Electrical/​Electronics

Critical Minerals Recovery from Electronic Waste

A PNNL research team used a simple mixed-salt water-based solution and their knowledge of metal properties to separate valuable minerals in continuously flowing reaction chambers. Read on to learn more.

New Soft Robot Rolls Like Tires, Spins Like Tops, Orbits Like Moons

Researchers have developed a new soft robot design that engages in three simultaneous behaviors: rolling forward, spinning like a record, and following a path that orbits around a central point. The device, which operates without human or computer control, holds promise for developing soft robotic technologies that can be used to navigate and map unknown environments. The new soft robots are called twisted ringbots. Read on to learn more about them.

“Living Bioelectronics” That Can Sense and Heal Skin

A team has created a prototype for what it calls “living bioelectronics” — a combination of living cells, gel, and electronics that can integrate with living tissue. The patches are made of sensors, bacterial cells, and a gel made from starch and gelatin. Tests in mice found that the devices could continuously monitor and improve psoriasis-like symptoms, without irritating skin. Read on to learn more.

Fabricating High-Temperature Superconducting Wires for Future Energy Generation

Researchers have fabricated the world’s highest-performing HTS wire segment while making the price-performance metric significantly more favorable. Read on to learn more.

Integrating Fragile 2D Materials into Devices

Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have developed a new technique to integrate 2D materials into devices in a single step while keeping the surfaces of the materials and the resulting interfaces pristine and free from defects. Read on to learn more.

On-Chip Spectral Imaging for Earth Observation

Today, companies are building small satellite constellations with tens to hundreds of units, far exceeding the scale of traditional space operations. Read on to learn more.

Top 5 Tech Briefs Quizzes of 2024

Learn which of our quizzes were the most popular this year. Read on to find out which five quizzes topped our 2024 list.

MIT Team Takes a Major Step Toward Fully 3D-Printed Active Electronics

Active electronics — components that can control electrical signals — usually contain semiconductor devices that receive, store, and process information. These...

Researchers Demonstrate Self-Assembling Electronics

Researchers have demonstrated a new technique for self-assembling electronic devices. The proof-of-concept work was used to create diodes and transistors and paves the way for...

How Much Do You Know About Connecting DC Programmable Power Supplies in Series or Parallel?

There are some applications where the use of a single power supply may not be sufficient to provide the power required by the load. How much do you know about connecting DC programmable power supplies in series or parallel? Find out with this quiz.

Shedding Weight: Connectivity in Military-Aerospace Applications

Weight is among the most critical factors behind component choice when it comes to aerospace applications. Being among the bulkiest of components, connectors and cables need to embrace the latest scientific advances in order to reduce weight and enhance performance, fuel efficiency, and overall system reliability. This article outlines the recent advances enabling lighter connectors for aircraft, satellites, and drones.

Videos of the Month

See the videos of the month, including one on Michigan Engineering racing its 17th solar car, Astrum, across the Australian Outback; one on how NASA’s Europa Clipper — a 7,000-pound spacecraft — was packed and shipped from the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to Kennedy Space Center in Florida; one on the MIT Media Lab’s Space Exploration Initiative; and one on leveraging precision growth to convert plants into biodegradable electronic devices.

New on the Market

See what's new on the market, including Nikon Metrology NV's Scatter Correction CT; Emerson's next-generation Rosemount™ 3490 Controller; Fischer Connectors' USB 3.2 connectors and cable assembly solutions; Renesas Electronics' R-Car Family of system-on-chips for entry-level Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS); and much more.

Enabling Robots to Interpret Surroundings Quickly and Accurately

MIT engineers have developed a method that enables robots to make similarly intuitive, task-relevant decisions. The team’s new approach, named Clio, enables a robot to identify the parts of a scene that matter, given the tasks at hand. Read on to learn more about Clio.

The First Non-Electric Touchpad

Researchers at Tampere University have developed the world’s first soft touchpad that can sense the force, area, and location of contact without electricity. The device utilizes pneumatic channels, enabling its use in environments such as MRI machines and other conditions that are unsuitable for electronic devices.

The Unusual Machines Approach to Low-Cost Drones and Drone Components

Unusual Machines CEO Allan Evans is the guest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast.

Electricity-Free Hardware Allows More Space for Robots to 'Think'

Mimicking how some parts of the human body work, researchers from King’s College London have transmitted a series of commands to devices with a new kind of compact circuit,...

A Faster, Better Way to Train General-Purpose Robots

In the classic cartoon “The Jetsons,” Rosie the robotic maid seamlessly switches from vacuuming the house to cooking dinner to taking out the trash. But in real life, training a...

New on the Market

See what's new on the market, including Pi Americas' S-335 fast steering mirror; Smalley's new online shopping tool for its customers; Markforged Holding Corporation's FX10 Metal Kit, a print engine that brings metal printing capability to the FX10; Automated Precision, Inc.'s iScanMagic Composite 3D Scanner and iScanLite 3D Blue Laser Line Scanner; Navitas Semiconductor's portfolio of third-generation automotive-qualified SiC MOSFETs in D2PAK-7L (TO-263-7) and TOLL packages; and much more.

Giving Autonomous Vehicles the Ability to Reason

Yen-Ling Kuo at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science is collaborating with a team at the Toyota Research Institute to build language representations of driving behavior that enable a robot to associate the meaning of words with what it sees by watching how humans interact with the environment or by its own interactions with the environment. Read on to learn more.

Open Software Options for Automation

As industrial automation technologies continue to advance, the balance between traditional and open solutions will likely evolve. The emphasis will be on providing versatile platforms that meet varied user needs. Read on to learn more.

Electronics Finalist: Thin-Film Thermoelectric Cooling Device

The wearable Thin-Film Thermoelectric Cooling (TFTEC) device is one of the world’s lightest, thinnest, and fastest refrigeration devices. It's also the Electronics Finalist. Read on to learn more.

Test Your Knowledge of Machine Vision

Machine vision is the technology, software, hardware, integrated systems, actions, methods, and expertise used to provide imaging-based automatic inspection and analysis. How much do you know about machine vision? Find out with this quiz.

Unlock the Full Potential of Your CAD | An End-to-End Webinar Series

In this nine-part webinar series, attendees will learn how to unlock the full potential of CAD data and revolutionize engineering processes with an integrated business...