Electronics & Software

Energy

Your destination for advances in renewable energy, energy storage technologies, and trends in portable solar power, energy harvesting, wind power, and alternative energy. Design engineers will find the latest applications and multimedia resources including videos, white papers, webinars, and technical briefs.

Stories

Articles: Green Design & Manufacturing

2021 Create the Future Design Contest: Sustainable Technologies/Future Energy Category Winner — Multifunctional Bionanocomposite Fruit Coatings

The invention could capture the potential of the edible packaging market.

Products: Photonics/Optics

New on the Market: November 2021

Power supply ICs, temperature sensors, DC-DC converters, and more.

Briefs: Energy

Stable Polymeric Ink with High Conductivity

This paves the way for innovative and more energy-efficient printed electronics.

Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

2021 Create the Future Design Contest: Automotive/Transportation Category Winner — Afreecar E-kit

The e-kit promises to be a low-cost solution in the developing world.

5 Ws: Sensors/Data Acquisition

5 Ws of the Electronics-Powering Finger Wrap

The wearable device turns the touch of a finger into a source of power for small electronics and sensors.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Laser Jolts Microscopic Electronic Robots into Motion

Incorporating semiconductor components, microscopic robots are made to walk with standard electronic signals.

Facility Focus: Software

Facility Focus: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center

The "ERDC" helps solve problems in civil and military engineering, geospatial sciences, water resources, and environmental sciences.

Briefs: Energy

Deployable Composite Boom

Applications include space structures, emergency shelters, backpack solar collectors, and inspection of hazardous environments.

Q&A: Materials

Q&A: Self-Healing Polymers Create Water-Resistant Coatings

Jingcheng Ma, along with a team of researchers at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, found a way to make ultra-thin water-resistant surface coatings robust enough to survive...

Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control

Four-Legged 'Swarm' Robots Traverse Tough Terrain — Together

Forget puzzles — In the early days of quarantine, Notre Dame professor and robotics engineer Yasemin Ozkan-Aydin used the time at home to put together robots.

Blog: Test & Measurement

When to Go With Battery X-Ray Inspection

Tech Briefs readers ask two industry experts about the effectiveness of CT scans when you want a deeper look at a battery.

Question of the Week: Energy

Will We Use Solar to Power Our Devices Indoors?

Solar or photovoltaic (PV) cells fixed to roofs convert sunlight into electricity. An October Tech Brief highlighted a spin on this traditional idea of solar.

Blog: Electronics & Computers

Create the Future 2021: A Universal E-Kit Provides Power Boost to Non-Motorized Vehicles

Christopher Borroni-Bird and his team want to make an "e-kit" that provides a boost to wheelbarrows, bikes, and other non-motorized vehicles.

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

When to Expect a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Truck

Long-haul trucking may be the best candidate for hydrogen power. An industry expert tells us when we can expect more hydrogen fuel cells on the highway.

Question of the Week: Transportation

Will We Ever Charge Our Cars (As We Drive)?

Cornell Engineering Professor Khurram Afridi wants you to be able to power-up your vehicle simply by changing lanes and driving over a charging strip.

Application Briefs: Propulsion

Improving Overhead Equipment Devices for a New Era of Railway Transportation

See how COMSOL is supporting upcoming modifications to railway infrastructure in India.

Briefs: Motion Control

Liquid Metal Turns Motion into Electricity, Even Underwater

The soft and stretchable device converts movement into electricity and can work in wet environments.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Making Patient Care Easier: Self-Powered Diaper Sensors that Monitor Urine Sugar Levels

Monitoring urine sugar levels is important during early stages of diabetes, and diaper sensors represent an attractive solution.

Articles: Green Design & Manufacturing

Energy Harvesting Can Enable 1 Trillion Battery-Free Sensors in the IoT

A tiny investment in system capital expenditures can lead to huge rewards in reduced capital and operating expenses.

Briefs: Energy

Tiny, Wireless, Injectable Chips Use Ultrasound to Monitor Body Processes

Implantable chips visible only in a microscope point the way to developing chips that can be injected into the body with a hypodermic needle to monitor medical conditions.

Briefs: Energy

System Harvests Energy from Radio Waves to Power Wearable Devices

The electricity can be used to power wireless devices or to charge energy storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Using Solar Technology to Power Smart Devices Indoors

An already ubiquitous material in outdoor photovoltaic modules could be repurposed for indoor devices with low-capacity batteries.

Briefs: Energy

Microbe Turns Waste into Industrial Chemical

The method could be applied to carbon waste streams.

Facility Focus: Wearables

Facility Focus: Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering

Today, Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering performs research in robotics, cyberphysical systems, artificial intelligence, biomedicine, energy, and other topics.