prepare their workforce to integrate it into their processes? What’s its future outlook? Tech Briefs asked four industry experts in this roundtable.

Testing Space Applications with Solar Simulator Technology

NASA’s Artemis program consists of a series of missions designed to land humans on the Moon and establish a sustainable, continuing presence. A long-term foothold on the Moon’s surface enables invaluable research and testing opportunities that will set the stage for future groundbreaking missions, including the first human mission to Mars.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including the University of Maryland's "cooling glass"; the Reconfigurable Robotics Lab's sensor that can perceive combinations of bending, stretching, compression, and temperature changes using color; Tufts' tiny biological robots; and more.