Blog

Tech Briefs writers and editors share their opinions and find the fun, interesting, and unexpected stories behind today's leading-edge inventions.

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Blog: Design
A new AI model is much better than doctors at identifying patients likely to experience cardiac arrest. The linchpin is the system's ability to analyze long-underused heart imaging, alongside a full spectrum of medical records, to reveal previously hidden information about a patient's heart health.
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Blog: Materials
Haozhe “Harry” Wang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering (ECE) at Duke University and an expert in developing new methods for manufacturing materials, continues to push the boundaries in MXene research.
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Blog: Unmanned Systems
All the pieces are in place for agriculture to become smarter — it’s time to move ahead. Here’s how to move to Agriculture 4.0.
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Blog: Software
By turning simulation into custom apps, companies are empowering their workforce to make faster, smarter decisions across every part of the business — from the lab to the field.
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Blog: Physical Sciences
A new study introduces a novel way to reach a largely unstudied stretch of the atmosphere, between 30-60 miles above Earth’s surface, the mesosphere. Researchers have introduced a new way to explore it: lightweight flying structures that can float using nothing but sunlight.
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News: Design
Johns Hopkins University researchers have grown a novel whole-brain organoid, complete with neural tissues and rudimentary blood vessels — an advance that could usher in a new era of research into neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism.
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Blog: AR/AI
Scientists have engineered a vast spin waveguide network that processes information with far less energy. These spin waves quantum ripples in magnetic materials offer a promising alternative to power-hungry electronics.
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Blog: Materials
The Zhang Lab’s latest advance, Phase Gradient Ultra-Open Metamaterial (PGUOM), centers on broadband silencing. Read on to learn more about it.
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Blog: Unmanned Systems
My Opinion: Industry 4.0 is already here — Agriculture 4.0 will catch up. Bringing automation and AI to agriculture is a necessity.
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Blog: Design
Scientists have 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.
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Blog: Design
Researchers from Drexel University have developed a standard testing process to give manufacturers a better look at the internal workings of batteries.
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Blog: RF & Microwave Electronics
The team has developed the Safety-Assured High-Speed Aerial Robot (SUPER), capable of flying at speeds exceeding 20 meters per second [about 45 miles per hour] and avoiding obstacles as thin as 2.5 millimeters [about 0.1 inch] — such as power lines or twigs — using solely onboard sensors and computing power.
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Blog: AR/AI
A CU Boulder team is using digital twins — hyper-realistic VR environments — to provide a useful proxy for the moon, giving people a chance to get the hang of driving robots without risking damage to multi-million-dollar equipment.
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Blog: Medical
Equine-Assisted Interventions (EAIs) offer a powerful alternative to traditional talking therapies for patients with PTSD, trauma, and autism who struggle to express and regulate emotions through words alone.
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Blog: Physical Sciences
The new robot, dubbed ATMO (aerially transforming morphobot), uses four thrusters to fly, but the shrouds that protect them become the system's wheels in an alternative driving configuration. The whole transformation relies on a single motor to move a central joint that lifts ATMO's thrusters up into drone mode or down into drive mode.
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Blog: Design
A University of Nebraska–Lincoln engineering team is another step closer to developing soft robotics and wearable systems that mimic the ability of human and plant skin to detect and self-heal injuries.
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Blog: Energy
Traditional Li-ion batteries rely on graphite as an anode material. However, the same graphite structure fails when it comes to sodium or potassium. But, by rethinking the shape of carbon at the microscopic level, researchers found a workaround.
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Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
My Opinion: Quantum computing is coming but has this engineer puzzled. As we celebrate 2025, the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, I find that thinking about these things from an engineer’s point of view is quite challenging.
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Blog: RF & Microwave Electronics
From initial design to end-of-life recycling, digitalization is transforming every stage of battery development. Puneet Sinha, Senior Director and Global Head of the Battery Industry at Siemens Digital Industries Software, discusses the emerging battery technology trends and how digital transformation is reshaping the industry.
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Blog: Data Acquisition
Self-driving cars which eliminate traffic jams, getting a health care diagnosis instantly without leaving your home, or feeling the touch of loved ones based across the continent may soon become reality thanks to a radical breakthrough in semiconductor technology.
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Blog: Materials
MIT engineers have developed a resin that turns into two different kinds of solids, depending on the type of light that shines on it: Ultraviolet light cures the resin into a highly resilient solid, while visible light turns the same resin into a solid that is easily dissolvable in certain solvents.
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Blog: AR/AI
Two researchers have developed a new AI tool that can predict the 3D shape of chromosomes inside individual cells — helping researchers gain a new view of how our genes work.
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Blog: Medical
One promising strategy to counter cognitive decline is through olfactory stimulation — engaging the sense of smell. Read on to learn how a team developed VR tech to do just that.
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Blog: Design
A research team has developed a biocompatible ultrasonic receiver that maintains its performance even when bent. Read on to learn more about it.
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Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
The work shows how a soft robot can use suction flow not just to stick to things, but also to sense its environment and control its own actions — just like an octopus.
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Blog: Green Design & Manufacturing
Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering have engineered a practical liquid hydrogen storage and delivery system that brings zero-emission aviation significantly closer to reality.
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Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
Researchers were brainstorming ways that underwater vehicles could use turbulent water currents for propulsion and wondered if, instead of them being a problem, they could be an advantage.
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Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
Inspired by the movements of a tiny parasitic worm, Georgia Tech engineers have created a five-inch soft robot that can jump as high as a basketball hoop.
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Blog: Energy
Our current battery industry needs to be re-energized. The decades-old technology isn’t always the ideal match for some of our recent advancements, like EVs, or for more extreme environments. Fortunately, some companies are charging up potentially ground-breaking ideas. Read on to learn more.
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