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A Squid-Like 'Muscle' Senses Light and Changes Shape

Inspired by the squid's color-changing chromatophore, Rutgers engineers set out to create an artificial one.

A New Way to Cure Adhesives on Demand? Magnets.

The non-contact method of curing leads to adhesives that can be activated on demand.

CES 2021: How COVID-19 Turned the Car into a Personal 'Second Space'

In a roundtable presentation at the virtual CES 2021, panelists said the COVID-19 pandemic has changed driving patterns and consumer preferences – and that those shifts are here to stay.

Experts Weigh In: How Will a Robotic Future Impact Nature?

A survey of over 170 experts assessed the opportunities and challenges that drones, robots, and autonomous systems could have for urban nature and green spaces.

A Better Sensor Detects Ice Build-Up, In Real Time

The sensor is able to detect ice formation far before you can see it occurring on a surface.

A Spiraling Robotic Gripper 'Twines' Like a Plant

As engineering professor Mable Fok saw how the pole beans in her garden wrapped tightly around any objects nearby, she had an idea: What if a robotic gripper could do the same thing?

Q&A: 'Smellicopter' Uses Live Moth Antenna to Seek Out Smells

UW doctoral student Melanie Anderson explains how to make an autonomous 'Smellicopter' to navigate toward smells.

How to Choose an Optical Filter

Optical interference filters are critical to the overall performance of machine vision applications. So how do you select the right one?

Will Electric Aircraft Reach the Speeds of Commercial Jets?

An Israel-based company called Eviation is working on an all-electric aircraft known as "Alice." Will it match the speeds of a jet?

With a 50-Million-Electron Jolt, Sensors Power Themselves

By jumpstarting electrons, a team at Washington University in St. Louis has developed sensors that can power themselves for more than a year.

Stanford Computer Model Predicts How COVID-19 Spreads in Cities

The model analyzes three factors that drive infection risk: where people go in the course of a day; how long they linger; and how many other people are visiting the same place at the same time.

A Solar Alternative: How to Power Devices with Indoor Light

A new material is especially effective at absorbing indoor light and converting it into usable energy.

Bacteria-Fighting RepelWrap Wins 'Create the Future' Design Contest

The RepelWrap inventors explain why their product is especially valuable as the world confronts a pandemic like COVID-19.

What Role Will Motors Play in Mars 2020 Missions?

The great tasks of retrieving samples and flying a helicopter on Mars requires a number of small parts — specifically motors and drives.

'Soil Fuel Cells' Support Water Treatment in Brazil

The soil microbial fuel cells produce energy to filter enough water for a person’s daily needs, with potential to increase scale.

A Spider-Inspired Design Paves Way for Better Photodetectors

Purdue University innovators are taking cues from the spider to develop 3D photodetectors for biomedical imaging.

Woodworking, Simplified: New Software Aids in Design

An interactive software being developed at the University of Tokyo allows architects and furniture makers with little experience in woodworking to to design and build structurally sound wood joints.

Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Testing: Simulation vs. Closed-Course vs. Public Roads

A reader asks, "For AV testing, what are the respective role of simulation, closed course, and public road testing?"

A Squid-Like Robot Swims, Untethered

A robot being tested at the University of California San Diego takes after an aquatic invertebrate that has a jet-like way moving through the water: The Squid.

With Water Jets, Machines 'Breathe' to Cool Down

University of Central Florida researchers are developing a human-like way for large machines to cool off and keep from overheating: Letting the machines "breathe."

How to Charge an Underwater Robot? A Mobile Docking Station

Researcher Nina Mahmoudian is finding a new way for underwater robots to recharge and upload their data, and then go back out to continue exploring, without the need for human intervention.

Is the Public Ready for a Level-4 Autonomous Vehicle?

A reader asks, "Will the public feel safe enough in an autonomous vehicle?"

Researchers Prove Their Elastic Exosuit Eases Back Stress

Vanderbilt University engineers are proving that their elastic exosuit can provide relief for people doing the heavy lifting.

What is the Maximum Temperature That Thermal Imaging Cameras Can Measure?

Thermal cameras detect heat radiation and can be used to identify the surface temperature of objects and people. So what's their limit, asks a reader.

New Composite Energizes the Electric Vehicle Market

A new composite from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) increases the electrical current capacity of copper wires, providing a new material that can be scaled for use in ultra-efficient, power-dense electric vehicle traction motors.

New Software Keeps Self-Driving Cars on a Safe Path

New software from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) wants to predict all traffic possibilities, so that self-driving vehicles will never get into accidents.

NASA's 'VITAL' Ventilator: A Choice Between Licensing and Open-Source

As Brazil begins mass-producing a NASA-developed ventilator, a Tech Briefs reader asks why NASA didn't go open-source.

Breakthrough Model Offers Better Look Inside Rechargeable Batteries

The new approach could help pave the way for smaller battery packs and greater driving range in electric vehicles.

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?