Electronics & Software

Training Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles for Visualization of Subsurface Structures

Through a combination of modeling, simulation, and machine learning (ML), USM researchers are laying the groundwork for intelligent uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) capable of autonomously and accurately revealing what lies beneath the waves. Read on to learn more.

Why Human Expertise Is Driving the Future of Autonomy

The future of industrial autonomy will not be defined by systems that operate as opaque black boxes, but by approaches that deliberately embed the expertise of the people who know the processes best. Machine teaching makes this possible by making the skills and strategies of expert operators the foundation of AI system design. Read on to learn more.

New Products

See the new products, including NVIDIA's IGX Thor, an industrial-grade platform built to bring real-time physical AI directly to the edge; Teknic's precision planetary gearboxes; PI's L-220 series linear actuators; Compact Click dev tool from MIKROE; and more.

AR-Enhanced Rescue Robot for Disaster Response

Robots may soon have a new way to communicate with people. Not through words or screens, but with light and images projected directly onto the world around them. University of South Florida's Zhao Han is developing technology that could transform how people interact with robots in both emergencies and everyday life. Read on to learn more.

Programming Robots with Rubber Bands

Mechanical engineering researchers in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences think there’s another way to design robots: Programming intended functions directly into a robot’s physical structure, allowing the robot to react to its surroundings without the need for extensive on-board electronics. Read on to learn more.

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.

Vision Integration Transforms Collaborative Robotics

Without integrated vision, robots can only perform tasks in precisely the same way every time. If a part is even slightly out of position or rotated differently, the robot may fail to complete its task, or worse, cause an error in the process. Read on to learn more.

Heavy-Payload Conveyance Paves the Way for Next-Generation Battery Manufacturing

Battery packs are becoming larger and heavier, particularly in applications such as electric trucks, aviation and renewable energy storage. As payload requirements increase, manufacturers are turning to advanced automation and material handling systems to keep pace. Read on to learn what this means.

New Products

See the new products, including Plasmatreat's HydroPlasma, a solution for the removal of stubborn contaminants from glass and metal surfaces; TDK Corporation's 3000-watt TDK-Lambda brand HWS3000G programmable AC-DC power supplies; Zircotec's new range of proprietary ceramic coatings; Thermo Fisher Scientific's expanded solutions for battery manufacturers; and more.

Breaking the Rules to Build a Better Battery

By flipping a foundational belief in battery design, Hailong Chen and his team found that charging zinc-ion batteries at higher currents can make them last longer. Read on to learn more about this surprising result.

Breakthrough Advances Sodium-Based Battery Design

Read on to learn about research that raises the benchmark for sodium-based all-solid-state batteries and demonstrates thick cathodes that retain performance at room temperature down to subzero conditions.

The End of the Beginning: Why the EV Market Will Overcome the Loss of Tax Credits

Will EV sales in the U.S. double by the end of the decade, or more? Will the U.S. keep pace with China’s relentless iterative improvements on EV technology, or will China increasingly dominate the rapidly electrifying global transportation industry? Read on to learn more.

How Carbon Fibers Can Help Manufacture Li-ion Batteries

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have overcome a barrier to using a more affordable, dry process for manufacturing the Li-ion batteries used in vehicles and electronic devices. The resulting batteries provide greater electricity flow and reduced risk of overheating. Read on to learn more.

New Self-Assembling Material Could Be the Key to Recyclable EV Batteries

Today’s electric vehicle boom is tomorrow’s mountain of electronic waste. And while myriad efforts are underway to improve battery recycling, many EV batteries still end up in landfills. A research team from MIT wants to help change that with a new kind of self-assembling battery material that quickly breaks apart when submerged in a simple organic liquid. Read on to learn more.

EV Industry Grapples with Unprecedented Battery Regulation Compliance Challenges

The EU Battery Regulation demands unprecedented granularity in supply chain tracking. Read on to learn more about what this means.

The Future of Axial- and Radial-Flux Motors

Traditionally, most motors used in EVs and mobility platforms have been radial flux systems. In recent years, there have been major strides in alternative axial flux motor architectures. What exactly do these architectural differences mean for motor design and production? Read on to find out.

How Virtual Twins are Reshaping Aerospace Design and Manufacturing

On the latest episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast, we sit down with two experts from Dassault Systèmes: Mariah Otte, Aerospace & Defense Solution Architect, and Jason Roberson, Industry Value Expert. Listen now!

Vote for Tech Briefs’ 30th Annual Readers’ Choice Awards

Each month, our editors choose a Product of the Month that has exceptional technical merit and practical value for our design engineering readers. Those 11 products are the nominees for the 2025 Tech Briefs' Readers’ Choice Product of the Year. You’re invited to cast your vote for the one product among the 11 listed in this article that you feel was the most important new product introduced to the engineering community in 2025.

How Much Do You Know About Space Optical Communications?

How much do you know about optical and laser communications in space? Test your knowledge with this quiz.

My Opinion: The Upsides Vs. the Downsides of Artificial Intelligence

It's crucial at this point in time to think about the direction of AI development. If it's not done right, there will be serious global consequences.

The Hidden Heroes of Hydrogen Flight: Sealing and Materials

In this sponsored episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast, Margaux Ningre-Coirier, Aerospace Sales and Market Development Manager at Omniseal Solutions, is the guest to analyze how advanced sealing solutions are becoming the hidden enablers of safe, efficient hydrogen-powered advanced air mobility (AAM). Listen now!

Test Your Knowledge About EV Motors

Electric motors are not new. They’re actually quite old. But that doesn’t mean all of their secrets have been revealed. Engineers today are still improving on an idea that has been around for almost … well, that’s the first question. How much do you know about EV motors? Find out with this quiz.