Electronics & Software

An Efficient and Cost-Effective Solution for Battery Recycling

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have improved on approaches that dissolve a battery in a liquid solution in order to reduce the amount of hazardous chemicals used in the process.

An All-Liquid Iron Flow Battery for Better Energy Storage

Flow batteries can serve as backup generators for the electric grid. Flow batteries are one of the key pillars of a decarbonization strategy to store energy from renewable energy resources. Their advantage is that they can be built at any scale, from the lab-bench scale, as in this PNNL study, to the size of a city block.

Innovative AI Approach Makes the Most of Sparse Sensor Data

An innovative approach to artificial intelligence (AI) enables reconstructing a broad field of data, such as overall ocean temperature, from a small number of field-deployable sensors using low-powered edge computing, with broad applications across industry, science, and medicine.

‘Attacker’ Device to Protect AVs from Cyberattacks

To help improve the safety and security of AVs, researchers have devised a novel algorithm designed to mimic an attacking device. The algorithm lets researchers identify areas for improvement in autonomous vehicle security.

A ‘Smarter’ Way to Protect an Electric Grid

The team, led by Data Scientist Sumit Purohit, is trying to create a tool that sorts and prioritizes cyber threats on the fly. The idea is to give grid operators a clear blueprint to identify and address the biggest threats first and to protect against them without a mad scramble for resources down the road.

Advancements Make Laser-Based Imaging Simpler and Three-Dimensional

There are times when scientific progress comes in the form of discovering something completely new. Other times, progress boils down to doing something better, faster, or more easily. New research from the lab of Caltech’s Lihong Wang, the Bren Professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, is the latter. Read on to learn more.

Optical Invention Mirrors the Image Processing Power of a Human Eye

Mimicking the easy, instantaneous image processing power of the human eye, Penn State electrical engineering researchers created a metasurface, an optical element akin to a glass slide that uses tiny nanostructures, placed at different angles to control light.

Towards More Accurate 3D Object Detection for Robots and Self-Driving Cars

Researchers from Japan have developed DPPFA–Net, an innovative network that overcomes challenges related to occlusion and noise introduced by adverse weather.

Flexible Artificial Intelligence Optoelectronic Sensors for Health Monitoring

Researchers from Tokyo University of Science (TUS) led by Associate Professor Takashi Ikuno have developed a flexible paper-based sensor that operates like the human brain. The researchers fabricated a photo-electronic artificial synapse device composed of gold electrodes on top of a 10 μm transparent film consisting of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs).

New Semiconductor Detector Shows Promise for Medical Diagnostics

Detector can identify radioactive isotopes with high resolution.

Portable Laser-Guided Robotic Metrology (PLGRM)

Innovators at the NASA Glenn Research Center have developed the PLGRM system, which allows an installed antenna to be characterized in an aircraft hangar. All PLGRM components can be packed onto pallets, shipped, and easily operated.

A New Material That Excels at Trapping Hydrogen

The advance, detailed in a paper published recently in the journal Physica Scripta, could enable more efficient compact fusion reactors that are easier to repair and maintain.

A Novel Approach to Controlling Energy Waves in 4D

A team of scientists has successfully created a new synthetic metamaterial with 4D capabilities, including the ability to control energy waves on the surface of a solid material. These waves, called mechanical surface waves, are fundamental to how vibrations travel along the surface of solid materials.

Screen-Printed Sensors Allow Earbuds to Record Brain Activity and Exercise Levels

A pair of earbuds can be turned into a tool to record the electrical activity of the brain as well as levels of lactate in the body with the addition of two flexible sensors screen-printed onto a stamp-like flexible surface.

Sensor Measures Light, Heat, and Touch

Researchers have developed a sensor that, similar to human skin, can sense temperature variation that originates from the touch of a warm object as well as the heat from solar radiation. The sensor combines pyroelectric and thermoelectric effects with a nano-optical phenomenon.

Ice Detection from Microwave Sensors

Ice build-up on aircraft and wind turbines can impact the safety and efficiency of their systems. Microwave sensors were developed that can identify in real time these accumulations while calculating the rate of melting. This is crucial data for aviation.

AI Identifies New Materials for Carbon Capture

The atom-by-atom approach to MOF design enabled by AI will allow scientists to have what Argonne Senior Scientist and Data Science and Learning Division Director Ian Foster called a “wider lens” on these kinds of porous structures.

AI Helps Robots Manipulate Objects with Their Entire Bodies

Humans are generally good at whole-body manipulation, but robots struggle with such tasks. Now, MIT researchers have found a way to simplify this process, known as contact-rich manipulation planning.

Improving and Increasing Energy Density of Batteries

When it comes to making batteries that last longer, a team of researchers including engineers at Brown University and Idaho National Laboratory believes the key might be in how things get clean — specifically how soap works in this process.

Cobalt-Free Batteries Could Power EVs of the Future

Many electric vehicles are powered by batteries that contain cobalt — a metal that carries high financial, environmental, and social costs. MIT researchers have now designed a battery material that could offer a more sustainable way to power electric cars. The new lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery includes a cathode based on organic materials, instead of cobalt or nickel (another metal often used in Li-ion batteries).

New Cathode Material for Sodium-Ion Batteries

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have invented and patented a new cathode material that replaces lithium ions with sodium and would be significantly cheaper.

Robots for Building Resilient Space Habitats

Led by Purdue University, the Resilient ExtraTerrestrial Habitats institute's goal is to “design and operate resilient deep space habitats that can adapt, absorb and rapidly recover from expected and unexpected disruptions.”

AI Model to Streamline Operations in a Robotic Warehouse

In the future, the researchers want to derive simple, rule-based insights from their neural model, since the decisions of the neural network can be opaque and difficult to interpret. Simpler, rule-based methods could also be easier to implement and maintain in actual robotic warehouse settings.

Conductive Carbon Fiber Polymer Composite

Inventors from NASA Langley and NASA Ames have created a new type of carbon fiber polymer composite that has a high thermal conductivity.

New Fuel Cell Architecture Uses Nanowires for Durability

A promising, more durable fuel cell design could help transform heavy-duty trucking and other clean fuel cell applications.