Features

2021 Create the Future Design Contest: Consumer Product Design Category Winner — Aira FreePower

Learn about "FreePower" charging stations.

Facility Focus: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center

The "ERDC" helps solve problems in civil and military engineering, geospatial sciences, water resources, and environmental sciences.

ARTEMIS II: Astronauts on Board

With Artemis II — the first crewed flight of SLS and Orion — four astronauts will travel to the lunar environment in 2024.

Special Section: The Winners of the 2021 'Create the Future' Design Contest

See this year's product designs from engineers, students, and entrepreneurs worldwide.

Why 3D Artificial Intelligence with AR and VR is More Important Today

Deep learning-based AI allows users to identify 3D objects of arbitrary shape and size in various orientations with high accuracy in the 3D space.

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.

2021 Create the Future Design Contest: Manufacturing/Robotics/Automation Category Winner — Electronics-Free Soft Walking Robot

Av four-legged soft robot walks, without requiring any electronics.

2021 Create the Future Design Contest: Automotive/Transportation Category Winner — Afreecar E-kit

The e-kit promises to be a low-cost solution in the developing world.

2021 Create the Future Design Contest: Medical Category Winner — Halo Speculum

The Halo replaces all metal retractors with one simple, one-size-fits-all design.

ARTEMIS III: Return to the Surface

The third flight of SLS and Orion will carry the first woman and first person of color to the Moon.

Keeping Warmer in the Great Outdoors

A long-time apparel insulator develops its own takes on popular NASA spinoff material.

ARTEMIS: Back to the Moon

With the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, NASA will return humans to the lunar surface.

New on the Market: November 2021

Power supply ICs, temperature sensors, DC-DC converters, and more.

Optimizing Wireless Test Systems and Antennas for High-Speed Communication

Easy-to-use reverberation test systems (RTS) measure the performance of wireless devices and antennas.

2021 Create the Future Design Contest: Sustainable Technologies/Future Energy Category Winner — Multifunctional Bionanocomposite Fruit Coatings

The invention could capture the potential of the edible packaging market.

2021 Supplier Guide: Sensors

See leading manufacturers in a variety of sensor topic areas, including radar and encoders.

Q&A: Plastics Could See Second Life as Biodegradable Surfactants

A chemical process produces valuable biodegradable chemicals from discarded plastics.

Products of Tomorrow

Metamaterial printing, high-efficiency solar cells, and a noise-reduction material.

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.

Metallic Glass Gears Up for Cobots, Coatings, and More

A bulk metallic glass could slash prices of collaborative robots and lead to advanced 3D-printed metals.

UpFront: October 2021 Tech Briefs

NASA reveals winners of a CO2 conversion challenge.

New on the Market: October 2021

Battery-pack test systems, data management, connector clips, and more.

Is The Future of Automation in the Manufacturing Sector Already Here?

These technologies provide a tantalizing glimpse into the future of manufacturing automation.

Facility Focus: Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering

Today, Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering performs research in robotics, cyberphysical systems, artificial intelligence, biomedicine, energy, and other topics.

Technologies Increase Safety of Astronauts to the Moon

As the U.S. lands a craft on the Moon for the first time since 1972, technology built by Louisiana State University students will report back from the lunar surface.

Sensing Hazardous Gases Can Save Lives

Pellistor/Catalytic Bead (CB) sensors can respond to flammable gases such as hydrogen, oxygen, hydrogen sulfide, methane, butane, propane, and carbon monoxide.

What Will 5G Do for the IoT/IIoT?

To find out about the impact of 5G mobile broadband service on the IoT/IIoT, I interviewed Jai Suri, Vice President, IoT and Blockchain Applications Development, Oracle, and Mike Anderson, Embedded Systems...

New Products

Laser-distance sensors, light monitoring, flow meters, and more.

Energy Harvesting Can Enable 1 Trillion Battery-Free Sensors in the IoT

A tiny investment in system capital expenditures can lead to huge rewards in reduced capital and operating expenses.