Features

Innovating Non-Destructive Test Systems Using Advanced Automation

Designing non-destructive test (NDT) systems for aerospace clients can feel like engineering with blindfolds on. Even when the parts under test aren’t confidential, they can change rapidly as companies optimize their designs. But how do you create precision inspection systems without knowing what they’ll inspect in the field? Read on to find out.

Butterfly-Inspired AI Technology

Professor Saptarshi Das and his team at Penn State University learned that when it comes to mating, two things matter for Heliconius butterflies: the look and the smell of their potential partner. This led them to think about how multiple sensory inputs could enable more efficient use of AI.

Force Testing Profile Stings

A group of graduate students used a force measurement system to test the structural capacity of custom profile stings during high-threshold testing in a wind tunnel.

Seeing Is Communicating

The Eyegaze Edge system developed in collaboration with NASA is an eye-tracking technology that makes 'talking' possible for people who can’t.

5Ws of Film-Balloon Soft Robots

A novel fabrication approach enables lightweight, untethered operation of soft robots with advanced biomimetic locomotion capabilities.

The Latest Advancements in Optics

Optics are used in a vast range of applications in virtually every sector of human endeavor, from scientific microscopes to medical diagnostic imaging, from automobile headlights to telescopes pointed at the stars. Read on to learn about their advances.

Ultra-Narrowband Optical Filters Pushing Boundaries from the UV to the LWIR

Developments in ultra-narrow manufacturing capabilities enable transformative, world-changing, technology. Read on to learn how boundaries are being pushed.

Analysis and Simulation of Low-Light INL in CMOS Image Sensors

Conventional sources of INL are well understood, but as pixel array resolution has increased and ADC pitch has consequently been reduced, additional array sources of nonlinearity have become prominent. Read on to learn more.

Advanced Laser Cleaning Robotic Work Cells Turbocharge Industrial Processes

Enclosed robotic laser parts cleaning systems are poised to safely remove rust and contamination as well as condition surfaces at dramatically higher volumes and at lower cost than conventional methods. Read on to learn more about the process.

Total Versatility: Flexible Test Station With a Cobot and Camera

Manually checking the quality of components or products in industry is labor-intensive for employees and error-prone on top of that. The Fraunhofer Institute for Mechatronic Systems Design IEM is unveiling a solution that provides total versatility in this area. Read on to learn more about it.

New Products

See the new products, including TRIOPTICS' expansion of its OptiCentric® 101 centration measurement system, a new type of laser-based immersion probe, LightSolver's breakthrough in quantum-inspired high-performance computing, Teledyne FLIR's next-generation embedded software for the ITAR-free Boson+ thermal camera module, IDS Imaging Development Systems' all essential camera components for the uEye ACP series, and much more.

Leveraging CAD for Precision in Wide Field Star Imaging and Spectroscopy

Have you ever gazed at the vastness of the stars and wondered what else your CNC machine can create? Greg Green had the opportunity to find out when he joined the staff at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) in Waimea, Hawaii. Read on to find out what happened.

Robotics Virtual Twins Offer a Simulation-Based Approach to Real-time Operations

RVT is set to become a pivotal innovation in the quest for net-zero emissions within the automotive industry. By fully leveraging RVT capabilities, manufacturers can significantly reduce material waste, energy consumption, and emissions while enhancing resource efficiency and integrating renewable energy sources. Read on to learn more.

Engineering a New Approach to Satellite Constellation Design

Propulsion systems that were once crafted in very limited quantities now need to be manufactured by the thousands. This scale-up necessitates a new design and development approach that blends modern manufacturing principles with legacy systems. Read on to learn more about it.

New on the Market

See what's new on the market, including the latest wafer inspection system from PI Americas, Remcom's XFdtd ® 3D Electromagnetic Simulation Software, ASM's high-resolution measurement system, NOVOSENSE Microelectronics' 16/24-channel driver IC for automotive LED applications, Advanced Energy Industries' NavX™ impedance matching network, the QUINT HP AC UPS from Phoenix Contact, Precision Glass & Optics' new double-sided polishing (DSP) capabilities, and more.

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.

Product of the Month

See the product of the month: Idec Corporation's expanded SmartAXIS touch family, including the new FT2J Series combined PLC+HMI.

Data Library Enables Analysis of Electric Grid Issues

Dr. Aaron J. Wilson and his team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed The Grid Event Signature Library — an open-access online collection of datasets containing waveforms that are visual representations of behaviors of the electric grid, which can help analyze anomalous events.

Space Station Germ Testing Improves Wastewater Monitoring

A technology developed for NASA to identify pathogens inside spacecraft turned out to be beneficial for wastewater surveillance on Earth.

5Ws of the Mouth-Based Touchpad

A new device developed by MIT engineers allows people living with paralysis to interact with phones and computers using their tongue, mouth, and head gestures.

Exploring Dark Matter with the Help of Robotic Fiber Positioners

In collaboration with the Via Project Team, New Scale Technologies is manufacturing next-generation “Viper” robotic fiber positioners to enable simpler yet faster survey operations.

New on the Market

See what's new on the market, including ASM's posiwire® sensors WST61, WST85, and WST21; Allegro MicroSystems' third product in its High Voltage Power-Thru™ portfolio; Sumida America's CDPQ/T150 Series of high-current power inductors; the advanced new series of USB Type C Plugs and Sockets from Keystone Electronics Corp.; Analog Devices, Inc.'s IMU; and binder's latest enhancements to its panel mount connectors in M12 size.

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.

Product of the Month

See the product of the month: Dewesoft's OBSIDIAN®, a breakthrough data acquisition (DAQ) instrument that combines the best features of a high-end DAQ system, a long-term datalogger, a real-time EtherCAT data server, and a signal conditioning front end.

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.

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.

New Products

See the new products, including Asahi Kasei Microdevices Corporation's CZ39 series of coreless current sensors, Bourns, Inc.'s latest miniature resettable thermal cutoff device series, Orion S.A.'s range of high-performance conductive additives that improve Li-ion battery performance, and Littelfuse, Inc.'s newest member of its eFuse Protection IC lineup, the LS0502SCD33S.

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.