Features

5 Ws

5 Ws: Sensors/Data Acquisition

5Ws of a Smart Bandage

A new kind of smart bandage developed at Caltech may make treatment of chronic wounds easier, more effective, and less expensive.

5 Ws: Robotics, Automation & Control

5 Ws of a Weeding Robot

MIT alumnus-founded FarmWise uses autonomous machines to snip weeds while preserving crops, eliminating the need for herbicides.

5 Ws: AR/AI

5 Ws of a Wearable Haptic Glove

A haptic device provides finger tracking as well as textures, forces, heat, and cold in extended or mixed reality.

5 Ws: Design

5 Ws of Ice-Shedding Coating

A team of researchers at University of Houston have developed a deicing spray in which detachment can be accurately controlled and accelerated.

5 Ws: Materials

5 Ws of a Self-Healing Robot

A team of researchers at Cornell Engineering has developed a soft robot that can detect when and where it was damaged — and then heal itself on the spot.

5 Ws: Medical

5 Ws of Painless Tattoos

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed low-cost, painless, and bloodless tattoos that can be self-administered and have many applications.

5 Ws: Sensors/Data Acquisition

5 Ws of 3D-Printed MEMS

A team at KTH Royal Institute of Technology has developed a new 3D printing technique that could be used to produce customized chip-based microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

5 Ws: Green Design & Manufacturing

5 Ws of Energy-Harvesting Yarns

A group of University of Texas at Dallas researchers have invented energy-harvesting yarns made from carbon nanotubes that produce electricity when repeatedly stretched.

5 Ws: Power

5 Ws of the Artificial Leaf

Researchers at University of Cambridge have developed floating “artificial leaves” that generate clean fuels from sunlight and water and could eventually operate on a large scale at sea.

5 Ws: Green Design & Manufacturing

5 Ws of Gel Film for Water Harvesting

Researchers at The University of Texas, Austin, developed a low-cost gel film made of abundant materials that can pull drinkable water from the air in even the driest climates.

5 Ws: Green Design & Manufacturing

5 Ws of Unmanned Lasers for Methane Detection

As concerns rise about methane, a CU startup is working toward plugging the leaks.

5 Ws: Unmanned Systems

Who A fully automated net positive submarine fleet, powered entirely on hydrogen, could help cleanse the oceans of toxic pollution. Developed by London-based startup Oceanways, the submarine was named among the...

5 Ws: Electronics & Computers

5 Ws of Floating Sensors

Wireless sensors inspired by Dandelions could be used to monitor climate change.

5 Ws: Manufacturing & Prototyping

5 Ws of a Wearable Metamaterial

A newly designed wearable magnetic metamaterial could help make MRI scans crisper, faster, and cheaper.

5 Ws: Energy

5 Ws of the Ocean Battery

Learn the Who, What, Where, Why, and When for an ocean battery that holds onto excess energy from offshore wind farms.

5 Ws: Sensors/Data Acquisition

5 Ws of the Portable Braille Display

Imagine a tablet or Kindle that can display braille on command for the visually impaired.

5 Ws: Energy

5 Ws of the Winged Flying Microchip

About the size of a grain of sand, the flying microchip (or microflier) does not have a motor or engine.

5 Ws: Energy

5 Ws of Power-Generating Fibers

Fibers sewn into fabrics can turn heat from the Sun into energy that could power textile electronics.

5 Ws: Wearables

5 Ws of the Electronics-Powering Finger Wrap

The wearable device turns the touch of a finger into a source of power for small electronics and sensors.

5 Ws: RF & Microwave Electronics

5 Ws of the COVID-Detecting Facemask

Who The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is still a major threat to public health. Wearing a facemask is a step in protecting against infection; the new facemask also diagnoses the wearer with COVID-19.