Billy's Blog

Blog : Manufacturing & Prototyping

How To Get Your Company to Take 3D Printing Beyond Prototyping

A reader asks: "Why do organizations struggle to see 3D printing or additive manufacturing for more than prototyping? "

Blog : Energy

‘Smart’ Squid Material Offers Thermal Conductivity, On Demand

Researchers discovered that an on-and-off kind of thermal regulation is possible if you look to the squid.

Blog : Test & Measurement

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Finds a New Way to Drill Down

A NASA researcher spoke with Tech Briefs about the importance of the Curiosity rover's latest find on Mars.

Blog : Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Answering Your Questions: "What is Your Advice for a 3D Printing Beginner?"

A readers asks two 3D-printing veterans: "What is your advice to someone starting out with additive manufacturing?"

Blog : Manufacturing & Prototyping

Design Tool Brings a ‘Structural’ Approach to Color

A new approach to structural coloration is more freeform than you might expect.

Blog : Manufacturing & Prototyping

How to Evaluate a Vision System Integrator

Many manufacturers are relying on vision system integrators to implement machine vision. Our expert tells a reader how to find the right one for you.

News : Robotics, Automation & Control

Intelligent Machines: Can You Build a Robot You Can Trust?

For social robots to become commonplace in clinical settings, engineers will need to build both technology improvements as well something slightly more complicated: Trust.

Blog : Manufacturing & Prototyping

How to Authenticate a 3D-Printed Part: ‘Explode’ and Embed a QR Code

Researcher Nikhil Gupta tells Tech Briefs why "exploding" a QR code inside a 3D-printed part makes counterfeiting practically impossible.

Blog : Sensors/Data Acquisition

Are There Limitations in Autonomous-Vehicle Simulation Methods?

A reader asks our expert: As autonomous vehicles enter the market, where are the weak spots in simulation?

Blog : Software

How to Simulate an Avalanche – And All Its Subtle Mechanics

Simulation is a helpful go-to tool for assessing risk, but what if the event being simulated is an avalanche – a complex event with countless parameters and physical...

Blog : Robotics, Automation & Control

How to Power Robots with Popcorn

Cornell researchers have discovered a novel – and delicious – way to power simple robots: Popcorn.

Blog : Sensors/Data Acquisition

Functional Fabric Brings Semiconductors Directly to the Fiber

Instead of attaching semiconductors to fabric, an MIT team has found a way to add the technology right into the fiber themselves.

Blog : Sensors/Data Acquisition

Autonomous Vehicles are Expensive – Why is Hailing One So Cheap?

A reader asks: “If autonomous vehicles are too expensive for an individual to own, how is the cost per mile so low to hail one?”

Blog : Materials

A New Way to Replace Plastic Packaging: Crab Shells and Tree Fibers

Georgia Tech researchers have created a sustainable plastic packaging material, using two ingredients you might not expect in a snack machine: crab shells and tree fibers.