Features

5 Ws of Bacteria-Killing Metal Surfaces

Bacterial pathogens can live on surfaces for days. What if frequently touched surfaces, such as doorknobs, could instantly kill them off?

Wool Mask Used to Fight Fires in Space Improves Fire Equipment on Earth

Wool from special sheep keeps astronauts and emergency responders safe.

RF Innovations Give Batteries New Life

Low-power radio design is enabling new connected IoT products for consumer, commercial, industrial, and medical markets.

New Products

Photodetectors, ultrafast lasers, energy sensors, and more.

Executive Roundtable: 3D Printing

Tech Briefs posed questions to 3D printing/AM industry execs, to get their views on issues like metal printing, new materials, and environmental sustainability.

AI-Based Machine Vision & the Future of Automotive In-Cabin Technologies

Xilinx is now applying AI to the in-cabin environment.

3D Imaging the Biolocomotion of Fruit Flies

The last thing you probably do when a fly buzzes toward you is marvel at its graceful wing and body kinematics. But that’s exactly what researchers at Cornell University’s Itai Cohen Group do...

Product of the Month

The ADISRA SmartView 4.0 HMI allows builders to see what's going on in their machines.

New on the Market: May 2020

Sealing connection tools, oscilloscopes, snap-action switches, and more...

Hydrophobic & Oleophobic Coating Technologies for Polymer Optics

With the recent boom in touch-based, polymer display substrates must be fingerprint-resistant.

Properly Designing and Specifying Aspheric Lenses

Aspheric lenses greatly improve the performance and efficiency of a wide range of optical applications.

Q&A: Turning Trash into Valuable Graphene

A new process will reduce the cost of manufacturing graphene by a factor of more than 100.

Facility Focus: NASA Ames Research Center

This NASA center hosts the world’s greatest collection of wind tunnels and flight simulation facilities

Products of Tomorrow

A cryptographic ID tag, a high-reliability NASA switch, and a stretchable thermoelectric generator...

5 Ws of the Infant Smart Jumpsuit

A smart jumpsuit accurately measures the spontaneous and voluntary movement of infants

Space Station Garden Shines Light on Earth-Based Horticulture

NASA’s LED lighting system enables food and other crops to be grown indoors in places like skyscrapers.

Tackling Aircraft Laser Strikes from the Ground

To reduce the increasing frequency of attacks, the ground-based Laser Aircraft Strike Suppression Optical System (LASSOS) has been developed by researchers from the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

Using Lasers in the Automotive Manufacturing Industry

Ever since Henry Ford introduced the first moving production line to the industry in 1913, automotive manufacturers have been constantly striving to streamline their processes,...

The Configurable Laser — A Universal Manufacturing Tool

Laser technology will remain at the forefront of tomorrow’s digital manufacturing processes.

New Products

Motor drivers, position sensors, offset couplings, and more.

New on the Market: April 2020

Vision-based 3D printing, network analyzers, particulate sensors, and more.

Resolution, Accuracy, and Precision of Encoders

Here's what you'll need to know when you’re choosing an encoder for a motion control system.

Dynamic Force Control and Advanced Electropneumatic Positioning Systems in Automation

As advancements in technology continue to define how pneumatic or electromechanical linear devices lift, move, or place a load, the requirements of excellent closed-loop positioning and accuracy greatly increase

Reimagining Robotics in a Connected World

Manufacturers are beginning to realize the same benefits by cloud-connecting their equipment and processes on the shop floor.

Choose Surface Treatments Early to Avoid Future Problems

Surface treatments have limitations that demand attention early in the design process.

Product of the Month

Rugged tablets from Teguar Corp. can be used to monitor manufacturing operations.

Q&A: Simple Solar-Powered Desalination

Lenan Zhang and his team at MIT developed a small, economical, highly efficient device to provide fresh drinking water using only the Sun for its energy input.

Facility Focus: California Institute of Technology

See some of the world-changing tools and technologies launched by Caltech scientists, from earthquake monitoring to helping the blind see.

Seeing with Sound Next-Level Ultrasonic Sensors for Intelligent Cars

Even though ultrasound has been studied by scientists for many years, its capabilities in practical applications are yet to be fully harnessed.