Tech Briefs

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.

E-Health Patches Monitor Pulse and Blood Pressure

An international team of researchers from Japan and Austria has invented new ultraflexible patches with a ferroelectric polymer that can not only sense a patient’s pulse and blood pressure, but also power themselves from normal movements. The key was starting with a substrate just 1-μm thick.

Shape-Shifting Ultrasound Stickers to Monitor Post-Surgical Complications

When attached to an organ, the soft, tiny sticker changes in shape in response to the body’s changing pH levels, which can serve as an early warning sign for post-surgery complications such as anastomotic leaks. Clinicians then can view these shape changes in real time through ultrasound imaging.

Exosome-Coated Stent Heals Vascular Injury, Repairs Damaged Tissue

The stent delivers regenerative stem cell-derived therapy to blood-starved tissue.

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.

A New Optical Metamaterial Makes True One-Way Glass Possible

A new approach has allowed researchers at Aalto University to design a kind of metamaterial that has so far been beyond the reach of existing technologies. Unlike natural materials, metamaterials and metasurfaces can be tailored to have specific electromagnetic properties, which means scientists can create materials with features desirable for industrial applications.

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).

Lab-on-a-Chip Genetic Test Device Identifies Viruses Within Three Minutes

Developed by engineers at the University of Bath, the prototype LoCKAmp device uses innovative Lab-on-a-Chip technology and has been proven to provide rapid and low-cost detection of COVID-19 from nasal swabs.

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.

Making Hydrogels More Injectable

To aid the development of gel-like materials, MIT and Harvard University researchers have created a set of computational models to predict the material’s structure and mechanical properties, as well as functional performance outcomes.

‘Smart’ Coating Could turn Fabrics into Protective Gear

A durable, copper-based coating developed by a team at Dartmouth University can be integrated into fabric to create responsive, reusable materials such as protective equipment, environmental sensors, and smart filters.

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.

New Patch Can Help Control Robotic Exoskeletons

In a new study, engineers from Korea and the United States have developed a wearable, stretchy patch that could help to bridge the divide between people and machines — and with benefits for the health of humans around the world. In lab experiments, the researchers showed that humans could use these devices to operate robotic exoskeletons more efficiently.

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.

Freeze-Resistant Hydration System

NASA’s Johnson Space Center is offering an innovative freeze-resistant hydration system for licensing. The technology substantially improves on existing hydration systems because it prevents water from freezing in the tubing, container, and mouthpiece, even in the harshest conditions on Earth.

Converting Carbon Dioxide to Solid Carbon Nanofibers

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Columbia University have developed a way to convert carbon dioxide (CO2), a potent greenhouse gas, into carbon nanofibers, materials with a wide range of unique properties and many potential long-term uses.

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.

A Bioinspired Multimaterial Soft Robotic Hand

A research paper by scientists at the University of Coimbra proposed a soft robotic hand comprising soft actuator cores and an exoskeleton, featuring a multimaterial design aided by finite element analysis to define the hand geometry and promote finger’s bendability.