Magazine

New on the Market

See what's new on the market, including Boker’s stamped metal components custom manufactured to fit into developed mold designs; the CRH03 tactical-grade gyroscope from Silicon Sensing Systems; Keysight Technologies' enhanced physical layer compliance test solution for high-definition multimedia interface; and more.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including an artificial neuron made of conductive plastics that can perform advanced functions similar to those of biological nerve cells; a new method that significantly boosts the performance and stability of solar cells; and more.

Product of the Month

See the product of the month: Optical Gaging Products' addition to their SmartScope® 3D Multisensor Metrology systems: SmartScope M130.

Friction Stir Welding Robot Joins the Assembly Line

Piyush Upadhyay and his team at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a self-fixturing tool that can be attached to a robot, freeing friction stir welding from an anvil so it can be used with complex shapes.

5Ws of the 3D Ultrasonic Sensor

Norway-based startup Sonair has developed a 3D ultrasonic sensor that uses sound waves in air to give robots a precise, real-time 3D view of their surroundings, helping them operate safely in shared spaces.

Aerogel Art Attracts Attention

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory perfected aerogel for the Stardust mission. Now this comet-catching NASA technology is enabling Greek artist to create exotic works of art.

Battery Innovation Key for Commercial and Off-Highway EVs

The move to electrified on- and off-highway equipment is not without its challenges. The industry itself lags greatly behind the passenger car industry, which accounted for 17.5 million EVs sold globally last year. But why? Read on to find out.

Solving Fleet Electrification Bottlenecks with Battery-Integrated Charging Systems

Charging infrastructure has become the primary bottleneck to fleet electrification. Despite growing demand for electric trucks and increasing pressure to decarbonize logistics operations, many fleet operators face long delays for grid upgrades, transformer installations, and permitting, at times waiting more than a year to power vehicles that have already arrived. OptiGrid was formed in response to this growing gap between vehicle readiness and infrastructure availability. Read on to learn more.

Next-Generation Elastomer Seals: Enhancing Battery Safety and Sustainability in E-Mobility

As the EV market accelerates toward mass adoption, the need for durable, efficient, and scalable battery technologies is reshaping supply chain priorities across the automotive and energy sectors. Advanced sealing materials, such as high-performance elastomers, are emerging as strategic enablers in this transformation. Read on to learn more.

Built-In Smart Sensors Can Prevent Lithium-Ion Battery Fires Before They Start

New smart sensors can help detect dangerous internal failures in lithium-ion batteries before they escalate into fires or explosions, say researchers from the University of Surrey. Read on to learn more.

A Cleaner, Scalable Process to Recycle Lithium-Ion Batteries

In a major step forward for sustainable energy technology, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, led by Professor Yan Wang, William B. Smith Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, have developed a new, scalable method to recycle lithium-ion batteries in a way that is both efficient and environmentally friendly. Read on to learn more.

New AI Tool Predicts Lithium Metal Anode Failures from Just Two Early Cycles

In a groundbreaking study, researchers at Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School and the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have developed a predictive model that uses electrochemical data from the initial cycles of LMBs to forecast potential failures. Read on to learn more.

Developing High-Energy, Stable All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries Using Aluminum-Based Anodes and High-Nickel Cathodes

Researchers from Nanjing University, led by Professor Ping He and Professor Shaochun Tang, have published a comprehensive study in Nano-Micro Letters on the development of high-energy, stable all-solid-state lithium batteries using aluminum-based anodes and high-nickel cathodes. Read on to learn more about it.

Thick Electrodes’ Chemistry Matters More Than Structure for Battery Performance

A team of Rice University researchers led by materials scientist Ming Tang showed that even if the materials used in thick battery electrodes have nearly identical structures, their internal chemistry impacts energy flow — and, hence, performance — differently. This finding goes against conventional wisdom in the field. Read on to learn more.

AI Breakthrough Unlocks ‘New’ Materials to Replace Lithium-Ion Batteries

In research published in Cell Reports Physical Science, an NJIT team successfully applied generative AI techniques to rapidly discover new porous materials capable of revolutionizing multivalent-ion batteries. Read on to learn more.

