Manufacturing & Prototyping

Access our comprehensive library of technical briefs on manufacturing and prototyping, from engineering experts at NASA and government, university, and commercial laboratories.

Briefs: Motion Control

Hummingbird Robot Uses AI to Maneuver in Tight Spaces

The robots could fly silently for covert operations and stay steady through turbulence.

Briefs: Motion Control

Flexible Feet Help Robots Walk Faster

This technology can help robots walk up to 40 percent faster on uneven terrain such as pebbles and wood chips.

Briefs: Materials

Spreadable Way to Stabilize Solid-State Batteries

A “butter-like” interlayer material boosts current density and increases safety.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Doubling Battery Performance with Lithium Metal

Drop-in replacements for lithium ion batteries would not pose a fire danger.

Briefs: Energy

Organic Lithium-Powered Batteries

These batteries are more environmentally friendly while retaining performance, stability, and storage capacity.

Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs

Room-Temperature Magnon Switch

This approach could lead to entirely new and more efficient logic switches for computer chips.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Neural Hardware for Image Recognition in Nanoseconds

An ultrafast image sensor with a built-in neural network can be trained to recognize certain objects.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

3D-Printed Glucose Biosensors

These biosensors could lead to improved glucose monitors for millions of people who suffer from diabetes.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Graphene Smart Textiles for Heat-Adaptive Clothing

Smart adaptive clothing can lower the body temperature of the wearer in hot climates.

Briefs: Energy

Reverse Fuel Cell Converts Waste Carbon to Valuable Chemicals

The technology could lead to production of fuels, building materials, and other products in a carbon-neutral way.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Active Material Created Out of Microscopic Spinning Particles

This material could have applications such as mixing and delivery in the pharmaceutical industry.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Enhanced Fabrication Improves Temperature Sensing in Cryogenic Humid Environments

This technology is useful for energy, industrial, and aerospace applications.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Wraparound Sensors

These sensors monitor electrical loads from household appliances to support grid operations.

Briefs: Materials

Polymer Composite for Radiation Shielding

The polymer composite could replace conventional radiation shielding materials such as lead.

Briefs: Aerospace

Fabrication of Multilayer Ferritin Arrays

This method creates a thin-film electrode for a bio-nanobattery.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Multi-Polymer Filament Increases Production from Low-Cost Printers

The new filament allows low-cost printers to produce parts with mechanical properties competitive with injection molded plastics.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Robot Automates Blood Drawing and Testing

The device provides quick results and gives healthcare workers more time to treat patients in hospitals and other settings.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

System Reduces the Carbon Footprint of Artificial Intelligence

An automated system cuts the energy required for training and running neural networks.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Biohybrid Can Turn Carbon Dioxide into New Products

Applications exist both on Mars and on Earth.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Super-Fast Method for Ceramic Manufacturing

Scientists have reinvented a 26,000-year-old manufacturing process into an innovative approach to fabricating ceramic materials widely used in batteries, electronics, and extreme environments....