Electronics & Software

Here are innovative solutions for your biggest challenges in Electronics and Software - Power Supplies and Management, Board-Level Electronics, Components and Batteries. You’ll find applications essential to military, aviation, medical and automotive design engineering.

Stories

Briefs: Materials

Electrolyte Boost Improves Performance of Aqueous Dual-Ion Batteries

New cell chemistry utilizes less costly and more abundant materials than lithium-ion batteries.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Robot Detects and Shares Changes in 3D in Real Time

A robot could immediately alert a human of small changes in their surrounding environment.

Products: Imaging

New on the Market: July 2021

Temperature transmitters, robotic tool changers, epoxy adhesives, and more.

Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Products of Tomorrow

Battery recycling, NASA's water treatment, and a wireless wearable transmitter.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

System for In-Situ Defect Detection in Composites During Cure

This system enhances processing via real-time, non-destructive defect tracking.

Facility Focus: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Facility Focus: Duke University Pratt School of Engineering

Duke Engineering supports clinical ultrasound imaging, restoration of hearing by cochlear implant, megapixel photography, and metamaterials.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Ultra-Thin, Energy-Efficient Photodetector Integrated with Gorilla Glass

This could lead to the commercial development of smart glass, with applications ranging from imaging to advanced robotics.

Blog: Energy

Ultrasound Improves Efforts to Recycle the Battery

Could a tool from the dentist's office lead to better recycling of lithium-ion batteries?

Blog: Power

How Can the Private Sector Support Space?

A reader asks a Space Force expert about new markets, including data transport, traffic management, and advanced power.

Question of the Week: RF & Microwave Electronics

Will Mobile Radar Replace the Stethoscope?

Our June issue of Tech Briefs highlighted a radar system that enables touch-free monitoring of heart sounds. A significant advantage offered by radar, according to the system’s inventors, is the fact that the values are recorded digitally and are thus not subjective, allowing human error to be...

Question of the Week: Energy

Will Better Sensors Lead to Greater Adoption of Hydrogen Power?

One of the final hurdles to hydrogen power is securing a safe method for spotting hydrogen leaks. A sensor, featured in the June issue of Sensor Technology, has a greater sensitivity than other detectors.

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

New Skin Patch Brings Us Closer to Wearable All-In-One Health Monitor

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a soft, stretchy skin patch that can be worn on the neck to continuously track blood pressure and heart...

INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

“Agricomb” Measures Multiple Gas Emissions From ... Cows

After the optical frequency comb made its debut as a ruler for light, spinoffs followed, including the “astrocomb” to measure starlight and a radar-like comb system to detect...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

This Advance May Enable 2D Transistors for Tinier Microchip Components

Atomically thin materials are a promising alternative to silicon-based transistors; now researchers can connect them more efficiently to other chip elements.

INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Ultra-Thin Terahertz Source Paves the the Way to Next Generation of Communication Tech

Physicists from the University of Sussex have developed an extremely thin, large-area semiconductor surface source of terahertz, composed of just a few...

Blog: Data Acquisition

'P-Flash' Uses A.I. to Fight Fires

The Prediction Model for Flashover, or P-Flash, estimates where flashover explosions could occur.

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Inexpensive Tin Packs a Big Punch for the Future of Supercapacitors

A sustainable, powerful micro-supercapacitor may be on the horizon. Until now, these high-capacity, fast-charging energy storage devices have been limited by the...

INSIDER: Power

Reduced Heat Leakage Improves Wearable Health Device

North Carolina State University engineers continue to improve the efficiency of a flexible device worn on the wrist that harvests heat energy from the human body to monitor health.

INSIDER: Materials

Compound Normally Found in Candles Lights the Way to Grid-Scale Energy Storage

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Richland, WA) have shown that low-cost organic compounds hold promise for...

INSIDER: Energy

Nanoscale Defects Could Boost Energy Storage Materials

A collaboration led by Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) used X-ray nanoimaging to gain an unprecedented view into solid-state electrolytes, revealing previously undetected crystal...

Question of the Week: Electronics & Computers

Will Recyclable Electronics Catch On?

Our June issue of Tech Briefs features a completely recyclable transistor from Duke University. The fully functional semiconductor is made out of three carbon-based inks that can be easily printed onto paper or other flexible, environmentally friendly surfaces.

Blog: Energy

'Self-Aware' Sensing Material Powers Itself

A "self-aware," self-powering material can be used in heart stents, bridges, and even space.

Briefs: Automotive

3D Motion Tracking System for Autonomous Technology

The system could one day replace LiDAR and cameras in automated manufacturing, biomedical imaging, and autonomous driving.

Articles: Photonics/Optics

Options Abound When Selecting a Sensor for Motor Feedback

Designers who must sense motor position, speed, or acceleration have a lot of choices, including resolvers, optical encoders, and Hall-effect devices.