Eco-Friendly Upcycling: Turning Spent Batteries into High-Voltage Energy Storage Systems

A research team led by Dr. Yosep Han at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources has successfully developed an eco-friendly electrochemical process to upcycle lithium manganese oxide, a common cathode material in spent lithium-ion batteries. Read on to learn more.

New Products

See the new products, including Nexperia's ESD diodes designed to protect 48V automotive data communications networks against the destructive effects of electrostatic discharge events; Comau's collaboration with Intecells to optimize the use of cold plasma within industrial cell manufacturing processes; Carlo Gavazzi Automation's UWP-DLB Series, an advanced solution delivering intelligent dynamic load balancing for EV charging systems; and more.

Driving EV Development with a Twin-Battery Approach

IAV hopes that its twin-battery design concept will function as a showcase to others in the battery industry that, even if you have demands that are contradicting, there can still be a solution. Read on to learn more.

Reachy 2: The Open-Source Humanoid Robot Redefining Human-Machine Interaction

In an office in Bordeaux, the Pollen Robotics teams are working on an ambitious mission: to imagine and advance useful robotics for humans. Their flagship creation, Reachy, combines accessibility, innovation, and open-source collaboration. Read on to learn more and see where it all started.

AI-Powered Robots Rebuild Homes in the Los Angeles Area

ABB Robotics is enabling faster, safer, and more cost-effective rebuilding in areas devastated by the 2025 Southern Californian wildfires through a collaboration with Cosmic Buildings — a leading construction technology company that uses proprietary mobile robotic microfactories. Read on to learn more.

Teaching a Robot How to Solve Manipulation Problems

Researchers from MIT and NVIDIA Research have developed a novel algorithm that dramatically speeds up a robot’s planning process. Their approach enables a robot to “think ahead” by evaluating thousands of possible solutions in parallel and then refining the best ones to meet the constraints of the robot and its environment. Read on to learn more.

Utilizing Acoustic Signals for Autonomous Swarm Formation in Micro-Robots

Animals like bats, whales, and insects have long used acoustic signals for communication and navigation. Now, an international team of scientists have taken a page from nature’s playbook to model micro-sized robots that use sound waves to coordinate into large swarms that exhibit intelligent-like behavior. Read on to learn more.

Flexible Conductive Skin Gives Robots the Human Touch

A team of engineers has developed a low-cost, durable, highly-sensitive robotic ‘skin’ that can be added to robotic hands like a glove, enabling robots to detect information about their surroundings in a way that’s similar to humans. Read on to learn more.

AI-Powered Training Method to Train Robots

A new AI training protocol teaches robots how to perform complicated tasks, like assembling a motherboard or an IKEA drawer, with a 100 percent success rate. Read on to learn more about it.

Monitoring and Control of Each Nanosatellite within a Cluster of Nanosatellites

NASA has developed an innovative combination of a Magnetometer, low-powered ElectroMagnets, and Resonant Inductive Coupling (MEMRIC) to create and control relative positioning of nano satellites within a cluster. This is a game-changing approach to enable distributed nanosatellite (nanosat) clusters. Read on to learn more.

New Products

See the new products, including Kassow Robots' Sensitive Arm technology across its complete range of 7-axis collaborative robots; igus' first humanoid robot, Iggy Rob, designed to support industrial production, service environments, and transport tasks; Weidmuller USA's unmanaged Single Pair Ethernet Switch that enables a seamless networking experience for users in a wide array of industrial environments; BizLink's careDP, an AI-powered condition monitoring system designed to revolutionize maintenance in robotic production lines; and more.

The Impact of AI Across the Industrial Value Chain

It is no exaggeration to say that AI will be the next big leap across all of industry, reimagining the way people work, products are designed, and factories are operated. But AI doesn’t mean a fully autonomous future but rather a harmony, uniting people and technology in a way that plays to the strength of both to achieve a result greater than what either could achieve alone. Read on to learn more.

When Automation Goes Wrong: Lessons from the Field

Automation is a powerful tool, but only when designed and implemented with a systems-level mindset. Failures rarely stem from the automation hardware itself but often result from gaps in planning, integration, or life cycle support. Read on to learn more.

Collaborative Robots Need More Sophisticated Sensors

The transition from isolated, pre-programmed robots to adaptive cobots marks a significant advancement in industrial automation — one that depends not only on software but on a new generation of sensing technologies. Read on to learn more.