Computers

New Wearable Aims to Mimic Skin’s “Sensors”

When it comes to haptic feedback, most technologies are limited to simple vibrations. But our skin is loaded with tiny sensors that detect pressure, vibration, stretching and more. Now, Northwestern University engineers have unveiled a new technology that creates precise movements to mimic these complex sensations. Read on to learn more.

World’s Smallest Programmable, Autonomous Robots

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Michigan have created the world’s smallest fully programmable, autonomous robots: microscopic swimming machines that can...

Turning Edible Fungi into Organic Memristors

Researchers from The Ohio State University recently discovered that common edible fungi, such as shiitake mushrooms, can be grown and trained to act as organic memristors, a type of data processor that can remember past electrical states.

NVIDIA Includes Ethernet Photonics in New Six-Chip AI Rubin Platform

NVIDIA is bringing Ethernet networking with co-packaged optics to artificial intelligence (AI) factories, enabling scale-out and scale-across on the NVIDIA Rubin platform...

Hard(ware) to the Core

The core Flight System (cFS) is an open-source software framework that allows spacecraft to have a common starting point, without having to code all the base functions from scratch. Managed out of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, cFS covers all the basics that a spacecraft’s computer needs to operate. Read on to learn more about it.

Scientists Create Superconducting Semiconductor Material

Scientists have long sought to make semiconductors that are also superconducting, thereby enhancing their speed and energy efficiency and enabling new quantum technologies. However,...

Robotic System for Assembly and Maintenance of Lightweight Reconfigurable Structures

Missions to the moon and other planets will require large-scale infrastructure that would benefit from autonomous assembly by robots without on-site human intervention. NASA Ames Research Center has developed a novel and efficient mobile bipedal robot system to construct low-mass, high precision, and largescale infrastructure. Read on to learn more.

Researchers Give New Meaning to the Term “Microwave Brain”

Cornell researchers have developed a low-power microchip they call a “microwave brain,” the first processor to compute on both ultrafast data signals and wireless communication signals by harnessing the physics of microwaves. Read on to learn more about it.

Powerful and Precise Multi-color Lasers Now Fit on a Single Chip

A few years ago, researchers in Michal Lipson’s Columbia Engineering lab noticed something remarkable. They were working on a project to design high-power chips that could...

A New Material That Could Change Electronics

A research team led by physicists Ming Yi and Emilia Morosan from Rice University has developed a new material with unique electronic properties that could enable more powerful and...

Wi-Fi Signals Can Measure Heart Rate — No Wearables Needed

Traditionally, measuring heart rate requires some sort of wearable device, whether that be a smart watch or hospital-grade machinery. But new research from engineers at the...

New Products

See the new products, including the VITA 93 QMC Mezzanine Modules from Acromag; fiber-optic sensors of the optoCONTROL CLS1000 series from Micro-Epsilon; AW-Lake's TG Series Gas Turbine Flow Meter; NewTek Sensors' advanced Linear Variable Differential Transformer specifically designed to withstand the extreme environments found in next-gen molten salt reactors; and more.

New Products

See the new products, including Corning Incorporated's Corning® Gorilla® Glass Ceramic; Epoxy Technology's EPO-TEK®353NDP, a high-performance, humidity-resistant epoxy; Edmund Optics' off-the-shelf HOLO/OR Diffractive Diffusers and Beamsplitters; Teledyne Technologies subsidiary FLIR's advanced multispectral imaging solution; and much more.

How to Optimize for Isolation and Performance Using Advanced Digital Isolators

This article briefly examines why isolation is required, emphasizing the need in sensor-based circuits. It then looks at various aspects of isolation using state-of-the-art digital isolators from Analog Devices and shows how they can be applied.

A New Computer Vision Method Enables Faster Screening of Electronic Materials

A new computer vision technique developed by MIT engineers significantly speeds up the characterization of newly synthesized electronic materials. The technique automatically analyzes images of printed semiconducting samples and quickly estimates two key electronic properties for each sample. Read on to learn more.

Next-Gen Automotive Semiconductors Are Critical for Level 5 Driverless Cars

The driverless robotaxis chauffeuring around San Francisco, and the advanced driver assistance features on more than half of new vehicles sold this year show just...

New Products

See the new products, including Bosch Rexroth’s space-optimized SMS screw-driven small modules; the updated capabilities of PI's PICMA® piezo stack actuator series via the introduction of the new PICMA® Plus actuators; Beckhoff's expanded MX-System control cabinet-free automation platform; and more.

Product of the Month

See the product of the month: Weidmuller USA's CUBESERIES Industrial Relay Modules, which, due to their durability and robust design, can reliably switch a multitude of small loads, decouple systems, and multiply signals. Read on to learn more.

Autonomous Structures Can Be Programmed to Jump Days in Advance

Researchers have created dynamic structures that leap into the air on a predetermined schedule without intervention from computers or external stimuli. Precisely when these...

Meet SUPER: The Safety-Assured High-Speed Aerial Robot

The team has developed the Safety-Assured High-Speed Aerial Robot (SUPER), capable of flying at speeds exceeding 20 meters per second [about 45 miles per hour] and avoiding obstacles as thin as 2.5 millimeters [about 0.1 inch] — such as power lines or twigs — using solely onboard sensors and computing power.

Medical Crash Cart Goes Robotic

Medical crash carts — stocked with medications, syringes, gauze, and IV fluids — are essential tools in emergency rooms, where seconds matter, space is tight, and confusion can cost lives. However,...

New System Enables Robots to Solve Manipulation Problems in Seconds

Ready for that long-awaited summer vacation? First, you’ll need to pack all items required for your trip into a suitcase, making sure everything fits securely without...

Teaching Robots to Serve Humans

Over the past decade, robots have become an increasingly important part of our daily lives. Autonomous vehicles shuttle us from point A to point B, drones deliver lifesaving medicine to remote towns, sidewalk...

My Opinion: Quantum Computing Is Coming But Has This Engineer Puzzled

My Opinion: Quantum computing is coming but has this engineer puzzled. As we celebrate 2025, the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, I find that thinking about these things from an engineer’s point of view is quite challenging.

Mid-Air Transformation Helps Flying, Rolling Robot to Transition Smoothly

Specialized robots that can both fly and drive typically touch down on land before attempting to transform and drive away. But when the landing terrain is rough,...