Articles

A Dicing Proposition: Driving Zero Defects in Today’s Intelligent Vehicles

Read on to learn about the factors that go into driving zero defects in today’s intelligent vehicles.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including a nanorobotic hand made of DNA that can grab viruses for detection or inhibition developed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; a new and improved wearable ultrasound patch for continuous and noninvasive blood pressure monitoring developed at the University of California San Diego; and soft and intelligent sensor materials based on ceramic particles developed at Empa’s Laboratory for High-Performance Ceramics.

3 Robotic Technologies Looking to Change Life on Earth and the Moon

Watch this video to learn more about three new robotic technologies: A soft robot developed at NC State University; a pair of wearable robotic limbs developed by MIT engineers; and a camera inspired by the human eye developed at the University of Maryland.

How Double-Sided Polishing Can Revolutionize Optical Manufacturing

In optical manufacturing, precision polishing is vital to achieving the required flatness, surface quality, and angular precision that many applications demand. Traditionally, single-sided polishing has been the go-to method, particularly for complex components where one-sided control is critical. Read on to learn more about double-sided polishing.

Designing and Testing the Optics for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

When it launches no later than May 2027, the NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will serve as a powerful eye on deep space, capturing images of billions of distant galaxies and exploring the mysteries of dark matter, supernovae and other cosmic phenomena. Read on to learn about what it takes to make it a success.

The Future of AI for Aerospace Manufacturing

All aerospace industry sectors have embraced artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve practical and urgent concerns. AI has become fundamental in the management of safety, part design, inspection processes, maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), and fuel efficiency. Read on to learn more about it.

The State of AI: Manufacturing 2025

AI represents a tremendous opportunity across the manufacturing industry. To successfully implement and benefit from AI in 2025, manufacturers will need to develop a clear AI strategy, optimize operations, and manage risks. Read on to learn more.

How AI Impacts an Industrial Machinery Manufacturer’s Design Process

Artificial intelligence will be a key tool going forward in achieving results, offering the ability to more rapidly design, prototype, and implement changes and solutions through superior data analytics abilities and improved human-machine interactions. Read on to learn more.

Designing Next-Generation Carbon Dioxide Removal Technology for Better Life in Space

Engineers at NASA used modeling and simulation with experimental testing to analyze the next generation of compressor designs that get the job done more quietly, with fewer maintenance needs, and at lower fabrication cost. Read on to learn more.

Photonic Processor Could Enable Ultrafast AI Computations

Scientists from MIT and elsewhere have demonstrated a fully integrated photonic processor that can perform all the key computations of a deep neural network optically on a chip. Read on to learn more about it.

Artificial Intelligence and Industrial Robotics: Far Beyond the Hype

Accelerating progress in AI is redefining what is possible with industrial robotics, enhancing everything from robots’ ability to grip, pick and place as well as their ability to map and navigate through dynamic environments. Read on to learn more about what this means.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including the world’s first soft touchpad that can sense the force, area, and location of contact without electricity; a hydrogel that retains the semiconductive ability needed to transmit information between living tissue and machine; and a thin film sensor that measures temperatures up to 1200 °F.

Where Do EV Batteries Go When They Die?

Some go to Cox Automotive’s battery solutions center in Oklahoma City, where the company works with OEMs on their post-sale needs. Others get recycled, with lots of OEMs teaming up with Redwood Materials. Read on to find out what happens to the others.

Crafting Safe, Long-Cyclable Lithium Metal Batteries for High Temperatures

A research team led by Professor Dong-Myeong Shin of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hong Kong has developed a new generation of lithium metal batteries, representing a significant advancement in the field. Here, an interview with Shin to learn more about the technology.

DC-DC Converters for High Reliability eVTOL Auxiliary Power Systems

eVTOL power system architectures are not yet well defined, and with the wide variety of possible configurations, from small, unmanned drones through multiseat passenger craft, there may never be one standard. Read on to learn what this means.

