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INSIDER: Aerospace

Perovskite and Organic Solar cells Prove Successful in Space

Almost all satellites are powered by solar cells – but solar cells are heavy. While conventional high-performance cells reach up to three watts of electricity per gram,...

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

Scientists Use Photons as Threads to Weave Novel Forms of Matter

New research from the University of Southampton has discovered a way to bind two negatively charged electron-like particles which could create opportunities to form novel...

INSIDER: Materials

Researcher Gets Navy Grant to Develop Flexible, Printed Solar Cells

University of North Texas professor Anupama Kaul straddles the line between electrical engineering and materials science, which puts her in the perfect place to develop...

INSIDER: Test & Measurement

New Products: September 2020 Photonics & Imaging Insider

Machine Vision Cameras

Teledyne DALSA (Waterloo, Canada) announced its new Falcon4-CLHS M4480 and M4400 cameras, based on the Teledyne e2v Lince 11.2M monochrome sensors. The...

INSIDER: Power

Faster, More Efficient Energy Storage From Layered Materials

A team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) developed a novel, integrated approach to track energy-transporting ions within an ultra-thin...

INSIDER: Energy

Improved Battery Life for Wearable Electronic Devices

Researchers at the University of Warwick have found that asymmetric stresses within electrodes used in certain wearable electronic devices provides an important clue as to how to...

INSIDER: Energy

Scientists Boost Stability and Efficiency of Next-Gen Solar Tech

Researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have created next-generation solar modules with high efficiency and good...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Biomorphic Batteries Could Provide 72 Times More Energy for Robots

Like biological fat reserves store energy in animals, a new rechargeable zinc battery integrates into the structure of a robot to provide much more energy, a team led by...

INSIDER: Software

“Drive-By Science” Helps Rovers Go Farther, Faster

A NASA team is working on Mars robot autonomy to make future rovers more intelligent, to enhance safety, to improve productivity, and to drive faster and farther. Two novel...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Army Readies Robots for Underground Tunnels

The Army Research Laboratory released a software suite that simulates conditions of an underground tunnel network. Researchers interested in developing robots for subterranean environments can...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

NASA’s Robot Hotel Gets Its Occupants

A protective storage unit for robotic tools called Robotic Tool Stowage (RiTS) was among the items launched to the International Space Station last December as part of SpaceX’s resupply services...

INSIDER: Physical Sciences

Researchers Develop Ultra-Sensitive Device for Detecting Magnetic Fields

A team of Brown University physicists has developed a new type of compact, ultra-sensitive magnetometer, 20 times more sensitive than many traditional sensors. The...

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

Configurable Circuit Technology Poised to Expand Silicon Photonic Applications

Researchers have developed a new way to build power efficient and programmable integrated switching units on a silicon photonics chip. The new technology is...

INSIDER: Test & Measurement

New Method Measures Temperature Within 3D Objects

University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers have made it possible to remotely determine the temperature beneath the surface of certain materials using a new technique they call depth...

INSIDER: Medical

Researchers Develop 3D Hand-Sensing Wristband

In a potential breakthrough in wearable sensing technology, researchers from Cornell and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, have designed a wrist- mounted device that continuously tracks...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Human-Like Hands with Flexible, Hybrid Actuators

In industrial settings, robots often are used for tasks that require repetitive grasping and manipulation of objects. A humanoid hand design that is a soft-hard hybrid flexible gripper can...

INSIDER: Motion Control

Self-Latching Piezocomposite Actuator

NASA Langley has developed a self-latching piezocomposite actuator with power-off, set-and-hold capability. If integrated into an aerodynamic control surface or engine inlet, deflections could be...

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

Comb on a Chip Could Revolutionize Clocks, Telescopes, Telecommunications

Just as a meter stick with hundreds of tick marks can be used to measure distances with great precision, a device known as a laser frequency comb, with its...

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

New Products: July 2020 Photonics & Imaging Insider

Ultraviolet-Enhanced Circular Photodetector

Opto Diode Corporation (Camarillo, CA) has introduced the UVG5S, an ultraviolet-enhanced photodiode with a 5 mm² circular active area....

INSIDER: Test & Measurement

Using Sunlight to Save Satellites from Becoming ‘Space Junk’

Carolin Frueh is among only a handful of researchers who have persisted in using a complex technique that can diagnose a problem from thousands of miles away based on how a...

INSIDER: Materials

Transparent Graphene Electrodes Might Lead to New Generation of Solar Cells

A new way of making large sheets of high-quality, atomically thin graphene could lead to ultra-lightweight, flexible solar cells, and to new classes of...

INSIDER: Motion Control

Smallest Motor in the World

The smallest motor in the world — consisting of just 16 atoms – measures less than one nanometer or about 100,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. The rotor rotates on the surface of the...

INSIDER: Energy

Precision Spray Coating Makes Better Perovskite Solar Cells

Although perovskites are a promising alternative to silicon for solar cells, new manufacturing processes are needed to make them practical for commercial production. To help...

INSIDER: Energy

Potassium Metal Battery Emerges as a Rival to Lithium-Ion Technology

Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have demonstrated how to overcome a persistent challenge to potassium metal batteries — dendrites. Their new battery...

INSIDER: Automotive

Solid State Batteries With Ten Times More Current Density

Solid state batteries are of great interest to the electric vehicle industry. New technology developed by scientists at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden and Xi'an...

INSIDER: Energy

Scavenger Technology Allows Robots to ‘Eat’ Metal for Energy

A new metal-air scavenger works like a battery, in that it provides power by repeatedly breaking and forming a series of chemical bonds. But it also works like a harvester,...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Mini Rover Pedals Out of Trouble

The next generation of exploration rovers will need to be good at climbing hills covered with loose material and avoiding entrapment on soft granular surfaces. Built with wheeled appendages that can be...

News: Imaging

In Vivo Imaging Links Sensory Experience to Activity

Novel biosensors allow the simultaneous study of both neuronal activity and transcription factor dynamics.

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

Optical Imaging Technology for Treating Tumors

A new tool for medical professionals may help shed light on tumors.