Billy's Blog

Blog: Aerospace

AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2019: A Flying Sea Glider

A Navy Sea Glider can look for a target in mid-air or underwater.

News: Software

AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2019: Air Force Technology

As always, the Air Force Research Laboratory had a huge presence at AUVSI’s XPONENTIAL show in Chicago.

News: Transportation

AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2019: A Real Thrill Ride

You think riding your Harley Davidson is exciting? Try the ElectraFly.

Blog: Aerospace

AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2019: A Close-Up Look at Air Taxis

Taxi! A steady stream of AUVSI XPONENTIAL attendees got to see Bell's new air vehicle up close.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

3D-Printed Glass Paves Way for ‘New Era’ of Photonics

For the first time, researchers have 3D printed a unique material that demonstrates optical transparency in the mid-infrared range: chalcogenide glass.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Answering Your Questions: CNC Machining or 3D Printing?

Some parts should be CNC machined, and some parts should be 3D printed. Our expert compares the two manufacturing processes.

Blog: Energy

Snow's Power Potential: How to Generate Electricity from a Blizzard

A new 3D printed device turns snowfall into electricity.

Blog: Transportation

Higher-Strength Plastics: How to Turn Polyethylene into ‘Transparent Aluminium’

Researchers created transparent polythene sheets that have a strength greater than aluminum – at a fraction of the weight.

Blog: Test & Measurement

Answering Your Questions: When to CT Scan in the 3D Printing Process

The 3D-printing process has a number of steps. Find out where CT scanning should fall.

Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition

How Fitness Wearables Began – With a Plug-In Sneaker

Dr. Peter Cavanagh talks with Tech Briefs about his journey in the 1980s as he turned a running shoe into a tracking computer.

Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control

Automate Show 2019: Introducing New Robots to North America

On day one of the Automate show in Chicago, Stäubli introduced its new TS2 four-axis robots to the North American market.

Blog: Data Acquisition

Woven into Clothing, 'Smart' Threads Sense Gases

The dyed threads change color when they detect a variety of gases.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Answering Your Questions: Can Collaborative Robots Help Manufacturers Looking to Scale Their Business?

Cobots can help manufacturers automate tasks both known or unknown, says engineer Israel Nunez.

Blog: Energy

Energy Monitor Helps Coast Guard Find Faulty Electrics on Board

The MIT system can monitor the behavior of electronic devices within a building, a factory – and even a 270-foot Coast Guard cutter.

Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control

Answering Your Questions: When to Use Collaborative Robots in Manufacturing

A reader asks: What types of considerations need to be made before you go in on collaborative robots?

Blog: Materials

3D-Printable Sensor ‘Turns Blue’ to Detect Trace Amounts of Water

The sensor supports new ideas in food-quality control, environmental monitoring, and more.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Inside the Invention of a Snore-Stopping Sleep Mask – From Idea to Prototype to Product

It took two and a half years, 60 prototypes, and even some of his children’s craft foam, but Curtis Ray turned his idea into invention.

Blog: Energy

High-Speed Jet Mixer Efficiently Turns Algae into Fuel

A new technology may lead to a more mainstream use of algal biofuels.

Blog: Electronics & Computers

Readers Select 2018 Products of the Year

See which three products won our 2018 Readers' Choice contest.

Blog: Electronics & Computers

Calling All Innovators: 'Create the Future' Contest is Open for Entries

Your design idea could win you $20,000.

Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition

On a Firefighter’s Jacket, a Self-Powered Tracking Sensor Takes the Heat

The wearable is fireproof, thanks to a carbon aerogel nanocomposite material.

Blog: Automotive

Answering Your Questions: What Areas of Study Are Desirable for the Autonomous Industry?

With self-driving vehicles poised to take the road, how can today’s engineers prepare themselves to support an autonomous future?

Blog: Materials

Porous Carbon Fibers: How a Car Could Someday Store Its Energy 'Everywhere'

Tesla uses batteries to store energy underneath the car seats. What if we could store energy everywhere on the vehicle?

Blog: Nanotechnology

Graphene Breakthrough Puts Nanolithography ‘Back in the Toolbox’

Graphene may play a greater role in tomorrow electronics, thanks to an achievement from the Technical University of Denmark.

Blog: Transportation

Answering Your Questions: Are There Regulations for Machine Learning in Vehicles?

How do you regulate a system that, in effect, is learning as it goes?

Blog: Motion Control

A Morphing Soft Actuator Expands the Motion Options

Even a shape-morphing plane is possible, says Harvard's Ehsan Hajiesmaili.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

3D-Printed Rubber Repairs Itself

A new material development from USC brings us a step closer to self-healing sneakers.

Blog: Materials

What is 'Metallic Wood?' Nickel, Plus Nano-Pores

By adding nanopores to nickel, James Pikul and his team created a kind of "metallic wood."

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Answering Your Questions: How to Sell Top Management on Failure Analysis, FMEA

A Failure Analysis may help find problems during product development, but what role should top management play in an FMEA?