Billy's Blog

Blog: RF & Microwave Electronics

What's Best for Autonomous Cars: LiDAR vs Radar vs Cameras

A reader asks our expert: When it comes to autonomous vehicles, what’s best: Radar, LiDAR, or cameras?

Blog: Unmanned Systems

Can We Trust A.I.? Modeling Tool Quantifies How Much a Machine Doesn't Know

A new modeling tool from USC engineers generates automatic indicators when data and predictions from AI algorithms are trustworthy.

Blog: Photonics/Optics

With a Flash of a Laser, Microscopic Robots Move

A Cornell team developed paramecium-sized robots that can be controlled with lasers.

Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Clang! Robots Detect Objects By Sound

Carnegie Mellon researcher Lerrel Pinto wants to prove that sound can be a valuable asset for robots.

Blog: Electronics & Computers

Answering Your Questions: Edge Computing vs. Cloud Computing in the Vehicle

Deciding between edge computing and cloud computing? Make sure to consider these four major factors, says our industry expert.

Blog: Aerospace

Scientist Proposes Life on Mars, Below the Surface

Although life has not been found on Mars just year, a researcher from NYU thinks there could be life...under it.

Blog: Data Acquisition

How to Guarantee Autonomous Driving Levels — When Vision is Obstructed

A reader asks: How can self-driving car manufacturers guarantee safety when snow, ice, or mud impair a vision system?

Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition

How to Test a Living Sensor, Made with Bacteria

Dr. James Rees is spending the time in his lab testing sensors made from bacteria.

Blog: Data Acquisition

With Satellite Data, NASA Shows COVID-19 Impact on Food Supply Chain

“Food supply” goes beyond just crop production. See how NASA is offering a more comprehensive look at food security and agriculture.

Blog: Aerospace

Watch: The Mars 2020 Perseverance Launch

Watch below as the Perseverance rover and its Ingenuity helicopter make their way to Mars.

Blog: Aerospace

Watch Live: A Mars 2020 Briefing with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine

Mars 2020 NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and other NASA experts offer a briefing on this week's launch of the Perseverance rover.

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Watch: NASA's Mars 2020 Sample Return Briefing

Watch below as NASA experts review how they plan to return samples from the surface of Mars back to Earth.

Blog: Aerospace

Watch: NASA's Mars 2020 Mission Engineering and Science Briefing

Watch NASA experts review this week's preparations, as the Perseverance rover launches and begins its journey to Mars.

Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control

Answering Your Questions: How Automated is the Mars Rover Landing?

Can NASA "joystick" the landing of the next Mars rover? A Tech Briefs reader asks our NASA expert.

Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Robotic Gripper Gets a Handle on a Challenging Object: Cables

We plug in our headphones everyday. Now a robot can perform the task.

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Answering Your Questions: How Does the Mars Rover Camera Stay Clean?

The Perseverance rover has an almost human-like way of keeping its lenses clean.

Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control

Guided by Light, A Mini Robot Catches Particles Underwater

A tiny underwater robot may someday filter out water contaminants by catching them with its tentacles.

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Answering Your (Mars 2020) Questions: Will the Perseverance Rover Carry Around NASA's Mars Helicopter?

The Mars rover Perseverance has a helicopter. Will the rover have to carry it around?

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Even NASA Needs Effective Parts Sourcing

You can design the best product in the world but what if the parts, assemblies, and sub-components for your idea aren’t there?

Blog: Test & Measurement

Answering Your Questions: Will the 2020 Mars Rover Have Back-Up Features?

A reader asks our NASA expert: "What kind of redundancy is built into the Mars 2020 rover?"

Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition

'HEAT' Uses Cameras to Detect Facial Temperatures and Keep the Room Cool

The Human Embodied Autonomous Thermostat, or “HEAT," uses cameras to identify facial temperature, and adjust the room's air accordingly.

Blog: Aerospace

Answering Your (Mars 2020) Questions: Perseverance vs. Curiosity Rover Hardware

A reader asks NASA experts: How much hardware from the Curiosity rover is being used on the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover?

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Coffee Grounds Put a Pep in the Step of Flexible Robotic Feet

Traditional robotic feet are made of rigid components. A team of engineers at UCSD turned to coffee grounds to make legged robots more flexible and able to walk on a variety of rough terrain.

Blog: Energy

Is Water Vapor the Next Energy Source? Lightning Researchers Test the Idea

"Who knows? Maybe one day we will have roofs covered with humidity panels together with solar panels," TAU professor Colin Price told Tech Briefs.

Blog: Internet of Things

NIST Researchers Use A.I. to Boost 5G Efficiency

NIST engineers are working to make the cellular network standard even faster.

Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control

A Breakthrough for Robotic Prosthetics: Researchers Train A.I. to Spot Different Terrain

New software sets the stage for A.I.-enabled robotic prostheses that predict user terrain and initiate mechanical changes accordingly.

Blog: Electronics & Computers

How to Keep Batteries from Catching Fire? Nanotech Energy Goes with Graphene and New Electrolyte

The Los Angeles, CA-based company Nanotech Energy is using graphene to prevent thermal runaway and create a non-flammable battery.

Blog: Materials

Gecko-Inspired: Researchers Find Easier Way to Mass-Produce Adhesives

A team at Georgia Tech has discovered a Velcro-like way of mass-producing gecko-inspired adhesives.

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

The Next Challenge for Soft Robots? Beat the Cheetah

A proof-of-concept soft robot has a cheetah-like gait that avoids the usual crawl.