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Blog: Aerospace
An Israel-based company called Eviation is working on an all-electric aircraft known as "Alice." Will it match the speeds of a jet?
Blog: Semiconductors & ICs
By jumpstarting electrons, a team at Washington University in St. Louis has developed sensors that can power themselves for more than a year.
Question of the Week: Energy
Will Indoor Light Someday Power Our Smart Devices?
Our lead INSIDER story today looks at “perovskite-inspired” materials that can absorb indoor light at higher efficiencies than ever before.
INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Natural motion in plants occurs because of cellulose fibers absorbing and releasing water. Scientists developed a simple method to produce self-folding origami structures based on this concept. The...
INSIDER: Motion Control
An invention similar to an elephant’s trunk has potential benefits for many industries where handling delicate objects is essential. UNSW Sydney developed a soft fabric robotic gripper that...
Blog: Software
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.
Blog: Energy
A new material is especially effective at absorbing indoor light and converting it into usable energy.
Question of the Week: Software
Would You Use 'Tsugite' Software for Woodworking?
A recent INSIDER story highlighted a new tool for architects, furniture-makers, and woodworking beginners. The interactive software from the University of Tokyo, known as "Tsugite," provides milling machine instructions and on-screen design guidance so that users can piece an object together without...
News: Transportation
Researchers in the Battery and Energy Storage Technology Center at Penn State University are searching for a reliable, quick-charging, cold-weather battery for automobiles. They say the...
News: Energy
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have used new techniques to create a composite that increases the electrical current capacity of copper wires, providing a material that...
News: Materials
A new lithium-based electrolyte invented by Stanford University scientists could pave the way for the next generation of battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs). Their electrolyte design...
Blog: Materials
The RepelWrap inventors explain why their product is especially valuable as the world confronts a pandemic like COVID-19.
Question of the Week: Electronics & Computers
Will Paper-Based Keypads Catch On?
The “5 Ws” feature of our November issue of Tech Briefs highlights a paper-based keypad being developed at Purdue University.
INSIDER: Imaging
Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) working in collaboration with colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of St Andrews and the University of...
INSIDER: Imaging
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory researchers evaluated commercial ultraviolet (UV) sources for viral disinfection to combat COVID-19 on land and at sea and established a...
INSIDER: Photonics/Optics
Researchers at Empa and ETH Zurich succeeded in developing a material that works like a luminescent solar concentrator and can even be applied to textiles. This opens up numerous possibilities for...
Blog: Aerospace
The great tasks of retrieving samples and flying a helicopter on Mars requires a number of small parts — specifically motors and drives.
Blog: Energy
The soil microbial fuel cells produce energy to filter enough water for a person’s daily needs, with potential to increase scale.
Question of the Week: Robotics, Automation & Control
Will Mobile Docking Stations Become an Essential Part of Underwater Exploration?
An INSIDER story this month highlighted an innovative way of supporting underwater robots: mobile docking stations.
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Purdue University innovators are taking cues from the spider to develop 3D photodetectors for biomedical imaging.
Blog: Software
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.
INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control
NASA’s DuAxel, a pair of two-wheeled rovers each called Axel, can split in half with each half connected only by a tether that unspools as the lead axle approaches a hazard.
Question of the Week: Robotics, Automation & Control
Would You Use a ‘SwingBot?’
A “SwingBot” robotic arm from MIT can learn the physical features of a handheld object through tactile exploration. Instead of using cameras or vision methods, the robot’s grippers use GelSight tactile sensors that measure the pose and force distribution of the object. Watch the demo on Tech Briefs TV.
Blog: Transportation
A reader asks, "For AV testing, what are the respective role of simulation, closed course, and public road testing?"
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
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.
Question of the Week: Electronics & Computers
Will Self-Erasing Chips Catch On?
University of Michigan engineers reported that their new self-erasing chips could help stop counterfeit electronics or provide alerts if sensitive shipments are tampered with. The chips use a new material that temporarily stores energy, changing the color of the light it emits. The self-erase period takes seven...
Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
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."
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
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.
Question of the Week: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Will We Someday 'Draw' Sensors On Our Skin?
A Tech Brief featured in our October issue showcases how University of Missouri researchers are creating pencil-drawn sensors. The engineers demonstrated that the simple combination of pencils and paper could be used to create personal, health-monitoring devices.
Top Stories
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
2025 Holiday Gift Guide for Engineers: Tech, Tools, and Gadgets
INSIDER: Research Lab
Scientists Create Superconducting Semiconductor Material
Blog: Software
Quiz: Materials
Blog: Aerospace
Tech Briefs Wrapped 2025: Top 10 Technology Stories
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: AR/AI
The Real Impact of AR and AI in the Industrial Equipment Industry
Upcoming Webinars: Motion Control
Next-Generation Linear and Rotary Stages: When Ultra Precision...
Upcoming Webinars: Energy
Hydrogen Engines Are Heating Up for Heavy Duty
Podcasts: Medical
How Wearables Are Enhancing Smart Drug Delivery
Podcasts: Power
SAE Automotive Podcast: Solid-State Batteries
Podcasts: Power