Solving the Battery Recycling Challenge

The surging global popularity of electric vehicles is creating a new challenge: a mounting pile of spent lithium-ion batteries. In just a decade, more than 1.2 million tons of lithium-ion batteries will reach their end-of-life, creating an urgent need for efficient and profitable recycling solutions. This impending battery waste crisis presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Read on to learn more.

The Future Is Flexible: How One Component Represents Tomorrow’s Manufacturing

Speed and efficiency are bedrocks of operational efficiency but are only proven in processes that are strategically optimized. Read on to learn more about what this means.

AI in Motion Control: Optimizing Servo Systems

As technology advances, so do we as skilled professionals in the automation industry. Much like artificial intelligence, we continuously learn and adapt to enhance our overall performance. AI advancement and straightforward learning algorithms have transformed how we implement servo systems. Read on to learn more.

3D-Woven Thermal Protection System Technologies Support NASA Space Missions

Over the past decade, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and its team of development partners have developed several unique thermal protection system (TPS) technologies designed to protect spacecraft from the extreme heat conditions and entry environments that space missions face. Read on to learn more about it.

Shedding Weight: Connectivity in Military-Aerospace Applications

Weight is among the most critical factors behind component choice when it comes to aerospace applications. Being among the bulkiest of components, connectors and cables need to embrace the latest scientific advances in order to reduce weight and enhance performance, fuel efficiency, and overall system reliability. This article outlines the recent advances enabling lighter connectors for aircraft, satellites, and drones.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including a 3D microwave antenna, smart CCTV systems trained to spot blockages in urban waterways, and a full-scale prototype for six telescopes that will enable, in the next decade, the space-based detection of gravitational waves.

Designing the Next Generation of Event-Based Sensing and Vision for Edge Applications

Event-based sensing enables new approaches to machine learning. An object recognition or detection algorithm that, until now, could only use the spatial information from a frame can now access another dimension: time. Read on to learn more.

Can Optical Component Manufacturers Design Better Devices With AI?

Opto Generative Pretrained Transformer (OptoGPT), a decoder-only transformer, developed by University of Michigan engineers, harnesses the computer architecture underpinning ChatGPT to work backward from desired optical properties to the material structure that can provide them. Read on to learn more.

New Upgrade Will Supercharge Atomic Vision of the World’s Most Powerful X-Ray Laser

The Department of Energy has given the green light for construction to begin on a high-energy upgrade that will further boost the performance of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the world’s most powerful X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) at the DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Read on to learn more about it.

Silicon Carbide Crystal Growing Industry Tests for Minute Defects

To meet the ever increasing demand for silicon carbide (SiC) crystals, the world needs much higher yields without sacrificing quality. However, without advanced metrology tools capable of promptly detecting minor flaws, the SiC crystal growing sector essentially operates blindly, resulting in unacceptable defects and costly product losses. Read on to learn more.

2024 Award Finalists

The Create the Future Design Contest, launched in 2002 by SAE Media Group, recognizes and rewards engineering innovations that benefit humanity, the environment, and the economy. Read on to learn about the finalists in all seven categories chosen from new product ideas submitted from more than 50 countries. The Grand Prize winner and category winners will be chosen at a live competition on November 15.

Aerospace & Defense Finalist: Laser-Generated Anti-Icing and Anti-Fogging Transparent Materials

AlchLight has invented and pioneered a non-coating laser surface processing (LSP) technology that turns regular transparent materials such as glass and polymers superhydrophobic. It's the Aerospace & Defense Finalist. Read on to learn more.

Robotics & Automation Finalist - AstroAnt: A Miniature Symbiotic Robotic Serving on the Outside Surfaces of Spacecraft, Rovers, and Landers for Inspection and Diagnostic Tasks

“AstroAnts” are small robots for inspection and diagnostic tasks on external spacecraft surfaces, both in orbit and on planetary surfaces. They're also the Robotics & Automation Finalist. Read on to learn more.

Automotive & Transportation Finalist: Multi-Modal Traffic Detection System

The Transensys Multi-Modal Traffic Detection System is an attempt to provide widespread, low-cost, and accurate traffic measurement. It's also the Automotive & Transportation Finalist. Read on to learn more.