Tech Briefs

Robot Reads Braille Twice as Fast as Humans

Although the robot braille reader was not developed as an assistive technology, the researchers say the high sensitivity required to read braille makes it an ideal test in the development of robot hands or prosthetics with comparable sensitivity to human fingertips.

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.”

Snail-Inspired Robot Could Scoop Ocean Microplastics

Inspired by a small and slow snail, scientists have developed a robot prototype that may one day scoop up microplastics from the surfaces of oceans, seas, and lakes.

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.

Tri-Rotor Steering Wheel Yields Programmable Vehicular Control

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a programmable steering wheel called the Tri-Rotor, which allows an astronaut the ability to easily operate a vehicle on the surface of a planet or Moon despite the limited dexterity of their spacesuit. This technology was originally conceived for the operation of a lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) to improve upon previous Apolloera hand controllers.

Liquid Crystals Hold the Key to Shapeshifting Robots

Robots and cameras of the future could be made of liquid crystals, thanks to a new discovery that significantly expands the potential of the chemicals already common in computer displays and digital watches. The findings are a simple and inexpensive way to manipulate the molecular properties of liquid crystals with light exposure.

Tiny, Fully Functional Water-Strider and Mini-Bug Robots

Reporting on their work in the proceedings of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society’s International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, the mini-bug weighs in at eight milligrams, while the water strider weighs 55 milligrams. Both can move at about six millimeters a second.

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.

An AI-Based Approach for Controlling Microgrids

UC Santa Cruz Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Yu Zhang and his lab are leveraging tools to improve the efficiency, reliability, and resilience of power systems, and have developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based approach for the smart control of microgrids for power restoration when outages occur.

New Polymer Coating Could Boost EV Batteries

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a conductive polymer coating — called HOS-PFM — that could enable longer lasting, more powerful lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for electric vehicles.

Regolith-Polymer 3D Printing

Recognizing the need for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) to support long-duration human missions to the Moon and Mars, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Sidus Space have developed a novel three-dimensional print head apparatus using regolith-polymer mixtures as a building material.

A Two-in-One Storage and Computing Device

A multi-institutional project led by a Penn State researcher is focused on developing an all-in-one semiconductor device that can both store data and perform computations. The project recently received $2 million in funding over three years as part of the new National Science Foundation Future of Semiconductors (FuSe) program.

4D Printing of Smart Materials with Electromechanical Properties

Researchers at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have created software and hardware for a 4D printer with applications in the biomedical field.

An Affordable, Sustainable Solution for Flat-Panel Displays and Wearable Tech

A research team led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed “supramolecular ink,” a new technology for use in OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays or other electronic devices.

Smart Contact Lenses to Diagnose Glaucoma

Usually developing slowly over time, many cases of glaucoma are only picked up during routine eye tests, by which time lasting damage may already have been caused. But this could change in the future as academics from the U.K. and Türkiye have developed a contact lens which can detect changes in eye pressure which signal possible glaucoma.

Plasma Processing of Water and Inedible Biomass for pH Control and Nutrient Recycling

Researchers at Kennedy Space Center have developed a technology that generates plasma activated water in pH ranges that allow for the addition of nitrates and other nutrients to the water while maintaining a healthy pH for plants.

Origami-Inspired Medical Patch Seals Internal Injuries

Taking inspiration from origami, MIT engineers have now designed a medical patch that can be folded around minimally invasive surgical tools and delivered through airways, intestines, and other narrow spaces, to patch up internal injuries.

Microneedle Technology Leads to Painless Tattoos

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed low-cost, painless, and bloodless tattoos that can be self-administered and have many applications, from medical alerts to tracking neutered animals to cosmetics.

Quantum Computing Architecture May Enable High-Fidelity Communication

MIT researchers have developed a quantum computing architecture that aims to enable extensible, high-fidelity communication between superconducting quantum processors.

New Phase Shifter to Reduce Antenna Signal Loss

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a new type of high-performance “phase shifter” using a liquid gallium alloy — which varies the phase angle of microwave and millimeter-wave radio signals — for use in advanced phase array antenna systems.

Light-Based Tech to Navigate the Moon

RMIT University’s Arnan Mitchell and University of Adelaide’s Dr. Andy Boes led an international team to review lithium niobate’s capabilities and potential applications in the journal Science. The team is working to make navigation systems that help rovers drive on the Moon — where GPS is unable to work — later this decade.

SuperGPS Accurate Within 10 Centimeters

This new technology — developed by engineers at Delft University of Technology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and VSL, and which can achieve an accuracy of 10 centimeters — is important for the implementation of a range of location-based applications, such as automated vehicles, quantum communication, and next-generation mobile communication systems.

A Better Link for Enabling Intelligent Automation

IO-Link is a digital advancement combining the essential electrical and electronic characteristics of other connectivity methods. The resulting devices and architecture are enabling designers to create more intelligent equipment, streamline installation, and reduce overall costs.